Road Trip 2019: By the Numbers

Road Trip: UT to NC

After we dried our tears, the girls and I had to hustle across the country. Since Caroline is starting middle school and is in unfamiliar territory, she REALLY wanted to be home for the Open House before the school year started. If we left right away and drove quickly across the country, we could make it home in time. Driving quickly is not usually my thing, but we made it happen for Care Bear.

Well, at least this is OUR version of quick.

It still took five days.

That's about all I can handle as the solo driver.

Stopped at Fremont Indian State Park in Utah.

My girls got to grind corn.

I told them to channel their inner Mexicana.

Saw some cool petroglyphs.

Got to check out a replica of one of their homes...

can't remember what it was called...

Beautiful scenery along the way.

Gorgeous sunset.

Made it to Fruita, CO in time for C to 

take a quick dip in the pool before bed.

The next day was my very favorite drive of the whole country--

over the Rockies. Spectacular! 

Oh, how I love the beauty around every corner.

We didn't get to stop at all, though. Boo.

We did, however, make time to stop at

Dave and Buster's in Denver.

Woot!

Three D&B's in three states in the last three weeks.

I might have an addiction...

Made it all the way to the other side of CO

and stayed the night in Burlington.

Both girls had time to swim there.

The next day was Sunday.

We visited the cutest little church building that you ever did see

in Colby, Kansas. Great talks and friendly congregation.

After that, lots and lots of cornfields.

"I'm as corny as Kansas in August..."

We made it to Kansas City and got to have a yummy

dinner with Tyler, Jessica, and their cute kids.

So fun to visit with them!

The next morning we left for St Louis.

We love that city!

We stopped at a free drive-thru park called Lone Elk.

It has deer, bison, and (surprise!) elk!

We didn't get to see any bison, but we did see one deer.

And a whole herd of elk, which was cool.

After that, we stopped at the St Louis Zoo.

Also free!

But you have to pay $15 for parking...

 We were re-introduced to humidity.

I forgot how sweaty it is...

It is a great zoo! 

We had the most fun with this sea lion.

He was so interactive!

We also really liked their penguin exhibit.

Maybe because it was cold in there...

Also enjoyed the Dole Whip. Yum!

Hyena.

Got to see the arch on the drive out of town.

Next stop: Alex and Stephanie's house.

Jonathan was in town. It was good to see him.

We had a yummy dinner with them.

And introduced them to Cover Your Assets... They are good!

Then it was time to head over the mountains in

beautiful, toll-road-filled West Virginia.

And then HOME!!

We made it back just in time for the girls to

attend the open houses at their schools.

Living on the other side of the country from all of your loved ones can be hard. I am so, so thankful that we have the chance to visit so many of them on these cross-country road trips. I'm grateful that we have a reliable van. I'm thankful that I don't fall asleep when I'm driving. I love that the kids enjoy these trips as much as I do. I'm thankful that Andrew can support our family so that I can have a flexible schedule to drive around the country with our kids. And I'm also super grateful to all of our friends and family members who let us crash at their homes so we can afford to be gone for this long. I. Love. Road. Trips.

Road Trip: St. George

After our fun week with Andrew's family,

it was time to head down to St. George to

move Brandon into his apartment.

Agggghhhh! This just got real!

We loaded everything back into the van

and headed south.

We stopped along the way at Cove Fort,

a church historical site.

It's a guided tour, so a sweet senior

missionary showed us around the place

and told us about the history.

It was a perfect fun stop.

It was free and let us stretch our legs.

The Wells said we could stay with them in St. George.

They are the best. I'm so happy that B will have them there.

It makes me feel better knowing he will have at least one

responsible adult that he can call if he needs to.

The evening that we arrived, Dixie was having a big

welcome party for new freshman and their families.

We hadn't heard a word about it, but were happy to go!

They had lots of stations all around the arena where you 

could make different things, play games, win prizes.

This nerf shooting one was a favorite.

Look at all the Dixie swag we won!

Future Trailblazer!

Oh, and there was lots of free food and treats, too.

So fun!

Brandon and I got to attend freshman orientation.

They had separate sessions for students and parents.

It was good.

Learned some things.

Got a feel for the campus.

B made friends right away

and that's who he ended up

hanging out with for the first 

few weeks of school.

So grateful.

We headed up to Pioneer Park,

the red rocks overlooking St. George.

Had fun taking pics at sunset.

Another in the Splits Across America series

St George is so pretty!

B is lucky that he gets to live here.

Too bad this gorgeous temple is closing later

this year for major renovations. :(

Hanging out with the Wells is awesome.

We have the same senses of humor.

Case in point:

Only Simpsons fans will get this,

but I thought it was HILARIOUS.

In between fun adventures with the Wells,

we were doing the rest of the shopping for

B's apartment. We went over to check in

and they gave him his key code and we 

were able to start moving things in early,

which was fabulous.

Kyle and Joellen have a cabin 

up in Pine Valley, north of St. George.

We went up there for dinner one evening.

The temperature drops dramatically as you 

head into the mountains. It felt amazing!

We got to see a mama deer and her babies.

Played cornhole

They named their cabin Evergreen Terrace! Perfect!

Relaxed around the fire pit.

Look how close the mama deer came!

Maddie and Care Bear were up in the tree watching her.

Made s'mores before heading home. Loved it.

B's apartment is... interesting...

It was the cheapest apartment we could find.

And you can tell.

There's a big plaster patch on the ceiling

right above his bed.

The rooms are tiny.

He doesn't like his roommates.

Hopefully he'll learn some valuable life

lessons from this experience and can find

a place that he likes better next year.

He and Evan went out to a bike park.

They had a blast, until B popped a tire.

Look at this desert beauty!

Oh my gosh.

The Sound of Music was playing out at Tuacahn,

their local outdoor theatre. I got us tickets.

What a backdrop!

The show was fantastic,

but even when the sun went

down it was still hot and sweaty.

The next day, it was time to finishing moving B in and say good-bye.

It was sad.

All three of us girls cried.

He'll be so far away!

And our family dynamics will never be the same.

I'm happy for B.

And excited for him to enter this next phase of life.

I know he is smart enough to do great things.

But it will be hard being on the other side of the country.

And hoping he doesn't do dumb things.

And hoping he is happy.

And hoping we'll be able to stay close, even from far away.