Joy in the Journey

I can't believe that I have been home for almost 3 days and I haven't managed to post anything. Well get ready, because there is a plethora of posts to come. As I wrote last week, I was a bit late getting out of town. In the end I just kept taking things to my car and throwing them in. This was not an organized way to pack, but it did the job. In the end the only thing I forgot was one bag of goodies/snacks. Dang, no Pringles for me in the car.

The trip up was very uneventful. I listened to a Sue Grafton mystery. One of my first. It was entertaining enough to make the time go by pretty fast. I stopped in Cedar City and ate lunch at Applebee's. Did I mention how much I love their Chinese Chicken Salad? Yummy. There was a table of five ladies eating lunch there, and I am pretty sure I recognized one of them. They were probably on their way to Provo from Vegas as well.

I can't understand why, but the trip TO Utah always seems longer than the trip BACK. Theoretically, it should be the same both ways. But I think because of the time change, it feels like it takes an hour longer to get there. There is something quite nice about being by yourself in the car. Everything is on your schedule. You get to eat when and where you want. If you don't want to stop for a bathroom break, you don't. It's a good thing.

Once I made it there, I met up with my 3 sisters and mom at my brother's house. It turns out that my other brother lives there also and he came over. Happy coincidence. That meant that 6 out of 8 of my siblings were together. That doesn't happen very often. So of course a photo shoot was in order. We had fabulous Mexican food compliments of Jessica's House of Tacos. Thanks Jess. And way yummy salsa, thanks to Andrew. This was the beginning of the five pounds I was to gain over the weekend. Yikes. What is it about family get togethers that spells weight gain? Oh it must be all the snacking. And maybe the 2 pound bag of peanut M&M's I brought had something to do with it as well. We all had a great time catching up on things and just generally being together. I suppose one of the benefits of living so far apart is that you get along really well on the few occasions that you get to be together. So we had the picture of the six siblings, one with my mom, and one of just the girls, including my two sisters in law. They have been in the family so long that they are really just one of us by now, whether they like it or not. All in all, it was the perfect start to a wonderful, fun filled, conference. Stay tuned for part two of my women's conference adventures.