Home Sweet Home!

I LOVE going home. Whoever made the saying "you can't go home again" didn't have a home like I do. My brother had to leave for three weeks to Ohio for training for work, leaving Jenny at home alone with a 3 year old and a 2 month old to take care of. So Andrew came up with the idea to go to Cali for a week. Well heck yeah I thought. So that's just what we did. We loaded all six kids into the van and headed off on our journey. Jenny and I were so worried about how things would go during the 11-12 hour drive with the baby. The baby was the easiest. On the drive there they all did pretty good. It was the drive back that was rough. It seemed 10 times longer. But first back to the trip there. The whole way to Sacramento it was raining. It was not fun to drive in. We made it through Nevada. We made it through the pass in the rain. We were about 45 minutes away from my parent's house when I noticed my car becoming hard to handle. Riley was getting car sick at this point because my car kept going all over the road and I was trying my best to keep control of it. I didn't think something was wrong. I just thought that I was tired and not paying very good attention to the road. Then this man pulls up along side of us on the freeway and rolls down his window as Jenny and I stare at him wondering what he is going to do. He tells us our back tire is flat. We give him a good two thumbs up and then wonder what we should do now. I pull over and get out of the car. Sure enough it was low but not flat.We decided that we would go to the next exit and see what was there. I called my dad and he told me there should be a Pilot gas station there. Sure enough there was. So I hopped out of the car trying to make myself as presentable as possible. Who would want to help a lady with unkempt hair, no make-up, who smells like McDonald's chicken nuggets anyway? So I pop in a piece of gum and walk around the car. The tire had gotten twice as flat in that short amount of time. I go inside and ask the cashier lady for help. She said that there is no place close by that she knows of. I look at her funny because there is a tire repair shop right outside the window that is part of the Pilot station but I guess it's just for semis. Does a car with two tired mothers stressed to the max with six kiddos count as a semi? I mean we had some pretty precious cargo.Well there was this trucker man, we'll call him chuck, who asked if I had a spare. I said " I think so." He said he'd help us. Chuck had the tire off and the spare put back on in minutes and we were back on our way. Chuck would only accept our thank yous and told us to have a good trip. Needless to say we said a very special prayer for Chuck that night and also thanked our Heavenly Father for protecting us and making it so we got our flat tire where we did and not in the rain and not in the pass and not in remote Nevada. We were really blessed.

Here's Chuck getting the flat off. He laughed at me after taking this. I said "Sorry Chuck but I have to record this moment for my blog."

Chuck and Pilot man getting the spare ready. Look at all of our stuff on the road.

The back of our car chuck full of kids who were at this time running around the parking lot. When Chuck came out to help us, I opened the back hatch and I could just see the surprise on his face as one by one the kids emerged from behind seats and other hidden places. Riley was the best. She was car sick so she was under a blanket and came out from under it looking like swamp thing with her hair all over her face. So funny.

Well as usual, there were lots of projects to be done on the ranch. One day Uncle Randy brought out a dump truck full of gravel. The kids were so funny. They stood still and watched Randy dump out all the gravel and then as soon as he pulled the truck away, they all sprinted to the pile. They played in those dirty rocks forever.

Paiters in the rocks. She was funny to watch. She tried to get to the top but just couldn't get up there.

Trevor made it to the top no problem. He would get up there and say "I'm king of the mountain!" Which of course he was.

Paityn again

I love going home in the Spring. Everything was so green. The flowers were in full bloom and so vivid in color. It was all so beautiful. My mom and grandma have very green thumbs and they do a great job every year.Trevor and Cami took an opportunity to play in the sprinklers when Grandma was watering the flowers.

I love this kid. He is so happy at Grandma and Grandpa's

Sweet girl

Riley didn't want to get too wet but she did venture into the sprinkler too. Love this girl.

Trevor and Tanner. Two boys, the same age, wanting to do the same things, both knowing just what buttons to push. These two had a constant power struggle going on the whole trip.

So sweet looking.

Paityn up on top of the newly refurbished hill

Cami in the golf cart. Cami and Riley were helping Grandma a lot this trip. Cam got a couple of bumps and bruises along the way but she was a trooper.

The top of the hill is where Jeff and Jenna are going to get married. They had a tractor come out and flatten the tip top and now they are planting trees and flowers and grass all over it. This is the very first tree planted that day.

Trevor on the BIG tractor. His favorite thing.

I love going home. I love seeing my family and playing with them and laughing with them and eating with them. I love seeing my kids so excited to play with their cousins. I love how quiet and peaceful it is out on the ranch. I love the smell of my mom and dad's house. I love seeing my grandma and grandpa zoom around on their golf cart still hard at work. I love waking up in the morning and having an array of things laid out for breakfast. I love how Paityn LOVES her grandpa. I love smelling the flowers and grass. Here are some of my favorite shots that I got of the beauty of the ranch...

It's no secret that I love this place. But nobody knows just how much I crave going home. Nobody knows that I wish we lived closer so that my kids could learn how to work like I did. So that my kids could see their cousins and grandparents more often then two or three times a year. Nobody knows that I secretly don't wash my p.j.s for a few days after getting back home to Utah because is smells like home. While I miss my California home, and the things that I love there, I LOVE my Utah home and the fun things that we have here as well. Thank you Honey for letting me go and taking care of everything while we were gone. We missed you. You are the best.