The kids and I just got back from an incredible month-long road trip. It. Was. Epic. I've never done anything like that before, and I can honestly say it was one of the best months of my life.
All told, we covered 2,782 miles. That would be 50 hours in the car together. Plus lots of stops along the way. We drove from Phoenix to Roosevelt to Denver to Roosevelt to Twin Falls to Roosevelt to Phoenix. BOOM. And we are still alive and (for the most part) speaking to each other.
It all started with the Ragnar Race, which was covered in the previous post. Here's a look at the rest of the trip...
Mom fenangled me out to the new dinosaur quarry near Vernal. It was worth it, I must say. It's a very impressive place.
Antlers on the wall shout out.
Headed up to the quarry.
I need to frame this picture. It pretty much sums up their life together.
"Maybe if I ignore her, she'll go away," thinks Noah.
There's Noah smiley guy with the stegosaurus faux hawk.
Drum roll ...... new quarry! Breathtaking!
Wall o' dino bones. It's hard to believe, really.
Dinosaur femur, of course.
Back at home, the kiddie pool with cousin Izzy.
On to Denver to visit my in-laws for a week and celebrate Independence Day the right way. They live next door to this pool. It's super handy. Oh, and Adam flew in for the week. It was soooooooo fun!
Grandpa KC kept the squirt gun working for Noah.
Sienna is still that fearless little water baby she's always been.
Adam and I got to have a 24 hour date in downtown Denver. It was a blast.
We went to dinner at Tag in Larimer Square. I ordered duck. That's probably the last time I'll do that. The rest was good, though.
We didn't plan well and when we tried to go on a tour of the Denver Mint (a place I have fond childhood memories of), they shut us down. Booked. Dang.
It was Monday and the art museums were closed, too. We still enjoyed walking around and seeing everything anyway.
Who knew Denver had a bevy of really great architecture? I didn't.
Now I do.
We went to a Rockies game. In which they scored approximately zero runs. Still fun, though, since we were surrounded by good company (including Diane who was the picture taker).
Hanging out with cousins we never see! This is Max, he's closest in age to Noah.
I made a fruit pizza. Adam decorated it.
We ate dinners outside with the whole fam. Good times! Great to see all of Adam's family! We hadn't been all together like that in a very long time.
July 4th breakfast with the church peeps.
A family photo that says, "Hi, it's the 4th of July and we are patriotic because we are standing by this flag."
The day was spent at the lake! Ahhhhh, I love the 4th of July!!! Especially when it is spent on a lake.
Back at the ranch, some great croquet battles played out.
Noah was trying to take out his rage with the mallet.
Sienna was just happy to be playing outside. In Phoenix right now, one does not play outside unless one is fully immersed in water. Denver had THE BEST weather.
Dilly-dallying in Grandma's garden.
Little crossed legs, so cute!
A couple days after the 4th, just a few of us adults went out for a quick jaunt on the lake without the littles. Too bad I am no good at lake sports anymore. It was fun to watch Adam and Jason, though.
Adam went through some bins and even tried on his old high school letterman's jacket for me. HOT STUFF.
I relaxed (read: ignored my kids) as much as possible, sometimes even in this hammock of wonders. I did not get through this book, sadly. I thought it would be the perfect summer read since it had the word "summer" in the title, but it was a snoozer.
On the drive back from Denver, we stopped by the side of the road to throw rocks. I loved the scenery on all of my road trips that month, but going through Vail was particularly stunning.
We took a breather for a few days in Roosevelt and hit the road again, this time to Twin Falls, Idaho to see my sister. Mom volunteered her car and also her presence on this trip, so that was a bonus!
I have a couple college friends who live in Twin Falls, too, and seeing them was such a treat! This is a Becca sandwich with sister buns (is that actually funny, or is it just me? bwahahahah). She was my very first roommate in college. She is the best. Here we are the the Kimberly Days parade. They still throw candy at small town parades. I was very committed to getting some.
Owen came down from Boise! It's always fun to see The Boy.
My trooper-travelers at their first real parade. Thrilled, aren't they? At one point, Sienna sat down on the curb and said, "I don't want any more candy!" She was trying to eat it all as it came and she was getting overwhelmed. Noah was filling his (my) bag, though. Good boy, Nobers!
Heather's fam, looking good.
Look, ANOTHER tractor! Dude, I love small towns.
Heather and Mom.
After the parade, Becca and her husband, Russell, hosted us at their home for lunch. Then Russell made his own "train" ride for the kids, saving us a collective $16 since the Kimberly Days train ride was $2 per kid. He even made paper tickets and drove them around forever. Untold dollars were saved here.
Untold fun they had. They giggled their heads right off.
And then we spread them out and made them smile. From three couples came eight children. And aren't we just suh proud?
This is Heather and me stealing away to catch some scenery and shop. Can you spot the base jumper's parachute?! Heart attack, right there.
Dorky poses all around. Could my bangs start any further back on my head? I blame you, Katz of Roosevelt. Der derp.
We purchased these fun giant hair clips at Old Navy. Hair clips: not just for little girls anymore.
Another pose before church. These pants make me sing that song by La Roux, "This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof" while doing the robot. I don't know. Something very 80s happening here, and very angular. Just go with it.
Now a Relief Society approved pose.
The next day we went to Dierkes Lake. Heather turned multi-tasking mom of 5 and did all the prep while I just watched and took pictures. Laaaazzzzyyyyyyyy.
This swimming hole charmed my swim suit right off. Not quite, but almost. Doesn't it just take you right back to the 60s? It does me, or what I imagine the 60s to be. No rules, having fun, white trash, laughter, swimming with cutoffs and sneakers. People were just making do with the clothes that they had and no one was mad about it. There was one lifeguard, and the other station was lifeguard-less and nobody had a fit. There were some renegade children without guardians. Was anyone flipping a lid? NO! Fun is the only rule being kept here. This is my kind of swimming hole.
Haven was obsessed with going off the diving board way in the distance so we adults would take turns going with her. I encouraged Sienna to try it and she got to the end, walked back off and said, "I'm sorry, it's just too high." Hahah, she did end up going a bit later. Cuz she's a dare devil swimming demon.
Nobers, the little glued-to-my-side guy.
Sienna was eating one of Heather's PB&J sandwiches with the crusts cut off and she looked up at me and said, "Mom, I love this sandwich." She is so serious, it cracks me right up! Also, I get the hint, I need to cut the crusts off. (Nope, not gonna do it.)
They are cute.
Tah-dah! Fun, fun, FUN at Dierkes water hole. Yes, I love referring to it as a "hole" as much as possible.
The morning before I left, Heather and I did initiatories at the temple with our good friend, Andrea.
It was a blessed morning, and always so good to see Andrea. She was one of my dancing friends in college. Talented, this girl! And you wouldn't know it from this picture, but she's recovering from a terrible car accident. She is a light in this world!
And the drive back to Roosy! Guess what? Ogden's on the way, and in Ogden is one of my high school besties, MIM! Sooooo good to see the Mimster and her kids. We always just pick up where we left off. And we always wish there was more time to be together.
Other friends I got to see but didn't get pictures of: Katherine, Christy and Shanna! I kind of feel like I went on a friend tour this month. It's so wonderful to keep in touch with these amazing women who have shaped my life. I wish I could see them more often.
Last stop of the month was the Hullinger Family Reunion. The kids had a great time camping, I had a great time catching up with family, and being in Hanna was beautiful as always.
My mom did butter churning instead of ice cream churning this year. Here are the kids taking a crack at it.
By the river, the favorite pasttime resumes: yelling and throwing rocks.
And tubing for the bravest souls.
After the reunion, the kids and I spent a night at my brother, Mark's house in SLC. We tried out a Belgium waffle shop near his home. It was pretty yum. I just realized I don't know the difference between Belgium and Belgian. These are things I feel I should know. Maybe Google knows.
Afterward Bella and McKenna took us to feed the ducks.
My kids were very ornery at this point and I think I just gave up on documenting the rest of the trip cuz we were OVER it. We had a lovely Sunday with Mark and Wendy and Bella and McKenna, they sent us off with a delicious dinner in our bellies and happiness in our hearts.
And then the last leg of the trip can be summed up by these two words: FLUORESCENT FOOD. It gets us through some hard times.
We made it back with all pieces intact. Now every time we go in the car, Sienna asks, "Is it going to be very far away?" Not very far, Bird, not very far.
