Our Family of Six: September 2026

**Click on photo for clearer image.

July 17 - 20:

July 17 - Friday

We packed, loaded and left on our annual road trip to Idaho and Utah! We're so grateful we were able to go again this year! Four years in a row!

Here's a few photos from our travel day:

I love bridges!

At the beginning of our drive each day, we began with a prayer. Then we listened to a general conference talk. Then we did our own thing for a while. Today, we listened to and finished Pollyanna together. On my own, I finished the book Seeking Persephone by Sarah Eden. Cute book. We had McDonald's for lunch. The kids were adjusting to their Invisalign and Isak to his expander. Their teeth were sore, so they had smoothies too. We ate in the car to save time. This was a longer day than normal. 9.5 hours! Due to lots of construction and stop and go traffic. We got dinner to go too. I got a salad at Panera before they closed and ended up eating it at the hotel later. The kids ate Sonic corn dogs and grilled cheese in the car. We got settled in the hotel in Kansas City, MO. I finally ate at 10 p.m. Long day!! The kids were nice and travelled well.

Cozy girls ready for bed.

July 18 - Day 2

We slept well and got ready for our day two of traveling. We left 9 a.m. Only 7.5 hours of driving today and it was easy, no traffic or road construction. Yay! We listened to our general conference talk, 7 Habits for Teens and started Genius Files. I listened to another Sarah Eden book, Echoes of the Sea. For food today, we ate at a gas station. Sofie - cheese pizza. Isak - Chicken wrap. Noah - White donuts and Kira got a cookie. :) Later at another gas station I needed chocolate...I got a Twix ice cream bar. It helped me a lot. :) Isak got peanut butter M&M's. Kira and Sofie shared a 3 Musketeer. Noah had cheese pizza. I'm so glad he likes pizza now!

The kids ate at McDonald's for dinner - Chicken nuggets, fries. Isak got a strawberry shake. I got a poppy seed salad from Runza.

This is Isak's expander at the roof of his mouth. Every night (for the next 6 weeks), I use a tool and turn it once so it slowly expands his mouth. Food kept getting caught in it and it was frustrating for him sometimes.

We settled into our small hotel room (Nels accidentally got a standard room instead of a suite) in a Hampton Inn in Sidney, NE. Kira kindly slept on the rollaway mattress on the floor.

July 19 - Day 3 (last day!!) of driving.

We slept well and were up at 6:10 a.m.! We quickly got ready and were out the door by 8 a.m.!

Quick breakfast before we left...

Just 8.5 hours today. Since it was Sunday, we had church in the car. Isak did the lesson on Hezekiah and Josiah. Kira did the music. Noah prayed. Sofie shared her testimony. We also listened to a general conference talk. Very nice. We listened to the 7 Habits book and Genius Files together. Then we did our own thing. I listened to the Follow Him podcast and then Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah Eden.

Pretty fields with windmills.

We stopped at the Lincoln Head!

Kira wanted to stay in the car, so just three kiddos this time. :)

Rock Springs, WY for lunch at Sonic. I got take out from Arby's.

Good travel day.

And then we arrived at 6 p.m. at Nels's parents home!! Yay! One of the first things Noah did was hug this bear!

We ate a delicious spaghetti dinner and chocolate chip cookies. Britta came with her new boyfriend Gabriel. He's very nice. Then the kids, Donna and I went for a short walk. It was a beautiful evening. Then we all got ready for bed. Glad we made it here safely!

July 20 - Monday

I had to get my pickleball fix! Haha. So Isak and I went and played for an hour in the morning.

The kids made a sonic restaurant and played and played.

The kids loved looking at this digital picture frame. I hope to get one for Christmas this year!!

For the afternoon, we met up with everyone at an indoor pool that belongs to a friend of Nels's parents. They were kind and let us use it for a few hours. It was so fun!!
This view is gorgeous!

I did two french braids for us girls, so we all matched. :)

I took lots of pictures of us at the pool.

Isak and Sofie both jumped off the waterfall.

Noah tried some things. He went down the slide and jumped off a lower ledge.

Isak is on the slide...but that's the slide Noah went down too.

All six of the cousins were able to come and play.

Girl time. Kira enjoyed just talking and hanging out. Annica, Klara and Kira.

Braxton is the youngest of the cousins and so cute!

Aubrey was so funny! And she loved to pose for pictures, which I appreciated. :)

I tried to get one with everyone...it did not go well. But we tried! :)

Best ones:

Anna-Lisa with Braxton:

Sofie and Lilly.

Layne. He's adventurous and funny too!

We enjoyed chicken salad sandwiches from Costco and chips and cookies. Eat, swim, repeat. :)

A little trampoline time too.

Pretty views!

Layne and Isak.

Bob was a trooper. He has had back problems for a while and the surgeon had an opening for July 21...so this is him a day before the surgery. Thankfully, the surgery went well and he is recovering.