Mt. Shasta Part 3

Mount Shasta Part 3: In which we celebrated Independence Day, and I walked past belly dancers, a guy playing the accordion, a Zumba group, and some guy playing the didgeridoo.

Alright! Part 3!

So Wednesday, Bryant and I left the kids with Bryant's parents while we went downtown to shop, wander around and grab some hamburgers. Would you believe it, the burger joint we went to had fry sauce?!? I thought that was a uniquely Utah thing, but maybe people are finally catching on to how amazing it is in other states.

We hit up an antique shop, and visited some other stores. It's not a very big main street, but it was busy with people setting up for the 5 mile race and all the street fair booths for the next day. 

That evening, Bryant and I took Savannah to see Monsters University. It was cute, and she really liked it. 

The next day was Independence Day. Mt. Shasta does a big 5 mile race, or people can do the 2 mile walk. Bryant's brother Tyler ran in the race, and the rout goes right in front of my in-laws house, so we got to stand out there and watch for him. Their house was also the first water station, so we helped fill up cups with the hose and hand them out to the runners. Once it slowed down, we decided to walk to town, which is the back half of the 2 mile walk. We started a little while after most of the walkers were already done, but it was fun to walk down there are see everyone having a good time. All along the rout, there were booths with performers playing music, singing, belly dancing, things like that. And then there were a lot of tables where local restaurants were passing out samples of their food. It was probably a good thing I wasn't in the race, because I would have just stopped and eaten to my hearts content, then showed up at the finish line fat and in last place. 

 ^ A view of Mt. Shasta from our walk into town^

 ^Black Butte. When we drove past this on the way to the Redwoods, Savannah yelled "Look! It's a volcano!"^

We got to the main street just as they were announcing the winners from the race. We met up with Bryant's dad and brother, and we had fun wandering around all the booths, and talking to friends. We decided not to stay for the parade because it was really hot, really crowded, and the kids were wearing down. Bryant's parents drove the kids back home, and Bryant and I decided to walk back. 

^Savannah with her Grandpa out shopping^

That afternoon, Bryant's brother, his wife and 2 kids arrived, and a little while later, his Grandma Donna arrived. It's so fun having everyone there! We wish Chantel could have been there too. We had a huge dinner out on the patio and I took a quick nap with the kids that evening.

^My little miss America^

Cousins! They are ages 3, 2, 1 and Deagan is a newborn. Your turn again Sally ;-)

Later that evening, we all drove out to the golf course to watch the fireworks. Savannah was barely able to stay awake, and kept trying to cover herself up on the blanket and sleep. Once the fireworks started, Donna was holding her, and about a minute into them, she was completely asleep, which was weird because it was still pretty early for her to be sleeping (I know it's terrible, but her bedtime is anywhere between 10pm and midnight, so 9:00 seemed too early) I guess she had just played too hard with her cousins all day!

^The girls with their Grandmas! Donna was such a trooper to have 3 crazy toddlers wrestling her before the fireworks started!^

 

^This dress drove me crazy because the sleeves kept falling down. But it was pretty darn cute.^

 ^Out like a light!^

 ^Deagan was a little fussy the whole time we were on the golf course. I think it was because it was a bit windy and that was bugging him.^

I love watching the fireworks in Mt. Shasta. Here in Utah, everyone goes out onto the lawn with their families, and thats it. In Mt. Shasta, everyone knows each other so everyone is wandering around, making conversation with everyone else. They really have a great community out there. I spent the hour or so before the fireworks talking to the Taylor family (wish you were there Emma!). They are the nicest people and I'm glad to have become their friend over the years! I guess that's the other thing I love about Mt. Shasta, I feel like I have so many friends there, and I've never even lived there!

Alright, look for part 4 soon! (Yes, there is still more! Maybe even enough for a part 5!)

Read part 1 HERE

Read part 2 HERE

Mt Shasta Part 2

Mt. Shasta trip part 2: In which we meet a 49 foot tall Paul Bunyan

I finally have a moment to sit down and write more about our Mt. Shasta trip! So Monday was our first full day there, and Bryant spent the day golfing with his dad, and I spent the day lounging in the shade on the patio with my mother-in-law Robyn while Savannah played in the kiddie pool. It was the perfect way to relax!

On Tuesday, we decided to take a day trip out to the Redwoods, which are about 4 hours away from Mt. Shasta. They would be a lot faster to get to if there wasn't a giant mountain in the way. In fact, we had to drive up to Oregon, across, then back down into California! Ed and Robyn took the Harley and we strapped our kids into their car (thanks guys! So much more roomy and comfortable!) The drive was nice and really pretty, and the whole way there, I was singing "This land is your land, this land is my land, from California, to the New York Islands, from the Redwood forest, to the gulf stream waaa-aa-ters, this land was made for you and meeeee!"(I couldn't help it.) As we got closer to the park, I rolled down the window. I took a deep breath and noticed that it was really humid, and smelled like a forest and... salt? I thought that was weird. 

15 minutes later, I looked at the GPS and saw a big blue area. I asked Bryant if that was a lake. 

"Uh, no, that's the ocean.."

Yeah, I had no idea we were even close the ocean! I should have figured it out from the humidity and the smell of salt water. I got really excited and started looking for the ocean, but for the longest time, the trees were blocking the view. Occasionally, there would be an open area, but there was a really thick fog blanketing the area. Then... there it was.

Seeing the ocean makes my little Utah girl heart happy!

A few minutes later, we arrived at the "Trees of Mystery" park. You know the giant Paul Bunyan and Babe? Yeah they are there.

 

Just a head-up if you ever go here, Paul Bunyan talks, and his eyes, head and hand move. It kind of freaked me out when I realized his head was looking a different way when we left than when we arrived. 

We ate some lunch and walked around the shop for a bit, and checked out the Native American museum they had there.

 

^Savannah kept walking up to other kids, shaking their hands and saying "Nice to meet you! I Sanna!^

 

 We then decided to do the hike up to the sky trail. Savannah is a super hiker. I think she ran most of the way up, pausing only to pick up rocks.

 

^The "elephant" tree^

 

^ The "upside down" tree ^

 ^ If hobbits were around, they would live in something like this... ^

 ^ The "cathedral tree". People get married here. ^

^ I just LOVE how much green there is! ^

At the end of the hike, was a sky trail. A gondola, tram-type thing that takes you up 1570 feet up to the top of a mountain to an observation deck.

 

^ Deagan slept the ENTIRE time we were in the Redwoods. I had to wait 25 years to see them, he got to see them at only 4 weeks old and he chose to sleep through them...^

 ^ Savannah was fearless, despite the fact that we were rediculously high up. I may have been slightly panicking... slightly. ^

^ About halfway up. Sorry for the reflection of my ginormous hand. ^

^ We could see the ocean from here, but the fog came in quickly and covered it before I could snap a photo. ^

^ All of us at the top on the observation deck. I'm a little embarrassed about how pudgy my legs are (what you don't realize is that as I'm typing this, I have a TUB of cookie dough sitting in front of me half-eaten. Don't tell Bryant, because we are supposed to be on a diet together... I guess this photo is good motivation.) Also, I need some sun on those legs! Sheesh, what am I trying to do? Blind everybody?!? ^

The way back down, we took another trail that had wood carvings the whole way down, mostly of other American tall-tale characters. 

 

^ In case you can't tell, this is a dog. I had a hard time figuring out what it was at first, but I was looking at it straight-on. ^

 

 

^ ok, so this one says it's a "pooped logger". Meaning a worn-out logger. He is actually holding a cup and drinking from it, but it looks like he's plugging his nose. So along with the title "pooped logger", I just imagined him sitting on a toilet. I know, I know, that's really childish of me, but I thought It was hilarious until I saw that he was, in fact, just tired and drinking from a cup. ^

 

^ Savy J made some forest friends! ^

^ It's hard to see, but this is a stump from a redwood, with plaques showing how old each part is. The center is dated at the time of the crusades! ^

Ok, so here is my report on what I learned from my trip to the Redwoods:

-Redwoods used to cover the entire planet until the ice age.

-They have found some in China

-Some date back to the time of Christ

-They are resistant to fire, disease, water rot, and bugs, which make their wood ideal for building with.

-They grow towards light, which means some of them grow in strange directions, like the "upside down tree" that I posted a photo of earlier in this post.

-The coastal fog is vital to their ability to thrive. They pull in moisture to their needles from it.

I loved the Redwoods. I'd like to go back and do some camping there sometime. Probably on the beach, and do some serious hiking and exploring around there. The Redwoods have been on my Bucket list for a long time, and I was grateful that Bryant's parents were willing to drive the 8-hour round trip drive to go with us. 

Alrighty, the kids are in bed, so it's movie and popcorn time for me and the hubs. Look for part 3 soon!

 To read part 1, click HERE

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!

Happy Independence Day!

                                   

I know I said I wasn't going to post again until we got back from our vacation, because its hard to post from the iPad, but I'll try to make this short. Yesterday, we had a really wonderful Independence Day. I spent a lot of time thinking about those who have served our country, both here at home, and abroad. I thought a lot about my own family. 

I thought about my Grandpa who is a retired Police Chief and all the work he did for his community. I thought about all the stories he told us, did you know he was shot through a door, and it only left a bruise? Let me repeat that: he was SHOT through a door, (yes, with a gun!) and it only left a bruise! He was always very respected, and he did a lot for the city. At my preschool graduation, we all drew pictures of what we wanted to be when we grew up, I drew a picture of a police officer.

I thought about my grandma who serves those in need of help. She has always asked us to gather clothing to take down to Mexico when she would visit my great-grandpa, and she is so welcoming of people into her home. I've brought many friends into her home and they always leave feeling like family. She has a great mothering instinct and takes care of so many people, friends and family alike.  

Then I thought about my grandpa who passed away last year. He served during the Korean War, and was a volunteer firefighter. He didn't like to talk much, but he loved to take me aside and show me his photo albums from when he served, telling me stories from his time spent overseas. Those memories meant a lot to him, and in turn, they meant a lot to me. I feel a lot of pride when I think about him and his service for this country.

Then I thought about my grandma who passed away a few years ago. She was an example of service in the church. She always took care of her neighbors and was always willing to drive them to the temple to do service there. I keep one of her handkerchiefs used for temple dedications in my pocket when I go to the temple to remind me of her service to The Lord.

And I've thought a lot about my Great-Grandpa this week. He passed away the night before we left for California, and my family went down to Arizona for his funeral. I had a tough time deciding if I should cancel plans for California and go with them. But I decided that I needed to be out here, and continue with our plans to bless Deagan out here. I'm sad that I am missing my great-grandpas funeral, but I have to keep telling myself that funerals are to celebrate the life of those we love, and to remember them. And I will always remember my great- grandpa. He was an amazing humanitarian, who cared so much for others. He grew up in Mexico, where he served as a school teacher. When he moved to Utah, he helped to build many of the church buildings in Utah County. When he moved to Arizona, he lived right on the border of Mexico, and he started a community center that benefited low income families, and migrant workers. The center grew into 3 centers, and my grandpa never made a dime off of them. He made his living owning a very small and meager goat farm. When he was interviewed about his work, he said he planned to work until he was 90, and then he would think about retiring. And he did just that! He lived an incredible 96 years, and his life was filled with service. I really look up to him, and have my whole life. 

As I thought abut these great people in my life and about this great country of ours on her birthday, I realized that this country has been through a lot in its short life. She's got a few battle scars, many bumps, bruises and cuts, but this country of ours continues to stand tall over and over again. And I came to the realization that its ultimately because of community, and people like my grandparents. There is a lot of bad in this world, and there always will be. No matter how many Miss America contestants wish for world peace, that reality is going to be tough to achieve. But there are so many good people in this world. And I think that no matter how hard we as Americans are struggling right now with all of the changes, good or bad, that are happening in our country right now, as long as there are people out there who continue to serve, that we will bounce back, just like we always do. It seems to me that when tragedy strikes, we as Americans feel this surge in patriotism, and a sense of community that's unbreakable. We may disagree on politics, but we all just want what's best for this great country that we call home. 

I still very much believe in the idea of the American Dream, and I have a good foundation of great examples of that ideal in my own family tree. They put others first, and led and lead happy lives because of it. 

Happy Birthday America, you tough old girl.

One Month!

                                       

                                      

This handsome, chubby, blue eyed boy is 1 month old today! Time has gone into overdrive lately. This whole month was a blur! We are loving having Deagan in our family. He is so mellow, and so easy. When he does cry, you know exactly what he needs. The other night was the first time he's ever cried and I couldn't immediately tell what was wrong, and he fussed and cried for 15 minutes. Finally, I just went and laid him down on the bed, and he stopped, and fell asleep.

Savannah is not nearly as jealous as I thought she would be. She loves being a big sister, and is constantly touching him, hugging and kissing him, and is right by his side when he starts to cry. 

We have started to get some "real" smiles from him, not just sleepy or gassy grins, real smiles! He eats like a horse! Some days I get frustrated because he will eat and eat and eat, and I feel like I spend the whole day feeding him, rather than getting time in to get other stuff done. But his cheeks, oh man, I could nibble those cheeks all day long. I will gladly spend my entire day feeding him so he keeps those chubby cheeks!

Happy 1 month Deagan!

*note: we are spending the week in Mt. Shasta, California to bless Deagan, visit family, and celebrate Independence Day. I will catch up on all my blog posts about our trip when I get home, because I only have my iPad, and I hate posting on it, as you can tell, the formatting is weird. So, everyone have a happy and safe 4th!