MishAl and the Fam: The Armstrong Family Road Trip Extravaganza!

Well, we made it through 2103 miles of driving with our two small children and we're home safe and sound, getting back into the swing of regular life. It's been nice this last week, being back at work. I needed a vacation from our vacation. We had a wonderful time so read on if you'd like to hear some highlights and see some pics.

Over the course of our trip, I came to several small conclusions and one major one: God has blessed us with the BEST CHILDREN EVER!!!!! Over five days of endless driving, we only had one major melt-down and had a wonderful time just being together. Although it took a lot of convincing to get me to give in, I sure am glad I finally gave the okay on getting a DVD player for the car because it was a LIFE SAVER!

MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2008

Ely to Grand Junction, CO

Miles traveled: 430

States crossed: Nevada, Utah, Colorado

Conclusions made: Layla is not an "evening traveler"

We started off the trip at about 1:30 when Al got home early from work. The trip went fairly smoothly, but we had to stop several times for Miss Layla to eat. That was okay, though...no big deal. The best part of the trip was the Utah part. I haven't been back to Emery County for over seven years and it sure

was good to see that familiar landscape again. Seeing all those flat-top hills and looking across the valley to see the Hunter Power Plant as George

Strait played on the radio had me feeling closer to my grandpa than I've felt in a while. It sure was nice. We made it to Green River without incident where we stopped and had dinner. We probably would have stopped there for the night had I not made reservations at a motel in Grand Junction, so we pushed on. This is when the afore-mentioned melt-down occurred. That was a LOOOOONG 100 miles which ended in three of the car's occupants crying at one point or another (I won't say which three). We finally got to Grand Junction and everyone got a chance to stretch out a little. Layla also actually rolled over, which I think now was just a fluke because she is yet to do it again. This is the kids, relaxing in the motel room.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Grand Junction to Pueblo, CO

Miles Traveled: 315

Conclusions made: I'm mildly afraid of heights

Tuesday we finished our trip to Grandma Joy's house, stopping a few times on the way. We

stopped in a little town called Gunnison, CO and let Jay play at the park and then drove to the Royal Gorge to walk across the bridge. It is the worlds highest suspension bridge and definitely freaked me out a little.

I can't say how high Al said it is, but it definitely made me nervous. We made it to Grandma's house in the early evening and sure were glad we were done driving for a few days.

Wed & Thurs, August 27 & 28, 2008 Pueblo, CO
Miles traveled: Minimal
Conclusions made: My husband is a brat, I am a pushover and Al's family calls him "Bert"

Wednesday was the day that this vacation turned into the most expensive vacation EVER!! Al decided we needed to get a different car. Our Altima was running like a champ and I didn't think it was necessary to push up our plans of getting a Pathfinder in the spring of next year. But, since we were just h

anging around, I gave in to his pleading to go to the dealership to "Look Around". So, this looking around led to us finding a great deal (much cheaper and less mileage than anything he found in Vegas or SLC) on an 05 Pathfinder. So, I gave in. I sure do love it, but Al was in the doghou

se for a few days. Thursday afternoon, we had dinner at Grandma's house with Al's Uncle Ron and Aunt Chris and his cousins Rich, Katie and Susannah. Jackson had a ball playing with Rich's kids Riley and Spencer. It was nice to see Al in the element where he felt most at home as a child. They all call him Bert, which is a little weird. When he was small, his grandpa was still alive and his name was Albert, so they called Al Bert. It's fun

ny when you know someone as one name and then a whole group of people are calling him something else. I've told him that I'm going to start calling him that now, but I just can't seem to make it stick. The pics I've posted here are, obviously, the new car; Miss Layla Joy with one of her namesakes, Grandma Joy; Jackson and his daddy, playing games on Grandma's front lawn; and Jay and Riley, hanging out on the front porch.

Friday, August 29, 2008
Pueblo to Mountainair, NM
Miles Traveled: 411
Conclusions made: Sitting in the back seat is kind of fun

Friday, we took off fo

r Mountainair, where the wedding of Al's brother Eric was being held. We took Grandma along for the ride, so she and Albie sat in the front and I sat in the back between the kids. Jay and I talked and watched movies the whole way and had a great time. I saw my first bear, a cub crossing the freeway outside of Ratone, NM. Of course, this is when Jay was alseep so he missed it, darn it. We drove through some beautiful country. It would be f

un to go back when we had a little time to stay awhile. We even drove through the town of Madrid, NM, where the movie Wild Hogs was filmed. We made it to Eric's house with no problem, and I sure was glad we had the extra room of the SUV rather than being crammed between the car seats in the back of the old car. The pictures here are just Jackson and I playing with the camera in the back seat. We took a picture of ourselves and I showed him how to snap this one of Layla.

Saturday, August 30, 2008
Mountainair, NM
Miles Traveled: Minimal
Conclusions made: I am an auntie

Saturday was the day of the wedding. It sure was beautiful. I'm glad we were able to make it. It really meant a lot to both Eric and Al

to spend some time together. We saw Al's parents and I met his sisters and their kids. I didn't really think about being an aunt before because Kris and Lyndsay aren't due until February, but I totally forgot about all these kids that belong to Al's siblings. It's very fun to be referred to as Auntie and to get all the random hugs and giggles that come along with being an aunt.

Al's brother Eric and his new wife April were very sweet and hospitable. Their little boy Isaac even share

d all of his toys with Jackson, which is awesome because Jackson is still getting a handle on the whole shari

ng thing. The above pictures are Layla in her party dress; Jax and his cousin Isaac; Eric and Al; and my two boys at the reception. I'll post more pics from the wedding at the bottom of the post.

Sunday, August 31, 2008
Mountainair to Kingman, AZ
Miles Traveled: 550
Conclusions made: I sure do have a lot of fun with my husband

Sunday, we took off from Eric's house at about 7:30am. We had the longest driving day so far ahead of us, and we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to make plenty of st

ops. We stopped in Belen to gas up where we saw a small business we might purchase to run during our retirement. We don't even have to rename it. Jackson fell asleep fairly quickly and we made it to Gallup, NM before we had to stop and feed a fussy Layla. She did half a feeding and fell asleep, so we took off again a

nd made it all the way to Flagstaff before we had to stop again. A large share of the trip, both the kids slept, so Al and I had a great time just talking and laughing the whole way. Anyway, Flagstaff sure is a beautiful place. I wouldn't mind living there someday. A

fter feeding everyone and gassing up, we pushed it on through to Kingman, making it there by about 4:30. We did some shopping, had a relaxing dinner and went to bed. The pictures are of the kids relaxing in the motel. Isn't Serious Layla funny? I think she was mad at her daddy about something.

Monday, September 1, 2008
Kingman to Ely, NV
Miles Traveled: 397
Conclusions Made: God sure did watch over us all that way, keeping us safe.

We got up on Monday and head

ed in to Las Vegas to pick up Audrey for breakfast before we headed back to Ely. On the way, we passed the first and only accident we saw the entire way and boy was it horrible. It served to rem

ind us of how precious our family is and how blessed we were to have eachother and also to have God watching over us as we traveled such a long distance. Once we got to Vegas, we took Audrey to IHOP for breakfast and then to the park. We had an awesome time. It's great to see all the kids together and she's great with her little brother and sister. Jackson talked and talked to her the entire time we were in the car...she's about his favorite person in th

e world. She's so patient and such a sweetheart. We dropped her off after the park and headed home at about noon. We

only had to make one stop in Ash Springs and then we were home sweet home at about 5:00. Although it was a very fun trip, I was so so so glad to be home, as were the kids. I'll post below just a few more pictures from the first of what will surely be many Armstrong road trips. Next summer, Portland, look out! We're on our way! I just hope Pixar comes out with some new movies before then...I'm so tired of Cars, I can't see straight! Thanks for reading my marathon post!

I can't remember what exactly Jackson was crying about in this picture, but it sure was funny. Hehe...does that make me a bad mom?

Baby Spencer