5000 Miles of Fun: Blanding

The last family trip we took to Utah was in the summer of 2004. We got a great deal on some airline tickets and had only three kids at the time. Now, six years later we have 5 kids and even if deals were to be had on tickets (which there weren't), buying seven plane tickets would have still been way out of our price range. So we decided to do the unthinkable and drive out west. We knew our ten year old mini-van was not up to the task. Even if it didn't give out completely, which we are positive it would have given the fact that we are now at the stage where we are pouring money into it for repairs every few months that are basically just band-aids to spare its life for just a bit longer; it's also just not big enough to haul a family of seven and all of the luggage needed for a three-week trip. So we decided to rent a van. It was still a mini van but so much roomier and with the stow-and-go seating, we had ample room for all of our junk. It was SO nice! And it was great not to have to worry about the cost of repairs if we had a break-down along the way.



So, with everything in place and a lot of last minute stress, we packed up and headed out. The trip out was to be the hardest since we decided to drive it straight through. We hoped that the excitement of the kids would get us through the looonnnngggg hours ahead. And actually they didn't do too bad, considering. We stopped for dinner and took advantage of a long strip of grass to let the kids let off some pent-up energy before loading them up for what we hoped was the night.

Partway through the night, I had dozed off for a bit when Kalen decided he was too sleepy to drive, so we pulled into a rest area for a nap. Of course, as soon as we did, every single kid woke up grumpy. We knew that sleep was no longer an option. So we switched drivers and I drove for awhile so that Kalen could get a couple hours of sleep. We'd have made it for a good while if our gas tank hadn't alerted us that it needed more fuel. So of course the kids woke up again when we pulled into the gas station. After gas and potty breaks we headed out again. It started to get light by the time we reached Denver and it was so much fun to see a change of scenery from the corn fields of Iowa and Nebraska. The mountains were beautiful and we had fun driving through all the tunnels that brought back memories of all the road trips my family took when I was a kid.

We stopped in Rifle, Colorado for breakfast. We went to Walmart and bought food and then went to a really cute little rest area to eat. They had a fun wildlife exhibit in the information building. Oh, and the Jehovah's Witnesses are up really early and made sure to give us some reading material for the drive.

Finally, after 28 1/2 hours, we reached Blanding.

It was SO much fun to reunite with everyone. The kids have cousins that they haven't even met before and others who they have met but don't remember at all.

Kendall had so much fun with all the boy cousins close to his age. I thought this picture was funny. They are standing oldest to youngest but they get taller the younger they get!

One day we took a trip to the dinosaur museum in town. They had some pretty neat stuff for such a small place.

Kaya loved this replica of an ancient fan best of all. It even worked!

With all the running around to different places, playing games, back and forth between Susan's and Grandma's, people tended to wear out occasionally:

I thought Natalie and Spencer were so cute together.

We were able to visit with so many people that we hadn't seen in years while we were there. We went to see the Shearer family who Kalen knew from his high school years and I knew from my college years. Their daughters Misty and Marla were my roommates at USU and Marla is the one who introduced me to Kalen. Well, we were so excited to find out that Marla and her family were actually visiting Blanding at the same time! It was so much fun to see them and their cute little family. (They have four little blond boys who are just adorable).

One of our big Oswald reunion traditions is to have a temple trip to do baptisms. Kalen and Taylor and I were all able to go on this one to Monticello. It was so much fun and so good to get to the temple again.

The 4th of July is huge in Blanding. I mean enormous! It was really fun to be there for their celebration on the 3rd (the 4th being a Sunday). The day started bright and early when several family members participated in the Fun Run or the 5K races. Kalen and Taylor did the Fun Run which is a mile long. Taylor could have done the 5K but he didn't think he was ready for it.

Our nephew Tanner took 4th place (and 1st in his age group) in the 5K and Taylor took 1st place in the Fun Run. We were pretty excited for him and I think he was pleased with himself too.

Later that morning we all went to the big parade. This parade was WAY more fun than any I've been to in a long time. There were so many different floats and lots of candy thrown out for the kids. And lots of water from various fire trucks. The very last truck completey drenched the kids who were expecting the lighter spray that the other trucks had been shooting.

After the parade we headed over to the big festival where they had booths of every kind and lots of fun activities for the kids.

That evening was Kalen's 20th High School Reunion. We took Kaya with us and left the rest of the kids behind to play with their cousins. It was fun to visit with a few of the people that I knew and I know Kalen had a great time catching up with old friends.

While we were visiting the kids spent a fun afternoon at the lake.

And getting their faces painted.

The kids came for the last few minutes of the reunion so everyone could meet them and then we decided to track down Mrs. A, Kalen and best friend Harvey's old drama teacher. We found her at the set of a melodrama that she was in charge of and had a fun chat with her.

Kendall who has a fascination with acting, even got some advice from her and said afterward how much fun she seemed.

We met up with the rest of the family for the fireworks that night, which was a small miracle because it was so dark and there seemed to be thousands of people gathered who all looked the same. The firework show was pretty spectacular and the kids all loved it. Kaya was so cute shouting "wow!" after each one.

Then we took Harvey back to his mom's and had their other friend Taylor join us for one last visit before parting ways.

The rest of our Blanding visit consisted of church on Sunday, lots of good food, hilarious stories and fun chats, and even more games and play time.

Steal the Flag.

Lover's Leap.

A hilarous nighttime search for Shonnee's missing necklace.

Monday morning Kalen, Susan and Sherrie took all the boys to Monument Valley for a few hours. We knew that we had a long drive to Duchesne later that day so we decided not to have the whole family go. They had a great time.

We spent some last minute time loving the cute little puppies.

And after all the goodbyes, we were off on our next leg of the journey to visit the Potter side of the family in Duchesne. On our way we stopped off at Arches National Park. It was really beautiful and so amazing to see all those cool formations.

We arrived in Duchesne about two hours later than planned because of this excursion but it was totally worth the extra time.

Stay tuned for part 2!

Happy Birthday Spencer

If only I could find the cord to my camera I could actually upload the birthday photos we took yesterday! Until then...

Everytime a child of mine turns another year older, there is usually at least a little bit of disbelief on my part. Time is passing at a tremendously fast rate and here I am about to send my fourth baby off to kindergarten this year. It seems impossible that little Spencer is 5 years old already!

We had a fun birthday celebration with just our family (friend party to come next year!). We found an amazing allergy-free cake mix that we tried that tastes like actual cake. As in, everyone could enjoy it! I have a recipe that I've used in years past but it has the most awful after-taste and no one will eat it except Spencer who doesn't know any better. So that was his favorite part of the night. He also loves his new scooter that is just like his cousin Bentley's except it is Toy Story instead of Spiderman because stupid Walmart got rid of all their three-wheeled scooters and after Mommy finally tracked down three different people to find that out, she had a pounding headache and went to Target where she should have gone in the first place. Target didn't sell Spiderman scooters so she settled happily for Toy Story one and her headache abated somewhat. Anyway... the scooter was a big hit as well as his book "The Pout Pout Fish" (buy it, you'll love it!) and his Bakugan figure and the dart shooter from Nana.

Afterward we all went downtown for this month's outdoor movie "Daddy Daycare". We thought we'd have to leave early because of kids getting too tired but they all stuck it out, the little night owls.

Happy Birthday Spencito! We LOVE you so much. You have the worlds greatest giggle and silly sense of humor. We love your artwork and seeing all your lego creations. You tell great stories and I live for those rare moments where you'll let me snuggle you on the couch for a nice chat. Just quit growing up so fast!

I'm Trying

Okay, I know it has been forever since I posted. I have loads of stuff to write about and pictures from our three-week trip out west. But I am currently internet-less at home and so I have to come to Kalen's office whenever I can squeeze the time. So, eventually I'll get something on here. I know you're all just dying for material and all...

But speaking of internet, let me pose a question. We need to get high-speed service at home so that Taylor can do an online seminary course. Any recommendations???

Happy (World Cup) Anniversary

July 7, 1994 was our wedding day. Sixteen years ago. Amazing how fast it has gone but also how it seems like we've always been together. We honeymooned in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and while we were there I learned something about by new husband that I hadn't previously known. He is mad about soccer! Especially World Cup soccer. While we enjoyed the sights and did other honeymoonish things, we also spent some time watching the World Cup which was held in the U.S. that year so it actually got a lot of coverage. And every four years after that, I can count on the craziness to commence yet again. So as at tribute to the World Cup and to my husband, here is an anniversary post about our marriage as measured by the years of the World Cup.

July 1994: The World cup was held in the USA and the final match was between Brazil vs. Italy. Brazil won. At the same time we moved into our microscopic first apartment and began adjusting to married life. We were both students at Utah State University. Kalen was majoring in Spanish and I was majoring in Early Childhood education. We spent that summer settling in and working summer jobs. I cleaned dorms all summer and Kalen worked at Foto Express developing people's photos from all those non-digital cameras that were still in existence back in the day.

July 1998: This year the World Cup was held in France. The final match was between France and Brazil and France came out victorious. At that time we had moved to Tucson, Arizona. Kalen was working on his graduate schooling at the University of Arizona. We had been married four years and had added our oldest son Taylor to our family. We lived in a small apartment complex which we managed. Kalen was in charge of basic maintenance and I was responsible for the bookkeeping and renting out the apartments to people. I was also babysitting for another little boy. I loved Arizona; Kalen not so much. He missed the four seasons most of all but it was also a really stressful time for us trying to make ends meet and get through those long years of school.

July 2002: This world cup was held in Korea/Japan and the final match was between Brazil and Germany. Brazil pulled off another win this time. And this World Cup found our family relocating from Wisconsin, where we had spent one short year to Albion, Michigan. We moved into a small 3 bedroom townhouse on the outskirts of town which we disliked terribly right from the start but which we had to endure for a whole year because of the lease we had signed. Kalen began work at Albion College. Taylor who was six, was getting ready to enter first grade and our second son Kendall was 2 1/2. I was also expecting our third child who, though we didn't know it yet, would be Lynnsey, the daughter I'd always longed for. Even though we didn't like where we were living, we loved the new town, made friends quickly, and felt right at home.

July 2006: This World Cup was held in Germany and the final game was between Italy and France. Italy won that time around and Kalen watched the final match even though he couldn't stand either team. By then, we had been married for twelve years. We were still living in Albion and finally had a home of our own. Taylor was getting ready to enter 5th grade, Kendall was heading into 1st grade. Lynnsey was a busy three year old and Spencer who had joined our family the year before was getting ready to celebrate his first birthday. It had been a terribly rough year due to Spencer's mulitple food allergies but we were finally feeling like we were able to handle them better now that we had finally found a great doctor who gave us a proper diagnosis and treatment.

July 2010: And finally we have reached the present day. This year the games are being held in South Africa. We are anxiously awaiting who will take the cup this year but with the U.S. and Argentina out of the running, we are hoping to see Spain make it through to the end. Currently we are still enjoying living in Albion. We have added one more daughter Kaya, to the mix (the cutie who's peeking around my legs in the above photo). Life is busy and full and crazy with lots of ups and downs but so much happiness. I love my husband and the beautiful kids we have brought into the world. It has been an amazing sixteen years. Here's to many more World Cups and even more years of marriage! Go U.S. and go us!