16 days, @ 3500 miles, 12 times loading/unloading car, 3 kids, one mommy, no daddy.
We just got back from a 2 1/2 week trip to Utah via Albuquerque (and the Bells). First of all, my mom, two sisters, and their 5 kids came to Dallas from Georgia and stayed for about 2 days and then we all drove together to our first stop in good ole' Albuquerque, New Mexico. We stayed there for about 2 days and then completed our trip to Utah. This is where the cabin-hopping begins (we never stayed more than three nights in one place).
First Stop: Brianhead Resort for the Gary Jewkes (last-minute) reunion. There were about 40 (22 grandkids and 14 adults) of us in a huge cabin...sounds crazy, but as always, it ended up being a great time. I had to cook on one of the three nights we stayed there. You cannot imagine how much food I had to prepare, with my mom's help, to feed that many hungry mouths. The cabin was literally right down the road from Cedar Breaks, which was so incredible and is the first picture we posted- with Kate looking out at it.
Stop #2: St. George, Utah for the extended Jewkes Family Reunion in Coral Canyon. By the time we got here, I was spent. I had slept with all three of my children in my room for the entirety of the trip thus far and had therefore gotten almost no sleep. If Brian would have miraculously showed up at this point, I might have cried. No such luck. But, my family helped me out a ton and we were able to do some really fun things. The girls got a lot of swimming in, we rode 4-wheelers at Sand Hollow Resort, rode in a golf cart for the tour of their amazing golf course, and spent quality time with cousins that we hardly ever see. We even managed a stop at Cafe Rio...mmm.
Stop #3: Cabin in Heber, UT. The trip moves on and up north to Heber. Only my mom, and sisters, Claire and Emily- and our kids- came on this leg of the trip. We loved driving around Heber, Midway and Park City- its so beautiful there this time of year. We hit up the outlet malls, went out to dinner in Park City, Dairy Keen in Heber for their famous shakes, Seven Peaks, Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes (yum!), and went on a hike at Cascade Springs....such a beautiful place.
Stop #4: Cabin at Sundance, UT. We stayed in my parents' cabin here and it was by far our best stop. Sundance is such a gorgeous resort and the drive over the Alpine Loop was so cool. We only stayed here for two nights but we made the most of it. We had to go to Cafe Rio again, picnic at the Provo temple, the BYU bookstore, the Creamery, and Pizza Factory....to name a few. Julie stayed with us at the cabin and we met her current love interest, Seth. Claire, Emily, and I set up a panel discussion one night and grilled him for about 2 hours- he was one brave guy and won some sisters points that night for living through the 300 questions we asked.
Stop #5- Alburquerque, NM. My mom helped me drive home to Dallas and we stopped at the halfway point here and stayed with the Bells. Rebecca is always such a great host and its so fun to spend time in their home. My brother, Jacob, is living with them right now and he is the sweetest 20-something (sorry, Jake...can't remember your exact age!) guy you've ever met- he loves his little nieces and nephews and is going to make an amazing dad one day. He even admitted to having a boy-crush on Shia LeBouf after robbing my "Holes" DVD. Thanks. :)
We arrived home safe and sound and the kids were beyond excited to see the walls of our home again after driving 48 travel hours total. They were all sooo good on the way home- thanks to DVD players- a modern miracle. We loved our big trip...so much so that we don't ever want to do it again! :)