Road Trip Extravaganza

  We did our taxes, we planned out a tight budget, we decided to go for it!
Our family went on a little mega road trip recently.  First off was a little drive out to Fairmont, BC to spend a week with my Parents.  We had a great time.  We snowboarded, we swam, we ate, we shopped, we visited.  Aiden overloaded on videos... how else to you entertain/ keep a 3 year old from running around the ski lodge while we all going skiing??  Kidding, someone always had to stay in the lodge and hang out with Aiden and Emmy.

 Unfortunately, we forgot to take many pictures.

We arrived in Fairmont on Friday and the following Thursday we started the second half of our holiday. Destination: Gilbert, AZ Thursday, we drove to Idaho Falls.  Friday we drove to Salt Lake Area and that night we attended Matt's Mission Reunion.  10 Years since Matt's Mission President and his Wife were called to their mission.  Matt is so lucky to have been able to see them fairly often since his Mission to California and I am lucky to also have met them several times as they live in Sherwood Park, AB.  So when we lived in Edmonton we would see them and always got together for American Thanksgiving.  We had a great time, and then we stayed at Jamie and Jon Jensen's house.  Now Jamie and her family came and lived in the Crowsnest Pass for one year when I was in Grade 10.  Jamie is my age, so this was very thrilling to someone who grew up in a town with no other girls my age that went to my church.  We had a lot of fun together.  But... we hadn't seen each other since and talked maybe 5 times in total since.  However, I've never forgotten her and know this trip was the perfect opportunity to catch up.  We didn't have any way of warning them exactly when we would arrive so we just showed up on their doorstop Friday night!!!  Thanks Jamie and Jon for letting us crash with you!!!!

Saturday was the drive from Orem, Utah all the way to Gilbert.  Git 'er done!  Google maps says 11 hours of driving, we go a little faster than that.  I think it was more like 10 hours of driving.  Lots of stops with a 5 month old baby though.  We made it!

Pit stop

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So happy to have arrived

The house was beautiful.  Matt's family has a time share delio-like thing (love my vocabulary?)  They share this house with a few other families so they go about twice a year.  5 Bedrooms, pool out back, it's fabulous.  But kinda sad when you realize that we could almost buy that place with what our little townhouse here in Calgary costs.... why do we live here???  Oh ya, Matt's job :)
We went shopping, we went to a baseball game, we swam, Aiden ran around naked, Matt went golfing, we ate at this super awesome place called Organ Stop Pizza.  Seriously, check it out.   And we also went to the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant.  (We thought it was a must see and was one of the reasons we really wanted to go to Arizona, but I have to say, it wasn't really as good as we expected.  Maybe our expectations were too high??)  And... I got mastitis.  This put a serious damper on my trip and time in Arizona, but what can you do? I survived, anyway.  Now we will just have to go again.

Playing in the pool, Aiden developed a fondness for nudity while we were there

At the Mesa Temple

At the Baseball game

Just a walk with Emmy

We left Arizona Thursday and had planned to visit the Grand Canyon and some other places along the way that we have seen on our drive down the saturday before.  We visited Montezuma's Castle, moqui cave, and then hit Grand Canyon.  Unfortunately, at this point I was feeling about at my worst, and to compound the problem, we didn't realize it was so cold at the Grand Canyon.  Add that to my chills, Matt gave me his jacket and I stole a blanket from Emmy and I was still chattering away and not having a any fun at all.  I hid out in a family washroom for a little bit with the kids while Matt checked things out.  Not quite how I imagined things would go :)  We didn't see much but we saw the canyon... it is big.  We stayed the night in Page.  I wanted to stay in bed and not move, and not drive the 20 hours that we still have to drive to make it home.  But we got up Friday and after trying to drink my hot chocolate without spilling it because of my uncontrollable shaking in my hands, (I'm sure you love my sob story, I apologize) we headed for Orem.  Luckily, I started to feel better and by the time we made it to Orem, to stay with our nice friends Jon and Jamie Jensen again, I was feeling ok.  Jamie helped us get a very nice hotel for a great deal.  We ate at Zupa's (delicious! can't wait to go again) and we played Killer Bunnies with them (crazy funny game).

Can't tell, but I felt like death here

Aiden be silly in the car

The cutest little girl, you'd think she wouldn't be so happy to be getting in her carseat again.

At Montezumi's Castle, Natives lived in there.

 Saturday, we pushed it and drove all the way to Welling, arriving around midnight, so that we could go to church in a familiar place and then only have 2 hours to drive home on Sunday.  Thank you to Byron and Sheila for a delicious Easter dinner and an easter candy hunt.  Matt's like a little boy when it comes to scavenger hunts.  It made his day!

Home Sweet Home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Aiden was asleep when we got home and usually one of us carries him up to bed and he doesn't bother to wake up while we undress him and put on his PJ's, but as we put him on his bed he woke up enough to put a big smile on his face when he realized he was in his own bed.  Too cute.


That was our trip, we really do enjoy road trips!  I had talked to Matt about starting to put money aside now for a 10 year anniversary vacation for us (only 5 years away!) and Matt came up with this great idea of buying a motorhome with the money.  Maybe it would look something like this...

Why do Matt and I have this problem acting like we are in our 60's when we are in our 20's??