Our 3 week, 11 state Vacation!!

We took a very long, much needed family vacation this year.  Tom has been gone most of the year for work trips. To give you an idea, you can count on one hand the amount of times he was able to go to church with us from January to July. So it's been a little tough on all of us. He came home on July 16th after driving all day from Canton, Ohio,  and on July 18, we left for our big trip.

Our trip was centered on going to a family reunion in Utah, but we visited multiple places and friends and family from both sides. At first we were going to fly and Tom was going to be in London for the Olympics, but circumstances changed, and he was able to go with us. I was NOT happy at the prospect of driving that far, but Tom tried really hard to make it a good trip. He planned stops and activities along the way that made it fun. We had saved up the thousands it cost us, and even our new car that we bought in May was in anticipation of this big trip. 

TEXAS

The first night we stayed in Tenessee, the next night we stayed in Amarillo, Texas and went to dinner at  "The Big Texan", a place we've been before on road trips out West. The last time we went however, we only had Alan and he was just a baby.   This place is a huge tourist attraction, and had a lot for the kids to do. Which was good because we'd been driving for two days straight, and we had countless days to go before the trip was over.

 Here's a view of part of this huge restauraunt. It was styled just like an old west restauraunt or maybe saloon?  Anyway it looked like something you'd see in a movie.

 Next door to the Restauraunt was a hotel that was part of the whole "Big Texan" experience. It looked like an old town. We didn't stay in the hotel however.

 The had a big snake there to look at. I can't remember what kind, sorry.

 The kid's meals all came in a cowboy hat.

 They had a huge rocking chair that I guess the Big Texan  himself sat in. :)

 They had this deal where if you eat an entire 72 oz Steak dinner in an hour you'd get it for free. But you had to eat the Steak with all the sides which consisted of a baked potato, a salad, and I think shrimp and some bread.  The have this table in the center of the restauraunt with a giant timer over it to time those who wanted to try it. When we were there nobody was trying it. I don't blame them.

 Playing in the "jail" they had there.

 Hey! That arrow is a plunger!!

 Tossing bean bags at Texas...

COLORADO
After Amarillo, we went North up to Colorado Springs where we spent a day and a half.  It was a very much needed rest, and since we might be moving there next, Tom thought it was important that we spend a good amount of time there.  And we're so glad we did,  it was SOOOOO beautiful!!
 I say it was a rest, but what I mean it was a break from driving, not really a rest. The first day we got there at lunch time and went to a favorite Chinese restauraunt of Tom's, then we went straight over to the Olympic Training Center where he spends alot of time during the year.   Then, that evening he took us to "The Garden of the Gods" where we got to climb on some really neat rock formations.   The next morning we went hiking on these beautiful hiking trails they have right in the city.  Then, that afternoon we went to park where they have these neat looking rock formations and did more climbing and hiking.

 Tom's name is on this trophy twice!! This is a trophy that's on display in the Olympic Training Center. How cool is that??

 Here are the actual torches that were in the Olympics when they were here in America.

 Also at the OTC in front of a shooting sport silhouette....

 Where the olympic flame burns..... just not at the moment....

 This is at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. This place was so neat.

 These next pictures are from hiking the next morning on some beautiful trails nearby.

And then that evening we went to Park right in the city where we could go climbing on some big rocks.

UTAH
The next night, Sunday night, we stayed in Wyoming, and then in the morning it was on to Heber City, Utah where the Family Reunion was!!    This was a the first reunion the Atkinson family had had in 22 years. So it was long over do. We got to know so many of our relatives that we didn't really know at all.  We had some great activities there too. We got to go hiking, and go on a ropes course, we went in a paddle boat, and we did a family talent show which was pretty funny. Our kids got to know my cousin's kids, and began to make some friendships with them.   
Here's the whole crew: This was the Atkinson Family Reunion.It was a reunion of the descendents of George Atkinson, my Grandpa.
 
 My little job at the reunion was to design and be in charge of the shirts.  On the first day as everyone was coming, we let anyone who wanted to color on their shirts with paints or permanent markers.  
Here's a picture of just the McGiffin grandchildren with my Mom and Dad. Each family stayed in their own cabin. So, the whole McGiffin family was in one cabin (until the last night when Ben's family got sick, so some of us moved to an empty cabin).   It was interesting trying to get all these little children to sleep in the same room. Six of the 10 grandchildren are 4 or younger.  Not something we'd like to try again.... but it was an experience we'll never forget.. :)

 Here's the whole McGiffin family: It was nice to be with everyone. We thought Johnny's family and Mark's family might not make it, but we were so happy when they did!! We hoped they could stay the whole time, but the second night they went and stayed at Mark's house. I don't blame them with their little ones being so young, and Mark's house being less than an hour away... but we missed them!
The third day of the Reunion, Wednesday, was clean up and pack up day. Then, that afternoon all the adults went to the Temple and we got to do sealings for family names!!  There were so many of us that we had to split up into to sealing rooms. After that we went  out to eat with the adults. It was a wonderful way to end the Reunion.

Then that night after the reunion,  we stayed at my Uncle David's huge house. It was so big that all of his kids and grandkids were there as well. We stayed in the finished basement that was the size of a 3 bedroom house.  His back yard was amazing with trampoline set at ground level, a jungle gym, a play house, and a nice garden.  It was nice to be able to get to know family even more.

The next day, Thursday, we spent some more time with my Uncle David's family and my cousins. We also did some much needed laundry.

Thursday evening we were able to catch up with Tom's Dad, step Mom and step brother in the evening in Salt Lake City.  They were visiting Utah as well. We had a nice lunch in the park and then we went with them to the confernece center to catch a Tabernacle Choir practice, which coincidentally was a mini concert!! Their practices aren't normally mini concerts, but we got to be there on a night they had one. How neat that was.  They sang patriotic songs, and some good spiritual songs as well. My new favorite song by them is "Count Your Blessings" by Irving Berlin, from the old Movie, White Christmas. When they sang that it was so beautiful. They also sang "God Bless America" which was very moving, and everyone was standing by the end of it. There were many people there who weren't members of the church.

Thursday night we stayed at our good friend's the Ence's who had just moved from Columbus, GA to Grantsville Utah. Tom and Kurtis Ence are best friends, and Alan and their son Karter are best friends as well. It was so nice to stay with them.

Friday, we went with the Ence's to the Church History Museum and went to the children's display there.  It was so neat. I wish we had Children's Museums like that here.  We also met up with our friends the Strouds, and went to the mall with them and the Ence's. We all had lunch together at the mall, then went to Deseret Book.

 

Friday evening we went to Temple Square and the Joseph smith Memorial building and watched the Joseph Smith movie there.  We then stayed at the Ence's that night again.

Saturday we spent the day relaxing at our friend's the Ence's house, then Saturday evening we were able to meet up with Tom's brother Chris and his wife Shandray who had just had their second baby. We went to dinner with them and Shandray's parents, and Tom's parents and his step brother and sister Taylor and Karen. 

Saturday night we stayed at Mark and Spring's apartment. They live in Bluffdale, Utah. It was nice to spend some time with them. Mark's oldest son Alexander William, is only 3 weeks older than our William, but this is the first time they've ever met. It was nice for William to be around cousins his age.  We got to go to church with Mark and Spring's family on Sunday. We really enjoyed spending time with them.  Here are the cousins eating a Breakfast of Pancakes around the table at Spring and Mark's.

Monday morning it was off to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon and visit Tom's brother Will. Monday night we stayed in Flagstaff, and then Tuesday we visited the grand canyon.

Coming back from the hiking trails in the Grand Canyon we caught a shuttle.   Just as we got on the shuttle the sky's erupted with a flash flood. They only have a few of those a year, so everyone who worked there were really happy.  When the shuttle brought us back we tried to wait until the storm got a little less intense before we could make it to our car. We eventually just made a run for it in the pouring rain. It was actually pretty fun. Then, while we were driving away from the canyon,  it started to hail. That wasn't so fun. We were worried about our new car getting dented with the hail, but thankfully the hail didn't last too long.  

Then, that evening, Tuesday, we went and stayed wth Tom's brother Will and his wife Jen who live in Snowflake, Arizona. I was able to meet Will's wife Jen for the first time. (Tom had already met her on trips for his work in the past) They were married 6 years ago, and we'd never been able to meet. She and I are alot alike. For starters, we have same name, but we also both play the piano and sing. She is a teacher, and plans on singing in the tabernacle choir when their kids get older. 

Between Will and Jen they have 7 kids. We were only able to see 3 of the 7 since Jen's kids were visiting their Dad, but it was still nice. Will has twin boys only 3 months older than Alan. They hadn't seen each other since they were 6 months old so it really was like meeting for the first time. 

On Wednesday, we were also able to visit with Tom's brother Kevin who also lives in Arizona about 4 hours (I think) away from Will.  They came to Snowflake and spent the day with all of us.  Kevin and his wife Audra have 3 little boys. There oldest son, Dallin is only two weeks younger than Kaitlyn and we've never met their kids either.   Wednesday evening we all made yummy foil dinners and cooked them on a fire pit in Will's backyard, then we roasted Marshmallows.  So fun!!

Thursday we continued on our trip and stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico where we stayed with our good friends the Griffins who used to live in Columbus.  Tim Griffin was in our Bishopric in GA for many years, and I served with his wife Beth Griffin in many different places.  (She was my counselor when I was YW president, and I was her couselor when she was Primary President)  Beth is a massage therapist, and she gave Tom a much needed massage for his bad back.  It was sooo nice to stay with them. We miss them.

Then, finally it was time to head home. Friday, Saturday and Sunday was traveling the final trip home.  We drove alongside historic Route 66 for countless miles, and saw many sights along the way. We saw some neat Native America things in Oklahoma,

We got home Sunday, August 4th. We were exhausted but it had been a fun trip. We didn't mind the driving. William actualy said when we were home that he didn't want to sleep at home, he wanted to sleep in a hotel!  

It was so good to see so many family members on both my side and Tom's side of the family. We realized just how far away we are from family. All of our family is in the West, and we really felt like we belonged there with them.   Just a few more years and we'll be going home for good....