The Boat...

..Is finally here! It was a long trip to get it. All the way to Houston, TX and back, in 3 1/2 days! Jared and Chris are CRAZY (Chris Hillman is a good family friend of ours and we co-own the boat with his family. Just a side note...I was not so sure about the whole co-owning thing at first, but it has worked out GREAT! We LOVE it. The cost of everything is half the price - the boat itself, repairs, maintenance, etc...of course it was a lot better when the Hillmans lived in Eagle Mt., not Layton, but it still works)

Wondering why in the world would they drive to TEXAS to get a boat?! It's Jared, people! He will search and search for the BEST deal possible - and that doesn't necessarily mean the best deal in Utah :) Anyway, they left New Years Day, early - by 5 am from our place they were on the road. They drove all the way to Dallas, and then stopped and slept in the back of the truck for a few hours,

*another reason I'm glad there's a c0-owner...I would NOT have wanted to go on this trip*

before finishing on to the Houston area and their new boat! (BTW, by "new" I mean new to us, not new as in a brand new 2009 boat. But we are just as excited and it's a step up from our last boat!)

Jared's parents live in the Houston area as well, so it worked out nicely. They actually drove the hour drive to where the boat was to "check it out" for us before hand. Their opinion was great and they took tons of pictures for us to see before we decided (I say we like I really had a say in this! Ha...it was all Jared and Chris...Julie Hillman and I just had to give our blessing!). As soon as Jared and Chris arrived at Jared's parents, they started cleaning away. Jared's mom wanted them to go do something fun in Houston but those "boys" wouldn't budge. They were like to kids in a candy shop. So excited to have their new "toy". Thankfully they had a place to stay Friday night (that included heat and beds!) and they were off early Saturday morning. They drove to Albuquerque, NM where my sister lives and were originally going to stay there for the night, and then finish the last 8 hours (I think?) on Sunday. But when they got to Jill's and saw the weather forcast, they saw that another storm was making its way in, and decided to keep going and try to beat the storm. So they drove until about 1 in the morning and stopped in Monticello, UT to sleep again. This was not as warm as Dallas though. It was probably close to 0 degrees and they slept in the back of the truck again. OUTSIDE!!! What a bunch of crazies! Jared tried to rationalize to me that he had his -30 degree sleeping bag so they thought they'd be ok. Yeah...anyway, since they were FREEZING themselves, they only "slept" about 3 hours before they took off (again, so glad I was not on this trip - I definitely wouldn't have gone for sleeping in the back of the truck when it's freezing! Boys!). They made it home before I got home from church at noon and the kids were excited to see them. The first thing Mia said was, "our new boat!" Ha, forget about Dad, she's just as excited about the boat! The guys were wasted after this crazy drive and I felt really bad that Chris had another hour to drive...and he has the 3 car garage, so he "stores" the boat. Apparently he had his work cut out for him when he got home - the boat needed a little help in order to fit in that 3rd car garage. I'm sure Chris just wanted to crash, but instead had to take down the tower, the swim platform on the back, and something else as well...I can't remember. But it DID finally fit in his garage! Anyway, we're excited and glad we found this great deal, glad the guys made it safely, and can't wait for the summer. Now if only gas prices will stay this low we'll actually be able to afford to USE the boat! Wishful thinking, I'm sure :)