Mt. Shasta Part 5

Mount Shasta trip part 5: The exciting conclusion to our trip in which we bless Deagan, return to the lake, get stuck in traffic because of brush fires, and I get homesick 5 miles outside of Mt. Shasta.  

Well, It took me forever, but I'm finally finishing up writing about our last day in California. 

On Sunday, we were able to bless Deagan. I was sad that my dad and brothers couldn't be there to be in the circle, but I was grateful for my Brother-in -laws Tyler and Jacob, my father-in-law Ed, and Bryant's old bishop Dan Taylor were there. I hope that Deagan will always look up to these men, and the men in my family as good examples throughout his life. He is very blessed to have such great and amazing people in his life. 

 ^My handsome boy in his blessing outfit!^

I can't say enough good things about Bryant's home ward. Really, I love everyone there, and I could feel the spirit there so strongly. Everyone is so welcoming and loving and accepting of you. I feel as if I know more people in that ward than I do in my own ward that I've been in for 18 years. Bryant and I sat outside for a bit between classes and we talked about how amazing this ward is, and how badly we wished we could go there every Sunday. Not to mention the building itself is beautiful. I hope we are back to visit again soon!

That afternoon, Jacob, Sally, their kids and Tyler went back to Sacramento, but not before we got some family photos.

^Grandma and Grandpa with all their grandkids! Sorry these are so dark.^

 We enjoyed one last night in Mt. Shasta by going back to Lake Siskyou for a walk to the new bridge. 

The next day, we took our time packing up and headed out mid-morning. It's always sad when we leave. As soon as we were out of town, I was ready to turn back and stay the rest of the summer (or forever...) Is it normal to feel homesick for a place you've never even lived? Because I was. The first few hours of our drive was spent talking about future plans and we made goals to someday move to Mt. Shasta. It's where we both feel we want to be. We know it may be a long time, and we will go wherever the jobs are (and I wouldn't mind doing a stint in San Diego or something if the opportunity arises) but Mt. Shasta is the ultimate goal.

Our drive home went about as smoothly as our drive to California. Both kids were great the whole way, except for a brief moment when they both decided to scream at the top of their lungs, just as the highway was shut down because of several brush fires. Deagan was hungry, and Savannah was throwing a fit because the sun was in her eyes, and she didn't want her sunglasses, she wanted Bryant's, but then his didn't fit so... you know... terrible twos and all...

Just as I had just about had it with screaming kids, the gas light came on. Of all things the gas light comes on while we are stuck at a dead stop in the middle of nowhere Nevada, while it's 100+ degrees out and I have a hungry newborn, and a pissed-off 2 year old. That's when we realized that people were driving up the shoulder and turning onto a cut-off that went to the opposite side of the highway. We knew there was a gas station about a mile back, so we followed suit. We asked a highway patrolman how long they thought the highway would be shut down, and he told us 45 minutes to an hour. So we headed on back to the gas station, fed Deagan, and let Savannah stretch her legs. After about 45 minutes, we got back on the highway. It was still stopped, but after about 10 minutes, it opened back up!

We had a few more set-backs thanks to several construction zones. Want to know what's worse than going 55 MPH on a one-lane construction zone? Getting stuck behind about a bazillion semis going 5 MPH through a one-lane construction zone... Those areas alone set us back about 3 hours. So needless to say, we ended up driving through the night again. We did pretty well, we both took turns napping or driving. The only time we both started to get drowsy was about the time we hit Tooele, which is too close to be worth stopping for the night. We were listening to a book on tape, and I started to zone. I didn't want to sleep, because I wanted to be awake to keep Bryant awake. So I shut the radio off, and made him answer about a million questions. And we began to plan our next trip to Disneyland (want to keep me talking? Ask me about all my favorite things at Disneyland, I'll chat your ear off AND keep you awake!) We both got a 2nd wind and made it home! Unfortunately, both our kids woke up at 5am... 

 We eventually all crashed in our bed a few hours later...

Well, Mt. Shasta you were good to us, and you are beautiful as always. I will miss you and I will miss you Ed and Robyn! Thank you for letting us take up your week!

Mt Shasta Part 4

Mt. Shasta Part 4: In which we shop, eat, and my little pirate swims at the lake.

Ok, I promise, this is the 2nd to last post about our trip!

So Friday, we spent the day back at the street fair. Now that the main street wasn't congested with runners and a parade, they had more booths open to shop around. 

 ^The kids in the jewelry shop owned by a family in Bryant's home ward. I have a Mt. Shasta necklace and earrings that my in-laws gave me, and I have earrings that are Savannah's birthstone that Bryant gave me for Christmas. All of which came from this shop!^

^Out shopping after grabbing some pizza from Say Cheese^

Saturday, Bryant's grandma had to go home. I was really sad to see her leave, I love spending time with her. One of these days, I'd like to go visit her at her ranch near Sacramento.

That afternoon, we all headed down to Lake Siskyou to do some swimming!

 

^Last summer, Savannah was always a little scared of the swimming pool. She liked the water, but would cling onto me or Bryant for dear life. I thought she'd be scared of the lake, but she loved it!^ 

 

^My cute little nephew! He fell completely in the water, head over heels and came up without a single tear! What a trooper! Also, I totally got it on video. AFV anyone?^

 ^I thought the water would be freezing, but it was the perfect temperature! I wish I could have gone swimming, but doctors orders were no swimming (especially in a lake) until 6 weeks after having a baby.^

 

^Robyn snuggled Deagan, and I relaxed with my toes in the water while watching Savannah swim. If it wasn't so hot and if it hadn't started to get crowded, I could have sat there all day!^

 ^Snack time with my Tinkerbell^

^Savannah with her cousin and uncle building sand castles^

^I love this view.^

 

^Let this kind of gross photo of my overly-large feet and freakishly long toes serve as a warning to all: DON'T put sunscreen on only half your feet and entirely forget your toes. Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake guys...^

Once we got home and put the kids down for a nap, Bryant and I took Ed's Harley out to run to the store, and then took it for a short cruise along some back roads (well let's face it, pretty much every road in that town in a back road.) The Harley is SO much more comfortable to ride on the back of than Bryant's Marauder!

That night, Bryant wanted to make Alfredo from scratch for everyone, and Ed cooked some chicken for dinner.

^My niece holding Deagan^

^The kids sat here the entire time we were getting dinner ready. But as soon as we brought it out and dished it up, they ran off to play. I think Mason actually ended up eating the girl's food for them.^

 ^And I made this patriotic fruit pizza for dessert. Thank you pinterest! (And before anyone throws a fit, I know the flag doesn't have a blue border. I just had a lot of leftover blueberries mmmmk?)

After dinner, we did 'smores and sparklers. Savannah was not nearly as interested in either the 'smores or the sparklers as I thought she would be. 

^Ok, I SWEAR these sparklers are different than the ones you usually see people use. But Bryant doesn't believe me. Anyone want to back me up here? Don't these look totally different than regular sparklers?^

Alrighty then! Look for Part 5 soon! Deagan's blessing and another trip to the lake!

Mt. Shasta Part 1

Mt. Shasta trip part one: In which I argued with a lady over the phone, I had a meltdown, and then we rallied...

Last week, we left for our long awaited trip to Bryant's hometown of Mt. Shasta, California. We have been planing this trip since I found out I was pregnant back in August. We blessed Savannah out there during the 4th of July weekend, and we planned to do it again with Deagan. Originally, we had planned to have my whole family come out too. My parents, my brothers, my sister and my sister-in-law. Unfortunately, the night before we left, we found out my Great-grandpa Cliff Whetten passed away, so plans were quickly rearranged for my family to head down to the border town of Elfrida, Arizona to attend his funeral.

That whole evening I struggled with the decision to carry on our plans of going out to California or not, and ultimately decided that I needed to be there, with Bryant's family. Our bags were already packed, our kids bathed and in bed early, and Bryant's siblings and grandma Donna had already made plans to be there as well. As sad as I am about missing grandpa's funeral, I felt that I made the right decision. I thought a lot about my grandpa while we were gone, and I knew he would be happy for us.

So the next day, Bryant went into work for a little bit, and got home in the afternoon. I had everything packed, so he got it all in the car, and we took off around 4:00. Our drive went fairly smoothly. Both my kids are amazing travelers, and the meltdowns were kept to a minimum. Deagan only got up 4 times to eat the whole way out, and it was easy for us to pull over into a gas station, and Savannah could get out with Bryant and run around, while I took 10 minutes to feed the baby.

 ^The Salt Flats out by Wendover^

^The landscape across northern Nevada may be barren and bland, but the sunset was amazing!^

Our plan was to stop in Reno for the night, which is 8 hours into the drive and 4 hours away from Mt. Shasta. Bryant wanted to keep going, but I was exhausted and I wanted our kids to get a good night's sleep, and overall, I wanted us to be safe. No drowsy driving. So we pulled into Reno around midnight. I didn't call to make a room reservation in advance, because with so many hotels in Reno, I naively thought we could just pull up to any old hotel and ask for a room under 75 bucks.

Wrong.

We drove around for nearly 2 hours popping into every hotel we could find, and calling several more. NO ONE had a single room available. NOT ONE!!! Bryant walked into one last hotel and the guy at the front desk told us that he wasn't sure why, but nearly every hotel in the city was booked all weekend. My only guess was because It was the 4th of July weekend, and Reno is the only big city around for miles and miles. 

Frustrated, we pulled into a parking lot and Bryant got Savannah out, who was just in a shirt, flip-flops and a diaper, and let her run around, while I got on the phone with Expedia to try and find anything with a room available. Well, the lady on the phone asked when I needed a room, I said "For right now, tonight". She said she had one room available at a Holiday Inn for 56 bucks. Perfect. So she asked for my card info. Then she said "Ok, so before I run your card information, I'm just confirming that you want this room for tonight. Check in is at 3:00pm..."

Uh, no.

When I repeated that I had said I needed the room "for right now, tonight". She said "well, it IS after midnight there isn't it?"

"um, well, yes, but I meant I..."

"I said, it IS after midnight there correct? So 'tonight' is for a check-in time of 3pm"

"Well, it is after midnight, but I thought I made it clear that I needed the room right now."

"Again, it IS after midnight there correct? You did say you needed the room right now, but you also said 'tonight'. Check-in is for 3pm...."

GAH! I was so done with her, granted, It was my fault for not realizing what I had said, and it was just a misunderstanding, but she was really snippy and rude, which, as you know, I don't tolerate. So I told her never mind, we didn't want the room. She then said that she had already run my card, and she would have to put me on hold and transfer me to the cancellation department. I waited for 45 freaking minutes for the cancellation guy to pick up. Then he tried to charge me a cancellation fee. I told him I wouldn't pay it, because the woman had jumped the gun and ran my card before she confirmed the date with me. He didn't understand that logic, and put me on hold again for 20 minutes while he called the hotel itself to see if there was a reservation with my name on it. There wasn't, of course, so he refunded our money and didn't charge us a cancellation fee.

At this point, it was 2am. I sat in the front seat of the car and tried hard not to cry in frustration. Bryant came back from running around with Savannah and I looked at him and said "We could be in Susanville right now." Susanville is halfway between Reno and Mt. Shasta. If we chose to drive to Mt. Shasta now, by the time we got to Susanville, we could have been in Mt. Shasta. I felt horrible about this realization. Bryant just smiled at me and said "Look, it's not funny to you now, but it will be when you look back at this whole situation. Adventures are when everything goes wrong, but you still have a good time anyway. I'm having a blast being out here in this random parking lot with my daughter, who is just in a diaper, but is having the time of her life right now."

 ^Out in a hotel parking lot in Reno at 2am^

This made me feel better. Then we both looked at each other and without words it was decided. We obviously couldn't stay in Reno, so we might as well press on. So we changed the kids diapers, fed Deagan, stopped at a gas station to fuel up, got Savannah a lunchable, got ourselves some super-sized cokes and munchies and drove into the night. We sang Beatles songs a capella, and sang the "moon song" for Savannah about a million times in a row. We talked and talked and talked. When the kids finally dozed off, we talked some more. Mostly about our future plans. We had so much energy it was rediculous.

If thats not a way to rally, then I don't know what is.

As we drove down the last stretch of road, Mt. Shasta stood there framed by thick trees, with the sun coming up and hitting it's peak just perfectly. That moment right there was worth the long drive though the night.

^Some geese greeting us a block before we were there. I didnt realize it until I put my camera away and we began to drive off, but there were about 30 geese standing on the other side of the road!^

We tried to be sneaky and bring the kids into Bryant's parent's house without waking them up, but they were already up and going. By now, Savy was wide awake too. So Ed and Robyn played with her while Bryant, DJ and I went to take a nap. As soon as I laid down, I felt like I hit a wall and was asleep in seconds. 

We woke up a few hours later and decided to go to Church. I think my favorite thing about going to Mt. Shasta is the Ward there. Everyone is so friendly! In my ward, if you're a visitor, they may have you introduce yourself, but thats it. In Bryant's ward, people were hugging me, asking how I was, what I was up to, how my family was. It's so awesome! I love those people so much! Bryant actually taught the lesson for the 14-18 year olds. He's a great teacher, and it was fun to watch and hear him. Especially since it was spur-of-the-moment and he had no lesson planned.

Well, thats all for now. I typed this whole thing 1 handed because DJ is asleep in my other arm, and my fingers are tired. So is my brain, seeing as we got home to Utah this morning at 5am... But that story is for the last part of this trip documentation...

*I'm breaking our trip to Mt. Shasta up in parts because we did so much and I want to remember it all. So look for part 2 coming soon!