rear view mirror

Now that we've all had a great night's sleep and are easing back into the swing of being home again, I can spend some time thinking about our western adventure. Some personal highlights were

• stopping at the same spots we stopped in 2018: lunch at the Caribou coffee shop in Mitchell, South Dakota and spending the night in Casper, Wyoming. The lights of Casper after driving countless miles in the dark are so welcoming
• spending time at the beach several times on our adventure-downside was the sunburns acquired by the kids
• realizing how small we are in comparison to the enormous redwood forests of northern California. Also realizing that people have an impact on the future of these old growth forests. We need to be mindful of the choices we make environmentally
• shopping in downtown Salt Lake City with our great kids. A woman commented on how polite Osten was and it made her day that his manners were so well developed. Another woman commented that our family was beautiful and she enjoyed watching us interact with one another
• shopping for Anders graduation photo shoot...seems surreal but that day is coming quickly
• shopping with Katie in Eureka. She is a great partner in crime
• wading in the Great Salt Lake
• kayak day and watching my brave 18 year old jump off rocks and also doing some diving
• watching my husband navigate his family over thousands of miles...we put on approximately 5200 miles and he drove at least 4000 of those miles. 
• going for a 3 mile jog with Katie and watching her run like the wind...way ahead of her Momma