Road Trip to... My-tah?

That was Rocky's response when we asked if he would like to drive to Utah. It definitely was "his Tah" as the trip was filled with little cousins to play with, doting grandmas and toddler friendly activities. But a road trip with a toddler and a newborn... were we nuts?! Maybe, but it was worth it.

Why are SUV's still selling despite the gas prices? Because sometimes a little extra room is worth it, as we learned the hard way. We crammed the 2 kids and 2 weeks worth of necessities into our little Mazda Protege, leaving no room for methods of entertainment or legs. Rich drove as I played contortionist, attempting the frequent feedings and pacifier replacements from the front seat as the car seats alone filled the back. 16 hours later we rolled into Logan, UT where Momma K came to the rescue and let us catch a few Z's before the activities began.

We headed out there to see grandparents and hit some major family events. First there was cousin Kami's baby shower where a bunch of moms and moms-to-be played silly pool games without any of our kids. That's just the way the Moulton family rolls. Kami , Marci and Holly were radiant and beautiful pregos and reminded me, yet again, that I'm the only one I know who morphs into a puffy cow during pregnancy. The next day, I turned 28 (ahhh!) and celebrated by boating and attempting to reopen my c-section incision through tubing (I think I was hoping that maybe the rest of my tummy would be sucked out...) and a BBQ up the canyon with the Petersen grandparents.

Over the next week and a half, we visited a lot of family and friends. We went to a hypnotist show where only cousin Sharli and I remained on stage after the hypnotizing began since we were the only ones crazy enough to fake it so the strange little hypnotist guy could save face. It got tricky as he threw all his material at us at once. It's a good thing Sharli and I like to perform. At one point, we were Britney Spears, I had a dancing leprochaun on my shoulder, we were 1st graders who couldn't remember our names or the #4, every time the audience applauded I thought it was for me and every time the Superman theme played I was invisible until the word "heroes" was said and Sharli would pretend to fly around the stage. Then he made Sharli an alien and let the audience ask her questions while I translated for 20 minutes! He should have split the money he made with us.
Another highlight was swimming at the Kearns pool with friends and cousins Kate, Molly and Angie and their kids. Rich swam with the kids so the girls could visit, until poo was spotted floating in the pool. It may have contained radioactive material because the place was evacuated and guarded in less than 20 seconds. Later, once the substance was contained and the pool sterilized, the kids were able to resume pouring buckets of water on Rich's head.


The second half of the trip was spent in Salt Lake at Momma C's house. Rocky was happy to have his Aunt Kayla back, as it had been almost a week since he'd seen her.

We hit the Gateway mall, as I was desperate to find some non-maternity clothes and came just shy of having to order the special plus sizes on-line at Aeropostale. Ouch. I wasn't the only one beginning to get a weight complex though. When Jack met up with cousin Brock, who is only one week younger than him, he began to wonder if he should limit his feedings to every 4 hours instead of 3.

I think we've found the replacements for Chris Farley and David Spade .. perhaps the next generation of Tommy Boy?
That final weekend was spent at the Myers Family Reunion, where we corralled 30 something little kids between the park and the Jordan River. Rocky was in heaven, while we were just glad no one drowned.

The next morning at 3 AM, we awoke horrified to discover that our last can of formula had been left at the reunion! With Jack screaming starvation, Rich dashed to the car (without shoes even) and headed to the gas station. No formula there. Harmons was no longer open 24 hours. Neither was Safeway. Finally, he found a Walmart open. At the front door, the greeter said, "Hey, you can't come in here without shoes on." So Rich did the only thing a desperate father would do... he ran past the greeter. Then he heard the greeter get on his radio and call for back-up. Soon, 2 big security guys had him cornered as he tried to convince them that he wasn't a lunatic, just a man desperate for formula. Meanwhile, little Jack had been screaming at the top of lungs for the ENTIRE time. I was sure that any minute a neighbor would call the police on us, sure that we were torturing our infant, which I felt like we were. By the time Rich made it back with the formula, Jack and I were both crying. Fortunately, we made it through the night without anyone getting arrested.

The next afternoon, we reluctantly crammed back into our tiny vehicle and headed home, making it only 2 hours before stopping for the night (in Wendover). If only we had known that our little boys had no intention of sleeping that night.

Finally, we made it home. Thanks to everyone who made it such a fun trip. Don't be offended if we didn't include you, but we saw way too many people to include everyone. We love all you Utah folk! Thanks for getting us out of the California smoke. (sorry... I get this way when I'm really tired)