Pork Sheet Pan Dinner

It's hard to believe we've already been living in our RV for two weeks. Change is hard, even when we know that it is coming. This isn't our first time leaving friends behind to start a new life in a new state, we've done it several times before, but it doesn't get any easier to leave loved ones behind.

Our moves with the military generally take us coast to coast. There are SO MANY things to see between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. We live in an absolutely amazing country. Growing up in California, I rarely traveled more than an hour outside of my hometown. My family just didn't travel, but my husband grew up traveling and went on two cross country trips from Alaska to Florida with his family. He has wonderful memories of these trips, so we've carried on that tradition with our own children. When we move we turn it into an exciting family adventure instead of a sad event, and try to make positive memories for our children to look back on.

In thier short lives our kids have seen Niagara Falls, Mount Rushmore, The Grand Canyon, Yellow Stone, The Gila Cliff Dwellings, White Sands National Monument, Carlsbad Caverns, Victoria B.C., Alaska, Laird Hot Springs, Devil's Tower, The Indianapolis Raceway, many of the LDS church history sights, waterfalls in Oregon, food factories across the U.S., the Redwoods in California, and many other sights.

This year we are adding a few more to the list! We're still working on our final trip itinerary, but have already mapped out a few places in Utah, Colorado, and Kansas that we'd like to see. We are always looking for neat places to explore, so if you have any suggestions of places to check out between California and Virginia---we're all ears!

We have family in Utah, so we've been around Cache Valley and the Salt Lake areas a handful of times, but we haven't really been anywhere else! Utah is such a diverse state with beautiful mountains, canyons, the desert, and the snow. We added Moab to our list of places to visit and can't wait to see the amazing rock formations and I've been researching other areas like Tooele County.

Tooele County is just south of I-80 as you enter from Nevada. I recently had a friend post on Facebook about attending their Lantern Festival last year, and I immediately thought of the movie, "Tangled". It would be so neat to go to with our family! At The Lantern Fest, thousands of revelers join together armed with lanterns for one unforgettable spectacle. Before sundown friends and families can enjoy food, live music, a stage show, familiar princesses, face painters, s'mores, balloon artists and more. Then, when the time is just right, we will light the sky with our highest hopes and fondest dreams. Unfortunatly it is happening on May 20th and we aren't going through that area until late June. Bummer!

My oldest loves race cars. Have you heard about the Bonneville Salt Flats?  April-June is the Salt Flats Racing Association's Test and Tune.

Other activities include: Deseret Peak Facility, Pony Express Trail, Donner-Reed Trail, ATV & OHV trails, Scuba diving - Salt Water underground diving, and Sailing on the Great Salt Lake. If you're a country music fan, be sure to check out the Country Fan Fest happening from July 27th-30th! Artists include Billy Currington, Old Dominion, Tucker Beathard, Blackhawk and more!

It never ceases to amaze me what each state in the U.S. has to offer. You just have to know where to look, and be willing to travel! I hope our kids look back on these road trips with fond memories and want to continue them with their own families!

So tell me, where should we stop on our summer road trip?

"

Schedule

Thank you, Tooele County, Utah for sponsoring this post!