Show Low and Eagar Trip 08/22-25/12

Jonathan had a break from school, so we decided to visit family up north. It is not easy driving with three young children. It didn't help that my allergies or something was making me a little miserable. Other than that it was an uneventful drive. We first went to Kevin and Kirstan's house and made dinner. We should have planned better because Kandy and Kendall had mutual, so we didn't get to see much of them that night. Then, we went to Grandpa Bill and Grandma Diane's house to sleep. 

Grandpa Bill and Kiley chillin' outside. The weather was so nice while we were there. We got to sample homemade grape juice from the grapes in their garden and Grandma Diane gave each of the girls their very own pioneer bonnet. Like I said, we didn't plan our trip very well, so we didn't stay very long.

Kiley's "crazy eyes." She is going to the ophthalmologist soon.

Thursday, just before lunch time we drove to Eagar and had lunch with our friends Mike, Ashley, and Grant Wiltbank. Jonathan was able to play some racquetball with Mike. He doesn't get to play very often and he loves it. For dinner we had a picnic at the park with Grandpa Russell, Grandma Becky, and Uncle Jared.

Raylin, Kiley and Daddy playing at the park. The park in Eagar is really nice. 

Friday, Jonathan played racquetball again, this time with Ryan. The girls had lots of fun playing outside on the trampoline and the tree swing. Then, we went back to the park.

Raylin stopping long enough to take a picture.

Sisters!! They aren't going to fit side by side on the slide much longer.

Kiley wanted to hang from the rings over and over.

All the kids at the park loved having Jonathan spin them fast on the merry-go-round. They would all say "faster!! faster!!" Kiley repeated that all the way home and for the next little while.

Uncle Scott and Aunt Jan came over for dinner and then we decided to head back to Show Low to spend more time with family there. Also, Michelle is going on her mission to Indiana soon and planned to go through the temple for the first time on Saturday. We stayed with Kevin and Kirstan and they were able to watch our girls while we got to go to the Snowflake temple to be with Michelle on her special day. 

Ryan, Kerri, Michelle, Jonathan, Melina, Laura, Russell, Becky, and Jared

We then spent the rest of the day at Kevin and Kirstan's. We were planning on leaving about 5pm after Hailey woke up from her nap. Just before that, Raylin was playing outside by herself, so I went to check on her. I couldn't find her and as I was going inside to get Jonathan to help me look I saw her playing in the van. The doors were locked, so I showed her how to open it. As soon as the door opened the alarm went off. It was loud. As far as I can remember this has never happened before. Sometimes I accidentally push the panic button. I didn't know what to do. I thought maybe if I locked the doors and closed it the alarm would go off. No luck. Jonathan came out because it was pretty loud. I asked him where the keys were. They were in the car. Why, you might ask. Apparently they were there getting ready for us to leave. Jonathan asked if I thought he should break a window, remember, the alarm was really loud and we didn't know how to stop it. Thank goodness he didn't because the alarm eventually stopped. We were just about to leave and the keys were now locked in our van. The next two hours or so were spent trying to get inside ourselves. We didn't want to pay for a locksmith. You Tube has videos for everything. We had the right idea, just not the right tools. Finally, my dad called his mechanic and we found out that if we have emergency roadside on our insurance it would cover it. I felt pretty dumb. It is nice that $20 a year paid off. 

While we were waiting for him to come unlock our van Raylin was playing near a bee hive and made the bees mad. They attacked her. I was inside and could hear her screaming. Probably one of the scariest sounds is hearing your own child scream that way. I opened the door and Jonathan comes running in holding Raylin. In his attempt to save her from the bees at least 5 angry bees came in the house. One stung Kendall on the back. Jonathan rushed Raylin out the back door and was frantically trying to get the bees that had burrowed themselves in her hair. What a traumatic experience for a 4-year-old. 

Raylin calmed down pretty quickly, especially for what just happened to her. We counted 9 stings. One on her leg, tummy, back, hand, just below her lip, neck, and three on her head. There might have been more on her head that we didn't find. She does have a lot of hair. She didn't want us to put anything on them and other than her lip getting super swollen, she didn't have a bad reaction to the stings, so we didn't worry about it. We are grateful it wasn't worse.

While Jonathan was trying to destroy the bees home, he was stung on his ear. We found out they are still there. Hopefully Jonathan didn't make them mad enough to hurt everyone who comes near them. 

Here are some of the bees.

You would think that was enough crazy for one day. Well, most things, good or bad, come in threes right? We finally got on the road just after 8. It was dark and I don't like driving in the dark. We have already hit an elk, I would rather not repeat that. If I could avoid driving through Heber but still drive through Payson we would go that way all of the time. We usually go through Globe, because of the bad luck we have had going the other way. I am a really bad back seat diver and point out every speed limit change, etc... Jonathan needed me to text someone while he was driving, so I missed one. All of a sudden Jonathan starts slowing quickly and I see lights flashing behind us. Great!! All I wanted was to be home and start a new day. Of course we had just been talking about how Jonathan hasn't had a ticket in a while. The officer asked if he knew why we were pulled over. Jonathan wasn't sure because the car in front of him started to speed up, so he thought the speed limit had already changed. He was going 64 in a 45. Normally, I wouldn't say anything, but the day was just so bad that I told the officer everything that had just happened. He asked some questions and then went back to check out Jonathan's record. 

He must have felt sorry for us because he gave us a verbal teaching warning, or something like that. I can't remember what he called it. Then, he tried to lecture us about the elk being out, which I didn't need because I am already super paranoid about it. The next hour and a half or so before Payson I was begging Jonathan to drive slower. I should just drive myself, but ever since I have had children, I don't feel like I am a good driver anymore. 

What an adventure. At least it gives me something to talk about. I am so grateful that we made it home safely. Everything could have turned out much worse and it didn't. Sometimes we are just handed things to make us slow down and remember what is truly important. Thanks to our family for letting us share our crazy lives with you.