utah trip.

So this trip was kind of a big deal. Boss wasn't able to come along, which meant I was to be on my own for the traveling part. But a few days before we left, I learned that some of my favorite people from church were headed to Utah to drop their missionary off at the MTC. They were going to leave the same day as me, so we decided to caravan. It was awesome. I got to have a co-pilot for most of the drive, which made it so much more pleasant than I thought it was going to be. And having helpers at the rest stop was nice, too.

More reasons why it was a big deal: I got to go to the Salt Lake Temple with my mom and mother-in-law.
That was amazing.

We were able to get a bunch of family together to go and visit my grandma who has been recovering from a bad fall that occurred around Christmas. We weren't able to get everyone, but all of my siblings and almost all of my nieces and nephews were there, plus some of my moms siblings and a couple of my cousins. It was wild and wonderful.

S and S are two months apart, and I'm pretty sure my little guy is as tall as his older cousin, but I can't be sure, because he's slouching.
My dad is silly and my sisters are awesome. It was so nice to be with everyone!
Baby S got to meet Grandma Great. That was a really happy moment for me. Look how cute they were together!

We spent a lot of time at my sister's house. My parents were staying with her, so it was just the gathering place for everyone while we were there. And the weather was incredible, so we hung out on the porch while the older kiddos ran around the yard.

This boy is such a dream-boat.
This girlie cracked me up. She shared some fantastic faces with me, once I got her warmed up to me.
Hanging out, getting some fresh air on those cute little piggies.
The big kids thought it would be fun to throw dirt at each other.
Blondie was such a mess, so I washed his hair in my sister's bathroom sink.


The night before we left my Tia and cousin came by the hotel for a late night visit. Everyone was asleep, but we woke Mr. S up, since they hadn't yet met him.

We decided to leave a little later on Friday morning, which gave my mother-in-law a chance to stop by and see the babes before work. And one of my sisters brought her kids to have breakfast at the hotel with us. It was kind of a bust, since my niece was feeling sick, but it was still great to spend a little bit of extra time with them before heading home.

It was a rainy morning. The children watched some geese out in the rainy parking lot.

I was on my own for the drive home. It was a bit treacherous at first, because it was so rainy, but it cleared up about an hour into the drive and was smooth sailing, weather wise, from there. C was complaining that his tummy hurt, and thought he might puke. So we pulled in to a rest stop, but we didn't stay long, because I wanted to be on the road. I was ready to be home!

We stopped in Grand Junction for lunch and gas. After a few pictures we were on our way again.

The drive went smoothly, and I was surprised with how well I handled being on my own, on the road, with my four little ones. But what else was I going to do? I had to manage, so I did. And, because I'm a bit of a lead foot, we made it to Denver from Grand Junction in 3 hours, 20 minutes (it's a 3 hour, 50 minute drive), bringing the total drive time to exactly 9 hours. I'm awesome.