Best weekend

This last weekend with Ivy was fabulous, though it did start out a little painful. Friday my eye had started became irritated. (Probably because I had been wearing my contacts for several days an not removed them) Saturday when I awoke with the intent of driving to get Ivy I was having a difficult time keeping my eye open and when open I struggled to see through all of the tears. I made it to Pocatello and concluded that my eye was not improving and if I was going to be going to the doctor I wanted to do so prior to picking up Ivy. So Liz gave me directions to an urgent care facility were I was checked out. After concluding that I would need to see an optometrist and pending any conclusive diagnosis I returned to the road. I picked up Ivy and we returned to Logan without incident. (Thank goodness for sunglasses)

That afternoon Ivy and I went to first dam and fed ducks. After a short conversation with an older man I was offered the use of his canoe and I of course accepted. Ivy thoroughly enjoyed the canoe ride around the perimeter of the lake.

That night we Drove into the canyon with Emily and a few friends where we built a campfire and roasted mallows and hot dogs. I set up the tent in hopes that Ivy would want to stay the night. After everyone took off and it was just Ivy and myself relaxing in front of the fire I feared that she would get bored and request that we leave and go home as she previously had on several occasions that evening. However she soon discovered that the tent, or sheep camp as she called it, was a joy so run in and out of. As the fire was dying Ivy decided that even though the tent had a mesh top, (thank you Kent) we needed to lay out on the grass and look up at the stars. Of course I obliged and soon we were picking out very imaginative constellations. The conversation went something like this…

Daddy; Look Ivy, I see the big dipper. It is those four stars with the tail.

Ivy; Oh look daddy, I see an elephant!

Of course then I saw, among other things a dragon, she saw a mermaid, I saw an Ivy, and she saw a daddy.

As the air chilled I maneuvered my legs into the tent and put a blanket over them. (I was wearing shorts) Ivy cuddled up next to me on the grass and I was happy. After a little while Ivy apparently got cold as well because she meandered into the sheep camp and emerged with a blanket, which she used to cover both her and I as she lay down on my chest.

I don’t know it I can accurately do justice to this marvelous event in words. I was lying in the grass on my back. The fire was now smoldering out. The stars were brilliant. The river was no more than 50 feet in the distance, bathing us it sweet gurgling song, while the rest of the world stood calm and natures sounds and smells surrounded me. And as if that weren’t wonderful enough I could feel the rise and fall of my little girls calm breathing, as she lay calm, embracing and relaxing.

There, in that most perfect of situations we fell asleep. Had I never again awoken I would have felt complete.

Of course I did awake and realized that I should put Ivy in her sleeping bag. She slept like a log, better than most nights in my bed next to me. In the morning we awoke and packed up. She really was an angel for the entire camping trip. That afternoon we went on a 4-mile steep climb up to the wind caves with a few friends. Ivy had the luxury of riding in the backpack the entire way. I wished someone had installed and escalator. All in all I’d say it was a fabulous weekend and one I will always cherish.