1,621 MILES

Moving Day

Eric's dad, Brent, flew to Mississippi to help us pack, load, and drive. He was a life-saver. I don't think we could have done it without him. We also had a ton of helpers from the ward show up for our move. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I don't know what we would have done without them. I dropped the girls off at a babysitters (to keep them out of the way) and when I returned home... the entire truck was loaded. I think they set a record.

The half of the helpful movers that I was able to catch a picture of...
thank you all and also all of you who came that aren't pictured!!

DAY ONE
Horn Lake, Mississippi-Liberty, Missouri

The drive to Mississippi, when Kinsley was 7 weeks old, was horrendous and forever imprinted on my mind as the worst road trip ever. Thinking about it now still gives me shivers down my spine. Kinsley has never been a fan of car rides. Sometimes the 15 minute drive to church is sheer torture. I was dreading the drive back west. Aila, on the other hand, loves riding in the car.

For the journey I packed lots of Kinsley's favorite snacks and told myself that if she wanted something, and it wouldn't kill her, I would give it to her and we would all survive the car ride. If eating chips made her happy- I'd give her chips. If fruit snacks made her happy- I'd give her fruit snacks. I also packed her special "surprises" (new dvd's, new toy, ring pop, gum, princess juice, sucker, etc.) and whenever she was really good- for an extended period of time- she would get one.

We knew it was going to be a long car ride when 45 minutes into our trip Kinsley asked, FOUR times, "Are we to Utah yet?" Seriously though, she was a champ!

For lunch we stopped at the famous Lambert's Home of Throwed Rolls- they really THROW rolls at you. Great minds must think alike because we ran into the Heiner's (moving from Mississippi to Utah too).

There was a 30 minute wait and we saw this pony-ride in a nearby parking lot, so we let Kinsley take a ride. It was the lamest pony-ride ever but she loved it!

The serving size was HUGE and also delicious!

Whenever we stopped, we made certain our hotel had a pool so we could take the girls swimming. They loved it and after lunch Kinsley always looked forward to the next hotel so she could go swimming with grandpa.

Day Two
Liberty, Missouri-Limon, Colorado

Even though it was a little bit out of our way, I really wanted to see Liberty Jail before leaving that side of the country. So, Sunday morning we went to church in Liberty and then toured the Liberty Jail.

Joseph Smith, Jr. and others were imprisoned in Liberty Jail for four and a half months- during the coldest part of winter. Their food was scanty, poor quality, and frequently poisoned. They were not provided bedding, thus forced to sleep on the stone floor with only loose straw for padding. While incarcerated Joseph Smith, Jr. wrote and received revelation for Doctrine and Covenants 121-123.

My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

(D&C 121:7-9)

I found the construction of the Liberty Jail quite fascinating. There was about a foot of space between the outside masonry walls and the inside oak walls. This space, and the space above the upper ceiling, were filled with loose rock, which discouraged escapes (ingenious!). Also, the door to the prison was locked from the outside-- making the guard a prisoner as well.

It was always a relief when the girls fell asleep... at the SAME time.

Aila LOVED eating animal crackers but she would eat them SOOO fast. We had to constantly give her more and more and more. It is quite possible that she would have eaten the entire bag by herself. We soon discovered that beef jerky lasted much, much longer.

Day Three

Limon, Colorado -Grand Junction, Colorado

We originally weren't going to take this route but last minute we decided that we wanted to take the "scenic route". It was an extremely beautiful drive! When we stopped for lunch, at Ruby Tuesday's, I told Eric I wanted to build my house right here... unfortunately- it was a parking lot of a strip mall. But it was a beautiful place. The only really bad thing about taking the scenic route was that the Penske truck had a hard time climbing hills (and there were a lot of hills) and would often only go 40 mph.

We could have made the trip in three days but Eric wanted to stop in Grand Junction to check out the town. He has been thinking about setting up practice here. I on the other hand, question his thinking.

I voted for dinner at Subway and Kinsley voted for dinner at Chucky Cheese. She must have been really good in the car because she won.

For strictly bragging purposes, I would like to mention that while at Chucky Cheese I challenged Eric to a friendly basketball shooting competition. Note the scores. His score is on the left and mine is on the right. I guess all the years watching basketball is finally paying off. Perhaps, next year I will suit up and join the Jones Family Basketball Bash.

Day Four
Grand Junction Colorado- Salt Lake City, Utah

Kinsley loved riding in the truck with Eric and her grandpa. She thought looking out the BIG window was cool. I liked her riding in the truck too... it made driving the van much quieter.

I don't know if we would have survived the journey without Diet Pepsi. Gotta have it!

We finally arrived to Utah in one piece to find our new place in shambles. (*sigh*) We told them we needed to move in towards the end of August... apparently August 24th, isn't towards the "end" in some people's minds. However, it is now mid-September and some things still aren't done. Awesome.

On a positive note, we arrived in Utah on Grandpa Ray's 82nd birthday and were able to go to dinner and celebrate with him and Grandma Joyce. We love them both dearly!

Although I am already missing Mississippi, we are going to love being closer to family.