if your happy and you know it

Hello everyone. We have been gone on the worlds longest, I mean coolest vacation. Before I delve into that, I would like everyone to know that I PASSED my BYU classes, and by passed I mean "C's get degrees" passed. Because of that, I no longer need an attitude adjustment. I know you were all concerned for the welfare of my fam, but rest assured that they are all still alive.

OK, now on to our trip. We drove, yup drove, from Denver to St George to Los Angeles to San Diego to St. George to Redfish Idaho to Denver. YUP, we drove. We spent 54 hours in the car with the children in a 12 day period. 54 hours is a lot of time so I would like to share the lessons I learned in case anyone else is thinking of driving for 54 hours just to see what you could learn.

1. Hours 1, 4, 9, 15, 24, 30, 37, 45, 46, 47, 48,49, 50, 51, 52, 53, and 54 are the hardest.

2. My children are better travelers than I am.

3. All of the Flying J's in the western US are under construction and consequently have no soda fountains, which means you have to fill up your water bottles in the sink, yuck!

4. Gas is more expensive in Hurricane, UT than CA!

5. Ring pops are a heaven sent and are worth every second it takes to clean up the aftermath.

6. The new LA Temple Visitor Center is awesome.

7.The longer you sing "if your happy and you know it" the more creative you get, ie. "if your happy and you know it make fart noises"

8. Teaching your kid the sign language sign for "all done" is both hilarious and heart breaking in the car.

9. Deer really are on the road at night and are surprisingly hard to see.

10. m&m's can be hours of fun, and are also worth the mess.

11. If you are bored enough, it can be entertaining just listening to the movie coming from the back seat.

12. If you drive from Baker, CA to Las Vegas in the middle of August, you can keep your car from overheating my turning on the heater and rolling down your windows.

13. Sometimes overheating your car is better than barfing.

14. Del Taco should never be eaten in Baker if you are on your way towards Las Vegas in the middle of August.

15. Some of the road signs that say "BUMP" really mean, "BU-U-U-M-M-M-P!!!!!"

16. There are no restrooms available between the hours of 9pm and 1 am between Stanley ID and Idaho Falls, ID. On the same note, you are usually the only person on the road and can bet fairly safe that no one is going to see you.

17. Super 8 is slightly more super than motel 6 because you get free breakfast, but room quality is equal.

18. When the GPS says 10 hours, plan on 12.

19. 54 hours in a car is a good way to see how you will all do together for eternity.

20. Redfish Lake Idaho is even more beautiful than I remember and was worth every second of the drive!!

Picture to come.