Vacation Part I: Utah
I guess I have to back up just a little.
Thursday was the day camp portion of 11 year old scout camp. Peter was already twelve, but since John had been asked to help as scout staff this year, Peter attended with him. I dropped them both off at the church that morning, and after a day of fun, I returned to pick up Peter that evening. John stayed and went up to camp that that night at pickle gulch campground.
Friday morning, I dropped Peter off at the church again, and then he drove up with the scouts to camp. When Steven got off work Friday evening, he didn't come home, but rather went straight to the camp to join the boys for dinner and the campfire activity and to stay the night.
Saturday morning, Steven returned home with John and Peter, we finished loading the car (we'd loaded most of the things Thursday evening, and I had everything else pretty much ready to go), and then we finally began our family vacation.
Driving with four teenagers isn't anything like driving with toddlers and babies. We drove for a few hours in near silence that morning before any of them really woke up. Over the course of the next ten days, we traveled about 2000 miles. We watched a few movies. We listened to an audio book. We listened to music. We enjoyed times of silence as each read books or did quiet activities. We stopped occasionally for gas, and on long journeys we stopped for about an hour lunch break. And for the most part, that was it. No stopping every hour or two for potty runs. No tantrums. No screaming babies. I enjoy travelling so much better now than I used to!
We stopped at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere, near the Colorado/Utah state border for lunch. It was probably over 100 degrees there, and not much shade. We walked around a bit, ate a bit, and then climbed gratefully back into the air conditioned car for the next leg of our journey.
We arrived at my parents home in Orem that afternoon, and were able to see both my parents, as well as my sister Amber and her family and my brother Tayson, who recently returned to the States from Taiwan with his son Jadon. Later on, another sister April arrived from her home in Wyoming with her family.
That evening we walked to a nearby park to stretch our legs and enjoy each others company.
On Sunday, we attended church with my parents. It was their ward conference so we got to hear from their bishop and stake president.
After church, we were joined by those of my siblings who live in Utah: Lindy, Lia, and Heidi, with members of their families for dinner. So I got to see my parents and six of my ten siblings while we were there! It was very fun to see them all again. I wish I had pulled out my camera while we were there, but I was enjoying their company so much that it didn't even occur to me to take out my camera and take pictures! 😞
Monday morning we packed up our stuff, enjoyed breakfast with my mom, and headed off for the next leg of our trip. We stopped in Saint George, Utah for lunch and a short rest. It was nice to stretch our legs and walk around the beautiful temple after our picnic on the lawn outside the fence to the grounds.
Thursday was the day camp portion of 11 year old scout camp. Peter was already twelve, but since John had been asked to help as scout staff this year, Peter attended with him. I dropped them both off at the church that morning, and after a day of fun, I returned to pick up Peter that evening. John stayed and went up to camp that that night at pickle gulch campground.
Friday morning, I dropped Peter off at the church again, and then he drove up with the scouts to camp. When Steven got off work Friday evening, he didn't come home, but rather went straight to the camp to join the boys for dinner and the campfire activity and to stay the night.
Saturday morning, Steven returned home with John and Peter, we finished loading the car (we'd loaded most of the things Thursday evening, and I had everything else pretty much ready to go), and then we finally began our family vacation.
Driving with four teenagers isn't anything like driving with toddlers and babies. We drove for a few hours in near silence that morning before any of them really woke up. Over the course of the next ten days, we traveled about 2000 miles. We watched a few movies. We listened to an audio book. We listened to music. We enjoyed times of silence as each read books or did quiet activities. We stopped occasionally for gas, and on long journeys we stopped for about an hour lunch break. And for the most part, that was it. No stopping every hour or two for potty runs. No tantrums. No screaming babies. I enjoy travelling so much better now than I used to!
We stopped at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere, near the Colorado/Utah state border for lunch. It was probably over 100 degrees there, and not much shade. We walked around a bit, ate a bit, and then climbed gratefully back into the air conditioned car for the next leg of our journey.
We arrived at my parents home in Orem that afternoon, and were able to see both my parents, as well as my sister Amber and her family and my brother Tayson, who recently returned to the States from Taiwan with his son Jadon. Later on, another sister April arrived from her home in Wyoming with her family.
That evening we walked to a nearby park to stretch our legs and enjoy each others company.
On Sunday, we attended church with my parents. It was their ward conference so we got to hear from their bishop and stake president.
After church, we were joined by those of my siblings who live in Utah: Lindy, Lia, and Heidi, with members of their families for dinner. So I got to see my parents and six of my ten siblings while we were there! It was very fun to see them all again. I wish I had pulled out my camera while we were there, but I was enjoying their company so much that it didn't even occur to me to take out my camera and take pictures! 😞
Monday morning we packed up our stuff, enjoyed breakfast with my mom, and headed off for the next leg of our trip. We stopped in Saint George, Utah for lunch and a short rest. It was nice to stretch our legs and walk around the beautiful temple after our picnic on the lawn outside the fence to the grounds.
Then we continued on our way to California.... (to be continued)
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