TRIP TO UTAH

Hello friends and family! I decided to surprise my mom by making an unplanned trip to Utah. Scott told me on Sunday July 6 to pick my week I wanted to go visit Utah this summer (I think he thought that I would go in Aug.) and I decided on Tues. July 8 to leave on Thurs. July 10 (Elle's Birthday!) I also decided to surprise Elle and Emma so I packed everything up on Wed. and woke up early on Thursday morning told the girls we were going on a birthday adventure (Tanner was in on the planning) and to get into the car! The girls were shocked! It was so much fun. We left at 7:00am and pulled into Little America in Cheyenne WY at 8:30pm. Thirteen hours of driving through some of the most beautiful green country (Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska, not so green was Wyoming) in the USA!! Thank goodness for Tanner...he kept me awake through all that driving by talking nonstop the entire time. Have any of you ever had the experience of listening to Tanner talk for thirteen hours straight? Well it was the best!

We arrived in Oakley Ut at 3:00pm the next day and my mom was nowhere to be found. She had been staying in Granstville in her vacation home (the 5th wheel trailer) and was refusing to leave and drive back to Oakley. Katie and my Dad were doing their best to get her out of Granstville but as you all probably know, Barbara doesn't like any one telling her what she has to do! Finally Katie told her that there was a surprise for her in Oakley and she better leave. Well my mom drove up to Oakley to find me and the kids in her kitchen and it was such a total unexpected surprise!! (She thought she was getting a big screen tv, sorry mom to disappoint).

The nineteen hours of driving was all worth it to see the look of shock on my mom's face! The kids were great on the drive and I will so totally do it again (I have to still find 6 no 7 license plates New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio, Delaware, West Virgina, and Virgina, oh and we can't forget Hawaii so says Elle) except for the surprise part. My mom told me it was great to have a surprise but she needed a little warning so she could get herself properly medicated for our next visit! (I still love you mom even when you are not medicated).

We spent a wonderful 7 days in Utah. The cousins spent time together playing cards, going swimming, riding 4 wheelers, watching movies, shopping at the outlets, eating lots of Popsicles and making s'mores! It is just the kind of summer activities that the best memories come from! The sisters (Krystine, Allison, Katie and Barbara) got to go out to lunch share time, stories, advice and love as well as guess some great secrets!! But as the time drew to an end the kids and I were looking forward to getting back to our lives in Minnesota. We all missed our dogs and very most we missed Scott! So just as exciting as it was to drive out to Utah we were all excited to drive home!

I took 263 pictures on the trip but my blog helper Tanner has left to go on High Adventure with Scott for the rest of the week. I don't know how to down load the pictures onto the computer without his assistance so for now all you get is the written word! Tune in next week and I will add some really wonderful pictures to go along with the blog!

Until the next blog....I love you all!