The trip has begun!

Hey friends! Hayes and I are totally exhausted from our trip. So, unfortunately, we will no be able to bring you this post (or the following 3) from the wit and charm that you are accostomed to. Rather, we have convinced our Mom to help. It was, afterall, her idea to plan this craziness. So, without further ado, we give you our Mom! (And we're gonna relax now).

Hello Hello! Marianne here to take you there obviously exhausting vacation! I'm not really sure how the trip came to be but now that I am on the other side I can tell you that it was an absolute success! Something about E and the gang planning an American roadtrip, Clint getting a week off (gasp)-but never 100% that it wouldn't get yanked-leaving me not wanting to plan a trip and have just me as the solo adult when it came down to it. Anyway, details, details, but in the end, it was planned, planned, planned, deposits made and voila, here we go!

First, however, we had to get to our meeting point-Salt Lake City. So the kids and I waited patiently for Clint's Friday to finish, then we headed out of here so fast we initially forgot to close the garage door. Dogs at the kennel, let's head North.

But not too far, we stopped our first night in Las Vegas. And the first could be problem-sleeping arrangements, turned out to be no problem at all...



And then we all met up at the infamous rv! Or some call it a motorhome. And the real fancy people call it a coach. Eden named it our home on wheels. That works for us! We did all the paperwork for this bad boy sight unseen and through a family on craigslist. We had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into. This thing was HUGE! And yes, that's an awning that drops down for shade. We were roughing it!

And I had the awesome experience of being the sole driver-at the beginning!

E brought some 4th of July decorations. And while driving you can do anything! You can toast bagels, go to the bathroom, have a couple libations, it's all a VERY good core exercise program. No one dared to shower while driving, though, maybe next time...

Paleo diet. If you want the real explanation, google it. If you want my midwestern middle road to everything out life explanation here you go. There are some real crazy people out there who think that we should eat as though in the paleolithic time. Yep, like elk and crap. Clint's one of those nut jobs who read the book and tried to convince me that I should help support this rediculos idea. Clint, I live off of cheese, dairy, corn, bread, chicken, (some fruits and veggies are ok so I won't include those). So, no, it doesn't work in our family. But, when the chance arises to support my husband without sacrificing myself (which is rare), I oblige. Surprise, I pull off the road for some fresh jerky! Enjoy, you paleo crazies.

And this junk was $11 a bag. Yeah, I don't think those are paleo prices. You know how much chips and salsa that could supply? Corn chips. Oooh, did that make you paleos cringe? Tomatoes? Blasphemy!

But, I love my husband and he does do A LOT of what I ask....

Let's keep on truckin' guys... It took us to this point to realize there are no front doors. Just our little porch door. Weird, we thought. Oh, and an emergency exit sign below a window in the back bedroom.

Where were we heading? First stop Bear Lake, Utah. Looks gorgeous, don't ya think? Yes, I still take photos while driving. But I didn't text once!

And then the madness began. I would like to remind you that back in the day E and I were quite the outdoorsy chicks. Not to take anything away from her at this point but I can accept that I am not, at this point in my life, what I was about ten years ago. An RV-gasp, a KOA, I just vomited in my mouth. A solo, that sounds good, a weekend with some friends, a tent, bag a few peaks, that's MSK circa 1999. But, let's accept where we are today. 2010. Four kids. An RV, a tent nicknamed the taj majal for back up. But seriously, this? Nonsense! A jumparoo at a campground? This place was awful. I admit it, I picked an awful, way too crowded, ATV inspired campsight. And E and I were out of our league.

Not to mention that Stephen did some time in Nepal...

And Clint has been known to live in a tent in sand for months at a time...

The girls were so overwhelmed they even tried to scoot faster away from the madness... But it continued! Best guess, 1000 people in the crazy campground.

Here's a show of my acceptance of where I stand in the outdoor community. My cute little Marmot tent that is stuffed cutely away in the garage could probably fit in this whole frame. But the taj majal, you get about a 10% view and yes, folks, that's an EXTENSION cord going right in there. You know, you might need to adjust the firmness of the air mattress during the night.

Why the tent? E, Stephen and Leo slept out there two nights to try to rough it, and give us all a little space.

And we could even bathe in the rv. Not that that was high on anyone's list. Clint and Stephen would've never used soap (nor do we have confirmation that they ever did) had E and I not tricked them into pools and rivers every so often then sent them to wash the little guys.

And the best way to dry off? Two little monkeys on the bed, in the rv!

Leo, however, hates the shower these days. Lucky for him this was just one of two mandatory for the week.

And when it's all said and done? We turn on some tv in the back bedroom (tv #2) and let them veg out. Why make them spend time in the great outdoors?

This is mostly for Shannon... No, we didn't let the kids ride around like a bunch of real rv'ers. Car seats buckled were mandatory. Except for when switching campsights in that horrible KOA.

And during naptime E and I pulled out the air mattress and took a nap on the "patio", under the awning!

And Clint hooked up his hammock and rested.

Clint's view... You can't even hear the rap, the dogs barking, or the mother that woke E up in the middle of the night shouting at her daughter to "shut up, just shut up". Bliss....


No, I wasn't that mother.

And we did have fun, and we do all have a fantastic sense of humor! And here is bear lake. Which the kids loved. I'm still not sure what to think of it. It was so pretty, but kind of gross to get to, and people eating corn drenched in hot sauce while wading in the nasty part. The color of the water was so amazing! But, well, I don't know...

I guess the most important thing was that the kids had fun, right? Oooooh, they did!

Leo... (yes, those are the wal-mart water shoes I bought everyone:))

And I don't know if I can express how wonderful the girls are together. They get along SO WELL! We hadn't even pulled away when Reeder said she missed Eden. They are so stinking cute together! And now with the make believe, their imaginations are fantastic!

And sometimes, if I'm real quiet, and Stephen is working on his fishing pole, and Clint is, where is Clint?, anyway, E will keep walking and not even realize that she is alone with all four kids! Pretty amazing sister, I have...

E told a story about some guy who passed out, floated out into the gulf, was rescued and didn't "wake up" until he was in a hospital. How far do you think our girls could get? If you thought more than 10 feet you don't know Reeder very well. Yeah, Eden is looking at the mountains on the other side wondering, but Reeder? She'd never allow that kind of behavior!

There's Clint!

And me with Ludo (Leo). Behind the lens all the time you are going to have to make do with a few shadow pics or yours truly!

There's Stephen! Fishing pole at the ready!

And nothing, i mean nothing, is too gross for Eden. Not even murky water! Nice shoes!

Seriously, are you getting the vibe with these two? They love each other!

Bear Lake is known for it's local raspberries. So I got a chocolate malt, E-can't remember, little boys-cookies and cream, girls-mint chocolate chip, Dads-nothing-not big sweet tooths (teeth?). Good thing we stopped to drink in the local flavor!

And that's it from stop number 1! I hope you enjoyed! Gotta cook these crazies some dinner and then I'll take you into Wyoming!