Well the final preparations are being made for the long, 2100 mile road trip home to Virginia. A 5-day winter storm began Friday in Logan, so Saturday morning after work I took my car in to get new tires. I researched tires a few weeks ago and the tire folks already knew what I needed, so I just brought it in, gave them the keys, turned a movie on my ipod and about 2 hours later, I was out of there. With the winter storm on break for most of Saturday afternoon and the roads in excellent driving condition, I drove to Murray to meet up with Mike and pick up some stuff to drive home for Grandma Meier. Also, we weren't able to see grandma and grandpa at Thanksgiving, so we really wanted to stay a night before going home. As usual, we have been well taken care of and have been able to help them out with a few things around the house.

I always struggle on how to word things pertaining to time on here, because I generally post late at night before bed, so it's halfway between yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I guess I'll stick with what I already started and just refer to the names of the days of the week. Sunday, the weather is supposed to dump several inches of snow in Logan, so we will leave Murray around mid-morning to noonish. Hopefully by then any snow will be plowed and ice melted so that even if more is falling, the roads will be a little better. In Logan, I have a couple more preparations to make such as cleaning the car, applying rainx to the outer windows to help reduce rain, snow and ice build-up, apply a different rainx to the inside to prevent fogging, and things of that nature. We have to hit up Sam's Club to get snacks and finalize our primary and alternate driving routes. I also have to work a bit this week, which is why we haven't already left.

While still a few days out, today we were able to get a general idea of the weather that will cross our path this week. Essentially, the winter storm out here will effect the mountainous areas but will clear out when we leave. Once we hit the plains, it should be dry roads and clear skies. The further east you go and the further in the week you go, a front moves out of Canada, bringing small chances of rain, possibly snow, but our calculations put us missing that at this point. There was nothing major in the forecast that worries us...yet.

Anyway, just about everything is go for launch. I am excited to take my first break in a while. I have been home a couple times for a few days, but this is a good, solid week and a half at home and it will be nice to have some down time.

Also, two matter of blog business. First, I am once again happy to announce a new follower. Chelsey Hawkes, a member of my ward, is now a follower. Welcome! Second, in the unlikely event that there is a post you really want to share with your friends and family on Facebook, I have included a convenient share button so you can do so. The Facebook share button is right below the "Followers" widget on the right side. You can't miss it.

Song of the Day today is "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by: John Denver.