Heading to the Gem State

With of course the "Gem State" being, as referenced in Napoleon Dynamite, the great state of Idaho. All in all, the drive wasn't too terrible and Jessica did much better than expected while traversing the 1,051 miles to get here. I think jumping on the trampoline with grandma in Vegas and BYU bookstore fudge made it tolerable.

Well it all started on Saturday when Michael finished his last final (Ethical Lawyering/Professional Responsibility). By noon we were packing everything into a storage unit close to our SD apartment. Thanks to Michael's parents and brother, it was done quickly and by 3pm we were off to LA to spend the weekend with them. On Monday morning, Michael and Jessica washed the car because it getting pretty filthy. Even though we hit almost every insect between California and Idaho with our windshield, it was still good to get it washed before leaving. Jessica just couldn't resist the urge to "help" daddy clean and continually found more places for him to clean a little better.

On Monday night, once we were in Vegas, the Hales took us to Michael's favorite place in town, Lone Star Steakhouse. They have amazing hot wings, steaks, and baked sweet potatoes with butter and cinnamon-sugar (which is really more like a desert). Then we were off to the Winders where Jessica got to bounce on the trampoline with her grandma and later with the cousins. By 10pm when we were still trying to get her to go to sleep, she would beg to go "jumping" in between her sobs. Needless to say, she had a blast.

Emma, thanks for helping Jessica!

On Tuesday morning we were back on the road and got to Provo just in time for lunch. We got Jessica a sandwich, but all she wanted was her Strawberry Nirvana Jamba Juice.

We were also able to have a quick visit with Landes, my former boss when I worked at BYU. It was just fun to walk around campus, see guys try to pick up on girls, and see the new Alumni Building. We went to the track to let Jessica do some laps before strapping her in her chair for the last 4 hour drive, but the mens team was practicing so we didn't get any pictures of our future All-American getting her early start at the Clarence F. Robison track. Next time.


Now we're here. It might be cold and windy with snow still on the hills just outside the city, but gas is 50 cents cheaper than San Diego so that's some consolation. Even so, Michael's decided to ride his bike to work and back in order to save some money, the environment, and get a little more muscle. He starts work tomorrow so we've spent the day getting settled and buying a summer zoo pass, which has Jessica ecstatic! She loves those animals. We're just excited to be here and plan on having an amazing summer.