On Saturday afternoon, once the Brown Family party had come to a close, we drove down to Orem to visit the Steeles.  Tony and Katie have been wonderful friends of ours since Lily was a baby, and we were so excited that they moved from Georgia to Utah, so that we could visit them when we come through now.  It had been way too long!!  

We, of course, had our priorities, and as soon as we got pizza and fed everyone, the pinochle playing began.  We did take a few moments to show Lily, Derek, and Arthur their incredible video game collection.  They have one of every Nintendo console, as well as every game you can imagine.  Lily’s mind was completely blown, and watching her get to play this Mario Dance Revolution game that she had only ever read about, was amazing.  It definitely made Tony and Katie happy to see the kids get so excited about it all.  Each of the kids chose a game to play, and then they took turns.  It was perfect.  And while they were in the basement having a blast, we were upstairs playing pinochle and talking like no time had passed.

Sunday morning came all too fast, and soon we were on the road and heading back to Texas.  

When we were planning this trip, we realized that it would only add an hour to our trip to stop by and see the Grand Canyon.  None of us had ever been, and so we decided to add in a little adventure, and wow, it was worth it.

We only stayed about twenty minutes as we explored the visitor’s station we stopped at, and checked it out.

There really are no words, and the pictures don’t even come close to doing it justice.  It really is spectacular and grand.

I am so glad we made the time for this quick, but wonderful, family adventure.

After the canyon, we were back on the road to drive as much as we could before stopping for the night.  Arthur was pretty wiped out from all the fun, and so he crashed in the car long before we arrived.

When we did finally stop for the night, Kevin went out and got us milkshakes to celebrate “National Milkshake Day.”  They were delicious!

Monday was another long day in the car, but we finally made it.  And we have the piles of suitcases and duffel bags to prove it.  It was a wonderful summer adventure, but it sure is good to be home.

PS. while we were gone, my fabulous friend, Whitney, and her daughter, Harper, had been taking care of my plants.  I was so grateful for their help with watering, since the weather has been extra hot and excessively dry.