A Whirlwind Trip To Utah

A well timed phone call from my friend Shannon got me thinking about a road trip to Utah. Sometimes we just need a break from our normal lives...and a trip to Utah seemed to be the ticket. Though, if I'd stopped to think about how exhausted I would be at the end of it, I might have thought twice about going at all!

Anyway, I packed up the boys and my mom (she's crazy...she made this trip with me and then a little over 24 hours later flew back to Utah for just shy of a week...I swear I didn't make her come, but I'm sure glad she did!) and we headed out on Wednesday, the 3rd, after Gabe got out of preschool. Will slept most of the way and Gabe gave us running dialog the whole way. I think both mom and I were wondering where the "mute" button was. He was fascinated by the "big city," anywhere along our desolate, desert drive that had lights on after dark. For those of you who have ever made the drive...Gabe decided he wanted to live in the "big city" of Baker! Nana said that would be fine, just don't expect her to ever visit.

We arrived in St. George, UT (where my Grandma Bea lives) around midnight. By that time, Gabe was out for the night. But Will, who had slept most of the way was ready to run and play! I think it was close to 2am before I was able to get him to sleep. The next morning the boys played on the red rocks behind grandma's house and we took grandma out to run some errands before continuing on our way.

Playing on Great-Grandma Bea's red rocks.

We headed up to Payson to visit with my friend Shannon and her kids (a funny side note...we ran into Shannon's parents in Barstow. CA when we stopped for dinner at the "Train" McDonald's the night before. They were also traveling to visit her.) The boys enjoyed some play time and a break from the car, while I enjoyed just hanging out with Shannon.

Dalton, Ellie, Shannon, Dalin, Gabe, Jodie, and Will

Will and Gabe under Roxy's watchful eye.

Kiera, Will and Gabe

After Shannon's, we continued on to Salt Lake City...our final destination (Thank Heavens!). We stayed with my sister Shay and her dog Roxy. During our short stay, we were able to watch Shay's volleyball team (Salt Lake Community College) play, go to the Aquarium with my friends Kellie and Karen and their kids, and hang out with my sisters and niece. I also managed to get my first ticket, courtesy of the Sandy Police Department. I could rant and rave about that for a few minutes, but I won't. Let's just say everyone thinks it's ridiculous that I got the ticket, or even pulled over.


Saturday afternoon, we headed back to St. George. We stopped off in Pleasant Grove to visit with a family I worked with in college. Their son is autistic and I worked one on one with him for a few years. He and his older sister are now both taller than me (they were 8 and 6 when we moved to CA). It was great to see them and relive some old memories.

Gabe and his (drawn on) jack-o-lantern.

The remainder of our drive to St. George was in terrible weather, heavy rain and strong winds. I was definitely glad to get to grandma's and off the road. At grandma's, Gabe drew a jack-o-lantern on the pumpkin we brought for grandma (we delivered 4 or 5 pumpkins from our garden to Utah). The boys enjoyed having grandma read to them.

Will, Great-Grandma Bea and Gabe.

The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful...well, except for the fight between Gabe and Will. They were fighting over was Gabe's name really is. I'd hear "You Wheel!" and then "I'm not Will, I'm Gabe. You're Will!" and then "I not Wheel, you Wheel!" Lucky for us (sarcasm), this went on for at least 30 minutes. It was comical at first and quickly became annoying. But, considering how tired they were I can't complain! We made is back home Sunday night, the 7th, just in time to get ready for Will's birthday.