Every family needs one of THOSE vacation stories...

 What?  Doesn't every family drive over three hours just to climb trees and play on basically the same playset that is in their own back yard?  And then COME HOME?

Over Spring Break we decided to visit the Grand Canyon.  The plan was to camp, but we were worried it was going to be too cold at night (especially for the baby), so we reserved a cabin.  Basically, it was cheaper than a hotel and warmer than camping. :) 

We drove three hours, arrived at the KOA, unloaded our stuff into the cabin, had a cute picnic lunch, then piled back into the car to drive just 20 or 30 minutes to the canyon.  Five minutes into that drive, our van went crazy and the malfunction indicator light went on.  Marty dropped the kids and me off back at the cabin and went into Williams to have the car diagnosed. 

That is where these cute happy pictures of these cute happy kids come from. They were as happy as can be to skip out on whatever the Grand Canyon was and to just go climb trees and play at the KOA. But a while later Marty came back with a worried look on his face. The transmission was shot. I may not know a lot about cars, but I do know that transmissions = $$$$$. On top of which, the van is not driveable, so we are now stranded in Williams Arizona. Poor Marty. He spent most of the night making phone call after phone call trying every possible option to get us home. Most tow trucks couldn't fit our family, we couldn't get a one way rental car, the shuttle wasn't working out. My mom actually offered to drive all the way down from Utah to pick us up and drive us to Queen Creek!  On the last phone call of the night, we found a guy who could tow our van and our family back home the next day.

We decided to try and make the most of things.  We roasted marshmallows around the fire and had lots of fun in the cabin.  It was TINY, just a queen bed and some bunk beds with barely enough room to squeeze the pack and play!  But maybe that's part of what made it so fun for the kids - having our whole family in such close quarters for the night. 

We got up the next morning and made pancakes on our little propane stove.  That was about 8:00 in the morning, and we were expecting the tow truck at around 11:30 or 12:00 (he was coming all the way from Mesa).  So imagine our shock when he pulls up at around 8:15.  He had just called an audible and decided to leave at 5 a.m. to get there early and...didn't call?  So trying to pack up the five of us, all of our breakfast mess, and getting kids to the potty, nursing a baby, etc, etc, was CHAOTIC. 

Bryce took one look at that big, red, shiny tow truck and was smitten.  He was so excited to ride in Mater.  That's about all we heard the whole way home:  "Mater is pulling our VAN!"  Yes, the "vacation" was a big, expensive disaster, but we also had some tender mercies.  We had three kids running on no sleep, squashed together in a tiny cab of a truck and not a PEEP.  Not a whine, not a complaint.  For THREE HOURS.  Which wasn't the end of it!  After we got the van into the shop, we still had to climb into someone else's truck and drive from Mesa to Queen Creek.  Same thing, not a peep.  And the baby who thinks he has to eat every two hours miraculously decided to seriously space out his feedings that day.  And a small tender mercy for me:  We were towed by the nicest guy who said, "You guys are in charge of the radio, but THIS is what I usually listen to."  I'm thinking "OH no, old twangy country?  Hard music with icky beats?  WHAT?"  Then I see "symphonic orchestra" scroll across his radio and I try to dash my hopes, because of course it's too good to be true that we have found the one tow-truck driver in the state who listens to classical music.  But it was true. :)  Classical music is my passion, so of course Newell and I got along just great. :)

The best part?  Seeing the magic of childhood.  This was the dreaded conversation Marty had with Brynn right after we had the van diagnosed:
Marty:  Guess what guys?  Our car is broken, so we won't be able to see the Grand Canyon after all.
Brynn:  Can we still stay in the cabin?
Marty:  Yes...
Brynn:  Can we still roast marshmallows?
Marty:  Yes...
Brynn:  Can I still sleep in the top bunk?
Marty:  Yes...
Brynn:  Ok...(confused look)...Can I go back up the tree now?

Thanks to the sweet innocence of childhood, we realized we could still make the most of the weekend.  Kids, if you read this in 20 years - THANK YOU for helping us salvage that Spring Break!  I am sooooo grateful that I get to be your mom!!!!