We're going on a road trip and I'm bringing Advil

OK, I'm only semi-kidding -- the hours upon hours in the car weren't *that* bad.

Friday, June 25th we set off on our pilgramage to Zion (ie our vacation in Idaho and Utah). A week before we left I jokingly asked my kids if they would rather go to Disneyland. You should have seen the horror on their faces.

The first trip to Utah:

Friday we drove 8 loooooong hours to Brian Head, Utah. The first 3 hours were probably the roughest. Nate sat in the back crying because he was going to miss all of his friends, Sadie wanted to play with every little item in her back pack and Luke decided at about 40 minutes out of Flastaff that he didn't like sitting that long and he was not entertained by any of the books or food I brought him. I even tried to entertain him with a lollipop which he threw at me. Fun times! Oh and I refused to let the kids drink because I was worried they were going to have to use the bathroom before we were ready to stop and they all moaned about being thirsty.

I am happy to say that once every one grasped the reality that we were going to be in the car for a loooong time that things went better. And it's very helpful that I'm bendy.

Now you might be wondering why we stay in Brian Head. It adds about 30 minutes to the drive, but it is a gorgeous drive, gets you farther into Utah, and you can get really cheap resort rooms in the summer since it's a fantastic ski destination.

Brian Head was gorgeous -- we saw snow, we saw deer, we got room service TWICE and the kids said, "Thank you for taking us on this very fun vacation." Oh just you wait children!

Saturday we woke up and made a short drive to Cedar Hills to stay with some of very favorite friends: The Hortins. Tasha lived in Arizona until about 2 years ago and our kids line up perfectly (although chunker Nathan is 2 months younger than Luke, but quite a bit heavier). It was so nice to relax and just hang out with them. It was especially nice not to dig out our swimsuits as all their kids had some we could borrow.

Ellie and Ashley ran off and did whatever 8 year old girls do now that they are so very grown up. It involves lots of whispering, giggling and occasionally shrieking that the little girls won't leave them alone. Nate and Tanner had the Wii and Legosand Sadie and Macy dressed up, played Polly Pockets and generally were adorable.
That night we managed to get the kids into bed around 8 (not even kidding although I can't tell what time they actually fell asleep) so we could have dessert from Blue Lemon, watch a movie and then enjoy the surprise fireworks (obviously the City of Cedar Hills knew we were in town).

Sunday was sad because we had to head out mid-morning (next time we're staying longer, so be prepared Tasha) but luckily the boys woke up at 6 am so everyone could still squeeze in some play time.

Next up: Idaho part 1 (as soon as my sister finds her camera cord since she has all the pictures on her camera)

Sneak peek of why I am relying on my sister's picture