A Winterish Spring Break

We headed to Utah for Spring Break this year. We planned to go the day Tayler received his mission call in December. It was so cold and there was so much snow that day and I remember thinking that we would really enjoy the sunny warm spring weather in Utah when we took Him to the MTC in March. And the beauty of it was that it lined up with our Spring Break. Well things just don't work out the way you think they will most of the time. This was now exception. (I will let Tayler tell his own story about how his MTC entrance date changed from March 25th to May 6th. Let me just say that the Lord made His hand manifest in Tayler's and our lives in a most wonderful and miraculous way.) We decided that even though Tayler wasn't going to be entering the MTC yet, we weren't going to miss out on a visit with our Utah Kids for anything. So we checked the weather and saw mid to high 50's with sunshine for the week and packed accordingly. We drove to Caldwell to spend the night with Bob and Kathy, as usual, in nice, slightly overcast, warmish weather. Our visit was pleasant. Bob read us the talk he would give the next day. It included a cute scenario of what family night was like in there home when all their kids were still home and small. It warmed my heart. Tayler and Bob compared battle scars, the kids watched old movies, and we did a lot of visiting and catching up. Sunday Morning we got up early and Bob made us his famous sour-dough pancakes. We dressed in our Sunday clothes because we were headed directly to Sacrament meeting in Provo with Richard and Marissa. It was cloudy and started to rain about an hour after we left. I looked at the temperature reading in the van and it was 38F. No problem I thought. I can handle a little rain. By hour 2 the reading was 34F. Then just before we reached Burley it dropped to 30F and it began to snow. Not just a flurry - more like a blizzard. The visibility went as far as the tail lights of the vehicle in front of us. Within 30 minutes the road had an inch of heavy slush and we were like a line of slow moving cattle in a long line following the tracks of the cow in front of us. I tried to move into the left lane to see if passing was an option and felt the slush try to rip the steering wheel out of my hand. It was un-nerving to say the least. My knuckles were white and my nerves raw. It would stand to reason that the kids would all wake up about then and start a commotion.
After kindly explaining their life or death options they quieted down and I realized my forearms were aching and my neck was stiff. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. I kept thinking that we were driving to church and we were going to be late if we had to drive 30 mph for too long. Just when I had resigned myself to missing sacrament meeting a big Semi passed us on our left and totally obliterated our view with flying slush. When the windshield cleared I could see that the tracks of the Semi were inviting me so I braved the slush barrier and entered the cleared path. We passed the slow moving heard and just as we were near the front cow the Semi pulled into the right lane taking its cleared path with it. It only took me a moment to realize the trap I had gotten myself in. I could not follow the track without taking out the car next to me so I gripped the wheel and felt the thickening slush pound against the wheels and the bottom of the car. The sound was intense and my stomach dropped to the tips of my toes. We were slipping and sliding and had no where to go. All I could do was pray and accelerate ever so carefully so I could pass that last car and get behind the Semi again. 30 seconds seemed like forever but steely nerves prevailed as we shot ahead and into the lane behind the big mac. That scenario repeated itself a few times but I was more careful not to get caught the same way again. After about 100 miles of that we caught a break in the weather. We cruised into Provo and arrived at the church with 20 minutes to spare. I felt such peace in that Sacrament meeting. It was such a stark contrast to the drive. I savored the sacrament and the time to reflect on the mercy of a loving God. Marissa and Richard offered the prayers on either end of the meeting and their prayers made me realize just how blessed I was to be there with them, in that setting.
After the meeting we went to Rochelle and Bj's place and felt like we were at home when we walked in. There is always a spirit of peace and love in their home. What a wonderful place to raise a child. We woke up Gabe and made him cry, but he warmed up to us in short order and we played, and laughed, and hugged, and kissed little cheeks until they were red. We ate and visited the day away with the feelings of love and unity and completeness that we had longed for.

The week was filled with leisureness. The weather was cold, and at times bitter, with wind and snow. Consequently we spent a lot of time playing with Baby Gabe, visiting, playing games, and visiting mom. Mom sang lullabys to Gabe and we recorded them. It was sweet and warmed my heart. We went to the Provo Temple with Rochelle, BJ, Marissa, Richard, and Tayler. It was the first time we were all together with Tayler. I had such a feeling of peace and joy there. It brought back memories of my first temple experiences. I felt deep gratitude for the blessings of the temple and eternal families.
We visited with Jason and Heidi for Family Night and we really enjoyed it. It was nice to get re-acquainted with them and their cute kids. We spent an evening at Darla and Doug's and had a great visit with them and Kathy and Allen. We tried to shoot a family photo but the weather wasn't cooperating so we had to improvise in the Gray's house with some interesting results.
We had our traditional Racquetball outing with the guys and the girls went shopping. Later we met the Christensens at the Golden Coral for dinner. We had a nice visit.

But the best part was just kicking back and watching my children interact with each other. They really love each other and that makes me so happy. I love watching my married daughters interact with their husbands, and everyone vying for Gabe's attention. Speaking of Gabe, check out the slide show below. It makes me smile all over.