Impromptu Salt Lake City Trip

First, I want to thank all of you who chimed in on my dilemma with my kids watching too much TV.  There were many helpful suggestions, but most of all, I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in this struggle.  We have a new rule: no electronics between 8:30 and 5:30.  They generally aren't awake before 8:30, so they are only on the computer and watching TV in the evening.  I'm OK with this because they've been busy doing other things during the day.  We only have 3 1/2 weeks left of summer vacation and then this won't be an issue at all!

I think my husband could tell that we were stuck in a summer time rut last week, so on Friday morning he surprised us with a spontaneous weekend trip to Salt Lake City.  It was great to get out of the house and spend time together as a family.  While SLC is only about a 4.5 hour drive from our house, this little getaway worked wonders on us and we had a blast. 

We were last in SLC several years ago.  The setting of the city of gorgeous...it's right at the base of the mountains.  So, you have the amenities of a big city, but can easily get out and hike or ski in the mountains. 

Last time we were there, the downtown was in the midst of a huge development project and was kind of a vast, forlorn construction zone at the time.  There was a park filled with homeless people as well.  Since that time, SLC has undergone a HUGE revitalization and the city is truly beautiful.  There are fountains and walking areas everywhere.  That homeless park?  Now, it hosts a vibrant farmer's market. 

Salt Lake City is very easy to get around.  We parked our car at the hotel and spent the weekend on-foot or hopping on and off the free Trax trains.

Here we were riding the train back to our hotel.  It was almost 11PM and the girls were having a blast exploring the city after dark. 

There were so many fountains, and I think Chloe had to play in almost all of them (the weather was close to 100 degrees).

Temple Square is beautiful at any time of the year, but the summer flowers are amazing.

Before heading home on Sunday, we stopped at the Hogel Zoo.   The zoo is located in the foothills on the east side of the city near the University of Utah.  We had never been to this area, but I would like to go back and explore it a bit more....lots of historic homes, big trees, etc.  I love older neighborhoods.

Of course, I couldn't leave town without a little souvenir.  I picked up this cute bowl at Anthropologie in the hopes of it helping to reignite my bedroom overhaul.  So far, it's not helping!

I love my girls!