In which I apparently have a lot to say.

So I am le back.  In Utah, that is.

HA HA HA, I'm home!  Goodness griefous, I am so excited to see my house again.  Matt and I were setting the table for dinner and I kept thinking, "Wow, we have really nice silverware!  Man I love our plates!  Can you BELIEVE that our table is such a normal height?"  I just wanted to hug the floor.

Of course, after almost two months I can't remember where to put anything, so unpacking is an adventure.  If I just put myself on autopilot, my body remembers where the bibs go and where to find plastic bags, but if I put any amount of thought into it I end up bungling around in the towel drawer trying to find a spoon...

I am getting ahead of myself here.  I haven't said ANYTHING about how we got back to the wonderful state of Utah.  So now I guess I will do that.

We left California on Wednesday, just before noon.  I had hoped to leave early in the morning, but one of the members of our party bought an honest-to-goodness airplane to bring home.  We Edwardses were driving the van back, the Zauggs were driving the truck, and the airplane-buyer was flying an airplane back.  But not the one he bought, because that one doesn't fly, or actually work in any way whatsoever.  So instead there was a whole lot of finagling involved to make it fit on the back of a trailer, and the Zauggs were going to use their truck to haul it home.  Oh joy!

The plan was for the Zauggs to drive straight through to St. George (where they have family) while Matt and I would stop somewhere in Nevada for the night.  We did not make hotel reservations, because we did not know just where we would be when we felt like stopping, and we (somewhat erroneously) figured that it was March, and a Wednesday, so how busy could these hotel/casinos really be?

We got turned down on our first attempt; apparently Whiskey Pete's is no longer a functioning hotel.  They didn't have a sign out or anything, but our first clue should have been the absolutely deserted parking lot.  We are too optimistic; "We get to park really close AND their rooms are probably really cheap!"  Ha ha, no...

On our second try, while we waited in line we got to watch all the people having a marvelous time on the penny slot machines.  I did not see anybody smiling, but I did see an older fellow with a cigar and it occurs to me that that may have been the first time in my life that I have actually seen that.  So at least there was that, because this place had not a single room available.

I was beginning to feel a bit Biblical at this point, even though I am not nine months pregnant.  But the third time apparently IS the charm, because they let us have a room and there were not even any farm animals.  So woohoo for that.

Today (the Thursday) was the second leg of our trip, and it was great.  We were on the road before eight and stopped often enough that Izzy did not die in the car.  We made it home by 4:00, and I did a dance on the lawn while Izzy pet an accommodating neighbor dog.

The Zauggs were not as fortunate.  They left St. George in the afternoon, made it just outside of the city, and then the trailer hauling the airplane got a flat tire.  We were too far ahead to turn back and help, and it was several hours before they could get back on their way.  I felt terrible about this, but secretly (and now publicly) I am glad it was not us.

In any case we are all home now and I AM SOOOOOOO HAPPY.  Words cannot express, even though that is what they are supposed to do.