Tales of the Travels, 5

My sister, Emily was kind enough to drive the 30 hours home with me and the girls, since King was already home.  She drove most of the way, as I was pretty miserable and over vacation by then.  What a trooper she was!  We made stops in Colorado Springs to stay with our friends, Connie and Dave, and then in Kansas City, Missouri to see my aunt and uncle and to see some church sites.

Colorado Springs was beautiful, as was the drive through Southern Utah and Colorado, however, we were caught in weekend traffic and it took us about two hours to go 30 or so miles.  Ugh!  Not what you want at the end of a long day of traveling.  The girls were great, though.  They had two DVD players, (thanks for the loner, Dad!) and kept busy watching movies most of the time.  We did listen to Sarah, Plain and Tall, but the other CD books we got from the library had scratches in them.  Bummer.

Kansas was a little less beautiful than Colorado.  All through Kansas, we saw these fields and fields full of wind farms.  Emily was amazed.  I'd seen them before, but they were cool.  The girls took a look and went back to their movies, which was fine, because they weren't fighting, so we weren't complaining.

It was fun to see my Aunt Donna and Uncle Terrell the next night.  They have been serving a mission in the Kansas City area, taking care of the church buildings.  We stayed in nearby Independence in a horrible hotel King found for us on the internet.  As we were leaving, we ran into a boy about the girls' age in the lobby.  He lived there and his dad worked all day and left him there.  We decided to be very grateful we only had one night there, and then we could go home to our cozy beds.  Phew.


After our lousy hotel night, we stopped at the Historical Site, Liberty Jail.  There is an amazing Spirit there.  It really does give you a perspective on bearing your afflictions in patience. (D&C 24:8)  It sort of made our stay in a gross hotel seem like a picnic in the park.  (We forgot our camera, of course.) 

After Liberty Jail, we went to the temple of the Community of Christ.  We had a very nice older woman (84!) give us a tour.  The kids loved the seashell shape of the spire and standing "inside the shell" in the sanctuary.

 outside with Auntie Em

 

inside the shell

And then we were on our way home.  We got home late, but it was so nice to sleep in our own beds.  Emily stayed for a few days to play.  They were some of the hottest, most humid days of the summer.  Emily hated the humidity.  I can't say I like it, but at least I'm used to it, and it was nice to not feel like my skin was scaling off like It does in the desert.

And that, my friends, is a comprehensive look at what made up most of our summer. 

The end. 

Tales of the Travels, 4

We left hot Las Vegas, and went to just as hot St. George.  (I'm trying to figure out why we do this in July instead of December.)  I think we did a little shopping once we got there, but I mostly slept the first few days.  I was done.  Except for the hours when my brother and his girlfriend came down to announce they were getting married.  And then he beat me with a rubber mallet.  Which is a long story, but has something to do with cysts, Bibles, and good aim.  You had to be there. 

The girls went to a movie with Grandma and Grandpa.  And we went to Cafe Rio and Olive Garden.  Mostly Cafe Rio.  I still dream about those pork burritos.  YUM.  We bought a new car.  The girls test drove new cars for Grandma with Grandpa.  They liked the Mustang Convertible best.  (It was a no-go.)  We hung out and played games, Wii and otherwise.  We ate lots of  ice cream and frozen custard.  The girls went swimming and shopping with Grandma lots.  I slept.  Lots.  It was good for me after a couple of too-busy weeks, and the girls loved it.  King just kind of goes with the flow. :)  (Yes, I realize I'm married to the best guy ever.  Be jealous.)

King had to leave a few days before we did, to get back to work and church duties.  My dad took him down to fly out, so that night, we celebrated and partied!!!

Because it was my nephew, E's, 5th birthday, of course.  We would never be happy Daddy left!  E wanted an alarm clock and a watch.  Cute boy.

 trying to figure out how to set the time

with mommy (isn't my sister a cutie?)

Later, some friends of ours from college days came to stay for a couple of nights.  Ang was my roommate and engaged to King's roommate, and they set King and I up on our first date.  The rest is history.  Ang brought her two girls and one boy with her and we had a great time.  We also got together with our other roommate, Jen, who also happens to be my best friend from Junior High.  So much fun.  Hard to believe we're old enough to have this many good lookin' kids.  :)

10 of our combined 11 kids

Ang, Me, Jen

While Ang was visiting, we went swimming more, went to the St. George Temple Visitor's Center, and went to see Tarzan at the Tuacahn outdoor theater.  Love that place. 

swimming (bet you never woulda guessed that one)

 

at the temple

 

Tuacahn, waiting for the show to start

the stage

 

 this is a bad picture, but the girls really wanted a picture with the monkey

Tarzan

As a side note, the van we traded in to the dealership, so we could buy our new car, was "donated" for a short time to the Tuacahn Theatre so that they could have transportation.  The girls were thrilled when Grandpa called just after we arrived home to say he saw Tarzan and his gorilla friends get out of our van.  Tarzan was driving, of course.  :)

And that's gonna do it for our St. George time.  Only one more short travel post to go, and we'll be back to our regular, not consistent posting schedule. 

Tales of the Travels, 3

From northern Utah, we headed a tiny bit south to Draper, where my friend M and her family live.  We spent a fun day with them and King, M, her two girls, Cinderella and I were able to spend a beautiful, relaxing morning in the Draper Temple.  It was so nice.  The other kids spent the morning at a Primary activity, so it worked out perfectly.  Our girls always have a great time with their three girls and boy, and M was so nice to let me sleep the afternoon away--I was completely worn out.  After some night games, and some delicious sourdough waffles, we were on our way further south...

...to Las Vegas.  I almost had King drop me off at my parent's house because I was pretty miserable after a day at the amusement park. Go figure.  But, I hate to be a party-pooper, and wanted to see King's family, so I went.  Now, I won't say I regret going, because it was a nice time, but I was miserable 80% of the time.  Never again will I eat in a buffet at a casino with a major headache.  Blech.  Enough about that, let's dwell on the positive...at least what I can recall.  Remember, I was miserable 80% of the time, the other 20% of the time I was completely drugged to get myself into a semi-normal, out-of-bed state, so...you've been warned. :) 

We had a nice room that my mother-in-law got on a great deal.  Not on the strip, but so close.  When we were checking out the Venetian for dinner and the cool little shops on the canal, we saw that The Wheel of Fortune was going to be taped there the next day.  We thought that sounded fun and different, so got some tickets.  We got to the taping and realized our tickets were not real tickets, but "stand-by" tickets...and we were at the end of the line of 200 or so people.  Darn!  However, as luck would have it, we got in at the last second, and they escorted us to the second row!!

This is what I think:  Vanna White is tiny. So is Pat Sajak. They look much younger than they are, even from 25 feet away (yes, I was that close).  They are professionals and move things along rather quickly.  I got tired of clapping, smiling, and cheering.  It was so fun!  Look for us on February 7th and 8th of 2011, when the shows air.  We are on the second row.  We took some illegal pictures for evidence, in case they leave our sweaty, hot, exhausted faces off of the actual show. ;)  Proof:

We also ate lots of food, saw a movie, and the kids went bowling and swimming a couple of times (I think, see previous warning.)  We managed not to melt in the hot Las Vegas sun.  (That was hard.)

And we visited the four-story M&M store and let the girls pick out a souvenir (harder still--do you know how much stuff can be found in four stories?  Have you met Sleeping Beauty?  Yikes.  Talk about a nightmare for an indecisive person, (or her mom at least).)

We had a great time, and were so glad King's family was able to meet us there.  It was fun, also, to spend some time with our soon-to-be Aunt R and get to know her better.  Would you believe I took NO pictures of all us together.  (See previous warning.)  Darn.  Maybe mom will email me some. :(  

(More pictures from Mom--yay!)

And then...we were off again.  We sure loved being in our car... :/

I'm Baaaack

And feel like my life is on fast-forward.  Can it really be almost September?  September!  I haven't even finished documenting our vacation, and then I went on another vacation.  Yikes. 

I had a great time at my brother's wedding.  I am so happy for him.  They are a cute couple--perfect for each other.  I loved spending late nights with my sisters, laughing about a bazillion things. :)  My body payed for it, but it was worth every minute.  I also learned so much at Education Week.  Some I hope to share with you, mostly so that I don't forget the things I learned.  Repetition is the key, they say.

So, I have so many things swirling in my head.  Most of them unimportant, but we'll carry on anyway.  Get yourself ready for more posts than you'll ever want to see from me again.  (Or, get ready to click the little "mark all as read" button on your google reader. :)
  And when I say get ready, I don't mean sit up waiting for ten posts tonight, I mean I'll actually be posting a few posts in the next few days, which hasn't happened in a great, long while.)  Yee-haw. 

School Starts

So, all the kids are in middle school.  Middle school!!!  I don't know how that happened, I am certainly not old enough for this.  They all had a good first day.  I signed fifteen papers after school, letting the teachers know I understood that the girls are expected to do their work and act like human beings.  Of all things.  (Seriously, didn't I realize that when I sent them to school in the first place?!)

Anyway, since they are all settled(?!) in school, I figure I can just skip town for a week or so.  So, I'm off to my brother's wedding tomorrow morning.  I'm thrilled for him and can't wait to see all of my family again.  Also, I plan on coming home super-duper educated after Education Week, so that ought to help the girls out with their schooling a bit, right? 

And now, I leave you with a picture or two.  Have a good week!

First Day of School 2010-2011

Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, 6th grade; Cinderella, 8th grade

Aren't they so grown up?  Yikes.  Here they are just one year ago:

Tales of the Travels, 2

On Sunday, the 11th of July, we headed north to go to church with the B's and then on to Denise and Dave's.  They were so kind to us!  Monday we spent the day at nearby Lagoon, and it was great to stay in their comfortable new home.  They even let us pack a picnic lunch for Lagoon, and then also made us dinner.  They are a short five or so minutes from Lagoon, so heading to their house for dinner was a great break from the hot sun, and so much more delicious than amusement park food.  We only wish we had had more time to visit with them.
Lagoon was a fun day.  Hot, tiring, but fun.  I am pretty sure I had way too much caffeine and pain killers to actually be accountable for what I recall ;), but I do know that the girls had an excellent time.  Cinderella went on every ride I did, including this Wicked one:

We all got wet on the Rattlesnake Rapids, but Sleeping Beauty was soaked!

 

It was a great day, and the only one just the five of us spent together NOT driving more than five hours in a car.  Lots of fun memories!

Tales of the Travels, 1

We took four days to drive to Utah, stopping in Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming to spend time with friends.  Highlights were playing games with friends, yummy food, and talking for way too long into the night.  The girls even got up at 5 a.m., after only four hours of sleep, to help the M kids with their paper route.  Unfortunately, I didn't even pull out the camera at any of our stops.  So, we have no pictures of the darling Pearce boys or the Abbot's.  Luckily, the girls snapped a couple of pictures at the M's house.  These kids were like our cousins, living next door to us for the five years King attended graduate school.  We miss them!

After four days in the car, we were ready to settle in, and do some laundry.  Thanks to Aunt Diane and Uncle Larry, we were able to do both.  They are so nice to let us stay and run in and out doing many things.  My brother hosted the family for a bbq that night, and we loved seeing the family and hanging out.  Except for the part when Aunt J broke her toe.  That was sad.   

One thing we had to do was head to BYU to pick up some t-shirts, see some art, and get some chocolate covered cinnamon bears.  No pictures, but the girls look mighty cute in their shirts. 

We had a nice reunion at the park with my mom's side of the family.  Didn't get the camera out then, either, but my Uncle David sent this one of us saying goodbye to our cute cousin L.  She is just one and had our girls smitten from the moment they set eyes on her. 

Then, we said goodbye to Diane and Larry, and headed north to enjoy the incredible hospitality of Aunt Denise and Uncle David.  More on that later...

We cannot thank our family and friends enough for letting us stay with them.  We always have such a great time.  We could never repay you.  But, we'll try, if you come visit us!! :)