Family Togetherness

Now that summer is here, my thoughts are turning to our upcoming trip to Missouri. Exactly 7 weeks from today, we'll be packed up and heading cross country to see my baby brother. Exactly 2 months from today will be our last day in Branson; then we'll load the car and make the 3-day drive back home.

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So much work to prepare, but so exciting to travel!

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I thought it would be fun to reminisce during the coming weeks, recalling vacations and other family outings of the past 20 years.

Mark and I never took vacations during our first 5 years of marriage. Money was tight, so travel seemed frivolous.

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Yet we managed to create family memories in short outings that we now look back on fondly.

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Sarah was 3 months old when she first traveled to the snow near Payson, AZ (Feb 1990). We lived in Mesa then. Little did we know that we'd live in snow country just months later!

In June we traveled to Prescott, Lakeside, and the Navajo Reservation to interview for teaching jobs. We stopped to enjoy picnics, scenic views, and playgrounds with our Sarah along the way. I was offered 3 jobs, but I took this one in my beloved mountains.

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With a fisherman for a dad and a mom who loves camping, hiking, and nature's quiet beauty, our kids were destined to be outdoorsy!

We spent a lot of time exploring our new area. The pictures above and at right were taken at Big Lake in Oct 1991, just before Sarah's first birthday.

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A week later, we visited my Uncle Ernie and Aunt Alma on the nearby Apache Reservation, where they were serving an LDS mission. We explored Geronimo's Cave, picnicked by a creek at Lower Log Camp, and spent the afternoon at Hawley Lake.

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Most of our trips were to bodies of water: lakes, rivers, creeks, reservoirs, ponds. Mark was happiest when he had his fishing pole in his hands. As long as I had my baby, a good book, and a comfy chair or quilt, I was happy, too.

The only long trip we took during those years was Thanksgiving 1990. My parents had moved to Murray, UT, so my entire family spent the holiday with them there.

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We saw the Christmas lights at Temple Square. That's Sarah and me in the Tabernacle. I'd never been to Salt Lake City, my dad's birthplace. My friend Peggi and I spent a week in Provo chasing Osmonds in 1973, but we never made it to Salt Lake City!

We were only able to spend 2 days in Utah because I had to get back to work, plus I was newly pregnant (and nauseous) with Jacob. Back at home we waited for spring and then resumed our weekend outings.

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In May 1991 we went on a picnic with our friends Kim and Jona and their kids. We drove to the bottom of Salt River Canyon and enjoyed playing in the brisk shallows at the edge of the river.

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Sarah was 18 months old here, dipping her feet in the pebbly, chilly water. She thought she was hot stuff climbing on the boulders and wading in the pools! As for me, I was 7 months along, but I felt great and had a wonderful time with my baby girl. We were learning it doesn't take much money to build warm memories.

Sometimes a new and unusual prospect for fun would come along. This carnival came to town a week after our Salt River picnic. Sarah is a born animal lover and she was thrilled to ride the ponies. No fear! (That's her dad with her.)

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Several months earlier the high school had a Donkey Basketball game, and Sarah was in seventh heaven, especially when she got to sit on a donkey after the game!

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Jacob was born less than 6 weeks after this carnival. In the next installment, I'll share the family outings we enjoyed once we became a family of four!