The Great Valley of Rocks

Here's the thing, when it comes to vacations or even little day get-aways Dave and I seem to have two different views on how they should go.

Dave, likes to wake up before the sun is even up to get a jump start on the day. I figure that on a day "off" we should sleep in as long as the monkeys will allow.

Dave, is always in a hurry to get out the door and get on with the fun. And then there's me...I like to take a leisurely approach. It seems like everyday I am rushing to get out the door...to drop Emma off at school or pick her up, to make it to a gym class on time, to tackle my long list of errands before hitting a shoot and don't even get me started on making it to church in time for a soft seat (which is a MUST for my tailbone lately). Rush. Rush. Rush. So, I like having a few extra minutes to straighten my hair, scrub the counter a second time or double check to make sure we have everything we need. I like the feeling of not HAVING to be somewhere by a certain time. Don't get me wrong, I don't plan on spending ALL day getting ready to head out the door but if we leave the house at 9:00 instead of 7:30, I'm OK with that.

And then there is the trip itself. The drive to me in the past has been a necessary evil to get to the fun. Nope, not to Dave. The drive, in his book, is a BIG part of the fun. The more scenic and roundabout the better.

I'm not going to lie, in the past these different views on fun days have led to a terse start to our vacation. But, I think we are finally starting to balance each other out.

This past week Dave and I found we BOTH had two glorious days off in a row. Seriously, between all my spring/senior picture shoots and Dave clocking almost 100 hours a week, two days off was nothing short of a miracle. Of course we had to head out for some sort of an adventure. We decided to hit the golden spike monument and then make our way to the City of Rocks or as Emma calls it, "The Great Valley of Rocks". I've never been and Dave barely remembers it. Plus, we knew it was the type of place the monkeys would love.

We started off our adventure by sleeping in until almost 8:00 (YES!) and then Dave tried his hardest to mask his impatience while I took a good hour to get me and the girls ready and make food for the trip. Yup, the boy was a gem. Not a single sigh or grumble even though he had the truck all loaded with some basic camping supplies and was ready to go. Silence and some fierce rocking in the rocking chair were his only giveaway. And for my part? I didn't grumble one bit when our 2 1/2 hour drive took literally all day. Nope, I didn't grumble when we got lost for HOURS in a maze of dirt roads and sagebrush with old beaten signs that didn't lead to where they said they did.

I didn't grumble over Dave's "map" which was really just a crumpled piece of paper with a list of a few landmarks or odd roads that seemed to be in no particular order. And when we finally reached the "Great Valley of Rocks" and couldn't stay to play because it was dark, we were in a truck that was running on fumes and Emma had no pants on because she had puked all over them, I didn't mind one bit because the day had already been perfect (minus the barfing). We had had a full day of exploring along the way,

talking to the local bovine,

laughing, listening to little girl stories and most importantly just good ol' un-interrupted family fun. The joy was definitely in the journey this trip.