A trip worth the 7 hours of despair at the end

It took twelve hours to get home from Utah yesterday.  Seven of those hours were spent getting from Las Vegas to home.  It normally takes just three.  So, to everyone who travels to LV for Thanksgiving - I think you're dumb and I hope you lost it all on the nickle slots.

But on to happier things.  Let's roll the highlight reel!

1.)  My brand new niece Adelaide is adorable.  She was born Tuesday morning so the first stop we made when we got into town on Tuesday night was the hospital to shower her with kisses and give high fives to Kylea and Casey for being awesome. Also, her eyes have a hint of the Orient.  When Sam and I noticed we both did the victory fist.  Our Mongolian genes finally made it to the next generation.

2.)  Our co-pilots for the trip were Jake Gyllenhall and George Clooney.  We tore their pictures out of the People Magazine and attached them to the dash. They did not judge us when we stopped for Slurpees and then an hour later for ice cream cones.

3.) While shopping for supplies my sisters and I came across some pickles called Sweet Midgets, which tickled us and naturally we had to share with everyone (although, just the name because sweet pickles are gross.) We had a good laugh, until we heard Ben saying it and envisioned him being expelled from Kindergarten for calling someone that. (Other inappopriate phrases we have inadvertantly taught Ben:  "Honky Town" (because the neighborhood they live in is called White City) and "Go kiss a fat dog." I have no idea where that came from or what it means but we use it on the regular.)

4.)  The entire fam was together.  That's right - all of us. Mom, Dad, sibs, spouses, and babies, eating pie and cracking jokes.  And it was glorious.  It's been a while since we've all been in the same place and it felt like balance had been restored to the universe. 

5.)  Lindsay was the last to arrive from Iokotabraska (she lives where Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska intersect) and we all surprised her at the airport with signs and hollering. There was a woman who came down the escalator just before her who was the tannest woman I've ever seen.  Remember that one lady a few months back who took her daughter to the tanning salon?  This woman could easily beat her in a match-up of cancer cells. 

 6.) It wasn't just Thanksgiving that brought us all together. It was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with dinner, a slide show full of embarrassing pictures, and a song we wrote to the tune of Don't Stop Believing. If there isn't a musical number than it is not a Knecht Family Party. I'm sure I'll write more about them later but here's a little preview: they're awesome. We all should be so lucky to have a marriage like theirs.

7.) We went to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square on Saturday. On the plus side, it was the perfect temperature for strolling in a cute coat with twinkle lights around you. On the minus side, if there is one thing we Mormons are good at it's congregating. Oy, the crowds. But we sure know how to make things pretty. It felt merry and bright.

8.) On the drive home - the Utah part with the fast traffic, before we knew what awaited us - we did some singing.  You see, we missed our annual Messiah Sing Along at the Nixon Library so to make up for it we brought the score and the CD and had our own. Jake and George were a terrific audience.