Loved this Summer

This summer was one of the best ones I've had in decades. Fortunately, my workload was small enough that I wasn't at all stressed about deadlines or juggling everything.  We took a month long road trip all the way from Texas to Montana.  I tried to keep most of the driving on weekends and keep my day schedule flexible so that work would come first when needed.  We started with a stop in El Paso.  I got to spend time with a friend that I made while living in Qatar.  I haven't seen her since 1997.  If it wasn't for Facebook, I'm sure we would have lost touch forever.  Instead, our kids became friends.  They really hit it off quickly just like we did years ago.  Here is a picture below.  Don't let the sizes fool you.  My kids are tall and her's are short.  The one on the left is only a little less than a year younger than Jordan.  

  

Next, we headed to southern Utah for a family reunion with my mom's side of the family in Zion National Park.  Zion is an amazing place to hike and see nature.  We also got to see siblings, cousins, second cousins, and the kids even had third cousins there.  We've been having these reunions every two years and they are always a joy.  Here is a picture of my mom's grand-kids with all of the 6 year olds on the front row and 8 year olds in the back.

  

Next, we headed to central Utah.  I have a good friend, Annette, there.  I've known her since 7th grade.  I just love her.  We stayed with her & her family.  We got to enjoy hiking in the area and celebrate the 24th of July.  The 24th is a state holiday in Utah.  It is also called Pioneer Day to celebrate when the pioneers came into Salt Lake.  The state celebrates much like the 4th of July with fireworks, parades, and bbqs.  Here is a picture of Annette and me at the Spanish Fork Parade:

Our next stop was Butte, Montana.  My mom and step-father live there.  My brother, his wife, and 5 kids live in the next little town.  I have another brother that lives about 4 hours away also in Montana.  We got to spend time with all of them.  To be honest, I have mixed feelings about Montana.  I think it is a beautiful place to be in the summer.  I also find it sad how hard the economy has fallen since the mines shut down in the 1980s.  I have never been in a place that has such amazing architecture and infrastructure from 100 years ago contrasted by extremely poor and fairly backwards current residents.  It was quite depressing.  I always felt overdressed, especially in Butte.  I think the people of Walmart originated there, except maybe not as yucky/sexy/trashy more like constant sweat pants wearers.  At least, they are all friendly.  One of the things we loved was touring ghost towns.  It is amazing that people would build up a beautiful town with town halls and then pack up and leave overnight.  

kids with their cousins in a ghost town

with more cousins  

When we were done in Montana, we made our way back to Texas with a few stops in Utah.  We spent a few more nights with Annette before taking off.  We also stopped at Arches National Park one day to hike for an hour.

We only stayed in a hotel one night on the way back.  It was a lot of driving, but I realized that I was tired of being in the car and living out of a suitcase.  Sadly, once we entered Texas we were only a little more than half way home.  This is one HUGE state.  

It wasn't a perfect trip, but it was certainly great.  

California Trip & Fam Reunion

Our trip to California and our trip within a trip (family reunion in northern Utah) was pretty great in many ways and a little difficult in a few others.  That is pretty much how life is meant to be I suppose.  The family reunion was amazing, but mainly because I LOVE being around my siblings, cousins, aunts & uncles.  Lexi and Jordan hadn't seen their first cousins (my brothers' kids) in two years.  Plus, they had second and third cousins there.  That alone was worth the trip.  They got to play, run, ride wave runners, get know each other and have a blast.  How often do your kids get to know their second and even third cousins?  Not enough as far as I am concerned.  We even got to stop in Utah and stay at one of my dearest friend's house two times (on the way up & on the way back).  I just love being around her.  My mom even tried to convince me that I should move up there.  I seriously considered it for a few days, but the reality of not liking cold weather, not having enough money to move anywhere, and that the schools really are better in Texas made me rethink this temporary moment of insanity.

Our time in California was nice too, except that it was a difficult month for my mom.  Her work brought in a new head director, who wanted to bring in his own team.  He started cutting the department heads, one of which was my mom.  That brought a level of sadness and relief to her as well as me.  She has been helping me financially, but I know her job was overly stressful.  She also had major surgery scheduled RIGHT after we got back from Utah.  She was in the hospital for a little while and then recovery time.  I am guessing that it is easier to relax and recover without little ones running around, but she has had plenty of practice since she had five kids of her own.  One other thing that happened was that my baby sister moved out of my mom's house.  She got an apartment with our step-sister.  I helped her move, especially since my mom wasn't supposed to be lifting ANYTHING.

We ended up spending quite a bit of time at the San Diego Zoo.  My mom renewed our annual passes.  My sister's boyfriend's band (Steam Powered Giraffe) had a contract to play 4 shows a day for 70 days straight this summer.  If we wanted to see much of her, we had to go there.  We got to see quite a few of their 20 minute concerts.  They are singing musical automatons.  Here is a picture of the kids with my sister and The Rabbit.

Yes, they are quite different, but the steam punk movement is spreading like wildfire and they have catchy songs, several of which my kids are still singing.  Here is one (double click for full screen):

  

High School Homecoming

I didn't end up going to the homecoming assembly.  Mostly, I put off making the decision until it was the week of the reunion, which meant I hadn't made any plans to go.  It came down the a combination of a little too much work to do that day, not wanting the road trip for a one day event, and saving money.  From FB comments, it seems like it was a huge hit.  They even posted a video that they played during the assembly:



Now, I realize that perhaps that time is better forgotten...  Just kidding!   

Let Down

Some times coming home from a vacation feels so good. Other times, it is not fun to go back to reality. The kids and I had a great time in Utah. It was fun being around friends, catching up with people I hadn't seen in too long, having my kids play with other great kids, and just enjoying a change of scenery. Plus, I had so many more people that I wanted to catch up with, but didn't get a chance to.

Being back hasn't been exactly great. It didn't help that I came back to a big work deadline.

I especially miss my friend, Annette, whom I stayed it. I realize that I feel a little lonely here in California. It was amazing spending time with a best friend. I had someone cool to talk to every day.

Also, I actually met a nice guy while I was there. We went on 4 great dates and hit it off. I enjoyed being excited about a guy. A good looking nice guy is a rare thing, but I know how long distance relationships go. It is hard enough to have a regular relationship for single parents.

We are back now and getting into our normal routine. I have decided that it is time to really hit a few of my new year’s resolutions. I am back to loving the gym and eating healthy. I guess I can already check off the going on a date or two.

Favorite Mountain

My favorite mountain of all time is located in Utah.  It is Mount Timpanogos.  At first glance, it may seem like an ordinary mountain, but it really is different.  First, there is a dead Indian Princess across the top (see diagram below).  I grew up hearing two different legends both ending in her death.  One was that she sacrificed herself to save her tribe. The other one had to do with being so sad that the love of her life was killed.  It is a fun story and makes the mountain easy to identify, but that isn't the only great thing about the mountain. 

The second thing I love is the Cave, which is a national park.  The formations throughout the cave are so interesting and the hike to it is great for all ages.  Seeing the mountain again has definitely been one of the highlights of this trip.  Perhaps, I'll have to come back in the summer so I can take the kids on the hike. 

Stuck in Utah

Friday night, I was driving back from a friend's house (who lives about 2 hours north) to the place where I am staying here in Utah when my car suddenly started beeping and warning me that it was overheating and that I should shut the engine off.  I managed to pull over to a gas station and pop open the hood.  There was definitely smoke or steam coming out of the engine and the plastic tank where the coolant/anti-freeze goes was empty.  Fortunately, I had lots of offers for help (one good thing about Utah).  I dragged the kids into the gas station and bought anti-freeze.  A few guys helped pour it in and one told me that I should be good to go. 

I set off again and didn't get very far before it happened again.  I pulled off to the side of the freeway to let it cool off and started making calls for help/advice.  Fortunately, a friend offered to come help even though I was about an hour south and it was freezing cold.  He found me on the side of the freeway.  He looked under the hood and the tank was empty again!   He filled it up and helped me get to the next gas station with multiple stops because of more overheating warnings.  Once there, he opened up the radiator and saw that it was completely dry.  He put anti-freeze directly into it.  He told me that it should take care of it.  Then, he said goodbye and to call him if I have ANY more problems.  I was able to drive all the way back to where we are staying without more overheating warnings thanks to him.  One good thing about Utah is the nice people.   I am sure he had better things to do on a Friday night than freeze his butt off with me.  

Anyway, the check engine light is still on so I do not want to head back to California until whatever else is going on with the vehicle is fixed.  Can you imagine being stuck in Death Valley with two little kids?  My car is being towed up to the Saturn Dealer in Salt Lake today.  Who knows when I'll get to go home?  Once again, I am very thankful my friend and her family here that have made me feel so welcome without any signs of being sick of our LONG vacation.  I was sure they'd want to kick us out by now.          

Haircut

When I first saw my friend that I am staying with in Utah, I loved her hair.  The more I was around her, the more I liked it.  She offered to cut my hair like it.  I know I am a little old to be letting a friend cut my hair, but she has always been great at hair.  Plus, her mom is/was a beautician.  So...now my hair has layers and a bit of life in it.

Freeeeeezing

We're in Utah and it is COLD!  (...For us anyway)  The highs are in the mid 30s and the lows in the 20s.  I think over a decade in warm climates has comletely ruined me for cold weather.  Plus, I have learned that winter gear and carseats don't mix at all.  Last night, I was thinking about how nice it will be to get back to California.  On the other hand, we are having a lot of fun and there is so much more that I want to do.  I haven't even started seeing all the people I wanted to catch up with.  I need to start packing our schedule.  That or stay a few more weeks...  nope just too cold.   

Cold Blast

Tomorrow, I am taking the kids on a road trip. They have been asking to see snow for a while. There are a few places around here where it snows occasionally, but I decided to take them to a place where there is lots of snow …Utah.

I haven’t been there since 1998.  That was just for a weekend wedding. Actually, I haven’t spent any time there since I graduated in 1996. I still have quite a few friends and family members there.  Lastely, I have been chatting with a few of them on facebook and one asked me to come.  The offer was extra tempting since I am only about a 10 hour drive now.

It is going to be weird to see how much it has changed and how much all of my old friends have changed.  I think one of the strangest things will be seeing that most of my friends are parents to teenagers.  A lot of them got married young and had kids right away. 

Well, we are setting off to have fun in the cold.  I realized this past weekend that Southern California is NOT the place to buy winter gear.  We went to several places and felt lucky to get the kids coats and mittens.  I will have to shop for boots up there.  It should be interesting.