Are We Crazy Or What!!!

So when Samantha was just a week old Josh came home from church with Collin and Amanda and this is how the conversation went: Josh: Honey, I have a crazy idea. Me: (Trying to guess the idea by reading his face) I am not gonna like it, aren't I? Josh: Probably not, but it came to me at church so I will give it a try. Me: K. Shoot. Josh: Well, the kids were crazy during the sacrament meeting and we had two High Counselmen speaking but one was actually interesting. But all I could get from his talk was that he got a flat tire on the way to Utah and had to drive 600 miles on a doughnut since he had to have a specially made tire for his SUV. So here is the crazy idea, since you are doing well, Samantha is perfect (at least in our eyes, and grandparents), why don’t we go to Utah for the 24th? Me: You mean drive to Utah? Josh: Yep, we have a minivan now, I have this whole week off for Paternity leave and we can drive and stop as much as we want. We can also surprise my grandparents and show up for the family reunion for the July 24th. Me: That sounds like a good idea. I just have to think about it some more. Josh: You mean you are actually considering it? Me: Why not? Josh: Ok. Let me call Tony (his brother who lives in Idaho) and let him know we are thinking about going and see what he says. So, we called Tony and talked to his wife since he was at work and told her our plan and had her swear not to tell a soul since we really wanted to surprise Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw. By Sunday evening we kind of talked ourselves out of going but Monday morning we get an e-mail from Tony and the title was, WE ARE GOING TOO. Then we for sure decided to go. We called and arranged with them and they were going to go straight to Beaver on Tuesday evening and we would go to Hurricane and spend the night with Josh’s aunt Nancy and met up with them on Wednesday morning and on Saturday we would all caravan to California together. So on Tuesday evening they went and surprised the heck out of Grandma but kept to themselves that there were more family coming. And on Wednesday morning we walked to Grandma’s living room with our then 10 day old baby. (Note that no one really locks their door in Beaver) She was half sleeping on the couch and when he saw Josh coming at first thought to herself whose baby is Tony carrying? (Josh and Tony do look a lot alike) but then realizes that it were us. She was very much surprised and excited to see us and we were so happy we did not cause heart attacks. Then we took the kids and drove to Grandpa’s Auto Shop and entered from the back door and surprised Grandpa with our presence and the new baby. That was way fun. We stayed at Beaver on Wednesday and watched the Parade on Thursday morning the 24th and met up with tons and tons of family. The star of the show was baby Samantha and everyone loved holding a new born. They just don’t stay that little for long .Then we head out to the John Flat campsite in the Beaver Canyon and pitched our tent and got ready for the reunion. We ate lots and lots, talked and talked, played and played and rode four wheelers and horses and had tons and tons of fun. On Thursday night my sister Kimia and her husband Jeff came down to Beaver from Provo and visited with us. We had not seen them since their wedding on February. It was wonderful seeing them. Then we headed back to California early in the Saturday morning with Tony and his family behind us and killed 5 birds in last 20 minutes before we left the Utah border. We were not sure why the birds were flying into our car but they kept coming and there was nothing we could do about it. We had a great time and the kids were fabulous thanks to the new born that slept most of the way and the portable DVD Player that we bought the last minute before we left home.

This is the Bradshaw's float. It says The Bradshaw's 6th and 7th Generations in Beaver since 1861.

Our spot at the campsite.

She picked these wild flowers for me. Isn's she just adorable?

Kimia and Amanda

From Left to Right: Josh and Amanda. Emily and Liahona and Tony and Collin.

This is what we found on our first pit stop.

Liahona came to our car for a visit to watch Elmo with Collin.