JC Mickelson's & Nebo Loop

If you've ever been south of Provo, you've seen some interesting billboards for a Restaurant in Nephi called JC Mickelson's. One of them reads, 

"Nephi? 

It's worth it dear...eat some peanuts!

HUH!?! I found myself trying to figure out what this billboard was saying. Then I realized - oh someone might think it's a long drive so "eat some peanuts" to tide you over until you make it (because it's worth it). 

So we talked for the first while about someday going there to see what the restaurant was all about. One Saturday (we were actually north in Provo shopping), we just up and did it! On our way down we saw more billboards with words like "cabooses" and "boxcar" and started to hope they had a cool train. And - they did! The boys loved it!

We were worried that we had built up the restaurant so much in our minds and it wouldn't live up to our anticipation. But, we LOVED the food. And while the outside of the restaurant is nothing to get excited about, or the "updated" look, the trains were wonderful, the service was great, and we couldn't have had a more pleasant experience. 

 Even better, the day we just up and randomly decided to finally (driving from Provo), the Thompson's were there too! Ironic that some of our best friends ended up at the same restaurant, at the same time, in NEPHI, when we hadn't planned it. We've been sick off and on since we moved so we hadn't planned many official playdates. It was fun to randomly run into them :-)

Matt told us they took the scenic Nebo loop to get here. They actually set out to do that first and ended up in Nephi, deciding to check the restaurant out while they were in town. So, we decided to do the same thing, and took the scenic loop back home. It was a beautiful drive (and it dropped us out only about 2-3 minutes from our house)! We love living so close to such magnificent mountains.

Buraston Ponds

 Today we enjoyed Memorial Day by going to Buraston Ponds (which is technically south of here in Mona). We didn't have time to take the canoe, but it would've been the perfect spot! It was Ethan's first day in his swimsuit, though the water was so cold he didn't get in. Still, he had fun lounging on our blanket.

We went with the Thompson's. Austin hadn't been feeling very well so he didn't swim for more than a minute and didn't try the rope swing. It took some convincing from Matt but Elise and I finally roped in! It was freezing! I was done after saying I had experienced it!

 Austin got in some great bird watching pictures! Not sure what he found out about this little guy... (but in the picture he looks impaled, doesn't he?)

 Even Evan joined in the fun! The other boys were too cold to try it. Cadence complained the entire time about being there. He didn't like getting dirty. He didn't like the cold water. He just wanted to go home. Kory didn't say much of anything until, like usual, we were leaving. In the car on the way home he said "Mom, do that 'gain, 'nother day?" He always has such a placid look while taking things in, and when it's all over, he'll let you know what he really thought. I'm glad he had a good time!

We had a BBQ that night with the Roney's at our place. A yummy hummus platter, kabobs, and salad. Delicious and healthy! We spent the after dinner time enjoying the lawn and playing duck duck goose! It was a wonderful holiday break!