Moab Memories (June 2012)

Hot, hot, hot! We're talking over 100* each day.

  

KOA Kampsite was nice, but not very shady - and very sandy, especially when the wind picked up like it did the first night and didn't stop until we left. We also learned that a rain fly is not to just keep out the rain. It can keep out blowing sand too. We found that out a day late.

Sand Dune Arch was so fun and a great hike for most of us (Isaac's legs were just a tad too little to get through all the sand.)

Landscape Arch was pretty cool too, but not in the heat of the day and with wind and sand exfoliating your bare skin every few minutes or so. It was nice to have our friend Nillie Tillie around to encourage us along the trail.

 Swimming in the campground pool is the best way to spend a very hot afternoon.

Wally's dreams came true when he got to bike the whole Slickrock Trail. It only took him 3 hours and most of his energy for the rest of the day. He also ate anything he could get his hands on, including some good old Moab shake'n'bake (thanks to the wind).

Aunt Kenna is awesome! She made so many fun things happen for us! 

She truly is the camping queen.

Rowing down the Colorado River was great, until we were rowing against the wind where we went absolutely no where. 

Brandon and Caleb loved the river. Kelsie and Isaac did not.

Ronni walked 2 miles up the road in intense heat to get the car after we docked a couple miles early in our river fun. She did have an offer for a ride, but declined since it was only 100 more yards to the car.

The Moab Diner has awesome ice cream. Especially when we were all tuckered out from rowing and being in the sun. It was the best thing to do after the river.

We made glow stick pictures and told ghost stories around the "campfire", which was a simple lantern.

The Moab Rock Shop was really cool and everyone came away with some new rocks to add to their ever growing collections which usually end up out in the yard anyway.

Aunt Kenna made us some really great chicken tacos. Have her make it for you some time and ask her what she calls it.

Highlight of the trip? The hummer ride to Hell's Revenge. The roller coaster part was everyone's favorite, even Isaac's. The views over the Colorado river were stunning and everyone had a great time.

Caleb had a huge smile on his face the entire trip. Nothing was going to get him down. Searching for lizards every time he went to the bathroom was the highlight of his days. The hummer ride was another favorite, followed closely by the river. Especially when Aunt Kenna let him get in the water with her!

Kelsie told a great story around the "campfire", but my favorite was the story she told about the girl who went camping with her family and hated every minute of it. She let us know that they have a lot in common. Being the drama queen that she is, she let us all know that she was going to die on the Hummer ride, but in the end loved every second of it. And, admittedly, her favorite part of our trip was going down the river. Go figure.

Isaac was the most happy when he was roaming free looking for rocks, lizards, and rabbits. He especially loved the smores that we cooked and drove his dad a little mad when it came to holding the roasting stick out of the coals (as in none of his marshmallows were edible). He was not a fan of the river and sat quietly in the boat with a scowl on his face until he could get out. We just covered his face with a hat. He loved the hummer ride as well, and somehow managed to fall asleep in the middle of it. He must have been really tired.

Brandon was totally in his element being outside. He brought his pocketknife and carved on any stick he could find. He was so excited to go down the river, but his excitement drained a little when he realized how hard he was going to have to paddle nonstop. The hummer was his favorite adventure and he let us know how he could to this again. Like now. Right now.

As for the parents, camping is a lot of work. Hard work. Especially in the heat of Moab. We had a great time (minus the wind and sand) and would highly recommend a trip, especially if you have never been. Just not in the middle of summer. Or in the windy season.

Or  at least book a cabin instead of a tent.

Peace

I've had a lot to think about today. We lost another friend to brain cancer this morning. This is our second friend within the last 8 months that has passed away from this awful disease. Words can't express the deep sorrow that I feel for her family. It's hard to lose those that we love. I am so grateful for the love and hope that our Savior, Jesus Christ, brings to each one of us during these hard times. I am especially grateful for the sealing power that enables us to be together with our families for eternity. She will be missed, especially by her sweet husband and four kids. Having a knowledge of the gospel makes it a little easier. I am so happy that she is not in any more pain and that she is able to move forward with her life on the other side of the veil. She will be a great strength to those she is with now with.We will miss her and are sad to see her go, but knowing that we will see her and our other friend again someday brings us peace and happiness.

Taking the Leap

Appropriate title for today, huh? We are officially homeowners now. It's kind of cool that it happened on Leap Day. We have been very busy the last few weeks packing up everything and getting it ready to move this weekend. We're just about ready to go. I guess I should sign off and finish up all those odds and ends that still need to be taken care of. Happy Leap Day!

Two Years

Today marks our 2 year anniversary of living in the Chicago area.  A lot has changed for our family in the last couple of years and we have learned a lot as well:

• This is one of the coldest places we’ve ever lived.
• The Spring and Summer make you forget about the long cold winters.
• Frozen pipes are not fun.
• There is a lot of culture and diversity here.
• There are lots of fun things to do.
• We could live at the beach in the summer.
• Long underwear is a necessity when walking kids to/from school.
• Riding the train is lots of fun until it gets really crowded.
• The treasure hunt downtown is lots of fun for kids.
• A working A/C unit in the car is not as important as a working heater.
• It really is beautiful here.
• The schools here are wonderful!
• We have met so many nice and friendly people.

We really have had a great experience living here with all its ups and downs.  At one point in the last couple of years I didn’t think that I would have any good memories of living here, but I don’t think that anymore.  We’re excited for the next few months ahead of us and the changes to come in our family and where we may possibly end up. 

I think one of the most important things that we’ve learned is that change is really hard for everyone.  It’s hard to uproot and move somewhere new and start all over again, but it can be done.  And it can be done with positive results.  The kind of results that you work hard to get and end up being huge blessings in the end.  Life is an adventure and the experiences you gain are priceless.  Enjoy the journey!

Here’s to the start of year 3!

Road Side Assistance

Once upon a time, while I was still living at home, I learned how to change a flat tire. My dad took us girls out to our trusty old Mistubishi truck that we lovingly named Muffy to teach us how to fix a flat. I remember it well. We each took a turn loosening the screws and jacking up the car. We were so proud of ourselves for getting the spare tire on the car and doing it right!

Fast forward to now when we had a flat tire about a month ago. Wally asked if I wanted to come out and watch him change the tire so I would know what to do in case I ever needed to do it myself. I assured him that I already knew how to change a tire so thanks, but no thanks.

Fast forward one more time to about a week ago when I dropped Kelsie off at her gymnastics class. I was so focused on getting her to her class on time that I didn't notice that we had a flat. A nice man in the parking lot informed me of this burden as I was walking her into the building. So, here it was. My chance to shine and prove that I DO know how to change a flat tire.

First, I jack up the car, right? No wait, I should get the spare tire down first. OK, I find the tire, but how do I get it down?

Think, think think.

Brandon, get out of the car!

I better text Wally (he was in a meeting):

Flat tire.

(Waiting)

Need help?

(Immediately write back)

YES!

So, I had to admit that I needed help. For the next hour, Wally was on speaker phone, talking me through all the steps of how to change the tire. I thought I had it in the bag until I couldn't get the tire off the car now matter what I tried (Brandon and I both kicked it as hard as we could). So, then the frustration started all over again. By this time, a nice man offered to help and tried to get the tire off. Turns out the tire was stuck on the car so he had to jack the car back down for the pressure of the car to loosen the tire (I'm really glad it wasn't just me). He put the spare tire on, tightened the bolts again and sent me on my way. I ran inside to pick up Kelsie and called Wally back to tell him we were OK, except while he was talking to me on the phone, he walked home, grabbed his bike and was now there to help me. It was around this time that he reminded me that we have road-side assistance.



Go figure.

Life Moves On: Pictures

Our good friends, the Nichol's

This is Wally outside our hotel room in Evanston, WY making sure everything was good on the car for the night. Look at all that snow!


While Wally was outside braving the elements, we were inside watching Night at the Museum with Grandpa, at least we thought Grandpa was watching!


This is the nice tow truck man who helped get our truck started again in 10-degree weather. He's our new superhero.


This is the blowing snow across Wyoming that made me fee like we were driving through the clouds.


Mom and Brandon having fun passing the time while waiting for the tow truck.

We stopped at the World's Largest Truckstop in Iowa on I-80. Go figure.

Kelsie and Brandon waiting in the car during a pit stop.

Wally tried to grow a beard in honor of our friends in Wyoming. It's pretty good for a week, don't you think?

Life Moves On: Part 2

OUR MOVE

The night we packed our 26' Penske truck (which we were sure that we wouldn't come close to filling it, but we were proven completely wrong) was cold and rainy. A friend from Wally's work came to help along with some people from our ward. We finally got most everything into the truck with some in the cab. Then the cleaning began. Given the condition of our place when we moved in last year, we figured we didn't have a whole lot of cleaning to do, but we did a good job anyway and were very grateful for the friends that came the next morning to help us finish. We left our old home in better condition than when we moved into it. Lucky(?) for us, the day that we drove out of Richland, we were just behind a storm and right in front of another one. When we checked the road conditions that morning, the interstate was closed so we ended up waiting for a few hours for the roads to open up. We left around 1 pm hoping to make it to Boise, ID for the night (about 5 hours away). We didn't quite make it to Boise and since it started to snow, we stayed the night in Ontario, OR.

The next morning, we started again on our way and were hoping to make it to Utah that night. Our good friends, the Nichol's, were visiting family in Boise when we drove through so we decided to stop and see them for a little bit. It is always lots of fun to see them when we do and it was well worth the stop. We were able to make it to Utah that night but not without a little excitement. Driving through the pass from Idaho to Utah, we ran into some bad weather and ice on the roads and then there was snow, snow, snow the rest of the way. We stayed the night with Wally's brother, Christian, and his family that night and picked up his Dad who drove the rest of the way with us.

We left Bountiful, UT early Sunday morning not quite sure of the weather, but figured it was better to get on the road than wait around for another storm to hit. We drove to Evanston, WY through some pretty bad weather. There was packed snow and ice on the roads and we couldn't drive faster than 35 m.p.h. most of the way over the mountains. By the time we got to Evanston, I-80 was closed and everyone had to exit. We spent some time in the McDonald's playland for the kids and then got a hotel room and spent the rest of the day and night there. It was so cold and windy there that the temperatures fell well below zero and when we got up the next day to leave, our good old Penske wouldn't start. Thanks to the tow truck drivers and a little additive to the fuel tank (and an hour and a half later) we were on our way. As we drove through Wyoming and into Colorado, there was a lot of blowing snow and ice on the roads, but at least the skies were clear and we didn't run into any more problems, with the weather anyway. About an hour away from Grandma and Grandpa Paxton's house the engine light in our car came one. Our hopes of getting up and leaving early the next day were not exactly going to pan out as planned.

We got to Broomfield and Grandma Paxton had a nice warm pot of stew waiting for us with some hot chocolate. We tried to stay up to ring in the new year with everyone, but exhaustion overtook us and we wished everyone a "Happy New Year and Goodnight" at 10 p.m. The next morning, Wally took the car in to be checked (bless Advance Auto Parts for being open at 7:30 am! on New Year's Day) and the problem had to do with the oxygen sensor (not the fuel injector like I thought and told everyone else) so we didn't really have to do anything, but Wally did put an additive in the tank to help clean out the fuel injector (I guess I was right about something). We were on our way again by noon. We stopped in North Platte, NE for a nice little dinner at KFC, compliments of Grandpa Paxton and then to the Roadway Inn in Grand Island, NE. Here's all I'm going to say about Nebraska: it was freezing cold, it is one long state, and the Roadway Inn is NOT my first choice of lodging from here on out. Fortunately for us, we didn't run into any bad weather after Denver, it was just COLD! We drove to Iowa the next day and stayed with Wally's brother, Richard, and his family in Ames. We were there the day before the Iowa Caucus' so it was an exciting time to be there. We could have gone to a rally for Mitt Romney or any of the other campaigns if we wanted to, but we just didn't have the energy. Kelsie and Brandon really enjoyed playing with their cousins and trying out their new Wii System.

After a great night sleep (thanks to some Tylenol PM) and the last few hours of our journey, we made it to the great state of Illinois and our new home in Evanston. We did make a brief stop so Wally's dad could visit with some old friends from Argentina that he hadn't seen in a long time. With our stomach's full and happy to finally be here, we met our landlord and unloaded our giant truck and started unpacking. And that pretty much brings us up to date, we're still unpacking and getting used to our new place and city.

Life Moves On: Part 1

We finally made it to Chicago and have started unpacking and getting our lives back in order. I have a lot to catch up on so I'll have to rewind back to Christmas.

Our highlights from Christmas:

Brandon woke up just before 6 a.m. to ask if it was time to see what Santa brought. In an effort to keep him from waking everyone else up, we told him it wasn't time to get up yet and that he had to wait until 7. So, he climbed into bed with Wally and watched the clock and announced the time, "Dad it's 6:01...dad, it's 6:02....dad, it's 6:03....". This went on for about 5 minutes and then I'm not sure what happened since I went back to sleep after that.

The kids all had a good time opening presents and were, for the most part, pleasantly surprised. Kelsie loves her new Hannah Montana microphone and scrapbooking kit. Brandon had tons of fun setting up his new hot wheels track and playing star wars with Dad's new lightsaber (a red one, which Santa brought to go along with Brandon's blue one). Caleb wasn't so sure about anything and quite frankly wanted to go back to sleep after all the commotion. We think he likes his new walker and balls that he got, but I guess only time will tell.

Wally and I had a nice Christmas too, until 12 p.m. when we took everything down and packed up the rest of our house. Unfortunately for us, it didn't feel too much like Christmas after that, but I insisted keeping the tree up for one more day just to hopefully feel like it was still Christmas (by the way, it didn't last very long and was gone the next day).

We were invited to some friends house for Christmas dinner that night which was a whole lot better than what we were going to eat (top ramen and leftover food in the fridge). We had a fun time visiting and playing a new game with them.

We had a really good Christmas and enjoyed as much of the season as we could, considering our big move. We thank all our friends and family for helping make our Christmas so special!