Takin' the Good with the Bad

This week has been full of ups and downs. We'd been planning all summer on taking a vacation to Salt Lake City but kept putting it off as other things have come up. So we finally decided that last week was the week to get it done or else it probably wouldn't happen before school starts, or before I have this baby, or before the Second Coming.


Jeremiah thought he would mow the lawn on Monday so that it wouldn't be too overgrown by the time we got back. He mowed the front lawn and then the mower wouldn't start when he began on the back lawn. Neither of us is a mechanic so we said, "Hmm that sucks" and pretty much left it at that.


Then Tuesday morning we got up and I was fixing breakfast. I had the oven on so I could bake some bacon. While I was standing at the stove I heard a muffled pop and looked inside the oven to find glowing embers scattered across the bottom of the oven. We were headed out of town that day so I thought we'd just try to replace the heating element when we got home.


Off we went to Utah. We had a great time, we visited Hogle Zoo, the Clark Planetarium, ate lunch at the Lion House Pantry, played at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum, visited the Living Planet Aquarium and strained our necks looking up at fossils at Thanksgiving Point Museum of Anciet History. Plus we got to spend time with family and friends who were kind enough to let us crash at their homes.


We got ready to head home on Saturday afternoon and before we even reached the freeway the van started acting up. We stopped and had the oil changed since it had been on our neglected to-do list before the trip. But after driving a little further the 'Check Engine' light was flashing and our van was still misbehaving. We located a Tunex who ran a free diagnostics test and determined that 4 of our 6 cylinders were misfiring. Not a good thing when you're 200+ miles from home.


We made it to Evens and Kelly's house and were planning on staying there until we could get the van fixed. Then we got the call saying that Jeremiah's grandmother had passed away. Although there was nothing we could really do, we all felt like we should try and make it home to be with family. Luckily Evens and Kelly purchased a 2nd car a couple of months ago so between the two cars there was room enough for both our families.


Yesterday our home was filled with relatives who needed a place to congregate and remember Grandma. The weird thing about death is that a lot of times it brings family together . Although it wasn't the ideal circumstances bringing us together it was nice to be able to share stories and laugh together. I made a huge pot of spaghetti and the neighbors were kind enough to lend their oven so that we could heat some garlic bread and later bake some "dump cake." I was grateful that our home was accomodating for that purpose and that people felt comfortable gathering here.


Like I said, it was full of ups and downs and I suppose life is always that way. This week just seemed to compress a lot of experiences. I'm thankful that my family was able to have a nice little vacation. We had fun together and I think that time made us realize that although we also experienced some personal misfortune, that things really could be worse. Although we will miss Grandma terribly we are thankful for her release from her pain and suffering. She was a wonderful woman and I am so grateful that my children have known her.