....to Grandmother's house we go

This year we were able to go home for Thanksgiving.  Jeremy had a couple of days off and it seemed silly to cook a Thanksgiving meal just for our little family, so we loaded everyone up in the car and took off.  The days before were filled with calls from concerned parents warning us of the horrible weather that was on its way, but we decided that it was worth a shot to be home with family.  Besides, it was hard to believe that there was a blizzard in Utah when Colorado had blue skies and a light jacket was all that was required to stay warm.  We had a feeling that our trip would be adventurous, so we documented it with photos along the way.  Cambrie enjoyed watching her movies during the drive, and McKenzie kept herself entertained with her singing puppy.

  

The first adventure...getting pulled over by a state trooper only a half hour into our trip.  Apparently it's against the law to travel in the left lane except to pass.  I would call what I was doing an "extended pass" but Officer Joe was very kind and just gave me a warning.  Hence, the happy smile.  

Before Jeremy left work that morning, one of his patients gave him some small toys and this blubbery elephant was our mascot for the remainder of the trip.  Cambrie thought it was rather creepy and refused to look at it.  But Jeremy and I were feeling goofy and thought it was the silliest thing ever.

5:00 rolled around and the weather was still absolutely beautiful.  We could still see clear skies and thought that we were actually going to make it through Wyoming before they closed I-80.  

7:30 rolled rolled around and this is what we "saw" through our front windshield.  Yes...nothing.  

We were creeping along looking for the small reflectors on the side of the road to keep us on the right track.  Then we saw the sign we had been dreading since we left Colorado, I-80 was closed from Lyman to Evanston.  We pulled off in Lyman and were lucky enough to find a room at the Gateway Inn before they were completely booked.  The girls were so happy to be out of the car that they giggled, laughed and played until bed time.  

Unfortunately bed time meant Cambrie on the floor in a sleeping bag, and then McKenzie in-between Jeremy and I on the bed.  Before the night was over we were all crammed in that king-sized bed.  It wasn't a peaceful night's sleep, but it was better than being stuck in the car on the side of the road, so we counted our blessings.  It didn't help that throughout the night we were receiving updates from the Wyoming Department of Transportation updating us on the road conditions..."Droid" haunted our dreams.  

The next morning it was frigid.  So cold in fact that the doors to our Jetta had frozen shut.  Luckily one of the back doors still opened, so we all had to climb in from there.  Jeremy is blessed with strength, but not flexibility, so this was a very awkward and challenging moment for him getting in the car.  

The car started (thank goodness) and we were on our way again.  The snow tires on the Jetta sounded like they were about to fall off, so every hour or so Jeremy had to pull over to tighten the lug-nuts to keep them from rattling.  By this time we could at least roll down the window to get in and out of the car, so that was easier.  Our warm bodies kept frosting up the windows.  We each had a credit card to scrap away the frost from our windows periodically.  

Yes, it was basically snowing inside of our car.  

The windows didn't stay clear until we reached Brigham City three hours later.  By the time we reached my parents' house in Smithfield we were finally able to open our doors to get out of the car.  What an adventure, but we made it!