Surprising Grandma

At the beginning of July my friend Monica had her sister come out to visit her from Utah. She drove across the country, by herself, with her 5 kids that are similar ages to to my kids. It got me thinking if I would ever dare do that on my own. I was feeling a longing to see my family in Utah but Shad didn't have any time left for vacations this summer. We hadn't seen my mom or grandparents since Thanksgiving in November and all of my other family since spring break in 2016. I was feeling really sad that their cousins were starting to forget who my kids were and most of them hadn't even met Ruby. So, I decided to play around with the idea and see if it would work to go to Utah for the first two weeks in August. We really had nothing going on and Shad was going to be so busy getting ready for the school year that he wouldn't be home very much anyway.

So, I decided we would surprise my mom and just show up on her doorstep. It was a crazy idea, but it actually ended up being, what I think will be, one of the most memorable experiences for my kids.

We left after sacrament meeting at the YSA branch because it was earlier than our own ward. We decided to make it to Omaha on Sunday night and stay with the Applegarth's who are the coordinators there. We drove about 8.5 hours got there about 9:00pm that night. The kids actually did really great. I decided from the very beginning that we would stop every few hours and everyone would run around. I tried to find rest stops that had playgrounds or lots of grass. I would set a timer and let them run around until it went off and then we would pile back into the car (after going potty of course). I also had surprises I would pull out every few hours when I could tell they needed something new. They were small things like a movie to watch, a treat, or a little toy. I was most surprised at how well Ruby did. She had her moments, but for the most part she was very pleasant and we only had a few suckers end up stuck all over her blanket by the end.

A nice lady at Arby's gave us kids meal toys even though we didn't buy kids meals.

It made my kids night and gave them something to play with for a while.

When we were eating dinner in Iowa on Sunday night I was worried that we had given away our location. My mom tried to facetime us and I thought it was because she had seen our location on friend finder. Turns out she doesn't even know what that is, she just wanted to talk to us. I didn't answer but I text her back and told her we would be at a friends house that night so we couldn't talk, but we could talk for FHE the next night.

She tried to call us again when we were about 30 minutes away from her house but I didn't answer. As we were getting off the freeway Haken said that this was the most excited he has ever been in his whole life! We got there at about 9:30pm. She had no idea we were coming and she was in complete shock.

We did a facebook live video of us surprising her, and so far it has 2,800 views! It turned out perfectly. She didn't suspect a thing and was shocked to see us. I was worried she was going to think something was fishy.

We stayed for two weeks. I had arranged for my mom to have some time off from the bridal store and on the days that she worked we went and hung out with some friends and the Anderson cousins.

I'm not very good at remembered the order of the events but here are some of the things that we did on our trip:

I had my cousin Amy's daughter Hallie watch the kids and I had a girls night out doing a painting class with my mom, Jenni, Megan, and Lisa. It was a little out of my comfort zone, but a lot of fun. Afterwards we got cheesecake at Cheesecake factory and ate it at Megan's house.

Finished product. I love how every one is just a little bit different.

Painting buddies! I kept comparing mine to hers.

I was dying when I saw Megan's face on this picture!

We went up to Grandma G.G.'s house and hung out after dinner. We hung out and had popscicles and rootbeer floats, which also resulted in a needed bath in Grandma's sink. After Benny saw Ruby in there, he starting taking his shirt off saying he needed a bath too.

We did school shopping with Grandma at Station Park in Farmington and had lunch.

We took Megan's dogs and her girls (Annie and Alia) to the Tanner dog park in Salt Lake city. It was fun to be with cousins again that we hadn't seen in a long time. The kids got really dirty and sweaty and loved every minute of it. It was actually quite the hike up afterwards. The downhill wasn't too bad. 

We also stayed the night at Brandon and Megan's new house in Murray and went to Wheeler Farm with them. Grandma even treated the kids to a ride in the "cow train." Afterwards we went and had lunch at a great burger and shake place (now I can't remember the name.) We hung out at their house afterwards and the kids played in the sprinklers....with a box. Not sure whose bright idea that was. It was a really hot day so it was nice to cool off.

Checking out Annie's bird Sammy

We had an afternoon with the Anderson cousins that were close. This was really only 3 families together (+Annie). I can't imagine what next summer is going to be like when we get all 6 of the Anderson families together. 25 cousins together is going to be madness! I'm always suprised at how well they get along and pick up right where they left off even when they don't see eachother for a year at a time.

We spent a day at Cam and Lisa's new house in Saratoga Springs. They have a neighborhood pool. The kids had a blast there. This is the first time that Ruby has met Ruthie. 

Lisa was the baby whisperer and put Ruby to sleep in the pool

Grandma was the best in the pool with all of kids.

We went up to North Ogden and met up with our northern Utah friends. I couldn't believe how many showed up! We had friends that we haven't seen in years! The Burnhams, Mickelsons, Hardy's, Norton's, Anderson's, and Redden's were all there. It was a great day and I think we made up half of the kids at the pool that day!

The Tremonton 8th ward crew.

Savannah became Gracie's best friend. 

Bodee and Haken. They haven't changed a bit.

Chloe and Haken. Awkward...

Janese and Emilee. Missed these girls.

We went to Lagoon with Grandma and all of the Evans cousins. They all have season passes, so they showed us which rides they like the best. We left Ruby and Benny with my cousin Amy so we didn't have to worry about them. We also brought our cousin Annie along who is living in Utah county for a while. She had never been to lagoon before! I was grateful she came because she hung out with Haken and Taylor riding all of the big rides while we took the little kids around. I rode on a few rides but I couldn't believe how sick I got after each one even after I had some motion sickness medicine! I'm not as young as I used to be! It was a long but really fun day. The kids did not want to leave.

Gracie hid during the entire ride of dracula's castle.
It's a good thing Grandma was there.

Gracie met a boy on her 20th ride on the bumper cars.
She chose to ride with him over Jack and Jack was so mad. Ha Ha!

Annie and Jack. Two peas in a pod.

One of Gracie's favorite rides. The ladybug drop.

Poor Alia was freezing after rattlesnack rapids.
It was a hot day so I was grateful to get wet.

Uncle B with his girls riding the Log flume.

Riding the screamer with Annie. This used to be
one of my favorite rides growing up. Now it just
makes me sick!

Annie's first time on the Rocket!

We went to a concert at the Brigham Young Park in Salt Lake City with Grandma and Grandpa GG. The group was Octapella.

We met up with my cousin Haylee at the park who lives in Bountiful. She just had her 4th baby. It was really fun to catch up with her and let the kids play.

Of course we did have a lot of down time at Grandma's house which meant lots of popscicles and games of monopoly!

It was an absolutely perfect (and exhausting) trip. I even enjoyed the drive out there with the 5 kids all by myself! I would do it all over again. I think the look on these kids faces and their grandparents say it all!

One of the best parts is that we kidnapped Grandma and took her home with us! She helped me drive through the night and make it back home with the kids! What a trooper! I think she is now a believer too in that being the right way to travel with kids as they sleep through the night. She stayed for the weekend and then headed home on an airplane. It was fun to get a few extra days with her, even though Benny ended up getting sick and throwing up when we got home. I was really grateful to have her there so that I could take care of him while she helped with the other kids. At least he didn't get sick on the way home!