July 12th - 15th

I'm finally trying to catch up on the vacation pictures!  It takes a long time to download and edit all the pictures before uploading them on the blog!  My Mom sent me some pictures she took while we were there also, so I'm ready to organize all the photos into posts.

On the afternoon of Friday, July 12th, Brynlie had a Musical Theater performance we all attended.  The truck was already fully packed for our vacation, so we left town immediately after the performance and drove to North Platte, Nebraska - about a 6 hour drive.  The packing for this trip was beyond overwhelming.  I had to pack the supplies for everyone to spend a week at Lake Powell, for Brevan to spend a week at EFY (where he couldn't wear shorts and items like sheets and toilet paper weren't supplied), for Brevan and Ryan to spend a week camping in the mountains of Colorado, all our normal and dressy clothes, plus all the needed items for A LOT of driving with kids.  We decided to take the truck so we could fit all the suitcases and plastic bins into the back.  The seats in the truck are roomy and comfortable, but it also meant the kids had to sit right by each other instead of spreading out in the van.  They were awesome with all the driving on the road trip, though.  I don't know how parents survived driving long distances with kids before portable TVs and hand-held electronics.  

After our first night in a hotel, we got on the road again for the final 10+ hours of driving.  When boredom started to set in, I started quizzing everyone on random things, such as:

WHO ARE YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSHES?

Brynlie:

Robert Downey Jr.

Gabe on "Good Luck Charlie" (Bradley Steven Perry)

The younger brother on "Wizards of Waverly Place"

Lindsey:

PJ on "Good Luck Charlie" (Jason Dolley)

Gabe (Bradley Steven Perry)

Zach Efron

Ryan:

Megan Fox

Kate Upton

Me:

Matt Damon

Robert Downey Jr.

Justin Timberlake

Brevan and Logan thought this was the stupidest question of all time.  

IF YOU COULD LOOK LIKE ANYONE, WHO WOULD IT BE?

Ryan:  Channing Tatum because of his awesome hair and body.

Brynlie:  Joey King, Genevieve Hannelius, Bailee Madison.  I think the first two girls are professional dancers and the last one is an actress.

Brevan:  Leonardo DiCapprio

WHAT ARE YOUR GREATEST FEARS?

Ryan:

Spiders (he has serious arachnophobia -he thinks it may have started when he was a toddler and his mom found a black widow in his mouth when they were in South Carolina), sharks (the fear began when he watched "Jaws" as a kid), heights, failure in life.

Brynlie:  Sharks, falling, accidents (she has a constant scenario running through her head about what can go wrong in every situation - it makes her anxious all the time).

Logan:  Drowning, falling, the dark.

Me:  My child dying, heights, public speaking.

WHO ARE 3 PEOPLE YOU EMULATE AND ADMIRE?

Brynlie:

1.  Dad because he's brave, loving, funny and he puts his family first.  He checks on me in the night to make sure I don't need extra blankets and always takes care of me.

2.  Emma Smith because even though her life was so stressful, she was good spirited and was kind to others.

3. Can't think of a third one.

Ryan:

1.  My Dad because of his sense of humor, he's easy going and very smart.

2.  Channing Tatum because he just looks awesome.

3.  Abraham Lincoln - he was a great speaker, he did what he thought was right, he thought about others first, he had a cool hat, and he killed vampires.

Brevan:

1.  Nikola Tesla - a genius who didn't get much credit until a century later.

2.  Robert E. Lee (the Confederate General) - not so much his cause, but his dedication, follow-through, and character as a person and soldier.

3.  Grandpa Ellefsen because I'm similar to him in many ways.

4.  My Dad because he's nice to you (mom). 

Me:

1.  My Grandma Springer because of her patience, kindness, unconditional love and acceptance of others.

2.  Marjorie Hinckley - hard-working but always with joy, sense of humor, dedication to the Gospel, always supportive of her family.

3.  So many others I can't possibly list them all right now.

WHAT DO YOU MOST WISH YOU WERE GREAT AT:

Ryan:  humility

Me:  unconditional love and acceptance

Bryn: reading scriptures and saying personal prayers

Logan:  soccer

Lindsey:  doing aerials in gymnastics

When we finally got to Utah, we drove straight to Heber and called my parents to say we had arrived.  They met us at the entrance to the neighborhood of their new cabin, which is in an area called Timberlakes.  The cabin is beautiful, and the area is breathe-taking!  It was so nice to spend the next few days relaxing with grandparents and enjoying the crisp mountain air!

This is the view from their deck.  It's a little slice of heaven!

Logan fell in love with this cowboy hat he found at Grandma's house and rarely took it off for the next few days.

While hiking on Sunday afternoon, we came to a sign that said we could turn left for "Moose Poop Loop" (so tempting with a name like that!) or right for "Danger Bridge."  Lindsey read the sign and yelled, "Danger Bridge???  I LOVE danger!" before running down the trail.  The Danger Bridge area ended up being one of the prettiest places I've ever been.  It's a perfect place for the kids to play in the river while the adults sit on the bridge or one of the many logs cut into stools.

After hiking, we came back for a S'more Fest on the back deck.  Ahhh, I love this place!

There are deer and moose that run through my parent's yard all the time.  Although we have deer in our yard here in Missouri, it was just more fun to see them in the natural environment of the mountains.

A few photos of my parents cabin.  It could easily be featured in a magazine because of my Mom's talent in decorating.  Since moving in they have re-done so much of the house, and are still in the process of changing many areas.  If they don't like how low a ceiling is, my Dad tears it down and puts it up higher.  Don't have enough light in a room?  My Dad is up on scaffolding doing electrical work.  Every wall has been painted and every window has been outlined with beautiful wood casings before being stained.  My Mom even mentioned that she is having a doorway moved about a foot away because it's not right where she wants it.  My parents are always busy accomplishing home repair projects.  My sisters and I can't figure out how we all married men that find no joy in home projects!

On Monday afternoon we loaded up the truck again, got some ice cream in Heber, and headed down to the valley where my parents own another house in Draper.