We made it!

We finally made it to Utah. We drove over 1000 miles in one day. How exhausting! We crossed four states today: Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. We finally pulled up to our house around 10:00pm. I am so glad we made it safe and that we didn't have any problems with the Penske truck. We missed Madeline so much! It was fun talking to her on the phone because we would tell her the states we crossed and my mom would show her on a map so she could see where we have been. She always asked, "Are you driving in the big, yellow truck?" I will sure be glad not to be driving in the big, yellow truck. What a long cross-country trip. I'm so glad it's over.

The Gateway Arch

We continued our cross country trip. Yesterday we crossed three states traveling from Orlando to Tennessee. Today we were in five states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. We stopped off in St. Louis, Missouri to visit the Gateway arch. It was so amazing and totally worth the effort trying to get there. St. Louis is a really neat city.

Andrew and I in front of the arch.

The amazing view from the top of the arch.

I am inside the top of the arch.

Universal Orlando

On our trip across the country, Andrew and I stopped in Orlando for two days. We had some 2-day tickets to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure that we have had since 2005. So, we finally decided to use them. We had such a fun time. We liked Islands of Adventure better because it had more rides where Universal Studios had more shows. We loved The Incredible Hulk and Dueling Dragons Roller Coasters. We also really liked the Simpsons and Spiderman rides. Andrew and I had never been to either park before, so it was a fun experience. I really want to go back in 2010 because there will be a new Harry Potter ride at Islands of Adventure. The ride was under construction and looks awesome.

Universal Orlando Slideshow

Good-bye Florida. Hello Utah.

This is a bitter sweet day. We packed everything in the big yellow truck and are headed across the country to Utah. I flew Madeline out to stay with my parents earlier this week. We had to tell her that there are only two seats in the truck and that she will have much more fun with her grandparents and cousins. We will really miss Florida. We've made a lot of friends and will really miss them. Good-bye Florida!

Disney World

We took Madeline to Disneyworld one last time before we move to Utah. We went to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios. Madeline is so funny because she loves to go to the 3-D shows but when the show starts, she lays on Andrew's shoulder and closes her eyes. But as soon and the movie is over, she wants to go again. It was Madeline and Andrew's first time to Hollywood Studios and I hadn't been for 10 years, so we really enjoyed it. Madeline went on the Tower of Terror two times. She was barely tall enough to go on the ride (only because her hair was done in two ponytails with large bows sticking up). Madeline loved the Tower of Terror and wanted to go again and again, but there were too many other things to do. Andrew and I really liked the Rock-n-Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. It's like Space Mountain where it's in the dark, but more intense of a ride. We went to most of the shows: Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Disney's Playhouse, Indiana Jones, Muppet's 3-D show, and Star Tours. We really enjoyed watching FANTASMIC which is a water, light, and firework show they do at dusk. It was awesome and Madeline loved it because most of the Disney characters were in it including the princesses. We will really miss Disneyworld.

MAGIC KINGDOM

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Disneyworld Slideshow.

Trip to Spokane, Washington

We went to visit our good friends, the Fairhursts, in Spokane, Washington. Madeline was sooo excited to see Ashton and Chloe. They are like her brother and sister. When Madeline saw Ashton and Chloe at the airport, she hugged them. It was like they were never apart. We ended up staying longer than planned because we were having so much fun and didn't want to leave (actually it's because of not being able to fly out of such a small airport--it took us three days to get out of Spokane). But those extra days with the Fairhursts were great. Here are some pictures of our trip (I stole some of the pictures from the Fairhursts blog):

We took the kids to a waterpark one day. We were there maybe one hour when everyone had to get out of the pool because some kid pooed in the water. It was really disgusting. At least Madeline was able to go down the waterslide twice before that happened (she would have been really sad if she didn't get to go down the slide). Once she went by herself only because Andrew pushed her ahead of him and followed after her (the lifeguards weren't to happy about that one)!

Getting ready to swim.

Madeline in front of her favorite: the waterslide.
The Fairhurst family.
One evening we went to the riverwalk in downtown Spokane. The kids got to ride on an old-fashioned carousel and play at the park. Out of all the places to sit on the carousel, Madeline choose to sit on the bench next to a lady she does not know. She is so funny.

Madeline sitting by the lady.

Chloe and Kevin.
Ashton.
Pictures of the fun park where the kids played.


Playing on the train.

One of the days, we took the kids to an indoor bounce house. They had so much fun.

The three musketeers.

Ashton and Madeline racing each other.

Chloe and Maddy trying to hold hands.
The Fairhursts have a trampoline and the kids had a lot of fun playing on it.

Eating breakfast.
Playing guitar hero.

Maddy-isms

My sister-in-law, Amanda, told me something funny that Madeline said to her while Madeline was staying in Utah. David (my brother) and Amanda were getting ready to go to a movie. Amanda is about 8 months pregnant. Madeline asked her what she was going to do with her baby while they were at the movies. Amanda said, "I'm going to take him with me."
Madeline said, "You can take him out of your tummy and leave him here and grandma can watch him."
Amanda said, "The doctors said that he has to stay in my tummy a little longer."
Madeline said, "Oh."
She is so funny.

Back together again.

I flew back to Utah on July 29th and left Madeline with my family. They watched her so that Andrew and I could get some packing and other stuff done. We wouldn't have been able to do that without free flights. But there is a huge disadvantage to free flights and that is knowing that you may not make it to your destination on the day you want. Andrew and I tried to fly to Utah on August 2nd but the flights were totally booked that day (we were trying to make it before Sunday for a baby blessing). Well we barely made it to Utah on Sunday, August 3rd and ended up missing the baby blessing but were there in time to see family and eat lunch (if only their church started at 1:00pm, we would have made it). My sister picked Andrew and I up from the airport and brought Madeline with her. It's been almost a week since i've seen her and I missed her so much. Now our little family is back together again. We went down to visit my family later on that evening and these are some typical pictures of what my family does on a hot Sunday evening.

Cousins and second cousins eating popsicles.

Pictures of my extended family just hanging out.

Dad and Bill are deep in conversation.

My parents just got a new puppy and tonight we had a "naming" party. Everyone who wanted to participate put down on a piece of paper what they wanted to name the puppy. The puppy's name is Roxy. She is the cutest little thing and so fun to cuddle.

Maddy and Roxy.

Emily and Madison with Roxy.

The boys playing basketball.