I need to write something but I have nothing to say ......

so I'm just going to entertain with a few pics of the kids from our road trip. I've got at least 14 other things that I really need to be doing instead of writing here .... so I'm just feeling a little negative about writing.

Home again, home again jiggity jig

And now ... we're home. As quickly as we left. Time flies when you're on vacation.

Now comes the fun part ....... laundry, edging (the grass is higher than the fence!), unpacking, back to normal life ("there is no normal life, Wyatt. Just life. So get on with it."), getting the kids back to school, preparing for our mid-term Black Belt test on Saturday (there is no POSSIBLE way we can pass; we haven't been to class in 7 days), getting the make-up homework done ...... and the list goes on. The daily chores, the daily life, the daily stuff.

What life is made of actually.

kathy, I said as we boarded a greyhound in pittsburgh ....

(a nod to Simon & Garfunkel)

Actually, I said "Thomas!" as we boarded the Greyhound in St. George.

So here is the next leg of our journey.

I may have mentioned that we found that there were no rental cars for us at all in St. Geo. None. Nada.

So our next option was to take the Greyhound to Salt Lake and then rent our car there. This would take some major strategy.

First, we had to leave the ranch by at least nine. It takes about an hour to get through Zion Park, on a good day. So we rose fairly early, stuffed the car back with our luggage (practically jumping on the suitcases to get them in the trunk), and flew out of there as fast as possible. Drive through the park again (with the top down again so we can see the beauty AGAIN of the park), snapped a few more pics for the photo journals, and found ourselves racing against time AGAIN through Virgin, LaVerkin, Hurricane, and finally into St. Geo.

We had to be to the bus station at least 30 minutes before boarding BUT had to return the car to the airport before. Thomas dropped us off at the Greyhound station -- which doubles as a McDonald's. Or should I say the other way around. Which works since we were starving. Buy your tickets, eat a McBurger.

Thomas is on his way up to the airport, I'm getting the tickets and trying to consolidate all the extra bags because I find upon arrival that we can only have one under the bus bag and one carry on bag. Yeah right. So I'm shoving all the dirty laundry in other bags as well as anything extra in whatever room we have at the same time worrying whether or not Thomas is going to make the bus in time.

The kids see me in panic mode and are helping as much as possible - which is wonderful actually.

Finally a taxi screeches up to the stop as we are loading the baggage and it's Thomas. Why does he always make an entrance? And always in the nick of time?

So we board the bus. I haven't been on a Greyhound bus in years and years. This will be a huge adventure for the kids. This is going to be a good time for reading, sleeping, playing, and working on homework and journals. Some of that got done; some not. I know that didn't I get any sleeping in since I was working and playing with the kids (we switched seats halfway through the ride). It was better than driving, I will say that. It wasn't crowded or loud. It wasn't even very dirty as I had imagined. And the kids did have a good time. It was just long. Longer than driving ourselves.

We had a break in Cove Fort (Historic Cove Fort) and then the last one in Provo. In Provo, a woman boarded the bus who decided to sit in the isle and back one from me. And after she sat down, she started talking on her cell VERY loud. So loud that I heard her most recent history several times (because she talked to several people) and can now recite, verbatim, her bus schedule from Provo to Buffalo, New York.

She mentioned that she was released from the hospital because her water hadn't broken and they felt she was okay to travel. She mentioned that she had gone through two lighters and had no way to light any more cigarettes. She mentioned that her boyfriend was turning himself in in the next two days but wanted to see the baby first. She mentioned that her sister wasn't happy about the almost-locked-up-boyfriend staying with her and he would stay in a motel. I heard this story five times with five different people.

Luckily, Salt Lake was only 45 minutes away. I wouldn't have to throw myself from the bus.

After we de-boarded the bus, we had a car left by Emilee and Eric so we could drive to their house to celebrate Ryan's 3rd birthday.

The day ended by crashing into our respective beds at the Marriott Courtyard and falling fast and peacefully to sleep -- just so we could be up and running for the next day.

Red Rocks, Blue Sky

There are some things I really miss about St. Geo.

One of those things is when the sky is a brilliant, sapphire blue next to the fiery red mountains of Sugar Loaf. Our hike was filled with blue skies, red rocks, chipmunks, lizards, and desert flowers.

And then there are things I don't miss: the horrible, pimping development; the traffic due to the development; the politics and close-minded conservative attitudes of most of the people who live here; cockroaches the size of VW Bugs.

To conclude the rental car story: I'm waiting for Thomas to drive into the hotel parking lot so that we can finally go eat some breakfast (of course by this time it was lunch) and what does he pull up in? A White Convertible Mustang. They (the rental place) felt so bad about giving our car away, that they made up for it with this sporty car! He was grinning this cheesy grin and the kids were so excited.

However, speaking on the practical side (as I always do), it is the MOST impractical car for traveling ... at least with more than two people. I think there is more space in our Prius trunk than in this car's trunk. It is a little cramped. Luckily, we give it back tomorrow.

That's the next funny story. Because we couldn't get a car down here, we are taking the Greyhound Bus to Salt Lake Saturday morning. This should be really interesting.

Today (Friday) I talked the kids out of going to the SHAC (a local swimming pool) and swimming instead at the Ranch's new pool. Since we always go to the SHAC and the ranch had a really cool looking pool, they agreed.

But first we had to eat lunch at their favorite place, Pizza Factory. I swear, I've eaten my way across the southwest. Ugh.

Anyway, we finally got out of St. Geo and headed to the ranch. An explanation is needed here.

The Ranch. This is a place just outside of Zion National Park (the east side) that belongs to Thomas' brother's (Gary) wife's (Rose) family. Rose's father bought several hundred acres of land around the 50's. It's been a place where the family goes for reunions and Rose's family has spent tons of time there. Well, a few years ago, David and Steven (Gary's two older sons) decided to create a sort of resort place from some of the land. So they built cabins, a lodge, pool, stables, restaurant, etc., on this spot. They've also expanded to summer rental homes. This is where we are going.

To get to the ranch, one has to drive thru Zion Park. Now, we've gone lots of times with the kids to the ranch but they were young and barely remember. Felix remembers riding the horses and the three-wheeler with her cousin April but that's about it.

So now they're older and we're driving into one of the most beautiful places on the planet and the kids are awestruck by the mesas, buttes, bluffs, canyons and colors opening up with each turn. AND the convertible top came in real handy too! They were able to see so much more. Felix had me taking picture after picture for her travel journal for school.

I know people like to take their little kids on trips to exciting places so that they don't miss out on anything and so they can see them get all excited, but any child under the age of about five will forget everything. The best ages to take kids so that they really appreciate it is six and over. It just is. If you have to take them so that you can see their happy faces, then you have to take them again when they're older because they just won't remember.

It was so wonderful for me to watch the kids gasp and shout at the wonders of Zion Park. This was worth the whole trip. Even though they've been through this canyon several times, this was the first time they actually SAW it. And I saw it through them. It was tremendous.

So here we are at the ranch. And it was a bust. Felix didn't get to ride and Robee didn't get to swim. They closed the horses at five and the pool closed because of the rain. They weren't happy kids now. We decided not to eat here but drive into Orderville (the ONLY town close) and eat at the famous Thunderbird cafe. Again. Eating my way through the southwest. 10 pounds in two days.

I'm printing pictures tonight for the kids to work on their journals during our five hour bus trip to Salt Lake. Eric is going to pick us up so we can go to a BBQ for Ryan's birthday (now eating my way north) and then back to our hotel in Salt Lake.

Whew. I'm beat. AND the time is so weird here. Mountain time goes way faster than Pacific time.

What happens in Vegas ........

is hot!!

Yikes. I forgotten how windy and hot Vegas can be .... even in May.

We flew in (after rising at 3 am!) at around 10 am, found our luggage and rented a car for four hours. Yes, you heard correctly. We found that to rent a car to drive from Vegas to St. Geo would cost $300. To rent for the day in Vegas is $15. So we rented to basically hold our luggage for the afternoon, take us to eat lunch and go look at my old house.

We chose to take the St.Geo shuttle from Vegas to St. Geo at 5:30 so we had a fair amount of time to hang out. This was the best plan.

So now we're here in St. Geo. Thomas went to pick up the car and they decided to give it away ... even tho' it was reserved and paid for days ago and there are NO MORE cars left in this entire area. Apparently, this is a busy week. Who knew?

Thomas flew into a rage, demanded to talk to the supervisor, started walking back down from the airport (and those of you who are familiar with St.Geo know that huge hill coming down into town). In the meantime, they have suddenly come up with another car and he is now walking back UP the hill to get it.

This is funny for several reasons. First, Thomas has calmed a lot since we've been married. He hasn't raged for years (ask his older kids). Second, that they laughed at him while telling him that there were no other cars in the whole southern area (which caused the rage actually). Third, he HATES St. George, HATES the heat and HATES walking uphill. All three of these things are happening at this moment.

He is a sweetie for making sure we have a car though.

So we're off to lunch and a hike and other stuff. We went swimming for a bit this morning but the kids started fighting and punching each other so I pulled them from the pool. And now, they're playing sweetly on the floor. Man. Kids.