Launching for Europe

I'm so stoked to be vacationing with my brothers and parents! For some people, that wouldn't be fun, but my family is just awesome!

Dad: One of the most unique individuals ever. My brothers call him Rick Jones The Legend. He has the best memory of anyone I've ever met--for example, when he left on his mission, he had EVERY SINGLE SECTION HEADING of the Doctrine and Covenants memorized--and some of them are longer than the section itself. He can listen to any first two measures of anything composed by Bach and tell you the name of it, the K number, amazing at historical dates and facts, etc. etc. He also has a very dad-sense-of-humor--you know, the kind of dad says something and then starts laughing because he thinks it's so funny, and then you start laughing not because it's funny, but because he thinks it's funny. He's also one of the most technologically disinclined people I've ever known.

Mom: The kind of mom that drives her 13-year-old son and his friends to go toilet papering at midnight and then has to explain to the cops what she is doing. Always up for an adventure and something spontaneous, & loves to travel. In high school, I had several friends tell me they loved to come to my house because my mom is so nice. Super positive with a spontaneous laugh.

Brother Andy: I think that Tyson is the only other person I've ever met that matches the determination of my brother Andy. At age 12 at scout camp, he was the only person that managed to pass off the mile swim although others attempted--because the water was around 38 degrees. He just never gives up. He has a contagious laugh just like my mom, a memory similar to my dad's, and is the historical keeper of Rick Jones funnies. The main reason he is coming is to document the things my dad says and does.

Brother Dan: The Energizer. The Party Animal. The Enthusiast. The one who talks my mom into taking him and his friends toilet papering at midnight. The one drives around a motorized couch on the streets of Provo, who has "pazooki" parties and fills brand new gutters with gallons of ice cream and pounds of cookie dough. He's infamous for several pranks and recently was voted "the funniest guy in Utah".

Brother Ryan: The Planner. Organizer. Navigator. Ryan is the whole reason we as a family are coming to Europe. Basically, he tried to just plan a nice vacation for my parents and I jumped on the bandwagon. Then Dan, and then we dragged Andy along because it just wouldn't be the same without him and we need him for the Rick Jones funnies. Ryan's the baby and the golden boy in our family who is basically amazing at whatever he does. Love him.

And somewhere I fit in--not sure where, but mostly I get to sit back and enjoy the humorous dynamics of my family :)

When we arrived at the SLC airport, my mom realized that she had left her carry-on home. She had her passport and some other things, but her clothes, her "essential make-up!" etc, etc. were still in the suitcase on the kitchen table. Obviously she was slightly upset. A few minutes later she went to the bathroom, and then had a huge smile on her face when she came out. "No suitcase--NEW WARDROBE!" she announced and gave high-fives all around :)

Andy unfortunately had school/work conflicts so he's going to be meeting us in the middle week of our trip. Dan, Dad, Mom, me, & Ryan are taking off.

When we arrived in Oakland we realized that our flight to Norway was delayed and that we had an 8-hour layover instead of 5 hours, we spontaneously decided to rent a car and explore Oakland. After we decided this my 64-year-old dad informed us he'd never been to the bay area.

The corner of Haight and Ashbury are the exact location of the beginning of the hippy movement of the sixties--even has a clock perpetually at 4:20. 

My parents the hippies. 

Dan and I were offered weed and LSD as we took my parents' picture. I guess we look like hippies too.

We enjoyed the colorful apartments and beautiful churches in the area. 

Typically when we go out to eat, my dad just wants to go to the cheapest place (aka Burger King) to eat. So when we were discussing places to go, we were all surprised when he announced that he, "Didn't want to go anywhere that served fries." Whoa. Who is this guy? The Monolith had spoken, so we ended up getting a recommendation from Dan's friend from Pakistan for a Pakistani restaurant.

Just before heading back to the airport, we went up to the Oakland Temple. I love going to different temples, and I've done work in over 40. Before this trip I'd done work in the other 7 Temples in California, and I finally hit my last one for this state.


You can tell we're just excited to be together embarking on this adventure. My dad will no longer be able to say, "I'm 64 years old and I've never been out of the country." On board!