On the Road Again

This is a picture of me and my brother Dave in our good ol' van getting ready to take the annual trip to sunny AZ from Utah when we were kids. This was in the day before seat belt laws, and all were generally lax about car safety protocol. We would take out the back row or two of seats in the sweet van and lay out our sleeping bags (me and my 5 siblings). Of course the clam shell luggage carrier would be placed on top of the van for the trip. My parents would transfer us from our beds to the car while it was still dark, and we would hit the road. Once the sun was sufficiently beating down on us through the windows and we made our way out of the sleeping bags, we would entertain ourselves with card games, reading, coloring, road games, etc. All of this while sitting cross-legged on the floor in the back of the van. Sometimes I would make my way up to the front and perch myself on the cooler that was sitting between my parents two front seats. I loved sitting there on my "throne" and talking to my parents as we drove. I remember one time my brother and I lifted up one of the floor mats in the back and looked through a small hole and we could see the road speeding underneath us. Good times.......GREAT TIMES!!!

Well, I leave this morning to go up make the reverse trip up to Utah for a few weeks. I am so excited...for the Utah part I mean. I will be driving by myself with the four kiddos....no I'm not smoking anything.....actually it might help if I did (just kidding Mom). Really I will just make it up to St. George today where my Mom is, and then make the rest of the trip in tandem with her to SLC. Wish me luck! Actually, I will need more than that. Send me prayers....lot's of them!! We did finally break down and purchase a portable DVD player for the trip. I have been wanting one for a few years, but we had never pulled the trigger. Under these circumstances I felt justified.

It will be really nice to get up to the perfect SLC Summer weather. I have to laugh at the "Heat Wave" headlines where it talks about how Idaho is in the triple digits. I'm sure for people not used to it it's sweltering, but we got to 115 on the 4th of July, and we were outside for a good bit of the day. Granted we were on a boat, or in the water, but we survived. I can honestly say that I don't love it, but I can totally handle the heat. The fact that I can wear flip-flops year round more than makes up for it in my book! I'll be checking in from the Promised Land periodically, so don't forget about me!! Have a great Sunday everyone, and don't forget to pray for safe travel!