Road Trip with a Detour

August 19, 2012

"1, 2, 3, Road Trip!"

turned into

"1 broken down car, 2 nights in a hotel in Ontario, and 3 hours of waiting in the dessert for help!"

It was time for our annual trip out to Utah. Scott couldn't drive out with us due to work commitments so I drove the kids, Bailey and all of Kennedy's college stuff out in the suburban myself. About an hour before getting to Ontario, OR (our half-way mark), the suburban just died on me. That beast is hard to maneuver once you lose power steering! But I got to the side of the ride and no matter how many times I tried, the car would not start. Let's just say that 3:00 p.m. in the middle of nowhere in August gets really hot with no AC. My cell phone coverage was spotty at best. I couldn't reach Scott, or grandpa so I finally got a hold of Heather and Gavin. Apparently they were not up for a long road trip to get us, so our only option was to call a tow truck. That is easier said than done when it takes about 17 tries to complete your conversation due to losing the call over and over. It looked like the closest city to us was Ontario so I called a tow company to come get us from there. I couldn't decide if I was more relieved or upset than no one stopped to even ask us if we needed any help. Due to the heat, we found it was cooler to stand outside the car so I am sure we were quite the sight, a lone lady with 5 kids and a dog in the middle of nowhere!

After connecting with the tow truck, we had to wait for about two hours for them to arrive. They had to send two trucks in order to accommodate all of us and even then we had to sit on laps. They drivers were super helpful, they drove around town a little bit to try and find a shop that was open still, but we had no luck. And then they found us a hotel that would let us keep Bailey with us.

The hotel was nice enough - it had a pool and was within walking distance of a couple restaurants, a movie theater and a bowling alley. The boys ventured in the pool in the underwear for a couple quick swims when there wasn't very many people there.

It took the shop almost two days to fix the car. The latest I could get a check out time was noon but the car was not going to be ready until about 3:00. I sent the kids next door to go bowling while I waited with Bailey for a couple hours in the hotel lobby. It was just too hot to even try to take her for a walk.

The plan all along was to leave the suburban in Provo with Kennedy then buy me a new car from our friend Corwynn in Lehi. Kennedy was not excited about having this "defective" car now with her Provo. I tried to explain to her that I felt better having her drive it now than I did before it broke down because now there isn't anything else big that could go wrong with it. After much searching around town for us, Corwynn found me the car I had wanted, a Buick Enclave! Isn't it so cute?

We had a very busy but fun week in Utah. We got together with the Seals and my good friend Jill at Seven Peaks water park. The boys never stuck around long enough for me to get a picture of them! I guess that means they were having a good time!

Aunt Heather had free tickets to an outdoor concert at Usana Amphitheater. Hard to to pass up free!

We made a fun girls night of it and showed these young girls how to really dance!

Kenny Loggins (gotta love some "Footloose" to dance to!)

Belinda Carlisle

Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw ( I have his autographed guitar!)

Bob Carlisle

We got there a little late so standing room only. But that is okay - it is hard to dance when you are sitting!

We got Kennedy all moved back in to her condo in Provo. And of course rewarded ourselves with Buffalo Wild Wings and Hawaiian shaved ice!

Dad flew in and joined us at the end of the week. We had a good time as always playing games with grandma C.C. and meeting our cute little cousin and niece Gracie for the first time!

Kennedy finally came out of denial and accepted that she will never be driving a pink cadillac courtesy of Mary Kay. She finally agreed to give up her Mary Kay "career" and sell off any remaining supplies from her starter kit.

Karsyn cut off her beautiful locks for a good cause. She donated them to Pantene who will use it to make wigs for cancer patients.

Before

After

Sommer, who just happens to be a proud BYU Idaho alumni, offered to join me on our college campus tour with Cassidy. She was a plethora of knowledge and fun to have along!