Adventures!!

I need to document the adventure that we went on the last while. It has been just so crazy and yet so blessed. Isn't that just the way that life is? Well it started by us getting an email from Sharan to tell us that Grandma Gainor had passed away. We had been trying to plan a trip to go and see her this spring as we knew she wasn't long for this world but obviously didn't make it until then. So upon discussing what we should do to get to the funeral it seemed best to just take the time to drive there with all of us. So we (or I as Paul was out of town on business) got to arranging our trip, packing bags and van, getting our house rented before we left and all the other things to prepare. I did this and we left in 3 days.

We drove the first day through crazy winds all the way through to Ogden Utah; where we were so grateful to stay 2 nights and see Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Gord, Pauls cousins Heather and Sarah and their families. We had a nice quick visit with them. It was great to see them and have a break from our 15 hour drive. We were going to go straight to California the next day but decided to take an extra night along the way. So we found a great condo kind of place in Mesquite. We were excited to get to swim there as it was about 18C. The only problem was that the pool was unheated. So we had fun pretending that we were polar bears and jumping into the cold water and quickly getting into the hot tub. It was pretty funny!

We stopped in Nephi Utah, where Paul served to see if this was still there. Fun to see.

We were so glad to make it to California the next day though the kids did just so well travelling. We went to Uncle Nigels house and met Pauls cousin Austin, who is 14 years old. It was great as neither of us had ever met him and I had never met Uncle Nigel. So it was already really great to meet new family members and get to know them. We so enjoyed the time we got to spend with them. We were also so grateful for their help in getting us a place to stay at a friend of Grandma Gainors.

So we spent some time enjoying the desert. We went to a place called The Living Desert. It is a zoo and desert botanical garden. It was a fun and really beautiful place. We love going to the zoo and seeing animals. The girls enjoyed a show where they got to see, quite close up, the trainers with some raptors, a kookaburra, an African crested porcupine, a serval (a cat smaller than a cheetah with both stripes and spots) and probably a number of more interesting things that I didn't get to see as I was pacing with Marshall sleeping/crying. Anyways we had a fun time there and enjoyed the desert.

The next day we were so excited to see Nana and Grandad again. It had only been a month but we miss them. It was great to catch-up with their adventures better than we had been able to. Sharan came with us on a great hike into an Oasis called Indian Canyons. It was so amazing and beautiful! We really enjoyed ourselves, spending time together, seeing the amazing beauty around us. I took nearly all of the pictures on this hike so there are lots to come.

I love to walk behind and watch everyone interacting together. It was such simple peace and enjoyment. We sure love just being together.

Feeling the spring water that is bubbling out of the ground. It was fairly warm. Neat to see the spots that were dry and then instantly a little stream starting out of nowhere.

We just loved the palm trees. The girls asked if they could climb them, that would have been fun to see.

The exciting new world of Cacti!

Paul scaled this big rock to get to the top.

Kyndal wants to climb high like her daddy.

Nana is so great to explore with!

Even Marshall hanging out and enjoying himself.

It was so beautiful and amazing this lush growth surrounded by dry desert. So great to enjoy especially as a reprieve from Canada's winter.

Marshall taking a nap with Mommy. I sure do love to have him in his sling, he went right off to sleep.

I love to see the emerging personalities of my kids. They are just so unique and wonderful. They are learning and growing at their own rates. They have definite strengths and faults that are known best in a family. It is no wonder that we are meant to be a part of a family.

The next part of our trip is very short on pictures but not on enjoyment. We had such an amazing time with all of the Gainor family. This is what we went for and it was thoroughly worth it. There were a few evenings of just visiting, telling stories, reminiscing and catching up. I met a number of family members that I haven't before. It was so great. I loved every minute of getting to enjoy this time with family.

The girls were such amazing troopers as well. We were out late every night and they were not grumpy at all. They were just so excited and open about meeting new family. They were not shy at all. They instantly bonded with every family member that came through the door. There weren't any other kids around so there were lots of adults to give them attention. There were also lots of phones for the kids to explore, take pictures and play games. Dawsyn now goes to anyone that she sees with a phone and asks if they have games. It is funny!

The funeral was also great. I thought that it was perfect for Grandma Gainor with a lot of laughing and stories. Her artwork was all around and it felt like a real celebration of her life. I heard a lot of stories that I had never heard and really appreciated the great life that she lived. I was able to really appreciate the wonderful family that I was able to come into. It was just so great!

After the funeral Paul felt as though we needed to get some miles under our belt earlier then planned. So we packed up after the funeral, visited until people started to leave and then climbed into he van for our hotel in Vegas. We drove until 1am and slept. The next morning we hit the road again. This was going normal until we reached midUtah- Cedar City and the check engine light began flashing on the van. We looked for a place to get checked out but finding something open on Super Bowl Sunday in Utah is no easy task. We got the engine scanned at an auto parts store and were told that a cylinder was misfiring and that we could continue to drive without damaging it. So we filled up the van there, got it started again (which it didn't want to do) and headed off for Ogden.

We were filled with prayers as we headed on this part of our journey. Thinking about the possibilities of our little family stranded somewhere along the road filled us with stress for each minute of the next 4 hours. We finally pulled into the drive at Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Gords house and the stress just melted away from me. It was such a miracle that we had made it there! Paul didn't even turn off the van but unpacked us and took it straight into the shop.

Well this part of the story is short, the van is dead! The engine was totally gone. The people at the dealership were told not even to start it as they thought that the cylinder would come through the hood. So we began to shop for a new van. There was not a ton of selection for used vans in Utah, they are in higher demand there. When we priced it out there was not much significant difference to go to a new vehicle. So we ended up with a wonderful new Honda Odyssey.

We spent the an extra week so grateful to be in Ogden with the Woolfs. We felt so blessed to be so welcome and taken care of there. We were able to shop for a van, take care of all the paperwork (which is not a small task to import a vehicle to Canada) and do some other errands and fun things the rest of the week. It was great to enjoy more time with our wonderful family there. Again I feel so blessed to have joined such an amazing family!!

Here are a few pictures of the fun the kids had together!

Courtney was so sweet with Dawsyn. She is closer in age to Elliette but Elliette feels like such a big girl and doesn't want to spend time with littler kids. So Coco took Dawsyn under her wing and they had so much fun together.

Jacob teaching Kyndal his neat trick.

Kyndal did not too bad. Jacob goes right up to the top.

Making special valentines treats.

She is growing up so much! I love her camera smile.

Elliette has trouble looking at the camera. This is what I get when I ask to see her eyes. She is such a character!

My big girl!

We are just so grateful for the blessings that we have enjoyed on our trip. This is what life really is like, crazyness, with so many ups and downs and so filled with blessings as well. We are just so blessed!!