the woodwards trek west!

Our last Sunday in the Matthews Ward. July 7, 2013

We took Gran out for dinner one last time. We are going to miss her so much!

Our first stop after leaving Charlotte was in Asheville so we could meet the newest member of the Woodward family, Miriam.

We all were smitten with her right away!

I am so heartbroken that we will not be able to see this sweet baby often.

Uncle Andy is lots of fun!

After that we hit the road and made it to Nashville where we spent the night. One of the rest stops had this great Superman cut out. We couldn't resist snapping some pictures.

Our second day of travel took us to St. Louis. The first stop was to the Cahokia Mounds. The mounds are the remains of an ancient civilization. This is an interpretation of how the mounds looked:

Our next stop was the Gateway Arch.

This place was amazing! We were all really impressed. 

We took a ride in the tiny capsule elevators to the top. The kids were a little freaked out by this because the elevator goes at an angle and swings. It feels a little like a ferris wheel.

The view from the top.

That evening in our hotel room Sutton somehow found a used needle and pricked her thumb with it. Michael and I flipped out and he took her to the emergency room at the recommendation of our insurance company's nurse hotline. Thankfully, it was a diabetic testing needle and was impossible for her to be infected by any diseases.

Poor girl was sad and tired and scared.

The next morning we spent a couple of hours in Nauvoo, IL. We spent that night in Des Moines, Iowa.

The next day we had a  l.o.n.g. day of driving. 1,000 miles from Des Moines, IA to Evanston, WY. It was a painful day but the scenery was beautiful!

We didn't realize it but the National High School Rodeo Championships were being held in Rock Springs, WY (where we originally planned on stopping) so there were no hotels to be had. We drove on to Evanston and most places were booked there also. We finally found a room at 2:30 am. 

After sleeping in a little (kids. sheesh.) we got up and drove to Ogden, UT to meet up with one of Michael's childhood friends, Trevor Irish, who he had not seen for 20+ years. He just happened to be there with his entire extended family for a reunion. We crashed their reunion and had lunch with them. :) What a kind and generous group of people to accept our road weary family, who were very nearly strangers to them, with open arms! Thank you Irish Family. We had a great time.

That evening we stayed with the Hayes family in SLC. Dear, dear friends that we met while living in Charlotte. We hadn't seen them since they left NC about four years ago. We picked up right where we left off, kids and adults alike. That's true friendship!

S'mores with the Hayes family in Little Cottonwood Canyon. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

The next two nights were spent with more dear friends (we are seriously blessed in the friend department!!) Sara and Rusty, aka The Rusties. Our children, who had never meet before, were instant friends. It was so fun to see. While at the Rusties we got almost all our Brooklyn friends that now live in Utah to come over. It was a fantastic reunion. I cried tears of joy. Just a little. Kicking myself, HARD, for not taking any pictures. Stupid!

A quick stop in St. George to see my Aunt Lee and Uncle Alan. And the gorgeous Red Cliffs, of course!

A night at my parents in Las Vegas. The next morning Michael, Gemma and I hopped back in the car and headed to California. The other children stayed in Vegas in the care of my mother and two of my sisters. Michael needed to start work and I needed to find us a house...

A few stats/memorable moments from our trip:
-total miles driven: approximately 2,700.
-pee breaks: 16
-fast food: 7 (mostly macdonalds. ugh.)
-movies watched: 18
-"are we there yet?": 14, not bad really. Must have been all those movies...
- lost items: only one, Michaels credit card. I had just booked a hotel room over the phone. I still had his card in my lap when we stopped at a truck pull off for Liam to pee. I must have dropped it when I got out. Thankfully I realized it about 20 minutes later. We turned around at the next exit and it was still there when we got back. Whew!
-Ezra having a diarrhea accident all over the bathroom floor in the St. Louis hotel. I don't want to be too graphic but it was one of the grossest things I have ever seen. So. Much. Diarrhea. Then he did it again at the Irish's reunion rental house. That was embarrassing.
-Iowa was the buggiest place ever. It sounded like it was raining but it was bugs hitting the windshield.