The Traveling Circus: Arrival

 After a great night of pizza and pool in Fallon, we were ready for Day Three of our family vacation.  Today we would cross the border into California and finally get to see our cousins!

 Daisy and I had some selfie fun while we were getting ready for the day.

 Never one to miss out, Titus wanted to join in on the get-ready-in -the-bathroom fun.

 So he climbed up on the toilet where he could be really cute and dangerous at the same time.

"Mom, why do you take a picture of us every day in the car?"
"Because this is a road trip so most of our memories are being made in the car."

 Yay for cousins!  Yay for toys!  Yay for being out of the carseat! 

 We were all so excited when we finally got to Brian and Rachel's house.  It was a beautiful, sunny, California day.  The drive to get there was gorgeous (especially compared to the dreary desolation we had been subjected to up to this point on our road trip.)  Jeff and I kept saying, "I never knew California looked like this."

 These cousins are only a few days apart and they are the best of friends.

 These cousins are only a few months apart and they are best frienemies.

 We were lucky enough to snag this man's baseball game the night we got there. He was awesome out there on the diamond.  Levi said, "I don't know if I'll ever be as good at baseball as Davis is."

 Daisy got to enjoy Siena and the sun.

 The next morning we shipped Davis off to school after a yummy pancake breakfast.

 And then it was off to the dentist for the Circus.  Brian is a pediatric dentist and his office is phenomenal.  The kids were in awe.  So was I.

 Titus and I played peek-a-boo through the aquarium.

 The life-sized sand castle was a kid magnet.

 Heck, what's not to love about going to the dentist?

 This scene had me laughing.  "Open wide....wider..."

 We feel so thankful to Brian and his staff (who worked through their lunch!) for taking such good care of us!

 After our dental appointments we headed off to the beach, which was about a two hour drive.  As soon as we arrived at the coast, we saw these beach bums.

 We were not prepared (and it was too late in the day) for a day at the beach, but our kids were dying to see the ocean, so we walked out to the water.

 Right away they were rolling their pants up and getting in the (freezing cold) water.

 The kids found these strange squid/baby octopus.

 Titus found the sand.

 There's really nothing like the ocean.

That night we headed to the nearest town to eat at the William Tell Saloon.  There were not a lot of dining options and we were all hungry.  When we pulled up to the restaurant it became apparent that this bar and grill was more bar than grill.  I walked through the door carrying my toddler with my little ducklings following in a line behind me.  We had just walked into a bar bar.  As in wall of alcohol on one side, row of drinkers on stools and wall of mirror on the other side.  Thankfully the bartender saved our lives and asked if we were there for dinner. (No, my four kids and I are here for a few shots.) And pointed us to the dining room in the back.  After dinner it was dark and foggy.  We made our way back to the beach house and arrived just before the cousins joined us after their day of work and school.  Now it was time for the real vacation to begin.

Traveling Circus: Lehman Caves

Day Two began with breakfast at the Border Inn.  As we were preparing to leave, we picked up a "Survival Guide" for the "Loneliest Road In America" which we were planning to travel that day.
Off we went.

 Our first stop was the Lehman Caves Visitor Center in Great Basin National Park. 

 I had been there as a kid and was excited to take my family there.

 While we waited for our tour of the cave, the kids worked on their "Junior Ranger" certification.

 Titus and I got all saddled up for the big cave.

 And in we went.  It was even cooler than I had remembered it.

 The intricate formations in the cave were amazing.

 And huge.

 Titus didn't last long in the too-small Snuggli that the park let us borrow.  It was his (not-so-convenient) nap time and he cried and cried until he finally fell asleep.

 Levi was really hoping to see a bat in the cave.

 After our tour of the cave, we were looking across the sagebrush covered hills talking about how one would never guess there was a gigantic, magnificent cave hiding underground.  We decided that it is the same way with people.  On the surface a person may look average, plain, or even boring.  But when time is spent learning about someone, a treasure may be found lying within.

 The kids were sworn in as official Junior Rangers of Great Basin National Park.

 They were proud of their badges and certificates.

 We hiked around outside of the cave before we loaded back up and headed on down the road.

 The only thing of note that we saw on the loneliest road was this wind farm. Yay for clean energy!

 We ate at this yummo Mexican Restaurant in Ely and posed in front of this anatomically correct mural of elk because we couldn't stop laughing.

 After a quick stop at the Railway Museum, it was time to log some more miles.

 This time dad took up residency in back with the boys.

 And the girls were up front."Mom, say cheese."

 We couldn't wait to unwind in the pool when we got to our hotel in Fallon.

 Dad manned the circus in the pool while I ordered pizza.

It was the perfect ending to Day Two of our vacation.  The promise of Day Three was exciting:  we would arrive at our destination in California.

Traveling Circus: The Border Inn

 Five and a half years ago we sold our home and moved into a basement apartment so Jeff could go back to school.  We have not taken a family vacation since.  He graduated a year ago and we built our house.  This Spring Break we decided it was time.  So off we went to sunny California!

 The plan was to drive west through the Nevada desert making a few stops along the way, spend a week with Jeff's brother Brian and his family, and then make the marathon drive home in one killer day. It would be nearly 2,000 miles and 30 hours in the car together.

 We left Sunday after General Conference to head out to the Nevada border.  We had to stop and take pictures by this strange "shoe" tree in the middle of no where.

 We arrived at our destination for our first night's stay: the Border Inn...only we got there faster than we had expected, and the time change made it even earlier.  We had a lot of time to kill before bedtime, and when it comes to entertainment and amenities, the Border Inn is not exactly top notch.  As in the Border Inn is not even in a town.  It is a gas station/restaurant combo on the side of the "Loneliest Road in America."  But don't you worry...the Dansie Family Circus had no trouble making entertainment of our own.

 Daisy was a little worried about the condition of our motel.  After using the bathroom, she announced, "I am NOT taking a shower in there.  I will wait till we get to our next motel."

We tried to take a family shot at the border sign...but I didn't make it in time.

...and the camera tipped over the second time and got this shot of the beautiful sky.

But the third time's the charm.  The whole circus at the border.

And on the Utah side too.

Standing right on the stateline border, between the Nevada and Utah signs.

Next on the agenda for our fun filled waste-some-time evening was the small arcade inside the casino where we broke the weight limit on the toddler carousel.

Titus thought it was great!

And Isaac thought this mechanical horse was super lame since he is used to riding a real one.

We closed out the night with a fierce game of air hockey.  Back in our little wood paneled motel room, we watched a few reruns of "Full House" before praying and tucking into bed.

As I lay there listening to the sleeping sounds of the people I love the most, I thought about how much fun we had on our first day of vacation.  We hadn't done anything, really, but I smiled there in the darkness thinking about the things we had laughed at together, and remembering how incredibly blessed I am to have this thing called family.

I fell asleep looking forward to Day Two.