If you fly the friendly skies, it could take up to a half a day to fly from Tennessee to Salt Lake City, and that's if you have a layover somewhere. By car....well lets just say....if you go by car, it's NOT a day trip! But... when all is said and done, you will be able to say you've been in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and Utah. So after giving it some thought, we decided to drive home for Christmas. This does shed some doubt on our ability to make a rational decision, but all rationale goes out the door when you're emotionally driven by a great desire to be with loved ones for Christmas.
So our road trip began...and after miles and miles of miles and miles, we ended the first leg of our trip in Denver. A mere 18 hours and we had arrived back in the Rockies. Ahhhh....home! And though we still had miles and miles of more miles and miles to travel, we were finally able to take some scenic pictures. (Yes, our first and only scenic pictures were taken the second day of our journey when we drove through the mountains of Colorado.) As a matter of fact, it was so beautiful that we almost made a phone call saying we'd come as far as we could and if anyone wanted to see us, they could join us on the slopes of Vail Colorado. Too bad we don't ski.
Lucky for us we were just one step ahead of the snow storms that wreaked havoc on Christmas travelers across the U.S. As a matter of fact, the road we were traveling on (I-70) was closed the day after our arrival in Cedar City, Utah. Then it started to snow. And snow. And snow. We wanted a white Christmas and it looked pretty likely we would be having one.
After we arrived in Cedar and the snow kept falling, we decided this called for some serious gingerbread house making and snow playing.
After three days, we were back on the road again. But before we left, Before we left, we made sure to stop for the best burger in town. Ya wanna guess where that was? The BOWLING ALLEY! Go figure.
Next stop...Salt Lake City. With our sleigh packed to the gills, our bun warmers on, and an extra gallon of windshield wiper fluid, just in case, we headed north.
After traveling all those miles and miles of miles and miles to get to Salt Lake for Christmas, we began to really question our decision. What in the world possessed us to do such a crazy thing! Especially since we still had to drive back...AAUGH!
So...why did we do this...
Maybe we did it because we really wanted to be a part of that crazy gift exchange at Penni's house. You know...the game that Grandma Hand started years ago with all her treasures from entering the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes that she couldn't bear to part with so she decided to wrap them up for a Christmas Eve we would never forget. Thanks to Penni, the tradition continues. Oh the treasures one can walk away with...
Maybe it's because we love opening up new PJ's to wear to bed on Christmas Eve. Or maybe it's watching the faces of our grandchildren as they listen to the story of our Savior's birth on that first Christmas so long ago. Or maybe it's that magical feeling only present on a snowy Christmas Eve.
Maybe it's because we can't wait for Santa to come so we can watch the faces of the kids as they open their gifts. Priceless.
Maybe it's the jammies that fit,
and those that don't.
Maybe it's tradition. Maybe it's Christmas casserole, muffins, and juice, or Bob's
Tenderloin....yummm!
Maybe it's having a white Christmas and playing in the snow.
Maybe it's the family band and lots of Christmas songs together.
Maybe it's having breakfast with best friends and wondering how time has gone by so quickly that our girls are now moms and we're grandmas! Maybe it's realizing how blessed we are to have such lifelong friends. (Thanks LaDean and Aly...it was so fun to see you!)
Maybe it's staying up as late as we possibly can after getting all the kids settled down so we can play games, laugh, and just have fun together.
So our road trip began...and after miles and miles of miles and miles, we ended the first leg of our trip in Denver. A mere 18 hours and we had arrived back in the Rockies. Ahhhh....home! And though we still had miles and miles of more miles and miles to travel, we were finally able to take some scenic pictures. (Yes, our first and only scenic pictures were taken the second day of our journey when we drove through the mountains of Colorado.) As a matter of fact, it was so beautiful that we almost made a phone call saying we'd come as far as we could and if anyone wanted to see us, they could join us on the slopes of Vail Colorado. Too bad we don't ski.
Lucky for us we were just one step ahead of the snow storms that wreaked havoc on Christmas travelers across the U.S. As a matter of fact, the road we were traveling on (I-70) was closed the day after our arrival in Cedar City, Utah. Then it started to snow. And snow. And snow. We wanted a white Christmas and it looked pretty likely we would be having one.After we arrived in Cedar and the snow kept falling, we decided this called for some serious gingerbread house making and snow playing.
After three days, we were back on the road again. But before we left, Before we left, we made sure to stop for the best burger in town. Ya wanna guess where that was? The BOWLING ALLEY! Go figure.Next stop...Salt Lake City. With our sleigh packed to the gills, our bun warmers on, and an extra gallon of windshield wiper fluid, just in case, we headed north.
After traveling all those miles and miles of miles and miles to get to Salt Lake for Christmas, we began to really question our decision. What in the world possessed us to do such a crazy thing! Especially since we still had to drive back...AAUGH!
So...why did we do this...
Maybe we did it because we really wanted to be a part of that crazy gift exchange at Penni's house. You know...the game that Grandma Hand started years ago with all her treasures from entering the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes that she couldn't bear to part with so she decided to wrap them up for a Christmas Eve we would never forget. Thanks to Penni, the tradition continues. Oh the treasures one can walk away with...
Maybe it's because we love opening up new PJ's to wear to bed on Christmas Eve. Or maybe it's watching the faces of our grandchildren as they listen to the story of our Savior's birth on that first Christmas so long ago. Or maybe it's that magical feeling only present on a snowy Christmas Eve.Maybe it's because we can't wait for Santa to come so we can watch the faces of the kids as they open their gifts. Priceless.
Maybe it's the jammies that fit, and those that don't.
Maybe it's tradition. Maybe it's Christmas casserole, muffins, and juice, or Bob'sTenderloin....yummm!
Maybe it's having a white Christmas and playing in the snow. Maybe it's the family band and lots of Christmas songs together.Maybe it's four generations of girls under one roof.
Maybe it's having breakfast with best friends and wondering how time has gone by so quickly that our girls are now moms and we're grandmas! Maybe it's realizing how blessed we are to have such lifelong friends. (Thanks LaDean and Aly...it was so fun to see you!)Maybe it's staying up as late as we possibly can after getting all the kids settled down so we can play games, laugh, and just have fun together.
Or maybe it's that after-all-the-games-are-over-late-night-talk-with-mom. You know... the one that's not planned but happens every time we're together that I look forward to after dad goes to bed. The one that sort of caps off our visit and begins our long goodbye. That one.
Maybe those are the reasons we do it, or maybe we're just crazy!! I guess we are a little crazy. All I know is that it was worth it. Thanks for such a wonderful Christmas! We love you all!
13 comments:
That made me cry. I always look forward to your visits and cry and cry when they're over! Thank you for spending Christmas with us and making it so memorable...we love you so much!
Oh Diane, look at all those precious memories, that is why we do crazy things, our families make it all worth the snow and miles and miles of roads. I am so lucky to have such special friends like you guys and it was so good to see you all!!
WOW! I love your cute sense of humor and your darling pictures! HOW FUN!
Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like you guys had a great trip out west!
It was really great to see y'all for christmas.... I'm thinking now its my turn to go south! :)
That made me cry, too. Thank you so much for making Christmas the best ever! And trust me...I know you must love us to do that horrendous drive! Love you!
I used to sob like a baby when my mom would go home. Then as I got older and my kids did too - they took over the bawling when Grandma left and I had to be the rationale strong one. Go figure:) Sounds like so much fun - I was so jealous when Tina told me it was a blizzard in UT and here we were in brown, dead and dry AZ. Next year I'm coming to Utah - call me crazy but I think Christmas would feel more like Christmas if I had 1000 people to see and places to be, and there was snow on the ground. I'm sorry I missed out on seeing you - do it next year (except maybe fly:)) and I'll be there too! Love ya!
I didn't cry, but it was a good post. I was wondering when you were gonna get it up. Thanks for driving across the nation to visit your kids in Utah. When's the next trip?
Well make me cry because I missed all of the fun this by having the crud. I LOVED THE PICTURES AND THE STORIES BEHIND EACH PICTURE. THOSE ARE SO VERY PRECIOUS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRAVELING HOME. I know that you came in the VERY BEST CAR AVAILABLE AND WITH BUM WARMERS - THANKS FOR DRIVING ME IN THIS LUXURY CAR AND GIVING ME A TASTE OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS.
Sounds like an unforgettable trip. We love grandparents and all of their sacrifices, they make everything so fun!
sure wish we could have seen you guys. But we understand how busy it is when you travel. Sweet post!
Thank you for posting ALL of the fun pictures!! Not that I don't like reading stories.. but pictures are just awesome. Looks like you had a warm and wholesome Christmas.
Looks like a fun trip. I seem to forget that many others have to drive far longer than my 12 hour trip! At least you don't have to do it with three toddlers! Anyway, great pictures! It was too bad that you left as we came. Maybe another trip our paths will cross!
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