A trip to remember.

Warning: Extremely long post ahead. May be of interest to immediate family only.

For the past month, my entire brain has been consumed with preparations for my sister Emily's wedding. She and Andrew were married on October 23rd in Mobile, Alabama. We (meaning, I) decided to drive cross-country so that we could take the kids (Matt wanted to ditch the kids and fly, but kindly gave in to my pleas.) I'm happy to say that we made it--happily!

First, a summary. Then two dozen pictures:

Oct. 20 (Tues.)
--Left Orem at 6:20am, only 20 minutes later than Matt planned. Impressive, if I do say so myself.
--Pristine, breathtaking sunrise in Spanish Fork Canyon; it reminded me that I really do love the Utah landscape.
--My first time in Moab did not disappoint. It had precisely the rugged, adventurous flavor I had imagined.
--Lunch break in dusty little Navajo town. Dusty + windy = very short lunch.
--Hotel in Albuquerque was cheap for a reason. Yikes. We changed rooms because the bathroom sink didn't drain at all. I vowed to spend $10 more the next night.
--Pouring rain means the restless kids have no where to run; I took them to the mall for an hour so they could shake those wiggles out.

Oct. 21 (Wed.)
--Rain, rain, rain, all day long. Matt loved it and wished we didn't live in the desert (is my facetiousness coming through?).
--New Mexico and northern Texas are flat...I think. I was too busy reading a good book to glance up very often.
--Veered south and found humidity. Loved it. (But my hair didn't.)
--Dallas threw our GPS for a loop, literally. We actually had to break out the real atlas to manage.
--We had planned to stop in Dallas, but decided we would rather stay in the car for another two hours than let the kids loose in a tiny hotel room. We drove on to Shreveport, Louisiana.
--Stayed in a casino-hotel. Cheap, but nice in a 1980s Las Vegas sort of way. Anyhow, it was clean and spacious and tropical (decor, that is), and I felt good about putting two kids on the floor for the night.

Oct. 22 (Thurs.)
--Crossed the Mississippi, taught the kids how to spell Mississippi.
--Arrived in Daphne, Alabama (just outside of Mobile, near my parents' home) in the early afternoon. Emily had found us a nice, new hotel, and we were greeted by my Aunt Debi, who was first to arrive.
--Happy to see two babysitters (arranged by my mom) who watched the kids while Matt and I attended the wedding dinner. Restaurant on the bay--gorgeous. Huge fake shark impaled on restaurant's roof--weird.
--Met Andrew's charming Southern family. Ate lots of fried Southern food. No vegetable in sight. Delicious and fun all around.

Oct. 23 (Fri.)
--Flurry of activities all day. Many back and forth trips between hotel and wedding venue.
--Girls (including Jamie Beth) spent morning getting manicures and/or pedicures.
--Boys (including Matt who toted our male munchkins) set up tables, chairs, plants, etc.
--I drove with my mom to be at the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion with sister Emily: decor, dressing flower girl (JB), putting bride's hair in rollers, finding 10 minutes to get myself ready (well, I had been "readying" in stages throughout the day).
--Matt showed up with boys clean and dressed. Special kudos to him for managing those three all day.
--Emily and Andrew married: she was radiant, he was adoring. Beautiful.
--Many pictures, lots of food and dancing. Matthew, Jamie Beth, Dallin, and Nathaniel comprised 75% of the children in attendance; they were petted, praised, photographed, and never wanted for indulgent dance partners.
--Clean-up and home (hotel) to bed.
--Actually, not quite to bed: I drove Matt to the airport while my aunt and siblings helped the kids fall asleep (read: told them stories and ran them around in circles so they were hyper when I got home after midnight).

**I will now pause for a break in narration to share some of the pictures. Any really great pictures were taken by Emily's friend. The blurry ones are all mine.

I took exactly two photos of our roadtrip to and from Alabama. Here's the first, at the mall in Albuquerque. It kind of counts as sightseeing...


Emily and her new mother-in-law, being pampered on all sides...


Emily's cute new sisters-in-law...


My mom's first "full set." She might be addicted...


She wanted purple nails; I allowed rhinestones on pale pink nails, in order to avoid clashing...


The Bragg-Mitchell Mansion...

Emily, the splendid bride...


My dad leads Emily down the aisle...


Jamie Beth was thrilled to be flower girl. She made a point of telling people she would be more modest when I sewed her sleeves onto her dress (um, that didn't quite happen in time for the wedding)...


I loved Andrew more when I saw how he looked at his coming bride...


The beaming couple. Aren't they gorgeous?


Note Nate's socks. The shoes lasted for about 30 seconds after the ceremony...


The best picture that Matthew took of us. We have one of just our feet, as well...


Are those my kids having fun together? I'm so glad that was caught on camera...


My brother, Jeremiah, and his wife, Davilyn (we were sad they left baby Tristan in Idaho)...


My parents are fancied up for the occasion. Mom is now accepting invitations to anyplace she can wear her gorgeous formal...


Aunt Debi is an important part of every kid's life (and vice versa)...


New brother-in-law, Andrew, is roped into a "posed candid" photo with my sister, Jennifer, and my brother, Shaun...

He's done for, and so is Nate...

**Back to the summary.

Oct. 24 (Saturday)
--Slept in...way, way in.
--Tidied up the car, said goodbye to my siblings, started driving again.
--Three hours later, we arrived in Panama City, Florida--my birthplace, the place of earliest childhood memories, the place where my aunts and grandparents live.
--Crashed at Grandpa & Grandma's with my mom and Aunt Debi (have I mentioned that my first word as a toddler was "Debi"). Lucky for Grandpa & Grandma that they were staying an extra day away. The energy bouncing off the kids was palpable.

Oct. 25 (Sunday)
--Happy to find LDS church building just blocks away. I planned to stay just for sacrament meeting, but the kids wanted to stay an extra hour for Primary, so we did. (Another way to expend their energy.)
--Hold onto your hats...we then drove another 1 1/2 hours to my cousin's house. Because this was a driving vacation, so why stop? Also, we knew from previous experience that a house with toys, dogs, cousins, and acres of grass and trees was the ticket to sanity for days afterward. My poor car-bound kids...they needed to run.
--Lunch, chatting, relaxing, then "home" again to my grandparents' house.

Oct. 26 (Monday)
--Jamie Beth and I went off to visit Aunt Debi's antique mall. I could live there. I found a couple plates for my wall, several chairs, vintage jewelry and linens...but I brought home only the plates. (See how much money I saved, Matt?)
--We ate at Tom's Hot Dogs next door; I love that place. Whoever thought to put coleslaw on hot dogs is a genius.
--Oh, the boys? They played Great-Grandpa's Wii Fit under my mom's watchful, indulgent care. (By the way, my mom goes by "Elmo" with my kids...Matthew couldn't say "Oma", her chosen name, so it evolved and stuck. Funny, but it works.)
--Packed up, off we go again, back to Mobile area to stay with my parents overnight. We stopped at a beach for 15 minutes of oceanside fun. Except Nate, who slept in his carseat (we don't mess with that) while my mom kept the car in place.
--Arrived at my parents' home in Magnolia Springs. Grandpa and Elmo live in a luxurious RV out in the country. Luxurious for two or three people, but tricky with four munchkins. The kids absolutely loved the novelty of the whole experience.

Oct. 27 (Tuesday)
--A nice (planned) leisurely late start. After laundry, pictures, and packing, my mom led us on a scenic tour (I want to move to the country) to find local pecans and produce. Then we said goodbyes and started home.
--Seven-ish hours to Shreveport and the Diamond Jack Hotel-Casino.

Oct. 28-30 (Wednesday-Friday)
--It's all a blur now. There was one day that Matt's iPhone (my lifeline) didn't work. I was nervous all day; it's a little pathetic that I was so reliant on the iPhone and GPS...very un-pioneer like.
--I had meant to stop and do educational things like museums, mini-hikes, local interests, etc., but it turns out that when I drive for that long by myself I can only think: drive, drive, let's just get there, drive.
--I ate fried okra and a po' boy somewhere in Louisiana. Good deep-fried Southern love. (Jamie Beth is the only one of my kids to agree with that.)
--Albuquerque has lovely mountains. On our way out, it was dark when we arrived and dark when we left, so we had no idea.
--Monticello, Utah was very, very cold. Very cold.
--Music of choice: Singin' in the Rain and They Might Be Giants. We were boppin' to "Good Mornin'" and "Istanbul" for miles and miles.
--Only two DVDs allowed per day, and the kids were still amazingly well-behaved for those 10-12 hour days. Of course, they had their moments--I had my moments, too. But all in all, I love travelling cross-country with those companions.
--But we were so glad to arrive home at 12:30 on Friday. Matt was even home for lunch, so that we had the perfect reunion. It's worth driving by myself just to come home to all that love. Almost.

**Now the remaining pictures.


A few days after the festivities, my cousin, Amy, provided the perfect place for an afternoon respite...



We needed Amy's house o' toys and three acres of space...





My mom and aunt are excellent playmates for the kids (thank heavens, because I'm tired)...

Jamie Beth and Andie, best cousins both times they've met...

Amy's brother (and my first cousin), Chris, is Matthew's age. Built-in buddy--perfect...

Happy to be at Great-Grandma Anderson's, a place of many of my childhood memories...

Two seconds on the beach and they're already barefoot and happy. Me too...

Nothing says autumn like 76-degree weather on a Florida beach...

I need this beach in my backyard...

My cheeseball kids adore my parents...

Remember I said I took two pictures during the driving part? Here's the second, in some stunning Colorado backcountry...

Finis.