Tire Fruit

Our first stop today was at the hotel Marie left Jingle Puppy. She was so excited to have him back. I'm pretty sure I would have driven out of the way to get Shiver back for Preston.

Marie & Jingle Puppy

I got a new charger and was able to pry the broken part out of my phone.

We were making great time when we started to hear a weird noise. Rachel pulled over and we found out we lost a part of the tire. It was like a piece of fruit by the foot fell off the tire.

We tried to get it fixed as soon as possible. We drove through this town that looked like a ghost town. I finally took a picture, but most of the bad part was behind us. We did not want to sit and wait in a scary area like this with four little kids.

Rachel ended up driving on it for over an hour, but we made it to Memphis. The guy at Goodyear was super nice. They stayed open for us and got it fixed as fast as they could. He also told us about a delicious barbecue place that we could walk to. We hung out here while the car was being worked on.

Stephanie, Grace, Marie

 Eve, Rachel, Mina

 Eve often scowls and I find it hilarious

 Grace and Mina

We were finally back on the road, but that set us back several hours. It could have been tons worse though, so we were lucky. After awhile Grace started freaking out. She was crying and crying. Rachel thought it was her potty cry, so she pulled over trying to get her to go to the bathroom. She wouldn't stop crying. I took Grace and was able to get her calmed down. Because I'm her aunt.

Stephanie and Grace

I sat in the back with Grace for the next few hours. Turns out she didn't want to watch Pocahontas. We put a blanket over our heads and sang primary songs until she was calmed down. We made it to Birmingham Alabama. Eve had just fell asleep. Rachel said she was easy to transfer. Rachel went and got the keys to the room and asked that a crib be brought up. When we got in the room, there was no sheets or anything on the bed. We had to go and change rooms. It took a long time with a lot of commotion. Eve woke up and then it was super hard to get her back to sleep. Rachel had to go to the car to grab something. While she was gone the front desk called and said they had a noise complaint and we needed to keep it down. I told her we were doing the best we could, but the kids woke up. I'm thinking, there wouldn't have been a noise complaint if the room had been ready! Whew!!! What a day!

Stockton had his last bowling class today. Mike told me he won the eliminator bowling challenge. Everyone bowls one frame and the lowest is out. Repeat until only one remains. The last two contestants were Stockton and his teacher. Stockton got a strike for a win. Pretty awesome. Stockton even won this fancy trophy.

Good-bye New Mexico

Rachel and I had planned on leaving New Mexico early this morning. We just couldn't do it. The kids have so much fun together. When we finally pulled Marie and Mina away, after lots and lots of tears, it was about 1:00 in the afternoon. Here are some things that happened before we left Mike's house: Mike pulled out a birthday cake for Eve. We didn't have it on her actual birthday because we got there so late.

Eve's Cake

 Mina, Larkin, Parker, Blake, Eve

 Parker, Blake, Eve

Parker loves Eve. He calls her the baby. He takes great care of her. Parker is so stinking adorable. When you talk to him, he will look down and answer you with a shy smile on his face. He is this mixture of super shy, articulate, intelligent, and incredibly sweet. It is adorable. Blake loves, loves, loves his dad. He is always asking to play wiffle ball with him. It was fun to watch Mike with him in the batting cage too. What a dream for Mike to have someone who always wants to play sports with him! Larkin was so sad to see Marie go. They are the exact same age. I was talking to Larkin and told her how Marie and Mina move about every two years. One of the places that would be possible to move to would be Albuquerque. Her face lit up and she said, "Maybe we could be in the same class at school!" Wouldn't that be amazing!?! I came behind Larkin while we were trying to convince Marie and Mina it was time to leave. I gave her a squeeze and told her I would miss her. She whispered, "I really love you." Oh man. That girl! She can melt a heart. Skye was so kind to Mina. Skye had broken her elbow, just like Mina did, years ago. She talked to Mina about it a lot. Mina was sad when everyone was able to swim except her. Skye told her that she understood and said, "I remember watching my entire family run in the sprinklers, but I had to stay in the house." Skye didn't get in the pool with everyone else. She walked with Mina the entire time. Soon we saw that she had taken an ace bandage and bandaged up her own arm while she walked with Mina. No wonder these girls did not want to leave!

Skye, Larkin, Blake, Parker

 Skye, Larkin, Blake, Parker, Christen, Mike

 Stephanie & Mike

 Stephanie, Rachel, Christen

Photobombs by Larkin, Skye, Blake (well done!), Parker

We drove to Arkansas today. I can't believe we made it this far. We drove until 2:00 in the morning and Rachel drove the entire time. I kept asking her if she wanted to switch, but she would say that she liked driving. She told me I could go to sleep because she doesn't fall asleep when she is driving. She said that she would never fall asleep if Brett was driving. Haha! Must be a Millburn thing. I struggle driving long distances. One annoying thing that happened was my phone charger broke off in my phone! I couldn't get it out for a long time. (One reason I wasn't able to blog on time....) It was weird and annoying. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. It was super nice. It had two big beds and a pull out bed. The beds were way comfy too. Yay! Sleep!

Eve's Birthday Drive

Rachel, her girls and I left my house a little after 7:00. Grace and Eve fell back asleep, so that was nice. Around lunchtime we stopped at McDonalds and got pancakes and oatmeal. Rachel was hoping to stop at Arches really quick, but we ran out of time. Well, we could have done it if we wanted to get to Mike's house in New Mexico around midnight. We did stop at Wilson's Arch and took a quick hike up there. The weather was perfect, so it was a nice little stop.

Wilson's Arch

 Mina, Marie, Eve, Grace

 With Rachel

 With Stephanie

I hiked up with Eve. We went a less-steep way. We were able to get to the top first. Of course, I it freaked me out watching the girls up there. I'm not good with heights. Unless it's a rollercoaster, then I love it. Or behind a wall, like on the eiffel tower. Anyways, after a bit I took Eve and headed down. I couldn't watch the crazy girls. They weren't being out of control, I just get super nervous.

Eve & Marie

 Mina, Rachel, Grace

 Rachel and Mina

 Marie, Mina, Eve, Grace

 With Rachel

 With Stephanie

We finally made it to Mike's house around 9:30 at night. Mike and I were walking around his awesome yard when we found a scorpion. It was huge! Mike caught it in a jar.

Mike

The kids were all asleep, but I had a great time talking to Mike and Christen. Rachel got the girls all settled then came and chatted with us. I ended up laughing with Mike and Christen until about 1:00 in the morning. Rachel didn't make it that late. I snuck into Blake's room and slept in the extra bed there. It was great.

Stockton gave his final presentation for his film class today and also took his final. He told Mike it went well and was pretty easy. He is now finished with his first summer class! One more week for him and he gets to start summer!

Grandpa Parry's Funeral

I woke up pretty early and went inside Grandpa's house.  I turned on a light to find Mike (my brother) sleeping on the couch.  Whoops.  I had a book, so I read for awhile in the piano room.  Later I found a history my grandma had put together that was fascinating.  For example, I had asked my Grandma where the name Larkin came from.  She couldn't remember.  She said she wished she would have asked.  In the family history Grandma had put together years ago it said that Larkin in Harriett Larkin Borrowman came from her father's favorite niece that had died young.  I couldn't believe it!  I had wished I knew where Larkin came from for so long.  I looked up on family search and found that Harriett's dad, William Park Borrowman was the youngest in his family.  The oldest was his sister Jane Duncan Borrowman who was married to Thomas Vickers.  Their second child was a girl who was named Jane Larkin Vickers.  She was almost five years old when she died.  She was born on January 1st and died on my birthday, December 27th.  William Borrowman was 29 years old when she died.  He married Susannah West Wheeler almost 4 years later when he was 33 years old.  His first girl was named Harriett Larkin.  I wonder where Jane Larkin got her name from.  I wonder if she went by Jane or Larkin.  Sweet little girl has many people named after her.  Many amazing people.

Okay, enough rambling.  We headed over to the church around 10:30. There was a viewing and family prayer before the service.  I helped several of my cousins carry the flowers into the chapel.  I snapped a picture of this arrangement.  Look at the cool golf balls!

Maysen and I rode with Mike, Brett and Grace to the cemetery.  It was raining and the sky was gloomy.  Grace was out by the time we got to the cemetery.  Brett left her asleep in the car and kept checking on her. She slept the entire time.  We decided to go look at Uncle George's grave before we left.  Brett checked on Grace before we walked there. Totally asleep.  We walked there and back, it probably took five minutes.  Grace was crying when we got back.  Poor little girl.

Grace

My grandpa was buried with full military honors.  He certainly deserved it.

 Frank, John, Dad, Terry

Mark, Brad, Steve, Glade

 Shots for my Grandpa

My cousin Larkin's daughter Rennie didn't like this at all!

Whoops.  Looks like I accidentally put a picture of Taylor opening his mission call instead of the soldiers folding Grandpa's flag.  I should really label my photos so they don't end up having the same numbers.

Taylor, Melissa, Nova, Aimee

 Taylor is serving in Argentina right now

 Uncle John and Aunt Jackie being presented the flag.

 My dad putting his flower on the casket.

 Glade putting his flower on the casket.

 Mike photobombing

Together again

It rained all during the family prayer and the presentations, but cleared up enough for pictures.

Mike & Maysen

 Preston

 Stephanie & Preston

 Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren

Robert, Rozie, Chad, Katie, Devin, Camille
Savannah (pretending she's short) Jake, Jordyn, Heather
Stephanie, Jeff, Terry, Brooke, David, Lauren

I think Jackson's head, Nathan, Courtney, Justin, Markell
Mike, Matt, Bubs' head, John, Brett, Paul

Sharon wanted to gather individual families for pictures.  Too bad Bubs' kids were having a melt down and others were scattered around. Oh well, we did the best we could.

Cassie & Brandon, John, Lincoln, Stephanie, John, Mike, Preston

Stockton, Brett, Jorja, Anne, Dad, Matt, Bubs, Millie, Sam

 Mallory is in this one

Rozie wanted a picture with the original nine granddaughters.  Tammi had already left, so there is only eight of us.  Grandpa had 28 grandchildren.  19 boys and 9 girls.  We were a bit outnumbered.

Brooke, Jordyn, Markell, Heather

Lauren, Rozie, Courtney, Stephanie

 Courtney & Stephanie

Back at the church we had delicious ham, potatoes, rolls, salad and cake.  The Relief Society had a lot of people to feed!  I sat by Brooke and Cassie, so great to talk with both of them.

Brandon & Grace had a great time together

 Trevor came and joined them

 Trevor

I asked Justin to take a picture of me and my brothers.  He and Sharon left me several selfies.  Awesome.

Justin

 Justin & Sharon

 Mike, Bubs, Matt, Stephanie, Brett, John

Preston has a snaggletooth.  It was loose a couple of months ago, but when his new tooth started coming in it wedged his tooth in there instead of pushing the tooth out.  Strangely this is just what our dentist warned us would happen.  Sometimes when Preston smiles his tooth sticks out of his mouth.  I wasn't sure what to do about it, so as Mike was getting in his car I showed it to him.  Mike asked Preston if he could pull it out.  Preston let him.  This tooth was in there tight, but he got it out.

Mike & Preston

 Starting to get uncomfortable

 Very uncomfortable

 Hurts!

Mike got it out!  He gave Preston $5 for being so brave.  Mike said he has done that a couple of times before and Preston is the only one who didn't cry.  It was pretty stuck in there, I didn't think he could do it.  I should never doubt Mike.

Preston

 Dad & Mike

Mike had to catch a plane in Salt Lake at 8:00.  Wish he could have stayed longer.  It was awesome he could make it.  Christen is in Las Vegas with her family.  Her sister just came home from her mission this week.  They had a baptism today and her sister's mission homecoming is tomorrow.  Mike is flying into Vegas to make it to that.  I'm glad he was able to squeeze this in because I know Christen has been planning that trip to Vegas for a long time now!  Bubs had to leave early too, but my dad and the rest of my brothers gave Mike a good-bye squeeze.

Brett, Dad, Matt, Mike, Stephanie, John

 Trevor wanted to join us

The best part of the day was when the sky cleared up and we had a family softball game.  Grandpa would have loved that!  It was so much fun, even though I haven't played in years and it showed.  I wish Mike and Bubs could have played with us.  Brett was up first and hit a home run.

Brett

 Brett & Savannah

 Jordyn & Savannah

 Matt wearing Grandpa's hat

 Brooke

Savannah, Justin, Devin, Maysen sitting down

I was proud of Stockton.  He played the entire time, even though he doesn't really play softball at all.  It would be intimidating to play with my brothers and cousins who are so good!

Stockton

 John, Paul, Stockton

 Fun! Fun! Fun!

 Mallory loves to dress like Dorothy

I left a few minutes early with my kids and headed back to Grandma's house.  We needed to leave soon and Jackie said it would be okay if my kids each took something to remember Grandma & Grandpa.  We asked about everything, just in case.  Maysen found the dancing Santa. Stockton wanted the golf hole he would play with when he came.  Jorja picked out a little cardinal figurine and Preston wanted a gigantic gingerbread cookie jar.  When I asked if Preston could have it Jackie laughed and said, "Please!"  As we were driving away, Maysen regretted not getting the cardinal pillow.  I called Matt and asked if he could bring it to her.  I gathered a few things.  Suitcases, ours are ruined. Casserole dishes and the Santas I made Grandma years ago.  Brooke and I were discussing who should take Grandma's china.  We both would love it, but both agreed that it would work better for Brooke to have it.  If I knew I had a place to store it and could keep it safe I would have loved it.  I did take the Work and the Glory series that Grandma had.  I am missing a couple of books.  I just ordered Book 1 right before our trip.

I wanted to get a picture of my family on this bench.  So many memories of my Grandma sitting here!  We were anxious to leave, so I just grabbed my kids as they walked by.  We are taking Brett & Grace to the airport and don't want them to miss their flight!

Maysen

 Jorja & Maysen

 Preston

 Stephanie & Preston

 Stockton

 Mike & Stockton

My dad went home with Cathy and we took Brett, Grace and Max with us.  This isn't a great picture, but it was so cute to see Grace sitting there with the big kids.

Max, Preston, Grace, Jorja

 Jorja and Grace watching Blue's Clues in the bottom bunk

 Max, Grace, Preston

We got to the airport at exactly the right time.  I sure wish we could have had Brett stay longer.  Amazing that he was able to come at all with a brand new baby at home.  Luckily Rachel's mom is with them right now.  I know Brett is anxious to get back to her.  Grace slept for most of the way home.  Hopefully she'll sleep on the plane too!  Taking a red eye with a toddler could be interesting.

Brett & Grace, Mike

 Brett & Grace

We dropped Max off at my dad's and then got home a few minutes before midnight.  I'm excited to be home and excited to sleep in my own bed!  This is the Instagram post Mike shared with the caption: "3 weeks, 26 states, 7,100+ miles.  Wonderful trip - glad to be home!"