July 2008 (North Carolina, Denver, Cheyenne, South Dakota, and Utah)

July was another busy month. A few days after returning from Florida, I once again packed my bags and headed to the East Coast. This time I went to Jacksonville, North Carolina to spend time with Mary Ann and the kids while Hiram was deployed. Mary Ann and the kids picked me up at the Raleigh Airport and we drove home. I was so excited to see Meridith, Davin, and Annabelle. My goal was to let Mary Ann escape alone every now and then while I spent time with the kids.

I met some of Mary Ann's friends and their kids. Athena is really a good friend to my sister, and I am thankful that Mary Ann has a good friend to talk with and do things with while Hiram is gone. It makes life a little easier during this time. We went to the beach on base several times. The first time there Mary Ann said her kids never go in the water because they are afraid. What did Aunt Wendi learn from this? Mary Ann doesn't know her children very well. We were in the water the whole time! I loved it! Annabelle is not afraid of anything, and once Davin and Meridith are comfortable and know that you aren't going to let them drown, they relax and jumping over the waves. We really had a lot of fun. The beach on base has big shells, and yes we collected a few of them along with some pretty rocks for Aunt Wendi to use as a writing assignment in her class. Thanks kids for helping me find some good ones!


One day we drove down to another little town to go to the Aquarium. That was loads of fun. The kids were in heaven watching all the fish, looking at Jelly Fish, climbing on the Alligator, and taking pictures in a crab. We all learned a lot about the ocean that day. After our adventures at the Aquarium we drove around to find a new beach that they could go to. We got lucky and found a great one for the kids. After spending some time there we hit the shops around the beach. Yes we did find a few items we couldn't live without.


On the Fourth of July, Uncle Bryan drove down to spend the day with us. His family was in Tennessee and he had the day off work. Thank goodness for Uncle Bryan. He worked very hard trimming the yard, playing with the kids, and entertaining his sisters. We took the kids to a carnival where we rode ponies, a ferris wheel, and climbed up and down the slides. This was a little pricey so we then went to the Base for some food and fun there. After a couple of meltdowns, we headed for home. The neighbors put on a wonderful fireworks show for us all! We ate the doughnuts Mary Ann had made earlier in the day, and talked about losing the bunny. Bryan and I took the kids to the beach so that Mary Ann could escape for a while. We drove down to Emerald Beach and walked forever in the sand. Bryan was so good with his neices and nephew and even his sister. As we were walking back to where we got on the beach it started to rain. Bryan ran ahead and got the car and I brought the kids, cleaned their feet and made it to the warm car.

My time in North Carolina ended all too soon! We drove to Raleigh and got a hotel by the Airport. Bryan came and spent the night with us because he was flying to Tennesee the next morning about the same time I was leaving for home. This allowed Mary Ann some extra sleeping time since we both had to be to the airport at 4:30. What a mess that was! Bryan can fill you all in on my adventures in the Raleigh Airport.


After an adventurous airport experience I made it home to do laundry, clean a little, and spend some time with Audrey and Ashley who had flown in from South Dakota. We had a great time together and Aunt Wendi really appreciated their help. Those poor girls spent a couple of days helping me to set up my new dirty classroom. They cleaned forever! Since they had worked so hard I decided to take them and Madie to Sunplash for the day. They had a great time swimming in the wave pool, going down the big scary slide, floating in the lazy river, and just spending time with eachother. I wondered why it wasn't as fun as it used to be. I must really be getting old!

July also brought our own Egnew Family Reunion that was to be held in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Kari and Bryan were in charge of this reunion and they did a great job of picking out a place. Getting there was also an experience I will never forget. Peggi couldn't come to this reunion so we talked Madie into going with us. Once again the Suburban was loaded with bags, survival kits, and people (Grandpa, Aunt Wendi, Aunt Jessica, Addie, Madie, Ashley and Audrey). Grandpa wanted to drive through his mission so we took the longer route to Uncle Jeff's house. 15 hours later, and the continual playing of the movie Alvin and The Chipmunks, we arrived at Uncle Jeff's. Brent and Bethany were already there, and we had a great night together. The next morning we picked up Uncle Paul at the airport and then left for South Dakota.


Our journey stopped in Cheyenne so that we could see the new addition to Troy and Holli's family. We all welcomed Manti to the Egnew clan at a park. Mom brought pizza for lunch and we enjoyed running around the park, taking pictures, looking at the train, and playing by the lake. The fun ended all to soon, and before Aunt Wendi knew it we were back in the car watching Alvin and the Chipmunks! We added Jayden to our car so that she could be with her cousins. After a few stops along the way (for the bathroom) we finally found our way to our cabin and our family! We were all so excited to be out of a car, and I was really happy about being able to rid myself of Alvin and the Chipmunks for a few hours.

I was very lucky to be able to share a room with Hannah at the cabin. It is our little tradition now. She and I get to be roommates during our reunions, and we have a ton of fun together. I brought each one of us our own portable dvd player so we could watch a movie and not disturb people when they were sleeping. Bryan and Kari had a ton of fun activities planned for us and Aunt Amy was the queen of the crafts. We all made a memory page for a book for mom and dad. Bryan had us drive into town and go to the Mammoth sink hole. We learned about the mammoth and the kids got to experience a little dig of their own. It was really fun. After the dig we took pictures and then headed back to the cabin. Some of us really needed a rest. While we were resting the rest of the family went to the lake and swam, buried people in the sand, and just had a good time together.












As you can see, they all had a great time! We then had to clean the cabin, pack our belongings for the long journey to our homes. Dad and Mom were headed back to stay with Troy and Holli and the rest of us decided home was a good place. Paul, Jessica, Addie, and I loaded the Suburban and followed Mark, Jessica, Abby, Ella, and Marcus to their house. We had a great trip across Wyoming and made some changes in the seating of the cars. The votes came in and the boys ended up in one car and all of the girls ended up in the Suburban. This was exciting because we (the girls) knew that our car would not end up with any unusual or unwanted smells. Of course, the boys had to make a potty stop at a rest stop. Normally this isn't a good thing, but that day it turned out to be a good thing. The rest stop was overflowing with prarie dogs! Madie and Addie became really good friends with them, and Uncle Paul had one climb up his leg. Aunt Wendi was just grateful that she had a camera, and nothing tried to climb up her leg!

Saying goodbye to family is always very difficult. I just want you all to know how much fun I had traveling with you (yes, even with Alvin and the Chipmunks). The time we spend together means so much to me and it really helped me get through a very difficult time. I sure love you and of course I love all of my nieces and nephews!