Happy Place

It's amazing how bad weather can dramatically alter your mood.  The weather hasn't been all that great for the past couple of weeks, and neither has my attitude. 

I needed to get out of my rut and find a happy place. 

I've been wanting to take Maddison to Antelope Island for quite some time now and I thought to myself, "Just get off your butt and go!"  So we did.

I loaded her up in the car along with a bunch of snacks, stuffed animals, and wardrobe changes (I of course was bringing my camera and there was no way I was going to miss a photo shoot opportunity).

Then we were off.

It was about a 45 minute drive out there (stupid construction!).  Once we made it past the entrance gate, it was all open road baby! 

They had warned us about the biting gnats, but I had no idea there would be clouds of them!  And guess what mommy didn't bring? 

BUG SPRAY.

We drove around the island for about an hour, stopping occasionally to take pictures of the beautiful scenery and animals (can you believe we only saw 1 bison and 3 antelope?)  I really enjoyed the scenic drive (and apparently so did Maddie because she slept most of the time! ha ha) 

We ended at a nice little ranch where they have trails and horseback riding.  Maddie had woken up when we got there so we got out to explore.  There was a quaint little house (built a looooong time ago) which was Maddie's favorite part.

It was a great little ranch filled with culture and B-E-A-U-tiful flowers and it was a great place for her to burn off a little steam!

After a little while, we (I mean mommy) decided to head back because we were both getting tired and HUNGRY!  On our way back down the road, I saw the sign.  The sign that said, "Beach" with an arrow pointing left.  And you know that I made a sharp left and went down that road!

One outfit change, a meltdown (from both of us), and a loooong treacherous walk later, we were on the beach!

Normally I couldn't tolerate Maddie getting dirty without a clean pair of clothes and a tub in a 5 foot radius.  But, that day, I didn't care :)  She was splashing and playing in the mud, and mommy just cheered her on on the sidelines.  It was so peaceful and I didn't mind that she had just dunked her brand new dress in the salt water.  I didn't care that she had wiped the hair from her face with a muddy hand.  I was in a happy place where I didn't worry about ANYTHING.  It was bliss :)

When I was younger, I always said that when I grew up, I would move somewhere besides Utah.  At first it was New York, and then California.  Sometime after that it was Hawaii, Washington, and then ANYWHERE besides Utah!  But I've just begun to realize how beautiful this state really is.  I mean, I am so lucky to be living in such an amazing place.  I no longer feel the need to escape, because I have finally found my happy place :)