July 27 - 31: Tyler's Homecoming, Play, Drive to Tennessee

July 27 - Sunday:

We stayed an extra day or two so we could be at Tyler's homecoming.  He served his two year mission in the Domincan Republic.  We went to Melissa's ward to hear him speak.  He gave an excellent talk and then played a beautiful piano piece that he composed!  So talented.  Then we all went to Karl's mom's house for a luncheon.  We had pulled pork, salads and desserts.  So fun to be with everyone!

Two missionaries.  Ethan came home the month before from Ecuador.  So fun to see them together and hear them exchange stories.  

Melissa was very happy to have her son back home.

I took a few pictures of everyone:

Cousins enjoyed playing and spending time together.

Just climbing a tree. :)

These three boys are close in age.  Nathan, Kyson and Mason.  Kyson had just returned from his 3 week trip to China!  So it was fun to hear about his experience too.

Cute Forrest.

Ronnie and Karl.

Adelaide and Mandi

Sweet parents:

Oh, sweet Adelaide was struggling.  But she looks SO cute!!

Pics with Tyler:

Then it was over and we drove back to Kari's house.   We made some Sloppy Joes and played pickleball later that night.  

July 28th - Monday:

First thing in the morning, I went and got the oil changed for the van.  Goldy is all ready for the big drive back to Tennessee.

Then I went to the spa day with Khloe and Sofie.

They did a great job.  I actually really like my hair being brushed.  

Cute girls:

Then the cousins came and played games:

Then we all went to watch Sadie and Kaden in a play.   

Before pictures:

Before the play, we went to Panda Express:  Mmmm.

Then we went to the play.  It was held at the outdoor amphitheater in Layton.

The play was a spin on Aladdin.

So fun to watch them and hear them sing and say their parts.  They did great!  I'm so glad we got to see them perform.

Here's our family that was there that night.  So glad we got to be there too.

July 29 - Tuesday:

We packed, loaded and said more sad good byes.  We left at 9ish to begin our three day trip home.  We prayed and listened to a general conference talk.  Then we listened to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  It was a two hour book that we finished.  

Lunch at Rock Springs, WY...at our place...Sonic.

We started listening to the book Glitch.  We ended our drive at Sidney, NE.  We stayed at Hampton Inn, RM 200.  We went to Walmart for a few things and got dinner from McD's and Runza.   Then bedtime.

July 30 - Wednesday:

Day 2, travel day.

We ate breakfast and left at 9ish again.

We prayed, listened to a general conference talk and then everyone wanted to listen to Glitch.  We ended up finishing it.  Glitch was 8 hours long and so good.  A time traveling book.  

We got settled at the Home2 at the airport in Kansas City, MO.  The front desk person remembered us from last time and let the kids pick out candy from the store for free.  :)  They were so happy.

We ate at Chili's for dinner.

July 31 - Thursday:

Day 3, travel day.

We left 8:30 a.m.  9 hour drive day.  Lots of one lane/construction/50 mph.  We prayed and listened to a general conference talk.  Then we listened to Book 1 of the Wingfeather Saga.  "On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness."  The total book was 8 hours long and we listened to about 6 hours of it!  Good book so far.  Hopefully, it ends well.  :)

So in total for our trip, here's what we listened to together:

Girl Who Drank the Moon - 10 hours

Framed - 5 hours

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - 2 hours

Glitch - 8 hours

Dark Sea book - 6 hours

31 hours of audiobooks.  That's one thing I appreciate about the road trip.  We would have never listened to these together if we weren't traveling.  And we really enjoyed our time listening and talking about the books afterwards.  Also, in August we watched the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  It was fun to listen to the kids say what was different from the book and movie.  

We ate lunch at Mcalisters.  Noah needed to go to the bathroom often, so we stopped a lot on this day.  But overall, we travelled well all of our travel days.

Restroom stop at a Rest Area...the first one as you enter Tennessee.

It's great to go and have experiences and it's good to go back home.  And home, for now, is Tennessee.

We made it home 7:40ish and we got pizza and ate with Nels.  

Speaking of Nels.  How did he do while we were gone?  Overall, he did great.  He worked a ton.  Not so fun, but he wasn't bored.  And on the weekend he played pickleball and guitar.  One night he brought Slushes from Sonic for the group we play with.  So they played pickleball and enjoyed Slushes.  He made the most of his time away from us.  But I think he was glad to have us back.  

And that's the end of our road trip and the end of July 2025!