The Great Northern Food Tour of Logan

Spencer didn't have school Friday so I thought it would be fun if we drove up north to visit my sister and her kids.  Then on Wednesday when Clara got her finger shut in the hinge side of the bathroom door and ended us up at Primary Children's Hospital so they could sedate her and stitch her finger back together, I began to wonder if we would still go.  But my baby is tough and seemed okay, other than a little clingy, on Thursday so I decided to stick with the plan.  But then my sister remembered she had Achievement Days Friday afternoon.  I had also told the kids we'd eat at McDonald's as I had managed to avoid the last 2 toy rotations but wasn't going to be able to get out of Barbie and Hot Wheels.  So I met my sister and her little boy at the Tremonton McDonalds for lunch.  The kids ate and played.  I know McDonald's is not healthy and eating there regularly would be bad for our health and our weight.  That being said it's pretty cool to feed the kids, get them a toy, and have them be able to play inside when the weather outside is cold for the same price I spent on a 5 minute train ride up and down the mall a week and a half ago.  And I got to visit with my sister while the kids were otherwise occupied.  Then we went back to her house and the kids played in their cousin, Aliya's bedroom for a while even though she was at school.  Shortly after she got home I got the five kids buckled in my van and headed out to entertain them while my sister was doing her Achievement Days thing.

So how to entertain 5 little kids up north?  No offense to Tremonton, but I couldn't really find much other than the McDonald's we had just been to.  So I took them to more familiar territory for me--Logan.  Ya, my degree may have come from the University of Utah, but I'm really an Aggie.  When I lived in Logan and attended Utah State it was my life and I have very good memories (and a few not so good) of it.  But I was in my early twenties and doing University things like sledding down Old Main on lunch trays, mattress surfing down the stairs in my dorm, going to Colors concerts, making crazy music videos in my dorm, and other college-y things.  So in my thinking of how to entertain 5 young children I thought of treats and decided to take them on The Great Northern Food Tour of Logan.  We started with what I thought would be the most kid-exciting treat at the Creamie Facility.  They are located at 142 West 3200 North in Logan and called "Heart to Heart".  Their website said, "Come Take a Tour of the Creamies Plant in Logan, Utah" but when we arrived I didn't even know anybody was there for a very long time.  We walked into a small room with a freezer where you could buy boxes of creamies and a very large deep freezer full of creamies for only 19 cents a piece.  I let the kids each choose a flavor (I chose mint covered in chocolate) and eventually leaned over the high counter to see a girl sitting on the other end who took my money but didn't say anything else.  So no tour, but we got some yummy treats.

Then we drove much further North to Richmond for my favorite factory, the Pepperidge Farms Thrift store.  If you follow Logan's main street North through Smithfield you'll see it on the left side.  Inside all Goldfish bags are only 99 cents and the cookies are only $1.40.  I let each kid choose a Goldfish bag.  At first they went for the pizza ones until they saw the chocolate kind.  Then Aliya, Spencer, and Tessa each chose chocolate.  Jacob chose the Space ones that were pretty cool.  I chose the Saltine for Clara since they weren't colored and I knew where they'd end up.  I of course bought a few Mint Milano bags of cookies as they are my favorite and even on sale never go as cheap as $1.40.

Then we turned back into town and headed to my next favorite location--Gossner.  It's located at 1051 North 1000 West.  Inside we had some samples and then I bought a bunch of cheese and some cheese curd.  I also bought a box of each variety of boxed milk.  And I had each kid choose a cold one from the fridge.  I love that they make this shelf-stable milk that is real milk--ultra pasteurized and flavored.  You can keep it on your shelf for about 6 months depending on the expiration date.  They are like juice boxes so I can throw them in Spencer's lunch or we can take them for picnics and stuff.  And the kids love them!

It was getting close to 6:00 which is when everything closes.  My sister called me saying she was done and her husband was home from work.  I told them to drive out to Logan and we'd all go to dinner together then I'd send her kids home with her and I'd head home.  As she was still half an hour away I decided to try to make it to Cox Honeyland before they closed.  They're on the main highway out of Sardine just before entering into Logan on the right side.  We got there about 5 minutes before closing so I hurried the kids along.  I showed them all the flavored honey they sold and let the kids each choose a honey stick but told them they'd have to wait until after dinner to eat it.  I was disappointed the bees weren't there but the girl reminded me it was winter.  Maybe I'll try to make it out there again in summer cuz my kids liked watching the bees in the case they had in the store to see how honey is actually made.  I didn't buy anything else here because last time we came we bought 3 gallons of honey and we're only half way through that right now.

We then met up with my sister and her husband at the Firehouse restaurant.  Surprisingly the kids weren't very hungry and didn't eat a whole lot.  But they were quite silly.

And my little Jacob nephew said he wanted to go home with me.  I guess treats really are the way to a 2-year old's heart.  And my little baby with the stitched and wrapped up pinky finger was an angel the whole trip.  We had a lot of fun but now Tessa wants to go back because she didn't get to play with Aliya in Aliya's room.  Maybe we'll do another food tour but go for the Fat Boy Factory instead of the Creamies.