The Trek, round 4

So here we were, round four. This was our most recent trip, May 2013. We were headed to Provo this time to sublet from our friends Melissa and Brad Jackson (Brad is Staci's brother in law).  Logan is working at a different firm than last summer but still in SLC.  This worked out great because although Logan has a long commute (almost 3 hours a day), rent is super cheap and our apartment is furnished so we had to bring very little. This has probably been our best trip yet.  We swore off trailers and sold ours a while back.  So this time we just stuffed the Tahoe to the brim with whatever we could fit and called it good.  It was kind of like camping for three months.  We left early that morning.  We usually decide as we are driving if we will take I-70 or I-80.  I usually prefer I-80 due to that fact that I hate Kansas, however our car did blow up along I-80 so now I just dislike them both.  We took I-80 this time.  It took us four days and we made pretty good time.  By chance, we ended up staying in Liberty Missouri which was a nice surprise.  Not only did we get a great deal on a super fun hotel with a water park, but we also got to visit Liberty Jail which was amazing.  We brought along Jack's bike and got Charlotte a stroller to help get out energy on our pit stops.  That was very helpful and the kids loved it.  Well four down, and two more to go!

Ready for our drive.

We stopped for lunch and it started to rain so we took cover nearby.

Pushing Biscuit in the stroller.

The St.Louis Gateway Arch. 

The water park at our hotel in Liberty MO.

The kids love the hotels.

Liberty jail.  Such a neat experience.

Of course there was crying.  She has a scab on her chin from a fall at one of our pit stops.

Hanging our at Buffalo Bills Museum in Cody Wyoming.

Our last stop in Wyoming.  Almost there.

Made it!  We celebrated with some park time for the kids and some Cafe Rio for mom and dad.

Melissa and Brad were super nice and our new home for the summer was very welcoming.  There were even some toys for the kids.

Brad even edited their family picture to make us feel welcome.  Haha!

The Worst Trip Ever

I am preparing for our 5th cross country trip in two years. When it dawned on me, I haven't posted trip number 4.  And then it dawned on me again, I haven't even posted trip number 3, aka the Worst Trip Ever.  So here it is.  It was late in the summer of 2012.  We were headed back again to CVille.  We packed up all our junk and hit the road.  Char was older this time, now almost 6 months, so things were looking good.  We left from Salt Lake with our Ford Explorer pulling our trailer.  We made the first days drive and spent the night.  The next day we left early that morning and were making good time.  We were just outside of Laramie WY when we heard the noise.  It sounded bad right away.  We pulled over, Logan popped the hood and smoke poured out.  We waited and waited and finally called a tow truck.  Jack was thrilled to have a real tow truck tow us away.  I died a little as we unsafely installed our car seats in the back seat of the tow truck.  Luckily it was a short drive to the shop.  This is where the waiting begun.  In the whole mess, we were blessed time and time again.  The tow truck guy was super helpful and cut us a deal.  He found a good shop for us and there was even a park right next to it with a train station which entertained Jack for hours.  We did everything we could think of while we waited that day: went for walks, played in the park, read books, watched movies, took naps and browsed through local shops.  That afternoon our mechanic told us that our engine was gone.  We went through every scenario possible on what to do.  Logan had to be to CVille in three days for job interviews and we were stuck in Laramie.  We couldn't buy just any vehicle because we had to pull our trailer.  Do we try to go back to Utah?  Do we fly out?  Should Logan go to Virginia and the kids and I go back to Utah? Should we replace the engine or buy a car?  Where in the world are we getting the money for all this?  Again, I tell you we were blessed.  My dad was with us on the phone the whole time helping us out and my Uncle Hal even offered money.  We got a hotel and early the next morning Logan went car shopping (on foot of course).  Our choices were slim.  We ended up with a 2005 Chevy Tahoe.  It was an older car but still nice to us, leather seats, DVD player, etc.  We started our trip again.  The day went great.  The next day the problems started again.  The Tahoe check light would go on and the car's computer would override and we couldn't drive more than 30 mph until we pulled off, turned the car off for a minute, and then we could go again.  It happened a few times and we decided to stop at the next town and take it to a mechanic.  Again we played at a park and waited.  They said the throttle body was the problem and replaced it. We hit the road again.  The next couple of days blur together, but the same problem happened over and over.  I remember being literally about an hour outside of Charlottesville and the Tahoe did this about 10 times with in the hour.  We were stuck.  So close, yet so far.  Our kids were such troopers but the trip had worn on us all and we were tired.  I cried for the first time on our trip and we pulled over in a parking lot.  Trying to decide what to do since it was getting late and the fear of being stuck on the road overnight with our kids was upon us, we said another very sincere prayer.  We tried again and we made it the whole way without a problem!  Like I said, a terrible trip and yet we were so blessed throughout it.  We had the car looked at again and it treated us well for a year, until..... to be continued.    

Getting ready to go.

And so it began.

Jack loved this. 

Waiting and waiting in the park.

Exploring the town with Mr.Peanut.

A miracle he napped.  He has done this twice in his life. Wall-E always helps.

Browsing a pawn shop.

The trains nearby.

Finally they took her away.  Jack was sad and cried.

The fun continues

One last C'Ville post should get me caught up.  Jack attended his buddy AJ's birthday party which had a pirate theme.  His mom went all out and Jack was way into it. When it finally started to warm up we had friends over for a little pool party.  Jack grew some strawberries and tomatoes for Mommy School which he thought was pretty cool. Me, Whitney and Erin took the kids for a jog and picnic up the Monticello Trail.  And finally, we had a farewell party cook out with everyone before we went our separate ways.  We were supposed to go camping at this awesome lake but got rained out so we just did dinner and I threw together a pinata for the kids.  And early the next day, after a very late night for mom and dad, we started our journey to the west!

AJ's pirate party.  Char, Jack, Kai, and buddy.

Peek-a-boo!

Jack's plants.  He loved to check them each day to see if they were growing.

Dad caught a frog.

Swim party at our house!

Looks like I need to work on my sunscreen applying skills.

Eating Popsicles on the power wheel.  Living the dream.

All wet after playing in the rain with dad.

Char!

Drawing on the chalk wall at the downtown mall.

A little indoor fun.  Corn kernels to dig in.

Dirty boys.  This was after a RELLS softball game.  You would think they actually  played in the softball game.

Jack has started to get into baseball. His favorite game was to hit the ball into the trees and then search for it.

Hiking Monticello trail.

Our picnic.  A goose kept trying to eat our food.  Erin, Liam, Lincoln and Whitney.

Our farewell party.  The kids hitting the car pinata I made.

The rewards.

The ladies.  Left to right: Amy Guynn, Rachael Harding, me, Jenni Guynn, Vanessa Bunker, Sarah Bylund, Candace Buchanan.

More of C'Ville

Spring time in Virginia is so beautiful.  It seems like literally overnight, everything is green and blossoming.  Spring also brings with it lots of littler critters for the kids to catch (as well as ticks, how I hate ticks...).  Jack loves to chase the squirrels and one day he surprised us all (even himself) when he actual almost caught one.  I ran an errand one day and when I got back Jack and Logan had managed to catch a snake and a lizard.  Jack caught the snake himself.  I guess it was just his instinct to grab it when he saw it.  Sounds like his father's son.  

Me and two other moms started taking turns watching the boys once a week.  It was fun for them to play together and nice for the moms to have a little break.  I tried to take advantage of this time that Char and I had alone, even if it just meant a special treat at the store. 

Jack had his first trip to the dentist.  He did amazingly well.  I tried to prep him by reading some books and talking about it.  The dental workers were all so impressed at how well he did.  He was pretty proud of himself and kept talking about how brave he was, unlike the other kids who were not (his words, not mine).

Beautiful Virginia.

Jack's first attempt at taking a picture of us.  Pretty good.  This  is our backyard.

Mommy-daughter date at the store.  A cookie and a balloon.  She seems happy about it.

Sometimes you just have to hold two puppies.

Char loves looking at pictures of our family.

Glow in the dark tub time.  They love this.  My retinas do not.

Rock climbing at the playground.

That one time when Jack literally almost caught a squirrel.  I love how Charlotte is getting in on the action and informing him where the squirrel is.

Catching more creatures.  A snake.

He found it quite hilarious at this lizard biting his finger.

The dentist!  First check up and no cavities.  Maybe he isn't cursed with Pickett teeth.

Handled it like a champ.