Jonesboro Jaylynn: Utah Trip '09!

So, I was in Utah for a couple of weeks after finals were over. BEST TIME OF MY LIFE!

My grandparents live in northern Orem. The weather was beautiful the WHOLE time, I ate like a pig (and look like one now, too!), and relaxed like a senior citizen. And the best part... I got ALL the attention from my grandparents that I could've wanted! Uh, does life get any better than that? I don't think so!

One of my favorite NEW hobbies I picked up in Utah was golfing. Other than playing putt putt, I had never played golf before in my life. I didn't even know how to hold a club. But, by the end of my vacation, I was able to swing a golf club pretty well and even par a few holes. I found that I'm not so hot with a "driver", and that I'm really good at losing balls! (AND I learned golf jargon! It's like a totally different language! Birdies! Bogies! Double bogies! Eagles!) According to my journal that I kept while I was there, I golfed 4 or 5 times. At least 2-3 hours each time. There is a real nice golf course in the mountains called Cascade that Grandpa has a membership to. Since I have this odd obsession with golf carts, we took the cart into the mountains each morning I went with him and golfed the top 9 holes. I was a pretty good caddy. Except when the sprinklers came on...that's another story! Those mornings were loads of fun, gorgeous, and great bonding time for Grandpa and I.

Look at that pro!

Yeah-call me "J Caddy"!

I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten out as much as we ate out in Utah. Growing up, we NEVER ate out unless it was a very special occasion. I got so spoiled! And FAT! But at least it was fun and I enjoyed every pound of it! We went to a lot of local places that were delightful and to Olive Garden, IHOP, and other places. Grandpa and I also snuck out and ate ice cream. A LOT. We had to bury the remains of our ice cream when we got it without Grandma knowing sometimes. We literally gave them a proper burial at the cemetery. (Okay, we threw them in the trashcan by the cemetery!)

While I was there, we spent a lot of time with my grandparents’ best friends, the Dentons. I’ve know them since I was little. I don’t know how to describe these people…they are from Mississippi, so they don’t have the typical Utah accent, which was a change! They sound like Southerners! They were a HOOT! And the great thing is that they didn’t have to try to be, but they just are! Older couples are HILARIOUS. We played HOURS upon HOURS of card games, in which I whooped their sorry behinds at most of them!

In their ward, my grandparents attend a monthly “Empty Nesters” group, where all of the older couples get together at someone’s home and eat and play games in the evening. I was invited and actually had a good time. Since I was the youngest one there by SEVERAL years, I got a lot of attention. There was a great potluck (with mostly desserts-I did not complain!) and visiting. My grandparents assured me that the activities/lessons were always fun and interactive. This lesson was a tad different. It was all on HEARING LOSS! I could’ve died when I figured this out! But, it was informative and HILARIOUS! We put ear plugs in and had to record sounds we heard with the ear plugs in. It was so weird not being able to hear! I didn’t realize how much I take it for granted.

We went to Sandy to visit some old friends of the family, the Hunters. They were my grandparents’ neighbors in California and both families retired in Utah, just miles away from each other. This couple was also a hoot! Artie Hunter was actually a missionary in Jonesboro in 1948! I couldn’t believe it! He kept asking me about Jonesboro now, and we found that NOTHING is the same! We had a great visit with them and went out to eat, naturally.

Artie, Norma, Grandpa, Grandma

Grandma, "The Brat" as Grandpa calls me, and Grandpa

Thursday was my favorite day though, because it was BINGO DAY! Last year when I went and played BINGO (AND won), I had a blast. I wish I could play BINGO every day at the Senior Center! The prizes are YUMMY baked goods and random items that people donate. I didn’t win this time, but meeting all of the cute couples there made it worth going!

I met a man named Tom that my grandparents love. Tom is one of the cutest, funniest old men that I’ve ever met. His wife couldn’t make him behave! He’s known for giving out quarters to people. The story is that Tom used to be a high school principal. One day while meeting with his student council, he decided that there are three groups of people in school: 1) the popular group-they are always being recognized because they are really pretty or really talented 2) the bad group-these are the kids always getting recognition because they are always in trouble 3) the in-between group- these kids get NO RECOGNITION! So, Tom decided that he wanted this group of kids to get recognized for the good things that he did. He asked his student council members to go around and find the good things that these kids were doing and to report it to him. When he found them, he would commend them for whatever they did and give them a quarter. He did this throughout the rest of the school year. That year, when the class graduated and the kids went up to shake the principal’s hand, they all gave him back a quarter! By the end of graduation, his pants were sagging so bad they almost fell off! To this day, ole Tom still carries around quarters to give to anyone he catches being kind or doing something good. He gave me a quarter because he heard that I was such a good grandchild and because I was from Arkansas (which he thought was cool)!

My UNLUCKY BINGO cards!

The prize table!

Joy Denton always calls for BINGO. Tom gives her a quarter each time she calls. :)

One night when we went out to eat, it was Carlos’ birthday. I surprised him and got the workers at the restaurant (Los Hermanos) to sing to him! It was awesome! I was a little upset that they didn’t bring a sombrero out to put on his head, but their whooping and loudness made it all worth it! And he even got some fried ice cream!

I snapped a picture of Carlos' face when they came out. PRICELESS!

Grandma and I outside of Los Hermanos.

Grandparents outside of Los Hermanos.

We did loads of other things while I was there. We went to Salt Lake one day and spent the day on the Temple Grounds, Visitor’s Center, and the Capitol Building.