Journey Home- Lincoln, NE & HOME!!!!!

We are almost there!  2 more days!

The nice thing about getting into Nebraska is that it gets green.  The whole trip has been a desert of bland colors.  Except for the mountains in Eastern CA and Western NV and then a little in UT it has been tan, light tan, and blah.  Nebraska is a horrible state to drive through.  It is sooooooo long.  And it's one cornfield after another hour upon hour upon hour- but it's GREEN!  And I welcomed that.  After driving for 5 days and completely memorizing the entire Lego Movie, GREEN is so nice to see.

Today's adventure was brought to us by Lexington, NE.  The Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles.  If you have boys, you have to stop here.  Even if the museum is not open, they have a bunch of vehicles outside you can walk around and see.  Inside they have a bunch of stuff- trucks, motorcycles, uniforms, weapons, a helicopter you can get in, a tank you can get in, and my boys favorite- a scene depicting a war zone complete with blood and a blown apart bicyclist.  Yup, it has it all.  Oh yeah, and there are binoculars you can play with.  And did I mention it's free?  Well, you can make a donation which I did because I want to keep this awesome place alive.

I think by now you know the caption to this picture

It was hot in NE.  And not hot like CA but humid too.  Ah, welcome humidity.  How I have not missed you.  Our hotel was in Lincoln so we got there and as I'm driving to the hotel I notice something odd.  I pass by a prison.  I can see up into the towers and see the guards up there.  And my gps tells me to turn.  Uh-oh, this is not a good sign.  And low and behold there is our hotel.  Right across the street from the state penitentiary.  Oh joy.

I check in, the lady emphasizes that their breakfast is just a continental one.  Whatever that means.  She shows me where the stairs are and how to get to our room.  "Where's the elevator?" I ask.  There is no elevator. "Seriously?"  Um yes this is not candid camera.  Oh and she forgot to mention there is no landing at the top of the stairs, but there is a door so good luck getting your suitcase for all 4 people up.  

We went swimming because we could and it was nice and hot/humid.  The pool had a nice little shallow end that even Garett could swim in by himself so that almost made up for the no elevator thing.

We went to Red Robins and because we could and we were hungry.  Then back to the hotel to sleep.

The next day I had planned to go to the Children's museum there- it is this huge totally awesome place to play.  It's the type of place parents take their kids because they wish they could have gone there when they were kids.  But the kids were too excited to go home so we just went home.

The middle section is full

The back section is full

The front section is full

Clean 'er out!

Not too bad laundry wise.  Only because the rest of our stuff is packed away.

And because I'm crazy I spent the whole rest of the day unpacking and doing laundry.  Neal came home early and made us a delicious dinner and ahhhhhhhhh!  We are home!

Journey Home- Cheyenne

This part was a longer one, but fun!  We headed out of Lehi and on our way up to WY.  Ah, WY we meet again.  We have quite a past, and to be honest I DON'T LIKE YOU.  But here we are again.  I think we can be civil, right?  And then WY pulls a fast one on me and has the most perfect weather EVER.  THANK GOODNESS.  I was sure this leg of our journey was going to break me.  But I was victorious.

*Dramatic pause*

We drive along and get to Fort Bridger, WY.

Capturing a fort

Fort Bridge is a little off the freeway, but not far.  They charge per adult as you drive in (it was only $4 for me).  And then you can walk around the houses and take the trails to different places.  They have a really nice picnic area to eat at.  We went to the museum which was small but it had a lot of info and there is a kiddie section which was great for the kids.  We took trail to the fort and I bought wooden rifles for the guys (we wanted to get them souvenirs and this was something they would play with rather than some cheap thing from Disneyland or the beach).  They had fun playing and walking around (remember the whole I am making them walk around and drink water thing).  There are a lot of gift shops- like every building has one- but it was the perfect break.

We got back on the road and after explaining there could be no more poking mom in the back of the head with the wooden rifle unless you want to die it was a smooth drive to Cheyenne.  Which bytheway was doing it's Frontier Days which means state fair.  And you West coast peeps don't really understand what this means.  This means eveyone in the state and surrounding areas comes in to Cheyenne and it's a big deal.  Our hotel is right by the fair grounds.  And I start worrying.  There are a lot of people who, not to be judgmental, look like they are going to get drunk tonight.  And I want to sleep.  Remember Winnemucca?  Well, Garett keeps waking up every night not sure where he is or who I am or where everyone else is.  And both Garett and Ryan want to sleep with me which means no room and I keep getting kicked or rolled on.  I really want to sleep.

And this is the one piece of soap we got, for both the bath and sink:

Hahahaha.  Oh dear.  There are also no outlets to plug my phone and tablet into.  Unplug the air or a lamp?  Uh, lamp and then balance my phone by the sink on the coffee maker.  But we can handle it.  We swim at the pool (keep those legs moving boys). Let's go eat at Olive Garden.  Now, I am sure to tell the boys it's going to be a wait because it is Saturday at like 6 or 7 (I don't remember- all these time changes and such).  We get there and WE SIT RIGHT DOWN.  WY I don't know what your motives are but I will take it.  We have a great dinner and go back to the hotel and get in bed.  And- boys I am sleeping with Adam because he doesn't kick or roll on me or wake up at night.  And I hear music but we've got the air going and the "nightlight" aka bathroom light on that has a fan so we sleep.  And I sleep.  And it is wonderful.

WY what are you doing?  Seriously?  Probably the easiest leg of the trip.  I must've gone through a porthole or something.

Journey Home- *PAUSE* Lehi

In Lehi we went to go check out the Children's Museum of Natural Curiosity.  Sounds neat right?  Well it is, but....  there were tons and tons of people there.  Like millions of these wild white mormon families milling around.  My kids don't like crowds and are not pushy even if their life depended on it so lets just say the first 1/2 hour was more of an observation period.  Once we found some not-as-crowded exhibits and they got their bearings we got going, but they still didn't like all those pushy kids.  And sometimes Mama Bear can only take so much and so I start pushing in to let my kids have a turn.  Yeah- I liked the Children's Museum in San Luis a lot better.

This guy was not in a good mood and was pretty set on making things difficult for me.  That along with Ryan's anxieties it was a kinda stressful stop.

Oh, wait we can have fun!

Midwest roots- making a wind turbine

This place is pretty cool- the water goes through the cracks in the floor and I'm sure it's recycled back to the play structures.

Auntie Em!  Adam's in a tornado

Ryan is making his own energy to light the bulbs.

Afterwards we did what I had been dying to do- go to Downeast and go shopping!  I bought about 6 shirts you can wear under your "show a little too much" shirts.  Ah.  And you're welcome store for bringing my 3 boys to run around your store in.  Now I'm the white mormon with the crazy kids.

And since Robo-cop and hubby were sooo nice they let us just hang out at their place and play, read, books, and HAVE A FANTASTIC HOMEMADE DINNER!!!  We were spoiled.  And with Jeff's tech savvy nature we now have the answer to our argument Adam and I have been having- are shoes sandals (since sandals were the first shoes) or are sandals shoes (since sandals should be a type of shoe).  And I won.  Maybe.  I think we have to go to Kohls to find out ;-)

We stayed the night again and then headed out in the morning.  AND I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE WITH ROBYN.  This is my one regret the whole trip.  Boo.

Journey Home- SLC

On to UT!  We headed out from Winnemucca fresh and ready.  There is a lot of nothing on the way.  Like really, nothing.  From CA to NV there is a mountain range you drive through and actually NV is a little interesting on the West side.

We stopped in Wendover, NV to eat and play at a park (I am now wiser and making the kids drink water and get out of the car).  I didn't realize this city is 1/2 in NV and 1/2 in UT haha but I knew we were pretty close to the border.  Then we get to the salt flats and I make the kids get out again to take pictures.  And I mean MAKE because they did NOT want to get out. 

"I don't wanna"

So um, yeah that's what we saw for miles and miles and miles.  And then BAM there's this tree on the westbound side (sculpture).  And then miles and miles and miles of salt and then BAM we're in SLC.

 A little Temple Square action.  We went to the visitor's center too.  "You can go listen to the MoTab" says like all the temple square missionaries.  And they'er all standing around just waiting to talk to you.   Masses of them.  "Hey boys ya wanna go?"  SILENCE.  Moving on.

So I forgot about the whole time change thing but whatever we're hungry and I want to go to the Red Iguana and the Red Iguana 2 is right in downtown so we head there, right off the tracks, and wait for dinner.  Luckily 35 minute wait turned into 10 minutes. 

He is SOOOOO hungry he's just going to cry.  And then try some chips.  And then eat some chips.  So, this is big news because this kid hasn't eaten chips in at least a year.  Score!

"This is the best dinner ever!"

 The restaurant was very good- Garett wouldn't eat but by now I don't care because I didn't have to eat McD's and we still need to get to ROBYN WRIGHT (Okay really STOCKETT)'S house!  Yea!  It's been way too long since I've seen her (okay I saw a glimpse of her at my parent's ward but that doesn't count).

Robyn and her hubby Jeff were so WONDERFUL to let us crash at their place for a couple nights!  So down to Lehi we go.

Journey Home: Winnemucca, NV

We had SUCH a great time in CA!  But we were gone for a really LOOOONG time and we were all ready to go back to our house, and beds, and toys- and to see Daddy.  So after many trips to the store-(I was going to be smarter this round and have better car activities) and laundry and strategic van packing we were off.

For the first leg of our trip we went to the Gold Bug Mine in Placerville, California.  This was so perfect!  You drive in the middle of nowhere for a while and then BAM there's this freeway that takes you to Lake Tahoe.  I would've loved to go to Lake Tahoe but this was going to be the longest leg of our drive home and we didn't have a lot of time.

"I'm done". Fastest gold panner in the mountains.

Panning for gems

Waiting... waiting... 

Rock crusher

We didn't make it to the mine but I'm not so sure the boys would've liked it anyways.  They had a fun time panning for gems and it was a nice break on our trip.  On the way up to the 80 we passed another gold minning town- I'm thinking it was actually Sutter's but I can't remember.  The road was a very windy so we were glad to get back to straighter roads.

And then we stopped in Reno for some dinner and gas.  Still a long ways to go to Winnemucca!

When we got to Winnemucca our hotel was actually also a casino.  Fun.  Oh yeah we're in NV.  It smelled but luckily the hotel spent a lot on orange air freshener to keep the smoke smell from being too strong.  We got ready for bed and hit the hay.

Well, I should back track here.  We really only stopped in Placerville and Reno.  Garett kept crying about his legs hurting so we stopped at a rest stop in NV- as in a bunch of benches in the middle of the desert.  We tried to walk around but there were dogs (does EVERYBODY have to own a dog?).  When we got to the hotel he stopped complaining.  Until the middle of the night.  He woke up screaming and crying that his legs hurt.  Well, I am by myself with the 3 boys so what do I do?  I leave the oldest 2 asleep in the room and go downstairs to see if the kitchen has a banana.  But the whole place is closed.  I find and employee and ask where a drug store is.  Down the block.  So at 2 am Garett and I drive to the convenience store and buy $9 aspirin and a banana.  I make him drink it, we get back and fall asleep.  Oh but wait, he keeps waking up, but not really, not knowing who I am or where he is.

We wake up refreshed (hahahaha) and head out on the road to UT.  But not after eating at the diner- the hotel gave us food vouchers- and eating the BIGGEST pancakes I have ever seen (excluding Uncle Buck).  I'd say we only ate 1/4 of the food they gave us it was SO much.