I got in from St. George about two hours ago…what a long, hot drive that was! There was massive Vegas/holiday traffic that I hit around Stateline, and in all the normally 5-hour trip was 8-hours. The temperature got up to 120 in the desert, which was no fun at all. But my car did fine, Rosie didn’t complain much, and now I’m home resting on my comfy couch.

Here’s the short of it-

Friday- left work around noon. Picked up Rosie and hit the road. Decided to take the floor invitation with the cousins. A phone call the morning I left smoothed over some doubts I had about actually being okay to stay. I had dinner with their whole Bluhm family at Olive Garden, and went to bed early to prepare for an early morning.

Saturday- Brandon and Gary ran a half-marathon that ended in Gunlock. The ladies met up at the end of the race to cheer them on. Went back to the house, packed up, and went shopping with Rosie. Ate lunch at Cafe Rio, and did some school shopping for Rosie. Checked in early at the hotel, showered, and waited for my family to arrive. Went swimming, and had dinner at Outback.

Sunday- Slept in a bit, got some breakfast at the hotel, and went to a sacrament meeting in town. Came back to the hotel, bummed around for a few hours, and waited for dad’s cold medicine to kick in. We went to Zion National Park, took the tram all the way to the end, did a hike at Weeping Rock, took a bunch of pictures, and visited the museum. Drove back into St. George, picked up some dinner for mom, and visited for the rest of the evening.

Monday- Had breakfast, bummed around the hotel with Mary, and stayed till checkout. Said my goodbyes and got family hugs. Went to the store to buy all the bags of Dill Pickle Lays (only 11 were available) so my coworkers will be happy. Drove for 8 long, hot hours, and now I’m home.