So here I am on my day off again. We had a wonderful trip to Utah! Beginning with a 20 hour drive straight through with 2 small dogs and 2 boys, you'd think it was miserable. You'd be wrong, the boys were a dream and the drive was smooth and uneventful. I had estimated an extra 1-2 hours into our drive time to allow the boys (and dogs) to stretch their legs along the way. Trevor and Gavin can rarely spend more than 15 minutes in the car without complaining or arguing over something. But, Joey packed the truck strategically so each of the boys had his own area. They could watch movies together or play their games separately. It worked out great. Trevor spent a lot of the drive looking at the atlas and tracking our progress. (Yes, we are still kickin' it old school with a paper atlas.) Gavin quietly played his game or slept. It was so pleasant a drive we could have forgotten the boys were back there!
It was so fun to arrive long before we were expected and nearly shock the life out of my mom! Amber was on the phone and heard the whole thing. Mom opened the door and did a double take and exclaimed "OH! You're already here!" It was priceless!
We were visited by Chantelle, Jeremy, Katie and Joshie that evening. It was so good to see them all. Pretty soon, I had to excuse myself to take a shower. Even if they were too kind to mention it, I knew I smelled. (hadn't showered since the morning before) Joey and I fell into bed early that night. Despite the fact that it was a wonderful drive, we had been up for well over 24 hours, with just a cat nap to keep us going.
The next morning, we all went with Stacy and her kids to see an Independence Day parade. It was soooo cold! Can you imagine? We all had goosebumps and Ky was wearing a hoodie that Stacy found in the car for her! I have never been to a 4th of July parade like that! We had a great time, though. We met Stacy's twin sister and nephew there. We all visited until the parade started. We were pretty early to get a good spot. It was a big parade. We saw tons of firetrucks and emergency vehicles. They were all running their lights and sirens. It was very loud, but the kids loved it. Everyone was throwing candy and we had to keep a close eye on the kids so they didn't get run over. There were several impressive floats, dance teams and high school bands. There was even a dance studio that offers free dance lessons to children with disabilities. (Katie, did I tell you about that?) Some of their special dancers were in the parade. We were so glad we went!
Our days there were so full, I could write for days and still miss some of it! Here is the gist of the rest of the weekend... Back at mom's house, early lunch. Next to a barbecue at Stacy's Grandma Dixie's. Beautiful yard, right next to the river, got to see a whole flock of canada geese on the lawn, nearly got carried away by mosquitoes until we got sprayed with bug repellent, delicious second lunch! Hurry home to Mom's house, prepare for Trevor's B-day party, welcome more friends to visit, yummy pizza, Trevor loved his presents! Sunday, 4th of July: Attended our old ward, fun to see everyone, people nearly fell over when they saw how the boys had grown, several asked if we were back to stay, the boys walked home to Grandma's b/c they were tired of waiting on me. Spent the afternoon with Dad who had arrived home late the night before, indescribably good dinner made by Dad with supervision by Joey, visited some more, started packing the truck for mom to leave for cabins early the next morning, gave up packing truck b/c it got dark.
Monday July 5th: Mom left with the boys (Trevor, Gavin, Paxton and Wyatt) and Christina to head to the cabins. We sent them off and then spent the day with Allan and Stacy. Yay! Cafe' Rio for lunch! Yum! Saw a movie at the Megaplex, Knight and Day, very funny, I'd see it again.
Chantelle and Jeremy came to visit Joey and I for the evening. We all went shopping up and down Riverdale Road, dinner at Chili's. Yum again! We got to see their home and picked a movie to take back to my parents to watch. Very enjoyable day.
Tuesday July 6th: Stacy took me to the LDS distribution center, then to visit Crestwood, my old boss gave me a hug! Everyone was excited to see me, I answered lots of questions and then went to lunch with Anna, one of my friends/co-workers. Deli sandwiches from one of our old haunts- super good! Stacy, Ky and I went on to Deseret Book and Great Harvest. Joey and I attended the 1st birthday of the daughter of one of my other co-workers from Crestwood, Shannon. The barbecue was more for their friends and families. A thank you for all the support before and after the adoption. It was wonderful to be there for such a joyous event. Got to see Anna again and her sister, Laura. They were regulars at pizza night, sure miss them! Hurried off without eating so we could take my dad to dinner. He had been gone again since Monday morning. Yummy dinner at Olive Garden. Then home to pack, leaving for the cabin tomorrow. Chantelle and Jeremy stopped by for one last visit. We played Sequence (I lost) and stayed up too late!
Wednesday July 7th: Katie, Josh, Stacy, Kysa, Joey, the dogs and I leave for the cabins. 6 hours later, we arrive to play games, hike, catch frogs/snakes, and enjoy each other's company.
Thursday July 8th: We all got up early. Clocks are banished at the cabin, it's hard to feel tired when you have no idea how much sleep you have or haven't had! The little kids, Grandma, Katie and Stacy went on a easy hike. Joey and I took Christina, Trevor, Gavin, Paxton and Asher on the water hike. This entails trekking down the stream that leads from the upper lake to the lower lake. It is steep and rocky and the easiest way to pass is often in the water. Thus, it is called "the water hike". We had a marvelous time. The scenery is unsurpassed and the kids had a blast! Imagine being told- "I don't care, just get in the water fully clothed" when you were a kid. It is like a license to be bad! We hiked all the way down and around the lower lake. Saw tons of wildlife, including a young fawn that Asher startled out of the brush. Asher was bounding through the grass like an antelope! He thinks he's a real wilderness dog. The kids caught (and released) snakes and frogs all along the way. I took lots of pictures with my mom's camera. With some luck, she'll send them to me and I'll post them later. It was something magical to do that hike with all my kids and Joey. We couldn't have done it a year ago. Joey has lost so much weight and I am stronger too for all the dog food, gravel, kitty litter, you name it that I sling around. I know we'll look forward to doing the water hike again, hopefully many times, in the future! We hiked back to the cabin exhausted, but elated, to spend the day with everyone. We made hobo dinners on the grill and ate too much. We played games and laughed until well after dark.
Friday July 9th: We spent the morning gathering our junk and organizing to leave. Mom went down the mountain to do laundry and some last minute shopping before we left. When she got back, we sang a quick "Happy Birthday" to Stacy and shared some cake. Then it was off we go- back to Oklahoma. The drive was longer from the cabin, than it is from Ogden. It wasn't too bad, except for the blowout we had at 80mph a few hours into the drive. Considering all the things that could have gone wrong, we figured this was fairly minor. 2 hours behind schedule, we got back on the road. We arrived at our front door 24 hours after we left the cabin. With just enough energy to carry in our toothbrushes, we brushed our teeth and collapsed.
Thanks for sticking with me through all that. I know it's a lot to read, but I didn't want to forget it. Joey will be striking out across the country again the first week of August to retrieve our boys. Hopefully, the next trip will be as good as the first!
