Lyla Says: Kansas City, Idaho, and Other Adventures

Hey, guys. It's Lyla again.

I'm back to tell you about our travels, but first let me make one thing very clear: my parents went completely crazy this month. I really don't know what got into them. We've had way too much fun, and that's why you haven't heard from us on the blog for a few weeks. We're just now getting settled enough for me to fill you in.

At the very beginning of August, Mom and Dad put me in the car seat for another one of those 10-hour car rides. We finally got out of the car for good in a place Mom and Dad called Kansas City, but I cared a lot more about the toys I got to play with than what city we were in.

We visited a place that demonstrated Google Fiber,

went to Liberty Jail, 

visited the Kansas City temple grounds, 

toured the Community of Christ temple,

and spent some time at the LDS Visitors' Center in Independence. Believe it or not, I got a few short naps in too. 

I also made some new friends! Jacob and Sarah were there, and I loved Sarah immediately. It took me some time to warm up to Jacob, though. There was just ... something about that guy I didn't like. I told Mom I didn't like him by crying and hanging on to her. But then he shared his smart phone with me and I decided he might not be so bad. 

So that was Kansas City. When we finally got back to Texas, I was REALLY glad to be there. I kept smiling and looking around at all the familiar pictures on the walls and crawling around my favorite places. Mom played with me in my toy corner and all was right with the world.

Then, things got REALLY crazy. Out of the blue, Mom and Dad started pulling all of our stuff out of closets and drawers and putting them in boxes. It was really bizarre, but I got to climb on all sorts of things, so I didn't mind.

Then they put all the boxes in the car, Jarom and Amy came and helped them clean, and the next thing I knew we were in the car for 10 hours a day. For two days. Why do my parents LOVE the car so much?

When we finally stopped driving a couple days later, we found ourselves in a place with a lot of mountains that looked vaguely familiar. Mom and Dad took all the boxes out of the car and put them in a new place, which is kind of like where we lived in Texas except that I have my own room and there's a TV in this one.

Well, wouldn't you know it? After a measly four days in this new place Mom and Dad packed me up in my car seat and we went for ANOTHER drive! To be honest, I'm getting accustomed to all the traveling. I like my car seat, and I sleep well when I can hear the hum of the car. I hope my mom and dad know how lucky they are.

We got out of the car and I got to crawl around a brand new cabin. Grandma and Grandpa Olaveson were there. Then a whole bunch of cousins came, and we all had fun playing together. My cousins' toys are WAY cooler than my toys. Mom and Dad had a lot of fun at the cabin too.

The whole Olaveson family

The next car ride wasn't nearly as long as the others. We drove to Grandma Bennett's house, and Mom and I stayed there for a whole week! I loved playing with Grandma, Grandpa, and my older cousins. When we came back to Utah, I got to play with even MORE cousins! They really think I'm great. And to be honest, I think they're pretty great too. This last weekend, I even got to meet a new one. My cousin Devin has been serving as a missionary in Missouri since before I was even born, and he came home last Saturday. It was great to meet him.

The entire Bennett crew - all together again now that my cousin Devin is home!

So now here we are, back in Utah after a month of traveling all over the United States. Mom and Dad haven't touched our stuff in a while, which is good. I wouldn't mind if we stayed put for a few weeks.