Westward Ho!

At 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 23rd, we pulled out of our driveway at 3686 Lytle Road and said goodbye to Shaker Heights, Ohio. We had a deadline to meet as we needed to be in Utah by Sunday morning to hear my brother speak in church. We were therefore determined to drive straight through with only making necessary stops. With a family of six we expected these stops would be frequent, but we didn't expect one just five minutes into our trip. It seems that a nail had embedded itself in our tire which halted our journey just five minutes from home at our local Sears. Thirty minutes later, with our first obstacle overcome, we headed toward sunnier skies (literally).

It wasn't until after dinner that our second obstacle presented itself. With the babies already filthy, I went looking for their pajamas in the back of the van. It was then we discovered that their suitcase, full of all their clothes and shoes, had been left at home on their changing table.

Obstacle three came along when Braden decided to pull out the new video game system we purchased for the trip. Unfortunately, we had left two very vital pieces of the system at home in the box. Up until then I had been in denial, but it was at that moment that I thought that this was going to be a very long trip. Thankfully though Walmart happened along, and we quickly remedied obstacle three.

With the kids asleep, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska passed much quicker. Ryan and I switched off driving through the night and by morning were closing in on Wyoming. Our last leg was fairly uneventful. We had a bit of snow, hail and wind in Wyoming, and only one stomach emptied into a carseat. By early evening we drove into Green River, Wyoming to visit my sister's family.

It was quite surreal driving down Parley's Canyon on our way into the Salt Lake Valley. Ryan and I made that journey nearly eight years ago, just in the other direction. We were leaving for medical school, loaded up with our belongings and Braden who was just 18-months-old, moving to Virginia. We were excited and a bit nervous about living on the east coast, going to medical school, and buying our first home. Now, as we now journeyed back with a few more belongings, four children, another move, medical school and residency behind us, we commented on how different we were. I don't know if our past selves would have believed what we had accomplished or who we had become had the past and present selves passed in the canyon. What a ride it's been... and we are very grateful for it!