Trip Notes

Last weekend we joined up with my brother, sister, and their families near Green River Utah.  Let me give you some names, in case I have to use them later:

*Mark - my brother

*Elaine - his wife

*Betsey and Stacy - my sisters

*Kraig - Stacy's husband

*Mom and Dad - my mom and dad

*Brandi and Mike - friends of Mark and Elaine's who were also on the trip

*any other names are nieces and nephews, of which there are a quite a few. 

O.k. Now that we're all introduced...here are some notes I'd like to remember of this trip.  It's important to take notes after a trip to remember what was successful, what you hope to not repeat, and memories you'd like to remember.

NOTE: Take plenty of stickers for the drive.  Two sheets barely kept Jane entertained for the ride down.  At least she was quiet, and I didn't even have to get out the duct tape.  (totally kidding!) 
NOTE: Next time you go all around town looking for kid size pop top water bottles make sure you BELIEVE the packaging when it says NON-REFILLABLE due to CHILD-PROOFING!  They mean it.

NOTE: Do not give Katie Anne twizzlers until she's much older, unless you want to get more handfuls of the chewed up red stuff, thus diminishing your own appetite for snacking.

NOTE: Enjoy the cooking and the dish washing because that's where the real visiting is.  Plus, your hands get to be warm if you are washing the dishes.  NOTE: use some of the food ideas for the beach: amazing fruit salad, turkey bacon (who knew?), rhodes rolls turned into scones with honey butter, jello jigglers, mountain man breakfast.

Jack top left, Elaine and Jane top right, Jeffrey bottom left, Katie Anne bottom right.   NOTE: Your kids are getting great experience and gaining confidence as they go out and drive and ride.  And they will be just fine! 

 Well...maybe just fine! NOTE:  You did a good job of not panicking when you saw the four-wheeler hung up in the barbed-wire fence.  However, once you knew he was fine, why didn't you take a picture?  I mean, you're never going to see a sight like that again (hopefully!).  NOTE: Remember how well Jack handled himself through the whole situation.  He was pretty concerned about the 4-wheeler and he learned to NEVER turn around and look while he was driving.  He also got the scrapes and hole in his arm bandaged up with a lot more dignity than you've shown at similar times in your life.  He also got right back on the machines and hasn't let the bruises all over his legs and arms stop him at all!  NOTE: Thank Betsey for getting her RN degree so you could trust her when she said all those fat globules and blood oozing out of Jack's arm from the barb puncture was no big deal.

Jack, Jane, Katie Anne and I stayed back at camp after Jack's little accident.  After we watched a movie ( I (heart) technology!) we went for a walk.  I love the picture of the 3 kids with the shadows falling behind them.  NOTE: Remember how peaceful you felt when you were walking along and viewing the beautiful landscape!

NOTE: Invent some kind of bouncy system to install under Katie Anne's car seat.  Apparently when the ride is too smooth and quiet she WILL NOT FALL ASLEEP!  The bumpier the better!  Apparently this is true for all the little kids...you can see Brandi's little girl in the front ASLEEP and her little boy rested his helmet on the side of the rhino and went to SLEEP! To prove my point Katie Anne did not sleep one whit in the truck, except for on the dirt roads.  I'm sorry, that's just weird!

Pictures: *top left - Jack looking as cool as ever *bottom left - the group at the gathering spot on our long ride on Saturday.  We had a nice lunch of vegies, jello jigglers, fruit snacks and granola bars. Oh yeah, and oreos.  *middle column top to bottom - Kurt and Jay at the top of a really big rock.  Jane wishing she were asleep. Brian and Jeffrey. *Right column, top to bottom - Benny driving his 4-wheeler (he is only 4!!!), Mark riding his motorcycle and keeping track of all of us, and Benny in his gear.  NOTE: You will never be as good a driver as Benny, no matter how hard you try. So just enjoy the ride and let him do his thing!

NOTE: Find out what all of these people were drinking.  They really shouldn't have looked quite so drugged!  NOTE: Thank parents and Mark and Elaine for owning and bringing trailers.  We would NOT have survived the wind and the rain without them!  Even though we were a little squished and Katie Anne's howls echoed off of the small walls like a tiger caged, we made it through and we were dry and happy.  NOTE: Thank Mark and Elaine for letting the Agren girls sleep in the trailer every night, and for letting the Agren boys come in Saturday night when their tent got soaked inside and out.

NOTE: Remember that this picture is why we go on these trips!  It's the bonding with family that we go, the fact that all of these kids plus one more teenager could ALL sleep on this bed.  NOTE: When you sleep on the bed below this bed, put your head at the other end so that when the blankets come cascading down EVERY NIGHT you will just have warmer feet, and not imminent danger of suffocation.

NOTE: Be grateful every day that you married who you did.  He works hard, gets things pulled together without any nagging from you, and he got you out of that mud pit ALIVE!  Even when you were a little bit stalled on the middle of a very muddy hill with all your precious cargo safely strapped in their car seats, he remained calm and under control.  NOTE: Wrap some padding around the door grip so that A) You won't hurt your fingers from gripping so hard and B) You won't dent the grip.  Pictures: The left two are Stacy and Kraig who were ahead of us and got to go through all the rivers first.  Left two: My view of going through that second river.  Bottom is the absolute caked on mud on the 4-wheelers after driving the long and dusty muddy road.  As you can see we had a wonderful time on our camping trip.  Mark can get me to do things that I really just would never do otherwise and, don't tell him, but I'm grateful for it, even when the rhino I'm in almost tips over and I jump out instead of staying with my children!  Now we're back and 9 loads of laundry later the red dust is gone from our clothing and our shoes, but the memory of our trip will last forever...especially on Jack's arm!