We had a great trip to Utah this summer.  We haven't been to Utah for two years, which is such a long time for us to not see family and grandparents' houses.  Thankfully we have had different family members visit us here in Virginia since our last trip to see them, so we haven't totally been void of family.

I'll try to take a few days to explain our trip.  At this point I've probably forgotten a lot of it, but hopefully I get the key experiences in.

We left on a Saturday in June (the 23rd).  It was suppose to be the day after girls' camp, but girls' camp got flooded out and Alyssa, Rebecca and Samara came home a day early.  I have to say that this was probably better for us so we could get some clothes washed and everything packed up better (I really didn't know what to pack for the girls).

So we pulled out that morning at 6:10 am.  A pretty good start--only 10 minutes later than planned.  It was a drizzly/rainy morning, but it was so beautiful driving through parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania.  Our destination was Sun Prairie, Wisconsin.  Because of the long drive (13 1/2+ hours!), we didn't really make any special stops.

Except for dinner at Fazoli's in South Bend, Indiana.  Everyone loved that!

And Roy did love driving through Chicago.  (We were SO glad we bought an EZ pass so we didn't have to stop at all the tolls that day!)

And we drove in 8 states!  VA, MD, PA, OH, IN, MI, IL, WI!

I think we got to Sun Prairie around 9:00 pm.  We stayed with my dear MTC companion, Emily Draper Gammon, and her family.  It was a highlight of my trip, one of the most anticipated parts of the trip.  They were so gracious and hospitable.  It was a true joy to see such a dear friend and to feel of her goodness.  The sunset was gorgeous as we drove into their neighborhood.  And Westin decided Wisconsin is a pretty great state (fields, fireflies, cozy evening, chocolate milk).


... Okay, we'll go to day 2.

We woke up and got ready for church with our friends.  They had made a full, Wisconsin style (maybe?) breakfast for us, complete with Wisconsin chocolate milk!  Mmmm! We all agree it was some of the best ever, if not the best.

We took a few pictures.

 Unfortunately Dennis is not in this picture because he was taking it, and Isaac and Joseph had already left to take someone to church, but here is Emily with Rachel, Hannah, James, Samuel, Mary and Luke.

Church was great.  It's always a blessing to attend church and partake of the sacrament and feel the Holy Ghost no matter what ward we go to.

And then!  Emily did one of the things she always does best.  She sent us off with a gift (from Wisconsin)--cheese curds and Culver's Frozen Custard!  She is always so thoughtful.  I have never left her from visiting without her giving me something right before I go.  And she really was inspired because the night before, all the kids wanted to go to Culver's but we didn't because we just wanted to reach our destination.  And of course we couldn't go on Sunday.  But the Gammons had planned ahead and had it all ready for us and in the church freezer and everything.  They are so sneaky!  That was pretty much our lunch as we drove to Madison.  Here's the state capitol.

Then we drove and drove and drove (thank goodness for some nice rest areas).  Such a pretty drive--so many farms.  We went through Minnesota and South Dakota.  We stayed the night in Kadoka, SD, where the parking area was a mud pit, but the hotel was actually really nice.  And we got SO many smashed bugs on the front of the car.  Yuck!

To blog or not to blog, that is the question.  Will this be a good way to record our family events?  Will I keep up on it?  Will I figure out how to do it?  We'll see.