Monday, July 26, 2010

The BIG Adventure

Well, we just got home (on Saturday) from our big summer trip. We were gone for 20 days (13 of which were just me and the kids), traveled about 2,400 miles and went to 3 different family reunions (plus some other visiting). Lots of fun, and now happy to be back home. Here's the condensed version of the trip:

Day 1: Drove to Flagstaff, got a flat tire on the trailer, but nothing too big. Took over 12 hours)
Day 2: Played at the Sorensen Family Reunion (kickball, building forts, line dancing, etc). Did a service project (clearing the property for more tent sites).

Day 3: Went to Wupatki Ruins (cool Indian dwellings)

Day 4: Left the Sorensen Reunion. Went to Mesa Temple. Sean met with a boss in Phoenix. Made it to Grandpa and Grandma Dick's and went swimming

Day 5: Swam and swam and swam
Day 6: Swam some more. Played Farkle.
Day 7: Went to church with Grandpa and Grandma Dick and took Sean to the airport (Nathan cried hysterically as he watched Sean walk away).
Day 8: Went to visit our favorite dentist (Grandpa). Caelan, Ben, Megan and I all got cleanings, and Caelan and Ben had some other little work done. Had a small car problem that was easily solved with a $.99 can of coke. Then swam.
Day 9: Last day of swimming. Played Farkle.
Day 10: Left Grandpa and Grandma Dick's at 5:30 AM. Traveled for 9ish hours to Brian Head, UT for the Grant Family Reunion. Had story time with my Grandma Grant.
Day 11: Went to Bryce Canyon and Cedar Breaks. BEAUTIFUL! Had a wonderful testimony meeting that night with the family. Stayed up until 4:15 AM chatting with Charity.

Day 12: Rode the Brian Head ski lift (had a small heart attack inside as all my kids rode too, but they loved it). Had a karaoke party that night where almost every person in the family participated. Caelan rocked her song, "Won't say I'm in Love" from Hercules.
Day 13: Left the Grant reunion. Had lunch at Chuck-O-Rama with Brittney and Porter and their girls and Charity and Coren and the Sorensen clan. Then drove up to Charity and Chad's that evening.
Day 14: Went to church with Charity and Chad (Nathan LOVED the nursery here - go figure). Had left over Cafe Rio salads from the reunion with Dan and Natalie and their family that night. YUM.
Day 15: Slowly lounged around in the morning. Took a quick trip to Walmart to get food for the last reunion. Drove up to Jordanelle Reservoir near Park City. Hung out on the lake. Took a ride on the boat.

Day 16: Played at the lake ALL day. Rode the boat. We all took a turn being pulled on the tube. The kids loved it. Moved our campsite up the hill. Had a family dinner and Family Home Evening that night.

Day 17: Played at the lake again. Rented and rode Wave Runners. Loads of fun. The kids really liked this. Wiped out only once with Kyra and Brooke. Ate fried burritos in the rain. Ate chocolate and graham crackers and marshmallows in our tent because it was too wet for a fire.
Day 18: Took down camp by 9:00 AM. Waited around with the Sorensen gang. Then headed to Jenny and Kelly's house in Layton.
Day 19: Spent the day at Jenny and Kelly's. The kids had all the fun playing in sprinklers, watching movies, dressing up, playing in the backyard and enjoying time with cousins. Ate pizza with Lani and hung out for a little while. Then started the journey home. I made it to Stateline where I got things ready to fall asleep in the van, but soon realized it was WAY too hot to sleep (even at 1:00 AM). So I drove for another half hour and then found a rest stop that was much more pleasant (going up that hill makes a huge difference). We all slept in the van until 6:45 the next morning.
Day 20: Finished the drive and got home at about noon. Lounged around for most of the day. So nice.

What a blast!

1 comment:

Jenny said...

Wow that is so much Tera! I'm super impressed with how much of the traveling you were doing solo with the kids too!