Trip To Utah

At the end of June we headed across the country in our little Mazda 3 so Jake could do a rotation at Primary Childrens hospital. It was a tight fit in our compact car but we survived! Jake and I took turns sitting in the back with Madison and being her source of entertainment. After she lost interest in most of her toys she discovered her love for paper! She spent some good time tearing out pages in magazines and laughing in delight at the sound. She also learned not to put paper in her mouth:) Our first stop in the trip was in Des Monies Iowa. We were very lucky to have friends and family so stay with along the way. The second picture is of our friends Aup and Mark who were so great to let us spent our first night in their home. We are glad they didn't get any of the terrible flooding. The next day we drove through Nebraska and stopped in Omaha at one of our church sites called Winter Quarters. It is a place were pioneers took refuge form the cold winter months on their trip out west. They were an amazing group of people who suffered so many hardships. They buried so many loved ones in this area who weren't able to survive the cold and sickness. My heart just ached at all the stories they told, especially the ones of mothers who lost their children. I could not have been a pioneer. Our next destination was Denver Colorado. Madison loved the room she slept in that night because there was a giant Pooh Bear stuffed animal. She kept giggling and laughing in delight every time she looked at him:) The next day was definitely the longest leg of the trip. I think because it was the last. We headed to Jake's family cabin to spend the night with his parents and the road we took seemed so slow. There were many big trucks the slowed down traffic. We passed through Vernal and took a break to get on one of their dinosaur attractions. Finally we arrived in Utah with only a few diaper blowouts on the way. The funniest diaper blowout was when we were on our way to go inside and eat at a restaurant (this was actually on our way to Milwaukee). Jake was holding Madison out in front of him as he passed through a crowded waiting area past the tables and into the bathroom. I searched for a new outfit and had a bus boy take Madison's clothes into the men's bathroom. We made quite the seen as Madison screamed in the bathroom. Babies give you so many new experiences that make you the center of attention:) I also think it should be required that all bathrooms no matter how small the town is... should have changing tables. We had to get creative a few times.