7/31/17 Back in the Pool

After Family Home Evening tonight we took a moment to cool off in the pool. Here Heidi is working with Joseph on his floating skills.

Becca B doesn't miss a chance to swim when it come up. We enjoyed her company.

Here is Rebecca Noelani taking a turn going down the slide.

7/30/17 Party with the Mangum and Phelps Families

This evening our family was invited to a shindig with Matt and Sharon and fam and the Phelps family. Alex, pictured above considers Peter a great friend. The two had great fun playing together. 

TJ, Sarah and Joseph enjoyed playing with toys in the play room.

Late in the event Anna Phelps invited us to play a game like charades. Heidi and I made up the activity and Anna assigned the parts. Above are pictures from when they acted out a car wash. It was more fun than i could have guessed.

7/29/17 Mowing Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's Lawn

This morning we woke the kids early and headed out Ron San Tan to mow Grammie and Grandpa Mangum's yard. We knew it would be hot so we did our best to get ahead of it.

The kids were very helpful. Here Rebecca and TJ are pulling weeds. Sarah is tending Peter and Joseph supervises. Rebecca and Sarah worked together to cook pancakes for us. They were delicious.

Heidi was a huge help as usual.

David offered to spray for weeds. He said it looked like fun. We need all the help we can get so we love it when the kids offer.
In addition to this task we ran a couple of other errands while we were out. To pass the time on the 2 hour drive we listened to part 2 in the 39 Clues series. I like the way it includes interesting bits of history amid the drama in the story.
This afternoon we got a visit from Lucy and Alex Mangum. Our kids had fun playing with their cousins while Matt and Sharon met with the home inspector about the house they are buying.
Earlier we picked up some bread that Kerry Mortenson was giving away. We took some loaves to the Andelts. It was a small thank you for all the hard work they did on our pool while we were gone.
This evening Heidi and I got to go on a little date to Goodwill. It was half price day and Joseph needed more pants for school in less than two weeks. Crazy how the summer has flown.

7/28/17 Starting to Plan

Today Heidi and I met with Gram and Papa. They have a good sized list of things that have waited for our return. Happily we were able to complete a few of them while we chatted.
In the afternoon Heidi took Rebecca and Sarah to the Keifer's house to learn how to make the bracelets they are going to give at Activity Days.
I stayed home and played with Peter. Without a good plan I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. Tomorrow is another day we'll get things rolling then.

7/27/17 Unpacking

This morning, when I woke up, I found all of us in the living room. We apparently were too tired to go to our beds after reading scriptures. It seems ironic that we drove 13 hours and 836 miles, in part so we could sleep in our own beds, only to end up sleeping on the floor.

We took advantage of the relatively not hot of the early morning to unpack and clean out the van.

Heidi is a diligent, hard worker. This morning was no exception. Gratefully the kids helped out to. They were getting better at helping towards the end of our trip so I was glad they didn't forget now that we are home.
I'm having a challenging time adjusting back to the old schedule. There is plenty of work to do and that is good but I miss having some cool new place to look forward to.

7/26/17 Time to go Home

Last night we gave the kids an option, drive at a leisurely pace to Albuquerque New Mexico and get home Thursday or wake up before the crack of dawn and attempt to make the entire 12 hour drive in one day. The later would require us to limit our stops and make them quick and relied on older kids making the trip fun for Peter. He was our wild card, usually the first to announce that he was ready to be out of the car. The kids were excited to get home to see Gram and Papa and Becca B and to sleep in their own beds.

And so before 5:30 am we said goodbye to the Birdie Suite. Heavenly Father seemed ready for us to be home. Unusually breakfast in this place starts at 5:30 am. That helped us jump start the day. We were on the road, with a full tank of gas by 6:30 AM. That is certainly a record for us.

Heidi thinks this may be Pike's Peak.

As we started I was worried that we would not be able to keep up the pace needed in order to get to Mesa at a reasonable time. We told the kids that if we were going to make it we had to speed up the potty stops. Usually we have to wait for people to put shoes on and somebody blocks the door. Then we we get out Peter would refuse to get back into his car seat. There was none of that today. Our past rest stops would typically take at least 30 minutes, 45 minutes to an hour were more likely. Our first potty stop today took 10 minutes total. I wanted to ask the kids for 2 forms of ID. At the 2nd stop the kids were back in buckles 5 minutes after getting out. This gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, this was going to work.

We made good time through New Mexico. At one point we went 3 hours between stops. That has to be a record. We listened to John Bytheway talks on CD and the first audio book in the 39 Clues Series by Rick Riordan (known for his Percy Jackson series). This held the kid's attention for many hours.

Around the halfway point we made it to Arizona. There was still a chance that we would stay the night at a KOA but thus far the kids were traveling well.

The rain that slowed us several times this trip was no trouble today. Only once did we see rain, and even then it was way off in the distance.

Based on other days on this trip we estimated that 7 pm was the earliest we might get back home. That was if everything went well. If anything slowed us 9 or 10 was possible. If that became likely we would have had to stop and resume the journey in the morning. As it was the kids were amazing. We got everyone a frosty in Payson and told them that this could be our last stop before home. It turned out to be true. Papa took this picture of our tired but happy crew. It has been a wonderful trip. I wish it could go on but it is time to be home. Heidi, before we left, felt that she would be asked to attend a meeting tomorrow. She was officially asked to go on Tuesday. No official calling yet but that may not be too far out. At any rate she'll be able to attend and feel rested.

7/25/17 Omaha to Castle Rock, Colorado

This morning we passed into "Colorful" Colorado.

We planned to camp at a KOA outside of Denver. Heavenly Father seems to have had other plans. With heavy rain falling and more in the forecast we decided to find a hotel for the night.

The only problem is that the first several that we called either had no room or felt way too expensive. We felt like we should keep moving forward while we made the calls. Eventually we found ourselves in Castle Rock, Colorado. From a distance this large rock does look like a castle on a hill in the Scottish Highlands. 

The clerk at the Days Inn found us an affordable room with two beds and a fold out couch. The kids decided that this was "the best hotel yet".

One interesting side benefit of the unexpected extra drive time is that we are now only 12 hours drive from home.

7/24/17 Nauvoo to Omaha Nebraska

This morning, as we got packed up, we got a closer look at the bugs that have been making so much noise these past few days. We think that they are some type of locust but we really aren't sure.

Joseph picked up the shell of one that shed in the night to grow bigger.

TJ and I put our hands by one to give a sense of how big they are.

Last night one of the sister missionaries gave the kids fabric scrap dolls. The girls living here in the 1840s would have played with toys like these. As you can see Joseph also had fun with them.

This is the building that the Nauvoo 1st, 2nd and 3rd wards meet in. It had the only internet we could find so I sat outside to get some work done.

We just missed the last carriage ride when we got into town on Saturday so we promised the girls that we would take the first one on Monday morning.

They drove us slowly around some nearby farms and told us stories of the faithful saints who lived here so long ago.

Next it was off to Nebraska.

We arrived in Winter Quarters in about 4 hours driving time. It took the Saints 4 and a half months. They decided to stay the Winter here. Many never left.

We visited the cemetery where we have an ancestor buried. Rebecca's 5th (I believe) Great Grandmother Rebecca Mangum finished her mortal journey here.

Here we are at the Winter Quarters Temple.

The Visitor's Center has many interesting displays. Peter, Joseph and TJ loved this interactive one with blocks labelled with the things that the Pioneers needed on the trek. We learned that Hardtack is a kind of cracker that lasts a long time. It was carried as a sustaining food for the lengthy journey.

At last we arrived at the Omaha KOA. It has a fun playground. The kids all took several turns on the zip line.

They had a place where you could pan for "gold" like a prospector.

TJ and Joseph got especially excited about the colorful rocks they found.

They also had a "jumping pillow" it seems to have a lot in common with a trampoline.