Slam edition-Des Moines

After Las Vegas we routed through Denver to see family which is always a good time.  Denver marked the end of the vacation portion of our travels.  We had to get down to business, log miles and haul it home.  We hit Des Moines right on schedule, but then we hit a deer!  That was not on our schedule.  

We saw two deer dart into the two lane interstate.  I looked at the speedometer and noted that My Hero was able to slow 10 mph to 60 before we collided with one of the deer.  He didn't swerve, just came to a stop.  I remember saying, "You did a good job.  You did the right thing."  This was later verified by Geico and Iowans alike.  Swerving usually exacerbates the problem.  We were unscathed, but shaken.  The kids were especially scared and we wouldn't let them get out of the car.  There was glass everywhere, but we showed them the pictures that we took.  Four cars (including one Semi) pulled over behind us and they say the deer flew 40 feet in the air before landing beside the road.  The deer did not fare so well.  We used our magic phones to call our insurance company.  Meanwhile a police officer pulled over, walked up to my window and said, "Welcome to Iowa."  He got an accident report for us pronto.  

Then we used our magic phones to google for repair shops near Des Moines (at this point I'll stop being shy about it; I'm completely in love with my iPhone) and there weren't so many shops open after noon on a Saturday, but we found one only 30 miles backwards.  The engine was fine, so I put on some ski goggles to protect myself from flying shards of glass and held a map over the windshield hole with my feet.  My Hero took it nice and easy.  After we settled into the waiting room at the repair shop, I started to get the shakes and tears.  People started telling us stories of untimely death and destruction in similar scenarios.  The inside of our car looked as if it had been sprinkled with pixie-dust, there was so much glass, but no one had been cut.  Finally, the air bags did not deploy.  For short people like me, that can often cause the most damage so I thought that was a miracle, too.  It was basically a three hour delay in our journey and some hotel juggling to get us on track again.  I'm feeling tender about life.

 

We didn't see the deer as we passed the collision spot.  We have two theories.  1.  The deer was merely stunned and eventually scrambled to it's feet and continued on it's way as well.  2.  There is a list in Iowa for people who want to haul away fresh road kill as cheap, delicious wild game (this part is not theory), so we think somebody took the deer home for dinner.  Maybe someone from the list or maybe one of the four cars that pulled over to make sure we were okay.

Hug somebody

Glam edition-Vegas

Now for something completely different...  We went down to Vegas to see a Cirque show ("O" of course!) and visit the incomparable Skouson family.   The "O" show was a no go ;) but I had never been to Vegas so Erik indulged me with a walking tour of the strip.  Nothing compared with the Virgin River Gorge (no pictures because I was busy jaw dropping the entire ride), but my favorite parts of the pleasure town were all at the Bellagio:  Conservatory Garden, Baccarat glass, Cirque sculpture gallery and the fountain show.  I'll have to go back for that Cirque show and a cheap steak dinner...oh yeah, and the world's largest chocolate fountain (also at the Bellagio).

Zion 2

Our second day in St. George, I stayed home with our super sleepy canyon hikers and worked on an article about traveling with children.  ErikMy Hero and  the "big kids" returned to Zion's for horseback riding lessons.  Another gorgeous day for my gorgeous cowgirls and their maverick papito.  Take home lesson:  riding horses is not glamorous.  

All's Well in Zion

On our way home we swung south through St. George and Zion's National Park.  Honestly, I never knew Utah was such a cool state...and I lived there till I was 10 and all through college.  I guess I just never DID anything there before.  It's a lot of fun.

P.S. visit St. George in the spring because I think the 102 degree days dehydrates some of the fun out of it.

Springtime in Zion

Six days prior to these shots, we were skiing at Sundance!  It's a little trippy to travel through seasons so quickly.  I've never seen anything like Zion National park or the Virgin River Gorge (on our way to Vegas).  

Special Day

I just loaded these pictures of a special day shortly before we left the Wasatch Mountains.  We visited my Aunt Evie in Kaysville.  She took us to my grandmother's gravesite.  Grandma passed away on Christmas Day 2007.  That felt very appropriate to me since she had such a strong testimony of our Savior and she always brought joy to my life. 

Cover Fort Easter

We celebrated Easter with family on Saturday evening and hit the road after church on Sunday.  As luck would have it, the Days, were traveling along the same road and we were able to meet up at Cove Fort that evening.  Three cheers for good friends!!! 

On Set

I'll let My Hero post about "Berlin", but I just wanted to share some photos of our family on set.  Mermaid was cast as baby Christian (nepotism? yes, but very sentimental).  She had an authentic costume and was a favorite with the cast.  Trpedo was considered for toddler Christian, but he's far too combustible for film.  Still, we got some sweet shots of him in the costume.  The rest of us had fun hanging around and learning how movies are made.

Always time for cheesecake

Happy Birthday, My Hero! 

He only had 50 minutes to join us for lunch and a luscious Keylime cheesecake. 

(Kendra C's lemon cheesecake is still number 1!)

Skiing

This was my 4th time skiing, but it was a first for the girls.  It was so fun to watch them go and, I'll admit it, it was really fun to leave them with the instructor.  I mostly stuck to the blue routes but My Hero took on a couple of black diamonds for his birthday.  

pulling over for directions

 The Smith's grocery store in Heber was so gigantic that I got lost on my first visit.  They offer about 30 different choices for Spaghetti sauce...dizzying.  Sometimes more is just more.  Fortunately, we found the milk since that is clearly a staple in our home and I wanted to visit this labyrinth as little as possible. 

Highlights

In an unexpected twisted of fate, My Hero's H.S. sweetheart offered me such a sweet gift: highlights, lowlights and a whole morning of pampering! If you live or visit anywhere near American Fork contact me so that I can give you her information because she is a fantastic person and a wonderful stylist.