In the last few months I felt very strongly that I needed to go visit my Grandmother in Wyoming. Grandma Jackson lives about 5 hours from my parents in Utah. Because of the distance and the little time we have when we visit Utah, I haven't been to Star Valley in over 5 years. Living in the great north, in the middle of winter, and knowing I would need to take the trek myself with the littles had me questioning this feeling. In the end, I knew I needed to go or I would regret it.
We were scheduled to leave Monday Feb 28th and by Saturday, I was sick sick sick. Again. My chest felt like someone was squeezing super hard all of the time. I could function, but just barely. The trip seemed like it just wouldn't happen. We had a RS temple trip scheduled that day and I decided I could sit home or sit at the temple so I went. In the temple I knew that I needed to continue on with the trip. I would be okay. So after I got home we called our Home Teachers and I got a blessing and the chest pain eased away that day. I wasn't fully better but enough to keep our plans. Will got sick Saturday evening.
Monday morning Will was still not feeling well (a mild fever) but off we went. We left around 9am. Marcus stayed to help us off and we both drove away the same time. Just for the record, I like being around my husband. This was one of the most difficult things about our trip. Still, it was very exciting to be starting out.
Instead of stopping at McDonald's or some other play land for a break, I decided that we would stop at big stores and the kids could walk the aisles. This happened to be a Walmart. We were stuck in this aisle for a long time because Will loves vacuums so dearly. I had to capture the moment. He was in heaven.
Our first night we stayed in Bismark, North Dakota. We ordered a pizza right away and then went swimming. Amazingly, it worked out really well. Originally this night seemed super scary to me and just overwhelming but it turned out just fine. The kids had a blast and so did I. We all went to bed together. Will never left my body. He slept next to me (pretty much on top of me). The next morning we had waffles at the hotel. One of the ladies working in the breakfast area asked me if my kids were twins. Confused I explained who my children were (pointing to Reagan and Ainsley). She assured me she knew which kids and still thought they were twins. That was a first, and probably a last. It really caught me off guard.
We loaded up and hit the road again. This time our destination was Billings, MT. The best part, no hotel. We had cousins waiting for us!
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| Ainsley, Will and Elsa |
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| Ainsley after her cousins Claire and Leigh dolled her up |
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| The hair do. Too bad you can't see the sparkles! |
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| Reagan had a blast dressing up and playing with Leigh |
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| Cute and spunky Elsa |
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| The dance party |
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| One of the best memories for the kids |
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| All worn out and watching some TV |
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| Ainsley getting her make-up. Make-up artist=Claire |
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| Reagan and Leigh |
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| Elsa taking care of her own make-up |
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| Aunt Becky, Reagan, Elsa and Ainsley. Poor Elsa got the stomach flu right before we left. |
We had a blast visiting Uncle Rob, Aunt Becky, Claire, Leigh and Elsa. The kids played non-stop. I was AMAZED that we had virtually no fighting. I thought for sure Elsa and Ainsley would have problems but not the case. Becky is a perfect hostess. Will cried pretty much non-stop. By this point he had figured out that Daddy wasn't around and that we were not going home anytime soon and he was mad. I mean really mad. One afternoon he put on his boots and coat to go play outside (I thought) but instead just walked over to the van and cried. Poor kid... and poor me... and poor everyone listening to him cry for three straight days. The afternoon before we left I reached the end of my patience and Becky took over. She took a very unhappy Will and off they went to leave me 30 minutes of peace (to pack). Will finally settled down and was fine that evening. I was also much better that evening after receiving a break from my upset little boy.
Next stop - Idaho Falls, ID
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