Visit to Utah

Well, Matt left on May 16 for DRA in Hurricane, Utah. This past Friday and Saturday we got to see him for the first time since he left. Visits are determined by levels, and he was allowed a 14 hour visit (two days, seven hours each day) after he achieved and had two successful weeks on the Supervisor level.


John, Kyan and I hit the road on Thursday morning and drove the six hour drive to Utah. Not Kyan's favorite ride, so it was actually kind of brutal and we had to stop a lot. It made a relatively anxious trip a little rougher. (I'll spare the story about the car repair and rental.)

We arrived at DRA at 10am on Friday, 8/14. After checking in, Matt was called down to meet us. Matt and I cried like babies the second he walked in the door, and for the first time ever, he met his little brother. John was a little more stoic. ;-) We visited on-site for two hours, then left for three, and returned to DRA for the final two. Outside food was a top priority, so we went to Outback for lunch and then hit Dairy Queen for Blizzards. Otherwise, we checked out DRA's game room and the dorm, to see where Matt sleeps at night. He has several family pictures on the wall next to his bunk as little reminders of home. The visit was really nice and Matt looked really good. I think he has really gotten taller, too.

On Saturday, 8/15, we arrived loaded with IHOP breakfast and Starbuck's (decaf). We ate breakfast on a picnic bench next to one of the two big ponds and had a really nice time. Then, the fellas played catch for awhile, and we headed off-ranch again, to check out the local mall (which took all of 20 minutes to cover end-to-end), seek out an old time candy store in downtown St. George, and grab lunch at In N Out. We drove around town a little, just to see what was around, and headed back to DRA for our last two hours, which were much more difficult to bear. Kelly and Alexa will be visiting him next weekend, which makes me feel better.

We did learn that we get to visit Matt every 30 days IF he has continuously successful weeks. He has said that the program is getting tougher, so he is worried about making it happen, but the ball is in his court, and he knows it. Here's hoping we have another update in mid September!


Here's a video of Matt - just throwing the ball around with John.

Matt and Kyan

More of Matt and Kyan

And some pics...

First shot of the brothers!

First feeding - Matt couldn't believe how much Kyan eats and how long it takes for him to eat. :-)

The boys

I am sure Matt wouldn't like this shot John took from underneath him but I like to see his smile.

I LOVE the pictures of the three boys!

They have baby piggies!

This was taken shortly before we left.