Thursday, May 28, 2009

hello there

1900 miles driven
30 hours in the car
1 beautiful bride
8 cousins
3 dormant volcanoes
1 episode of carsickness
6 movies
1 cowboy
1 horse the same color as us
5 happy people

I have a mountain of laundry to get through and Joel has a mountain of photos to download (what are the chances he left the camera home today?). Suffice it to say that we had a glorious time. We first headed to BYU with only one episode of having to pull over so Ainsleigh could get some fresh air. Those curvy mountain passes will do that to you. When we stopped for lunch, I had to have Ainsleigh hold Gemma so I could use the restroom. After, instructing Ainsleigh how to hold her with one arm under her bum and one across her back, I stepped back and sat down. Donovan immediately erupted into body-quaking giggles as he proclaimed, "Ains-wee! You wook adoe-ble! Just wike a wittle mom!" It's a miracle he didn't fall over.

We arrived in Provo where, after a rather horrific night's sleep (read: 4 hours for me), we wandered around the campus, drank chocolate milk, and walked away with a shirts, hats and a football. We were able to visit with my glorious friend Yvette, from whom Gemma's middle name comes, before dashing madly to Boise to be in time for Joel's sister Katherine's bridal shower.

The next day was her wedding and I don't think it's a stretch to say I have never seen a more beautiful bride. Donovan was captivated. "Mom," he whispered hoarsely, "I fink Kaff-rin is duh most byoo-ti-foe-est." I had to agree. Ainsleigh got to be a flower girl with her cousin Sydney and they had a great time feeling very important.

Sunday was a giant family day for chatting and playing and catching up. And melting over our newest niece who looks like she emerged from the cabbage patch doll mold. Seriously, just hold her up at the UN and I think world peace will be achieved.

On Monday we headed to the great outdoors to Joel's dad's cabin. We stopped briefly at Craters of the Moon which looks like, well, craters of the moon. It's the weirdest thing - just sagebrush and flat land and then BOOM - black rock and dormant volcanoes. Then on past MacKay to the homestead. It's in the middle of practically nowhere, and that is no exaggeration. It takes half an hour to get to "town." I take back everything semi-negative I may have said about driving through Idaho. I could drive through there for hours (oh wait - I did). Especially where we were. There are mountains all around, but no foothills. Just flat land and then WALL of mountains.

We hiked to a waterfall, rode the 4-wheeler (that Donovan called "the motor" for some reason), fished, shot the rifle, and generally enjoyed ourselves. We visited Joel's uncle Keith who is a bona fide cowboy. He had to delay our visit a little because he had to go get some of the cattle back that had busted through a fence. All of this made me giggle. Especially to see him walking around, giant cowboy hat (that, when removed, reveals a forehead tan line), leather chaps, spurs, mustache, and a cell phone. He let us ride Suzie who would be an easy addition to this blog since she had the same color hair as us. She was one of the most beautiful horses I've ever seen. Then he showed us how he can control the horse without even using the reins - forward, back, turn around. It was amazing. Also amazing was how his dogs (five or six?) were running around starting to get a little crazy (as kids do when playing) and he just calmly said, "Git in the pick-up," before continuing his conversation and then all just ran and hopped in the back of the truck. I wish my kids would listen like that.

We drove home yesterday, taking mostly 2-lane highways. I have now decided that that's the only way to go. The interstates are awful (well, 70 is ok, but 80 is awful). These 2-lane highways take you through some of the most gorgeous landscapes. At one point, I didn't see another car for 10 minutes. By the time we got home I had had enough in the car. All things considered, the kids did really well. Really. Gemma was a total rock star. She only got upset that first day as we were closing in on Provo, and I think that was because she was hungry. Other than that, she was a champ. The other kids did pretty well with long days, late nights, and a healthy dose of mountain air. We look forward to returning.

7 comments:

Tennille said...

Last night I thought to myself, "Sarah hasn't posted in forever. Where is she?"

Glad you had a great vacation.

Alex McMurray said...

I was beginning to worry since there hadn't been a post since 5/15. That's so unlike you! Glad to know you were away and it wasn't something bad. Sounds like a nice trip!

Lisa said...

I am so happy that you had chocolate milk at BYU. That's exactly what I would do.

janine said...

glad you're back! you were in our neck of the woods....we drive through mackay to get to eric's parents ranch! just a little further.

Nataluscious said...

wahoo you're back! I have treats for you. We must get together soon. I've got all the free time in the world what with school being out and Bryan being laid off (ugh) so I am happy to work around YOUR schedule (ok, so I do still have to work, but that's flexible!)

Anonymous said...

The only question I have is is Uncle Keith married? Shelley

Hillary said...

Sarah- Joel and Terrell were telling me about your blog when we were in Boise so I had to check it out when we got home. I bawled about your post on Gemma's birth and had to look at all the links- so precious! Even though we live the farm life ourselves there is just nothing like being out in the boonies of Mackay with a REAL cowboy like Keith. I swear every kid in the world should have the experience of Keith and his horse :) Glad you made it back home...I thought our 4 hour drive was bad.