I don't think I want to get in my van for a few days! John and I left last Thursday for a huge road trip. We went and moved his mom from Idaho Falls to Mesa, AZ to his sister Cathi's house. We made sure we had lots of stops along the way to break things up. Here is our itinerary:
Thursday: Left Vegas around 10:30am arrived in Provo at 5:00pm. We took a long lunch break at Costa Vida in Cedar City. Our new favorite stopping place ever since they closed Iceburg. I miss their milkshakes! We got to Provo in time to have dinner with Ashley at Legends Grill. We ran into my cousin's daughter Emily Crandall. That was fun! haven't seen her in years. She looks great. We took Ashley to Walmart to stock up on a few things. And then we said goodbye. Stopped at my parents to visit for a little bit. Good to see them and my brother Mark there. We spent the night at my sister Cindy's house. It was fun to catch-up with them.
Friday: Left Lehi at 7:30am, stopped at Kneaders in Highland for breakfast with our dear friends the Blacks. They are friends from our Spokane days. So great to visit with them! Can you believe my camera was I my purse and I forgot to take pictures! ugh!
We left breakfast at 9:00 and drove up to Idaho Falls. We got there around noon and our niece Stephanie came to help pack things up and we had lunch at Red Robin. It was yummy. It was really good to visit with Steph and see how college life is treating her. She was a huge help with packing up Grandma. She sat grandma in a chair and then went through several boxes with her. John and I don't have the patience for that. It would have all gone in the DI pile.
Grandma is a bit of a collector. We did our best to put ourselves in her shoes and remember that all her stuff is all she has left. Cleaning it out and packing up her things to have in one bedroom is pretty hard. There were a lot of memories and emotions stirred up. We did laugh when we found a few things... like this soap collection. I will be cleaning out several of my cupboards this week! I feel inspired to de-junk.
Saturday: we packed up Grandma's car and my van. We drove Grandma to Salt Lake. We had a few minutes to stop and see Ashley. She was in Salt Lake to go to the Relief Society broadcast. I am so jealous that she got tickets and got to see the Prophet speak! So cool. It was an amazing conference!
We then took Grandma to the airport and she flew to Phoenix. Then we drove down to Brian Head and stayed at the Jarman's cabin for the night. I love that place! So peaceful!
Sunday: We slept in, got up and looked out the window to see this: a mommy dear with her 2 little ones! and the most beautiful color of yellow leaves! It was breathtaking!
We left around 11:00 and drove the 2 cars all the way to Mesa. That was the worst leg of our trip. Being the only driver in the car = yucky. The first hour was beautiful, driving through the mountains, the leaves were gorgeous. But from Kanab on, it was ugly desert! Lots of 2 lane highways and boring scenery. I had some good podcasts to listen to on my iPod, general conference and nice Sunday music. John and I used walkie talkies to keep each other awake and to talk without cell phones, the cell service wasn't great for most of the trip. It was about an 8 hour drive to Mesa.
We arrived at Cathi and Kris' that evening and we were exhausted. It was fun to visit with Cathi and Kris. We stayed up talking till about midnight. Candace and her husband swung by to visit and so did Kyle. It was nice to see them. It's been a while. I can't believe how tall Keaton is and cute little is Kade is all grown up! Again, I forgot to take pictures! Cathi painted a room all cute for her mom and I think she will really like living there. The winters in Idaho Falls are so long and hard on Grandma. She goes to a new cancer doctor on Wednesday.We are anxious to hear what they say. She is very frail and her tumor is very large. But she seemed to have a lot of energy last week. I think she was excited about moving.
Monday: We got up and headed home. We stopped at the Sunburst office there to say hello to Bret. John really misses him in the Vegas office! It was good to see him. Then we Drove home in time to watch the Bears play Monday night football! Some things are important!
We drove exactly 2010 miles! We are thankful we didn't have any car trouble or any other problems. It went very smooth!
3 comments:
Ugh....that sounds so tiring! You are going to rack up the blessings for that trip. Glad you guys had time to do that for her. Very nice. I hope my kids will do that for me! Love ya- Julie
that soap is hilarious! my grandma was a minimalist... she didn't keep anything, and we were all VERY grateful for that when it was time to move her into an assisted living facility.
The cup of soap made me uncomfortable- you guys are awesome!
Post a Comment