Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Home at Last-May 3, 2009

It is really hard for me to imagine that we have actually been gone for seven weeks, that we have driven through 32 states (and a province) and put 11,915 miles on my little black Mercedes. The time has flown by and I honestly feel like I have just had a full semester of school as I have learned and experienced so much. We had a whole box of maps and AAA travel books for the various states that we visited and we threw our last map and book away when we left Bear Lake. By car is the only way to really see roadside America, really experience where the people live, where they shop, how they talk, what they eat, and how dense the trees are in the east, how flat the plains are in the central states, and how rugged the mountains are in the west. We have searched for alligators in the bayous of Louisiana and looked for a grizzly bear in Yellowstone, we've eaten gumbo, cray fish, bison, conch chowder, boiled peanuts, cheesecake and my personal favorite, sugar pie in Quebec. We've experienced all kinds of weather, from super hot to freezing and snow, we've seen the devastation left by hurricane Ike in Texas and the everglades in Florida, the vastness of the plains in South Dakota, to once again the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. You just can't see this from an airplane and it has been so wonderful to be up close and personal with this great country of ours. Having the opportunity to visit so many museums and learn more about our country, also gave me pride in our heritage. I am definitely proud to be an American and I have never loved our country more. If I could pick just one part of my trip that was my favorite, I would have to pick my traveling buddy. Craig was like having my own personal travel guide with me all the time. He always knew so much about every place we went and knew all the places that we needed to visit. We are home now and our trip is officially over, but it won't be our last.

Women's Conference 2009 April 30-May 1

What a treat to wake up to the sun rising over Bear Lake. The Worldmark Condos at Bear Lake were a perfect place to stay to regroup for my trip to Women's Conference in Provo, Utah and we were so happy to see sunshine. In fact we took a crisp walk up the pedestrian path and enjoyed the beauties of the lake and the mountains. The drive through Logan Canyon was as gorgeous as ever and nowhere in the country did we go on a prettier drive. After arriving in Salt Lake, we hung out with Bruce and Co. until it was time to pick up Tiffany from the airport. The tulips and spring flowers in front of Bruce and Carrie's were gorgeous and after all the brown and white we had been seeing, it was great to see flowers again. Craig took Tiffany and I to our dorm room at BYU where we spent the next three nights along with Jill and her sister Tina. (Craig stayed in SLC and checked on our apartments, enjoyed browsing bookstores, and hung out with the Poulsen gang.) We had a great time at Women's Conference and by far my favorite talk was the one Julie B. Beck gave, entitled "Nourishing and Protecting the Family". Tiffany met up with her mother-in-law and three sister-in-laws, Lisa, Nancy, and Christy, we were able to have dinner with Brooke Rasmussen, I went to a class with Pam and her daughters, and mostly we just had fun all being together as women. (Of course, we went shopping too!) The best part for me was spending time with dear, sweet Tiffany.
Saturday night, May 2, was our last official night of our trip and we were happy to spend it hanging out with Tiffany, Bruce, Carrie, Chris, Bea, and Clara at a great suite in Salt Lake City that Dan had arranged for us.