One more thanks

How could I forget to mention:
Thanks to David and Adria for some of the best laughs of the vacation! I'll just leave it at that because much more could be uncomfortable... :-)

Mini Report

Our road trip was a success! Yes, you read that right. Six full days of traveling really wasn't that bad. Tiring, yes, but not horrible. When we've talked about our vacation, we speak of wonderful family and friends and outings. If being stuck in the car for 70+ hours is what it takes to make such great memories, then so be it!

Thanks to Danny & Tammy for their work with the reunion. We had a blast! Wish we could have spent more time at your place. Thanks to my mom for doing loads and loads of laundry, and for lending us the master bedroom, and for making our stay so comfortable, and for loving us until our hearts (and eyes) overflowed. Thanks to Craig & Stacy and Brian & Deborah for adopting our son for a day. He had even more fun this time at Lagoon! Thanks to Marianne & Eric for coming to visit us in Springville so our kids could sleep. It would have been great to see all the changes to your house, but was greater to see you when we couldn't come to you. Thanks to LaDonna and Royce for the best pit stop of the trip; what a marvelous meal and uplifting company! We are sorry we missed the volleyball player!

We are so grateful we were able to see family. We strengthened relationships, and had a down right good time! The kids got reacquainted with their cousins.
It was hard to leave.

We were fortunate to visit with some dear friends.
There are a few friends that we regret we were unable to see.

Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead for most of the Small gathering. I don't have nearly enough pictures of that side of the family! We are so thankful to Lyle and Sara for hosting us for a bit on our way back home. After the go-go-go in Utah, it was so therapeutic to just "land" for a couple days. The go-go-go is fun, of course, but quite tiring.

Whilst butchering, I mean pruning, their front tree, Lyle and Derrell
came across a huge caterpillar, and called us all out to inspect.

Surprises along the way:

~West Virginia is GORGEOUS! Mountains (the eastern US sort of mtns, which are hills compared to the Rockies) covered with trees. When we weren't near a city--which was most of the time in that state--there was practically no dirt to be seen. Green. Green. Green. Gorgeous. I wish I had a good picture to do it justice, but alas, if you haven't been there, you'll have to use your imagination with this shot.
~Kentucky ain't that bad, either.

~There are tributes to Lincoln in every state we traveled through: counties, roads, schools, etc. Not too surprising, I guess, but interesting, nonetheless.

~Kansas mysteriously gets wider every time Derrell drives through it. I'm sure it is filled with wonderful people and nice things, but we didn't see either. I think West Virginia shipped all their bare dirt to Kansas. Maybe we should live there to learn to appreciate it.

~When you (Derrell) really want to get somewhere, you can travel for 22 hours straight with a car full of people questioning your (Derrell's) sanity.


~Daddy's hat and Mommy's camera make for a highly entertained 3 yr old. I think this activity lasted almost an hour! Pose, peek-a-boo, pose, pretend to sleep, pose, giggle, pose, hide, pose...


~Those big wind turbines are really, really big up close! Especially exciting for ED who did a report on them last year.





~ED's family pie-eating contest (to fulfill a requirement for his Bear in Cub Scouts) was more fun than even he imagined! It has been said that this may just become a regular event at future gatherings. Here's the whole messy group.

~Time went by much too quickly. I don't know why that surprises me. It shouldn't. But there are so many activities that we wanted to do. We wish we could have gotten to Utah sooner to climb to the Y. We wish we could have found the time to take our children to the Mount Timpanogos temple where we were married. We wish we could have seen Glenn's business. We wish we could have had more energy to go to a midnight movie, or something else just as crazy. We wanted to go back up to Danny & Tammy's, but the schedule was all mixed up. We wish we could have traveled just a few more hours to see the O'Rullians and the Marrotts and my grandparents, too. We can't believe we weren't able to connect with Maren. We missed seeing the Neymans and Patrick & Erin and Marissa. It would have been great to see Brian and Deborah's new house. There isn't enough time for all the good things, is there? I think we'll just have to return as soon as possible.

Road Trip

On the road again! Just can't wait to get on the road again!

We may not be singing that in a couple weeks once our vacation is over, but right now we are excited! The kids had a difficult time falling asleep tonight--they wanted to leave today instead of tonight. We are waking them up at 3am and heading west.



It will be so great to see almost all of our family, and believe it or not, we are actually looking forward to the journey, too. I'll give you a good report when we return. How will it be with five kids stuck in a car for three days straight? As you can tell, mixed in with the excitement is a bit of skepticism at this venture of ours. But we will pray for the best.

I had hoped to get pictures uploaded before leaving. The missing cord just showed up yesterday, though. Oh, well, you'll just get bombarded in a few weeks.

Secret Admirer

We just got a delivery. Love notes! Derrell's reads like this:
"Love Has spred to you! from your, Secret Aidmarer"

And mine:
"Love is nere when you are Here. Love, Your Secret Aidmierer"

I remember being eight, and leaving little notes for my parents. It's so fun to get them!

Her prayers are equally as encouraging. She often prays for us: that I will know that how I am is good enough; that Dad will remember that the Spirit will help him with his tests; that we all will be grateful for the vegetables from our garden...

Sometimes I wonder if what she is saying is a direct message from heaven. She is just like any other eight-year-old girls with siblings to tease, of course, but her prayers and notes can be so thought-provoking and gentle that I am often caught off guard. I sure am glad she is my daughter!

Hairy Larry the Birthday Fairy

I'd like to introduce you to a member of our family that you've probably never heard of. In our house birthdays are a big deal. And every holiday deserves it's own superhero, right? So, Derrell made up Hairy Larry the Birthday Fairy. The kids suspect that he's really dad, but we'll never tell. In fact, every so often, seemingly out of the blue, one of the children asks, "Are you Hairy Larry, Dad?", just to make sure.

Larry isn't your typical fairy. He doesn't fly, and his wings are just strapped on with twine and duct tape. He's got the tights like all good superheroes. And like cupid, he wears a diaper--over the tights. He's a little dirty because he's homeless. He figures that with so many birthdays at which he needs to appear, it doesn't make sense to have a place of his own. But also like all other superheroes, he creeps in at night and produces some kind of gift eliciting questions of the source. He never signs his name. You know that gift you forgot you gave to your cousin? You never actually gave it. Larry just signed your name...

Larry is an outgrowth from a dinner conversation. The chatter at our table is sometimes more funny than comedy central. The kids still ask Derrell specific details about our special fairy. Good thing he has a great imagination! Unfortunately, the kids' memory is better than his, and he is left to improvise and he changes details. The kids call him on the carpet when the stories don't match, and Derrell explains something about "style" and superhero prerogative--kind of like artistic license.

The children find Larry the most frightening of all celebratory myths, but also the most entertaining. We like him.

From the Man of the House

Um, hello? Is this thing on? This is Derrell... this is also my maiden voyage as far as bloggerying - and by the end of this you may be able to tell. And some of you more sophisticated types may already have guessed, "Yep, newbie." I felt bloggy and so thus, I blog. Julie tells me she has sent out electronic messages in a bottle to the mysterious internets land. And she insists that this typing will end up on a "page" of blog-like likeness.

Sorry, back to the storying: Julie said she told you about my Neanderthalian habit of killing squirrels that had not got the memo: "This is Derrell's house and if he lived in another country he would be eating us for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would wear our furry little hides for loin cloths and he would nibble our innards for late night snacks... the man hates us arboreal devil rats!! Beware!" In more common parlance, I done killed me some squirrels and I liked it - a lot.

So now, I have been bringing to bear my considerable wild beast-killing skills regarding all kinds of trespassing fellows. Julie says she will post my pictures of recent trophies I took. Be warned, though! The following images may constitute a crime against humanity! The HORROR!!!! Behold, what awaits those who wander astray of the outer doors, those who dare lurk my passage and those who find themselves under the shadow of my fierce hand!!!!! But really, folks, that spider I done killed EVAPORATED when I smashed his carapace between my twain mighty meathooks. I didn't know I was so... great white huntery. Just look at my face - I mean business. I hope the unwary beast publish this post and its pictures on their internets - it would save me the gory soirée I find myself entangled within occasionally. Tell all your varmint friends, I will not be trifled with. Spread the word - there is a new sheriff in town.

Note from Julie: Derrell wrote this a few days ago, but I haven't published it because it is still picture-less. I can't find the specific USB cable required to download the pictures mentioned. (again) They are great--you really need to see them! I will continue to hunt tirelessly for the magic cord. This situation brings into focus the fact that I'm not very organized. Well, let me amend that: I'm not what the rest of the world would call "organized", BUT I usually know where everything is--until someone decides to organize for me. (The men in my house definitely know how to clean a room!) Things look better, but now I can't find all my stuff. Needless to say, it's a bit frustrating. If I was "properly" organized, little things like this wouldn't happen...

Firefox's Glubble

Hi. Just thought I'd spread the word about the free service we use to restrict access to the internet for our children.

They love it because they can just click on their user name and surf or play to their hearts' content. We love it because we have only allowed pre-approved sites that we trust, so we don't have to be looking over their shoulders at every turn.

Example: I am OK with most of the games on the (insert children's site here) website, but don't want my children trying to shop, so only the games portion of the site is enabled. We also like it because it is very user friendly and simple to set up. Check it out!

I Love America

I have added some patriotic songs to the playlist for your listening pleasure. They can be the background music for my feelings regarding Independence Day:

I am grateful to live in a free country. I am grateful to have the opportunity to worship, travel and learn how I please. I'm glad I've been able to spend time in many parts of this great country, experiencing the kindnesses of very different people. Most people are trying to be good. Most believe in God.

There are plenty of scary things about this world, but there are also plenty of things for which to be grateful. There isn't peace outside, but I feel inner peace. I am grateful I am not alone.

Twelve years ago I was in the Holy Land on the Fourth of July. A result of that study abroad trip that I hadn't anticipated was a greater appreciation for my country. You don't know what you've got until it's gone, right? I understood better how my oldest brother felt when he returned from living in Sweden for two years. I was only thirteen, and hadn't given much thought to the meaning of liberty. He got off the plane in New York and started crying. I'm sure some of those tears were because he was glad to see his family, but he spoke mostly about how glad he was to be back in the USA. I was taken aback. Here was my big brother crying about our country. With my limited experience, I didn't get it. I hope I have gained a deeper understanding as I've matured. I don't want to treat the blessing of freedom lightly.

I appreciate the servicemen and women in the military. What a marvelous experience to have been in that world for a time! Respect, Patriotism, Cleanliness, Duty, Order, Loyalty--just a few adjectives that come to mind. We met some of the greatest people we know while in the Army. We will cherish those friendships and memories all our lives.

It is neat living near Washington, DC. I want our family to tour as many sites as possible during our time here. Who knows if we'll ever be back? I got to be a chaperone for the second grade field trip to the Natural History Museum of the Smithsonian a couple months ago. (the Hope diamond, insects, mammoth, skeletons) I asked a bunch of the kids if they had ever been to this museum before. To any of the sites in Washington. To Washington at all. Surprisingly, most hadn't remembered ever traveling the hour north to see things that most of the population of our country will never see. I was talking with my little group of four kids about that very fact--trying to get them to slow down and really look at things. I said, "You know, you might not ever get the chance to come here again." One little boy replied, "Oh, I came last year with my other school class." So, obviously, he didn't believe me that he might not return; he comes every year! :-)

I love America! Happy Independence Day!