Our Vacation

This recent trip to Utah was filled with so many exciting events. To start off the trip I realized that I forgot to pack the camera. Yes I know this is a bummer because there were many, many unbelievable photo ops, but alas, these images will just have to suffice.

The trip wasn't very eventful until we hit Amarillo. We had just finished dinner and we hard this seriously loud thud on our windshield. It scared me so bad,especially when it came out of nowhere Russ says, " Crap." All of the cars on the freeway start pulling off to the shoulder and the hailstorm comes with a vengeance. I have never been in a hail storm. It scared me so bad all I could think to do is pray and pray hard. I told Heavenly Father I didn't care if our car got dented but please protect our windshield. This was such a scary and LOUD experience. Thankfully, right after I prayed it stopped and we were on our merry way. I think the craziest part of the whole ordeal was both of the girls slept right through it! I was ready for the screaming but it never came!


When we were on the road after the hail storm we were hit with torrential rain. The clouds made it so dark outside, even though it was only 6:00 P.M. The rain came so fast that you could not see anything in front of you. Thankfully Russ is a wonderful driver and he was able to get past the storm to continue on your journey.

During all of the wonderful experiences we were all suffering from the flu. I think that McKaylee and Daphnee had the worst of it. We had to stop at least 6-8 times on the drive to change diapers because everything they ate ran right through them, literally. On one particular bathroom trip Daphnee with in fully clothed and came out with just a diaper and my jacket to cover her.

We made it safely to Wyoming and had the chance to see my nephew, Caden Dirks, get baptised. We are so proud of him. I can't believe that he is 8! We spent just a day there and then we traveled to Utah to spend some time with my parents. Since my mom and dad are empty nesters they have gotten to remodel some of the rooms in the house! They have done such a good job. The bathroom wasn't finished yet so Rusty was able to help my dad put in a tile floor and secure the toilet!

Russ and I celebrated our 6th anniversary! We spent the day in the new plaza in Ogden, and then headed up to Logan to the Providence Inn. It was such a great time

Just when I thought every one was feeling better Russ got food poisoning! I have never seen him so sick in the whole 6 years of our marriage. We took him to the emergency room at 3:00 A.M. They pumped him full of fluid and some very heavy duty narcotics! He had to take it easy for a few days but eventually he recovered!

We celebrated McKaylee's 2nd birthday while we were there! I can't believe that she is 2! We had a small party with some of my family members! She had such a great time. We have some pictures of her birthday but they will have to be posted on a later date.

While we were with my parents we visited: The Treehouse Museum, & The discovery Museum. McKaylee loved these places. She could touch whatever she wanted without getting in trouble! I will just tell you that she is a maniac when she is pushing a stroller around! It was so much fun to watch her run all over and play.

We headed down to St. George and spent time with Russ' family. We played a ton of games and went to a water park there! It was so much fun to see family, but nothing compares to the Bliss that you feel when you finally get to sleep in your own bed!

We want to say thank you to all of you, and you know who you are, that gave us a place to stay! We love all of you and can't wait to see you again!

I hate goodbye's

Within the first months of being married Russ brought up that he wanted a motorcycle. He regaled me with stories about his first bike and how much fun it was to take girls out on dates with his hot wheels. I always said "NO" because we didn't have the money to buy one. Just to keep things interesting, he would remind me every year how much he really wanted a bike. He would tell me that the insurance was less for a motorcycle, and how we would use less gas. Blah blah blah. Luckily for him when we moved to Texas our trusty Ford Escort which had no previous problems (sarcastic comment)broke down for the last time and Russ knew that this was a blessing in disguise, so he went to look at motorcycles. He found one that he really liked and called me at work to break the bad news about the car. When he knew that I vulnerable he told me about the bike once more and how this time we could afford it. I eventually caved and Russ was able to get the bike. I didn't know this at the time but Texas has some pretty wicked storms. Russ found out the hard way and most of the time he was riding his bike through the storms. This of course make me scared for him, and he assured me that he knew how to handle the bike. When I had McKaylee I was now a stay-at-home mom. Russ took the car during the winters so he wouldn't freeze to death on the way to work. This left us in a pickle because there was no way that I would be able to take McKaylee anywhere on a motorcycle. I know it makes you chuckle to imagine a car seat strapped to the back of the bike. Good times. So we decided it was time to sell it. When Russ first put it up for sale there were a few people that we interested but no luck. I was getting to frustrated that I had to just let Russ take care of the details. We finally sold it today. It is a bittersweet experience. I came to love the bike just as much as Russ but we are in a stage in our lives that the bike just doesn't fit in. So I will end this post with a tribute to THE bike. I hate goodbyes so shhh... Just go.