DAY 1.5: The Voyage

9:30am yesterday the truck was loaded, the garden planted, yard work done, house clean and we were READY! A quick stop in Twin Falls for a swim suit exchange and then we were off for our LONG journey! Destination #1...VEGAS!

A whole lotta thanks to Nevada state road construction and a big lunch break for making it possible for us to be in our vehicle for nearly 12 hours yesterday! UGH! However, with that said, we must add that the kids were REMARKABLE! Thanks to a suggestion from Michelle, we stopped by the local Red Box and grabbed 3 never before seen movies for the kids. The Wii was left un-played and Mal & Jake were happy! Dawson was great! I made him quite a comfy little throne in his car seat. He fussed a time or two, but that was quickly remedied by Primary Music and horn honking. If the bottom lip came out we would honk the horn. Talk about turning your frown upside down! He would laugh until his whole body shook! Thank goodness for his funny sound of the day being something so easily accessed!

At 9:30pm our time, 8:30pm Vegas time, we pulled into the Dan & Carrie Norris home. The only thing that was bad about it was that I quickly realized that I REALLY wanted to stay there for at least a few days! I missed my sweet Carrie! We hugged every few minutes for the first little while. I have missed her so!

We all got a kick out of Mal & Syd. Surprisingly those two quickly took to each other and played like crazy! Last time they saw each other Mal was still a bit babyish. This time it was all running and screaming and laughing. SO FUN!

After a while everyone went to bed. Me and Carrie headed downstairs to just visit. We ended up staying until neither one of us could hold our eyes open and we talked and laughed SO HARD for quite a while.

I went to bed thinking about how much I love this friend of mine. How blessed we are that we were able to meet and become quick very close friends. Although we only had 2 1/2 years to live near each other, there is no doubt that we are and will be very close friends forever! I believe Lord brings people into your life for you to learn from. If there is anything anyone has to say about the character of this friend of mine, it is that she is the most kind, most loving, most fun, most pretty :) (top 5 in all of Hailey in fact), most giving, most Christlike, most loyal, most amazing person they know. It is true....stop it Carrie! It is too! I know you are saying, "No" and shaking your head! Now you are laughing because I know you too well! :) Just so you know, anyone reading this that does know you is agreeing with ME! :)

Anyway, Dan and Carrie are doing so great! The girls are amazingly cute and growing up so much! I was so happy that they both met me with a big squeeze! I love those little girls! One day, if I get my way, they will be coming for an extended visit! Right girlies?!

This morning I felt incredibly jipped! I wish I could have stayed! Carrie and Dan headed off to work and we kept the girls and took them over a little later. See.....

Last night Carrie hooked Ryan up with a sleep test. Only problem....the finger probe was too tight and the test didn't read. Too bad! I guess we will have to come back VERY soon! :) YAY!

This is the entrance to Dan's office. It is super nice! We are so proud of Dan! We all felt a little, ok TOO MUCH sad when he decided to make the move to Nevada, but honestly, he is so smart and needed! He is a great doctor and what he does is so needed! It is great to watch them get more and more busy! I am sure in no time this will feel a little more like home and people in Henderson will realize how lucky they are to have the Norris family too! AND we look forward to many more visits, 12 hours in the car or not! :)

Now we are somewhere in California. I would love to tell you where, but well, my face has been buried in the laptop for the last little bit. There is civilization, so that means we are out of Nevada! AH, Ryan just said San Bernadino. We are getting closer! It is 69 degrees and we are WAY excited to get our suits on and get to lounging on the beach!

WOW, you hung in for all of that! Good job! I promise the days to follow will consist of FAR more pics and FAR less words! :)

LATER!