Last day

Day 4: Denver, CO to Las Vegas, NV (762 miles)

We didn't want to do the pass in the dark so we had breakfast at the hotel again. We left early around 6:30am and watched the sunrise over the mountains.

Day 4 was uneventful which was perfect after the day before. It was also the most beautiful drive ever! I was sad that I was driving because all I wanted to do was take pictures. We went through a lot of tunnels and Liam was excited about them at first but after the first 3 or 4 he told me he wanted to go back outside and didn't like them anymore.

We were very excited to get to Utah. We learned that their is nothing in that part of Utah. We even had to pull over to the side and change Liam's diaper. It was crazy changing a diaper with trucks speeding by at 90 mph. The last day was all incredibly beautiful and I couldn't have been happier to be back in the mountains. When we stopped for gas we let the boys get out of the car and Dan wanted to wash the car. The boys had so much fun washing Mike's car! It was super cute!

We got to Vegas around 6 and we couldn't have been happier to be there! I will admit though the drive from St. George to Vegas wasn't easy. The sun was setting and since I'm short I had no way of blocking it was I was very uncomfortable for that part of the drive. Either I was holding my hand up or sitting up in a weird position to use the visor as much as I could. We made it though! The boys didn't waste any time and before bed Daniel wanted Aunt Stacey to read him stories :)

It was a long trip but we made it home! The boys were as good as I think you can expect a 4 and 2 year old to be in the car for 4 days. They were great in the car and super rambunctious at stops we made especially hotels but they both were champs at going to bed in the hotels. If they hadn't I know I wouldn't have made it because I wouldn't have slept so that was a huge blessing! I'm happy we were safe and even though it was rough in some places we made it!

Day 3

Day 3: Topeka, KS to Denver, CO- 540 miles

This was the worst day of the 4 by far!!

We woke up in Topeka early and decided to stay and enjoy breakfast at the hotel. The boys were a little tired of fruit loops for breakfast and Daniel was so excited to have yogurt. He'd been asking for it for days! We left around 6:30am. Liam didn't love getting back in the car but he didn't put up much of a fight. Liam ended up going back to sleep in the car for a couple hours which was awesome!

We had a lot of fog in Topeka and it was super windy. I was glad Liam was asleep for most of it because it was nice not having that distraction. Once it was daylight the weather only got worse. The wind was terrible. Liam and I were able to have some fun at first though because Kansas is the land of windmills. Liam thought they were hilarious! He also got his present from grandma- Finding Dory on cd. He loved reading the story.

Suddenly in addition to wind we also had freezing rain. This made the roads slick. After a bit the rain turned to snow and it just kept coming down. I pulled over and I was super nervous about driving in the conditions. We started going 45 mph down the freeway and decided that we weren't going to make it to our original destination of Grand Junction, CO. Instead we changed our reservation to Denver. Between going slow on the slick roads and the stops we weren't going to make it past Denver before it was dark and we didn't want to do the mountain pass in the dark. It was a long drive and a super long day. I've never been so scared when driving or so happy to be at a hotel.

We got to Denver around 4 and spent a few hours just being out of the car. We walked around the mall first and we got balloons for the boys from a guy making balloon creations. Liam asked for a dinosaur and Dan asked for an airplane. The boys loved their balloons! We also took the boys to Cabella's and they loved all the animals. After that we also had to make a stop at the store to get some food for that night and the last day. Once we got back to the hotel and ate dinner and cleaned up we snuggled on the bed and watched Harry Potter.

It had been a long day. It was by far the worst day of the trip and I was very happy to be done with it. By the end of the day I had decided that I never want to go back to Kansas again but I'd be happy to go back to Denver because it was a nice city :)

Day 2

Day 2: Mansfield, OH to Topeka, KS- 784 miles

The first night on the road actually went well. The boys slept really well and so did we. Daniel had a big bed to himself and was happy to go to sleep as long as Mike and I were going to sleep at the same time. Liam was in a pack and play and slept great!

We woke the boys up at 5am and we were on the road early again. Liam was again not happy about being up and getting back in the car. The only reason he was happy to get in the car was to get out of the cold because Ohio was really cold.

Poor boy was cold and tired

The second day was a little easier because Liam slept more. He went back to sleep until around 9am and then was happy to just sit back and eat fruit loops for his breakfast. Liam was much better since he was less tired. He loved playing with his animals and trains. Liam also loved all of the electrical towers and was always pointing them out. They kept him busy for a long time and he would get so excited whenever he saw them!

Indiana was a crazy place to drive through. Lots of construction but Indianapolis was a nice city. Illinois was a pretty place to drive but they also had some strange things along the road. Missouri was a surprise. St. Louis was scary but the west side of Missouri was nice. Kansas City was a nice city even though it was a confusing place to drive.

He took a 3 hour afternoon nap too!

We planned to stop at Liberty Jail on the way through Missouri. This stop was a surprise. I had no idea what to expect. The boys were a bit rambunctious as you would expect after being in the car for the day. When we got there we realized that Mike and Liam were twins! Not surprising that we didn't notice all day since Mike and Liam weren't around each other very often.

Twins! (unintentional)

After you sit and talk about the history of the jail and the Saints at the time you go down the hall into the room with the replica of the prison. The prison was built to scale and it is on the original site. The floor of the replica is the original floor of the jail. It was a guided tour so we got lots of information but it was really interesting and thankfully the boys were good so we were able to enjoy it.

It was really cool to see and to not only learn about the history of the jail but to also remember the revelations that were received during those few months. One thing we talked about was how we will all spend time in our own liberty jails but as we learned from the revelations Joseph received, the Lord is with us in our trials and will never forsake us.

We got to our hotel around 8pm which was a huge improvement from the first night. We let the boys run around the hotel and we got to eat dinner before 11pm. We went to bed early and since everyone was tired we had no trouble falling asleep. The boys even got to watch a little Llama Llama before bed :)