Road Warriors 2: The Way to Utah

Normally, I have a very high stress threshold.  The week leading up to the start of our trip, however, pushed me over the top.  Largely that was a result of having our Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet the night before we were scheduled to leave (I am Cubmaster of our Pack).  Every time I wanted to prepare for our vacation, I was stymied by more immediate banquet needs and projects.  I wasn't able to fully turn my attention to vacation preparation until about 9:30pm the night before we left.  Yikes!  

Thankfully, I have great friends who stepped in and provided "small" services (like driving carpool for me) that made all the difference in my ability to pull it all together. 

We left around 3 pm, after we finished our regular Thursday co-ops and activities.  All day I kept reading reports about how one major road after another was being closed due to mud slides.  Our road across the mountains was, surprisingly, one of the few unaffected routes.  We made it safely to Royal City in just over two hours.  Nellie screamed most of the way.  We had packed a small bag of toys for her, and after only an hour, she was done with them all. The kids and I agreed that it did not bode well for how the rest of the trip would go.

Though we don't visit the Franks nearly enough as we'd like, the kids always pick up right where they left off.  Aubree and Jaylen disappeared together, occasionally re-emerging to tell us a story or have some food.  My boys loaded themselves up with an arsenal of various playroom weapons.  There was laughing and rough-housing and Studio-C clips and an excellent dinner.  There was not an early bedtime.  Everyone was way too excited to settle down easily.

I did get a little bit of time to talk to Ashlee.  I always treasure our conversations.  It's usually the little things she says that stay with me long after we've left.  For example, this time when we visited, Tyler was in Haiti helping out at an orphanage.  He goes regularly.
"Oh," I sympathized, "It's got to be so hard having him gone for long stretches."
"It is," Ashlee agreed, "But we pray every day for strength, and Heavenly Father provides it."  She turned to Maggie, who broke into a big grin and nodded her assent.
Their family's faith and reliance on the Lord is almost palpable.
As a extra bonus, Andrea (Ashlee's sister) also came over after the kids went to bed and we were able to start the catching-up process.  I love these women!

The following morning, Ashlee had to get her kids off to school early.  We tried to follow their lead and get packed up and out the door relatively early.  "Early" for us is about 9 am.  (Did I mention yet that Mark stayed home to work for the first half of our trip?  He joined us in Arizona at the mid-point.)  My boys did not do a good job listening and obeying while we were trying to get out that morning, so they lost all treats for the travel day (an extra bummer for them because I packed a lot of travel treats!).

Once on the road, we set our sights on our next stop, Boise, Idaho.  We weren't in a super hurry, so we stopped every few hours to run around at various rest stops.  We even found some snow!  We expected Nellie to be a nightmare, but apparently she decided to cooperate, and was remarkably calm in the car the rest of our trip. 

I was hoping to find a fast food restaurant with a play place for lunch, but didn't have luck in that regards.  By the end of our trip, everyone was sick of fast food, but on this day, it was still exciting.

We arrived at our friends, the Hawkins' home in the early evening.  It's been 3+ years since we last stopped to see them, so the kids basically had to start their relationships from scratch.  Surprisingly, they all adapted very quickly.  Anna's six kids are spectacularly independent and capable.  They swept my kids along in the tide of their fun and activity.  

While the boys were out exploring and playing, Anna's two little girls decided Aubree was the big sister they always wanted.  They insisted on being right by her side the entire evening.  Aubree didn't mind the attention.  She braided their hair and played with them. 
When it was time for bed, our family set up sleeping bags in the main room.  Madeline and Mikaela begged to be able to camp out next to Aubree.  So cute!  The girls managed to get a decent nights rest.  The boys, Nellie, and I... not so much.

Bryce, Thane, and Graham started out on the ground, but soon the two cats decided that their faces made excellent sleeping spots.  The boys moved up to the couch by me.  That worked for a while, but soon the cats figured out where their new, warm sleeping spots had relocated.  Bryce (who insists he loves animals and wants to work at a pet store when he grows up) flipped out.  "The cat's on me!" he repeated loudly!

"Then push it off!" I hissed, trying not to wake up a sleeping Nellie in my arms.

"I caaaaaaannnnnn't!" he yelled.

By 5 am, we were all awake (with the exception of Aubree).  I texted Mark, "If I ever say, 'we should get a cat,' you have my permission to kick me in the face!" We are not a good pet family!

Regardless, we really enjoyed our time with the Hawkins'.  They opened their home and hearts to us, and it was such a joy to see the kids connect.

Another day, another destination.  This time we headed south to Midvale, Utah to visit Colleen and her family.  We made good time and were at Colleen's by 1pm.  This allowed the kids lots of time to play with their cousins. 

Aubree and Elizabeth (two peas in a pod), made themselves a "library" fort.  They even convinced us to let them sleep in their make-shift library.

The highlight for my kids was getting to play outside.  It's been a long, wet winter in Seattle.  We haven't had much playground time.  Though it was chilly, they spent hours playing in Colleen's backyard. Katie and her family arrived shortly after we did, which provided even more cousin fun!

Graham decided he was the dedicated gate watcher.  He made sure no one went out who wasn't supposed to, which was a very nice idea, except that the other side of the fence was taken down, leaving another huge area for "escape."

Nellie LOVED being outside.  She thought everything was so much fun. 

When we finally came back in, she kept walking over to the door and asking, "Out? Out?"

After a big, happy family dinner, we put our kids to bed, and Colleen, Andrew, and I were able to play some games.  Along with the games, we had a great conversation.  I always come away with new perspectives and insights when we chat.  It's wonderful.

The next morning we were able to take our time getting ready for 1pm church.  Nellie and Edmund copied the big kids and practiced their piano skills.

We had lunch together, then they went to their ward, and we took a short drive ("It's just an hour today?!) down to Springville to go to church with Kira's family.