Trek 2011

Due to my blog neglect, some of you may have thought we perished on our pioneer trek.  I am here to report that we not only survived, but we had an uplifting, testimony-building experience.  It was hard physically--I came away with a whopping sunburn and a massive sleep deficit--but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.  My only regret is that I didn't get any "after" shots that showed how dirty and sunburned we were and how thick Mike's beard grew.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking tonight. 



Looking bright and chipper at 4:30 a.m.

This is the last time we were clean for 4 days.





These are my biological sons, not my trek sons.

Obviously, this is a "before" shot.



Ben, our youngest trek son, besides Petey.



Austin, our oldest trek son.  He was a WORKER.



Nate, one of our middle boys, was a
workhorse as well.  Great kid!



Josh, the other middle boy, was a bright spot as well. 
Another great kid. . .



Steph, our oldest daughter/child, taking care

of Petey, the rice baby.  Unfortunately, Petey perished on our

 journey.  I think just one or two babies survived.  Sad.



Shelby and Madi.  I knew Madi when she was about three.  She's changed
a little since then.  Shelby was the only child from our ward.  She's a hoot!

Bella (left) was our youngest and was SO tiny, but man, was she tough!!  Not one
complaint the entire time.  Sam (right) finished second in the state cross country
meet as a freshman.  She is one tough cookie. . . and nice, too!

Our handcart.  The support vehicles brought the tents and the food.
We carried everything else.  We each got a five-gallon bucket with

a seventeen-pund weight limit.  Kind of simplified life, actually.

Most handsome pioneer on the trek.  He's a pretty
hard worker, too, and unfailingly optimistic.  How I love this man!

Mike and I felt so grateful for the opportunity to participate in this activity.  It was so inspiring to walk for at least a few days as the pioneers did so many years ago.  I came away feeling overwhelmingly thankful for those who sacrificed so much so that we can enjoy religious freedom and have a stronghold in the West.  What a heritage!