Summer Fun and Treking West!

Last summer we made a huge move and took off for Erie PA, not quite sure where we would land and with one little trailer in tow. The biggest point of our move was to participate in a Master's program that would guarantee us one interview for med school this year and hopefully open more doors. In the end, our biggest hope - getting into a medical school a little closer to home, was achieved! Here is a quick recap of this past summer:

It always takes longer to leave than you think. We had planned to leave Erie at 7 a.m. At 3:00 we headed to our adopted Erie grandparents (Anna Marie and John) to say good bye and drove away around 5.

On our way out of town I FINALLY got this picture I had been trying to take for the entire time we were there. On the border of PA and Ohio, if you take Vroomin road exit, you head straight for Painsville. Don't know why, but I found that pretty hilarious.

Once we hit Kentucky we found "Krystal" Hamburger joints all over. And it's even spelled with a K! (for my little sister!)

We drove through Arkansas and I realized that I was there the same weekend my Dad had been there 17 years ago - the weekend he had been visiting his Aunt and Uncle right before his accident. We were able to get a hold of his family before we passed the area they were in and made a stop where a family BBQ was in progress. The weekend could not have turned out better. Uncle Carl took the girls fishing and Emily caught 3 catfish! This is a picture of my great Aunt Renae (who Emily and I inherited our middle names from).

On the road again!


Our first long stop was in Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas to visit Chris' little sister and play with cousins. We took a trip to the zoo, got burned at the pool, celebrated cute Janey's birthday and ate the best BBQ ribs followed by pecan cobbler. To top it all off, Mary had just come home from the hospital with baby Will who is the sweetest, snuggliest little boy.

The Cousins.

And the parents.

The last day on the road between Texas and Utah we drove through Rock Springs and visited Grandpa Russell"s graveside to leave some flowers and a flag. The girls all picked out their own flower to leave with him. My dad was big on fun and one of his favorite traditions when we went to Rock Springs was to visit Little America for ice cream.


When ice cream is involved, you NEVER break tradition, so of course we stopped for cones and a ride on the green dino.



So we're not quite sure what happened to the camera at this point, but we must have been so busy playing that we didn't take any pictures in Utah! We spent a lot of time with cousins and Uncle Kevin playing in the back yard, setting up movie theaters in the tent, dirt biking, horse back riding and campfire cooking that we just forgot. We met 2 new nieces and 2 new nephews, went to a family reunion at Mt. Pleasant, visited Great Grama and Grampa in their new Utah house, played music with Provo friends, stayed with Grama Great in St. George and attended a sealing. By the time the trip was done, we were happy to land here in Vegas, where we will enjoy heat and swimming for the next four year!