Road Trip

Oh what do you do on a road trip
to make the miles fly?
Do you count the road kill
as you're driving by
or watch the temperature change?
Is that what you do?
So do I.

As we were driving home from our latest trip, I was amazed at what could keep our interest. For hours we tracked the temperature/weather changes with elevation, and somewhere north of Tremonton, UT, there was a stretch of road labeled as a "deer migration area". It really must have been, because we passed, and found ourselves counting, many deer who had met a sad fate. Other than that, I'm sure we did the usual -- sleeping, reading, listening to music, etc.

As we began our trip, I didn't have high hopes for good attitudes during our pending 30 (trip total) hours of driving. About 30 minutes into our drive, as we entered Victorville, Kaitlyn asked, "Are we almost there?" Frank and I laughed and explained how long we'd be in the car. I was sure that was just the beginning of questions, complaints and whining. BUT, I was wrong. The kids behaved amazingly well, and were surprisingly interested in the scenery and weather, on occasion. It wasn't until we'd been in the car for well over 10 hours that Larissa started crying, and asking to go home. Kaleb began crying about the same time. Luckily, everyone fell asleep before long, and we were able to arrive in Boise, ID in peace.

We hung out with Laura's brother, Steve and his family for several days, playing games, shopping (good prices), and being entertained by their dogs. Kaitlyn was afraid of the dogs and, at first, refused to eat if they were in the house. Eventually, hunger or something else proved more compelling than fear. The kids loved going to Cabella's (the sporting goods store), and seeing the, um... "frozen" animals. Kaitlyn and Brenna got coon skin caps as their souveniers of our visit to Idaho.

scarey, eh?

On Thursday, we stopped to see Shoshone Falls, on our way to Salt Lake City. Brenna, who adamantly refused her jacket, found herself freezing (to be expected in snowy weather).


In SLC, we toured the local sites. Brenna insisted on wearing her coon skin cap. I was surprised by the number of comments we heard, and inquiries we received about where to buy one.

Of course we had to take a picture in front of the temple. How could we not? The platform built for photo ops was screaming at me "This is the place."

While Camila and I attended the Saturday afternoon session of conference, Frank and the kids visited with Ed(a friend) and his family. Camila and I were walking across the temple grounds when suddenly she says, "I know her." It was a neighbor from Brazil. I had to laugh. Camila finds people she knows or at least portugese speaking people, everywhere we go. In Idaho, she had visited with a friend from Brazil, and when we went to a Relief Society activity at my sister-in-laws church, she found a lady to speak portugese with.

Afterward, Laura met up with her friend, Stephanie, for a short visit, before the family headed for home.

Not wanting to stay at a hotel for one more night, we drove straight home. We arrived shortly after 2am. Since the kids had been asleep since early evening, they were wide awake, and enthusiastic about their surprise.

While we've been vacationing the last couple weeks, workers have been in our backyard, putting up a retaining wall, patio, and concrete path (for biking). It was all done by the time we got home and the girls were thrilled to see it. Since we've been home, the girls have spents many hours out back. I love it! I don't have to be out front watching them ride the sidewalks. I can be inside and easily see them from our kitchen or office windows.