Please stay tuned while we enjoy these few days with our Chicago family. Never fear, we'll be back with all the exciting happenings of our Lauilife soon!
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Friday, May 22, 2015
Day 4
We are traveling through Iowa as I write this. One little is asleep, one is playing nicely with legos at the table and the two bigs are listening to Adventures in Odyssey back on our bed. The driver is driving, no I'm not typing and driving at the same time. ;) But as silly as it sounds, I realized that it's good for me to keep up with the day as it is happening because I don't know why, but if I wait for the end of the day, it all escapes me. I think you just learn to adapt to each crisis, I mean joyful experience, and move on to mentally prepare for the next one. lol
We all slept in this morning. I think the 3 days of long traveling caught up with us all! lol The weather was unusually warm and muggy when I left to go take a shower. Well probably not unusual for them, but us. And it was clear all the offspring needed to get some very pent-up energy out. So while we cleaned up, unplugged and sucked everything in, we sent them all over the playground in the rv park to play for a bit. Although we'd hoped to get on the road sooner, it was a well needed reprieve.
{please excuse cute kids snot running down from his nose. Where are his parents? Haven't they heard of a Kleenex?}
Of course we then headed to the bucks. And wouldn't you know it, the closest one was in downtown Lincoln, NE. The parking lot wasn't big enough for us to fit, so that meant taking a trip around the block looking for somewhere we could pull into easy enough. As it turns out, taking a trip around the block meant going through tight urban streets. We all had to be on the look out, out the side windows to make sure we were going to clear some of the cars parked on the side of the street. But you know, the driver took us right into downtown Dallas, TX last year (plugging two meters!) so if he can do that he can certainly drive the backstreets of Lincoln, NE. He pulled to the side and 4 of us ran into bucks to get our #1 priority for the morning. It was the largest and most gorgeous Starbucks I have ever seen - seriously! I wish I would have taken more photos but I hadn't had my caffeine yet, so you get what you get. lol
We re-entered the tin can and headed out of downtown Lincoln. The ol' downtown streets were adorned with mature trees lining them and going over the road. I was admiring the route and getting my phone out to take a photo and the driver says... 'hope they aren't hanging lower than 12'!' Oooops.... glad he thinks of those things since that surely didn't cross my mind! lol And yes, they were all high enough so we were good.
We drove for a few hours and stopped just outside of DesMoines, IA to fill up for gas. Everyone wanted to get out and help with the bug infested windows so it ended up being a family affair.
And some just painting the ground with water. ;)
{yes sparkly shoes are part of the required attire for water painting!}
We got back on the road and it was time for the princess to take a nap. She went down and the rest of us resumed our quiet activities. (ok I'm pretending, okay!?!? just work with me here!)
Oh by the way, the high quality bandage job on the tin can might need some updating.... :O
After we were well on our way again, I went into the facilities to get something and realized that I just couldn't stand the condition of the throne any longer so I took matters into my own hands - yes as we are traveling down the road. There was no better time. It doesn't take long with 6 of us (ok - technically 5 - but 4 of those being MALES!) using the facilities for it to need a good once over! Phew.... I feel much better now!
However, I did warn the older offspring that this would be their job for the remainder of the trip. I mean, come on, SIX weeks - we've GOT to keep cleaning as we go! So I'm considering whipping a good ol' fashioned chore chart like we have at home. I'm sure everyone will be jumping up and down with excitement about that one! ;) lol
And we hit Illinois going over the Mississippi River! The boys studied about the Mississippi River and all the states it runs through so they were pretty excited to see it in person! Plus one of them remembers Carnegie building a bridge from Illinois to Iowa and they were sure that was the one we went over! :)
Along the way somewhere Reed was in the back listening to Odyssey with Grant and he decided he wanted to wave at all the people driving behind us. So him and Grant started keeping track of all the people that would wave back at him. Hopefully he brightened a few people's days with his enthusiasm for life! <3
We hope to be hitting Chicago around 8pm tonight (yesterday we estimated 4pm! lol) and are super excited to see our family! We shall see how close we come to that arrival time....
In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about a challenge we gave our older boys. We have some verses hanging up by our table and they picked one for us to memorize first... "Do whatever he tells you." John 2.5 In order for that verse to be made real to them, we came up with an interesting challenge. They know and we constantly remind them how blessed we are however we also stress that we are just the managers of God's resources and we are to do with them/it what he asks. It's much easier to give stuff away, let people borrow it and be less attached to our material possessions if we engrain in our beings that it's not ours to begin with, but a gift that we can use for others. So we gave each of the boys $20. It's not to spend, keep, hoard or save but to give away. We asked them to pray and talk to God about who he'd want them to give it away to. We are just asking them to be used by Him and to bless someone else because we've been blessed. It might be today, tomorrow, or 5 days from now, that's between them and their heavenly Father.
Our prayer for this entire trip has been that it would be a trip beyond us! Meaning, it's not about us! It's easy to forget that when you are on a 'vacation.' But as you've already learned, the cooking, cleaning, disciplining, butt wiping and diaper changing still has to go on. And the last I checked our Savior doesn't go on vacation E.V.E.R. So our prayer is that we can be intentional about noticing him work in and through us, no matter where we are in the country or world! Granted there are many many ways to go about doing that, but hopefully this one that will be very real to our boys since they are participating in it, in a very personal and real way. Do you have any suggestions of how we can keep these next 6 weeks beyond us? We'd LOVE to hear them!
One of our theme songs for this year's trip is the Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman. The lyrics go like this...
Lay your head down tonight
Take a rest from the fight
Don’t try to figure it out
Just listen to what I’m whispering to your heart
‘Cause I know this is not
Anything like you thought
The story of your life was gonna be
And it feels like the end has started closing in on you
But it’s just not true
There’s so much of the story that’s still yet to unfold
And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
You’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding
God’s plan from the start
For this world and your heart
Has been to show His glory and His grace
Forever revealing the depth and the beauty of
His unfailing Love
And the story has only begun
And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
We’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding
We were made to run through fields of forever
Singing songs to our Savior and King
So let us remember this life we’re living
Is just the beginning of the beginning
Of this glorious unfolding
We will watch and see and we will be amazed
If we just keep on believing the story is so far from over
And hold on to every promise God has made to us
We’ll see the glorious unfolding
Just watch and see (unfolding)
This is just the beginning of the beginning (unfolding)
The Glorious Unfolding - official lyric video
It's so easy to get short sighted in our gotta-have-it-now culture so we love that this song reminds us that God is always doing so much more than we can anticipate, dream or expect. He's made promises to us that He always keeps, and we will be amazed if we wait and see what He's got up His sleeve because the story, our story, each of ours, is soooooo far from over!
-------------------------------------------------------
We arrived safe and sound in Chicago, but only after going through about 512 tolls that cost us $5/each! Kevin says it messed with his timing most importantly. It has been so good to see Kevin's sister and her family and catch up with them. The kids are all playing together with their two adorable girls and are happy as clams. Oh and Esther is in 7th heaven considering they have two girls (and a boy).... that means LOTS of pink and girl toys! I think she'd move in! More photos to follow tomorrow... right now the zzzz's are calling!
We all slept in this morning. I think the 3 days of long traveling caught up with us all! lol The weather was unusually warm and muggy when I left to go take a shower. Well probably not unusual for them, but us. And it was clear all the offspring needed to get some very pent-up energy out. So while we cleaned up, unplugged and sucked everything in, we sent them all over the playground in the rv park to play for a bit. Although we'd hoped to get on the road sooner, it was a well needed reprieve.
Of course we then headed to the bucks. And wouldn't you know it, the closest one was in downtown Lincoln, NE. The parking lot wasn't big enough for us to fit, so that meant taking a trip around the block looking for somewhere we could pull into easy enough. As it turns out, taking a trip around the block meant going through tight urban streets. We all had to be on the look out, out the side windows to make sure we were going to clear some of the cars parked on the side of the street. But you know, the driver took us right into downtown Dallas, TX last year (plugging two meters!) so if he can do that he can certainly drive the backstreets of Lincoln, NE. He pulled to the side and 4 of us ran into bucks to get our #1 priority for the morning. It was the largest and most gorgeous Starbucks I have ever seen - seriously! I wish I would have taken more photos but I hadn't had my caffeine yet, so you get what you get. lol
We re-entered the tin can and headed out of downtown Lincoln. The ol' downtown streets were adorned with mature trees lining them and going over the road. I was admiring the route and getting my phone out to take a photo and the driver says... 'hope they aren't hanging lower than 12'!' Oooops.... glad he thinks of those things since that surely didn't cross my mind! lol And yes, they were all high enough so we were good.
We drove for a few hours and stopped just outside of DesMoines, IA to fill up for gas. Everyone wanted to get out and help with the bug infested windows so it ended up being a family affair.
And some just painting the ground with water. ;)
We got back on the road and it was time for the princess to take a nap. She went down and the rest of us resumed our quiet activities. (ok I'm pretending, okay!?!? just work with me here!)
Oh by the way, the high quality bandage job on the tin can might need some updating.... :O
After we were well on our way again, I went into the facilities to get something and realized that I just couldn't stand the condition of the throne any longer so I took matters into my own hands - yes as we are traveling down the road. There was no better time. It doesn't take long with 6 of us (ok - technically 5 - but 4 of those being MALES!) using the facilities for it to need a good once over! Phew.... I feel much better now!
However, I did warn the older offspring that this would be their job for the remainder of the trip. I mean, come on, SIX weeks - we've GOT to keep cleaning as we go! So I'm considering whipping a good ol' fashioned chore chart like we have at home. I'm sure everyone will be jumping up and down with excitement about that one! ;) lol
And we hit Illinois going over the Mississippi River! The boys studied about the Mississippi River and all the states it runs through so they were pretty excited to see it in person! Plus one of them remembers Carnegie building a bridge from Illinois to Iowa and they were sure that was the one we went over! :)
Along the way somewhere Reed was in the back listening to Odyssey with Grant and he decided he wanted to wave at all the people driving behind us. So him and Grant started keeping track of all the people that would wave back at him. Hopefully he brightened a few people's days with his enthusiasm for life! <3
We hope to be hitting Chicago around 8pm tonight (yesterday we estimated 4pm! lol) and are super excited to see our family! We shall see how close we come to that arrival time....
In the meantime, I wanted to tell you about a challenge we gave our older boys. We have some verses hanging up by our table and they picked one for us to memorize first... "Do whatever he tells you." John 2.5 In order for that verse to be made real to them, we came up with an interesting challenge. They know and we constantly remind them how blessed we are however we also stress that we are just the managers of God's resources and we are to do with them/it what he asks. It's much easier to give stuff away, let people borrow it and be less attached to our material possessions if we engrain in our beings that it's not ours to begin with, but a gift that we can use for others. So we gave each of the boys $20. It's not to spend, keep, hoard or save but to give away. We asked them to pray and talk to God about who he'd want them to give it away to. We are just asking them to be used by Him and to bless someone else because we've been blessed. It might be today, tomorrow, or 5 days from now, that's between them and their heavenly Father.
Our prayer for this entire trip has been that it would be a trip beyond us! Meaning, it's not about us! It's easy to forget that when you are on a 'vacation.' But as you've already learned, the cooking, cleaning, disciplining, butt wiping and diaper changing still has to go on. And the last I checked our Savior doesn't go on vacation E.V.E.R. So our prayer is that we can be intentional about noticing him work in and through us, no matter where we are in the country or world! Granted there are many many ways to go about doing that, but hopefully this one that will be very real to our boys since they are participating in it, in a very personal and real way. Do you have any suggestions of how we can keep these next 6 weeks beyond us? We'd LOVE to hear them!
One of our theme songs for this year's trip is the Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman. The lyrics go like this...
Lay your head down tonight
Take a rest from the fight
Don’t try to figure it out
Just listen to what I’m whispering to your heart
‘Cause I know this is not
Anything like you thought
The story of your life was gonna be
And it feels like the end has started closing in on you
But it’s just not true
There’s so much of the story that’s still yet to unfold
And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
You’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding
God’s plan from the start
For this world and your heart
Has been to show His glory and His grace
Forever revealing the depth and the beauty of
His unfailing Love
And the story has only begun
And this is going to be a glorious unfolding
Just you wait and see and you will be amazed
We’ve just got to believe the story is so far from over
So hold on to every promise God has made to us
And watch this glorious unfolding
We were made to run through fields of forever
Singing songs to our Savior and King
So let us remember this life we’re living
Is just the beginning of the beginning
Of this glorious unfolding
We will watch and see and we will be amazed
If we just keep on believing the story is so far from over
And hold on to every promise God has made to us
We’ll see the glorious unfolding
Just watch and see (unfolding)
This is just the beginning of the beginning (unfolding)
The Glorious Unfolding - official lyric video
It's so easy to get short sighted in our gotta-have-it-now culture so we love that this song reminds us that God is always doing so much more than we can anticipate, dream or expect. He's made promises to us that He always keeps, and we will be amazed if we wait and see what He's got up His sleeve because the story, our story, each of ours, is soooooo far from over!
-------------------------------------------------------
We arrived safe and sound in Chicago, but only after going through about 512 tolls that cost us $5/each! Kevin says it messed with his timing most importantly. It has been so good to see Kevin's sister and her family and catch up with them. The kids are all playing together with their two adorable girls and are happy as clams. Oh and Esther is in 7th heaven considering they have two girls (and a boy).... that means LOTS of pink and girl toys! I think she'd move in! More photos to follow tomorrow... right now the zzzz's are calling!
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Day one million - I mean 3!
No it's not that bad! Lol We wanted to start out early this morning so we could get some hours under our belt. So the amazing driver set his alarm for 6am and worked on getting us all unplugged and buttoned up as quietly as possible. The big boys have to move back to our bed since we have to put their bed back up. It comes down over the driver and passenger seats. So once I realized I was the last adult in bed {you see I made these black-out curtains for our room and wow they are ahhhhmazing!} I hustled myself up to help get us on the road. I was actually really looking forward to the quiet time we might have right off the bat. However one child wanted to stay sleeping on the couch and not move to our bed and the other child who did go to our bed was back up at the front within 15 minutes of hitting the highway. Guess they thought they were going to miss out on all the exciting action at 7.15am! lol Oh wait - it is our family so I guess that is a real possibility. Actually I know what they were thinking....
Yep - they've got the first stop of the day figured out too. They wanted to be sure they were awake and alert enough to ask if they could participate in the morning's ritual. Okay so 'ritual' does sound a little extreme. Actually we brought coffee beans along with us and we both really enjoy the french press coffee that we make ourselves with steamed milk and foam. However on this particular morning, neither one of us was going to risk grinding beans and heating up cream before 7am when we were taking off. So there definitely will be a time and place where our morning 'ritual' takes place in the comfort of our own home. And the big boys also know that they are never guaranteed participation in the morning ritual. You have to go through initiation of adult-hood (i.e.. your own INCOME!) to be guaranteed a Starbucks when mom & dad choose to have one.
But on this particular morning we had to hold out for our morning ritual. There was a Starbucks in the town we were pulling out of, but stopping while the littles are getting close to waking up is a risk we didn't want to take. Plus it might have entailed back tracking a bit, which doesn't happen lightly when you are privileged enough to have our driver! lol ;) So forward and onward we headed hoping there would be a bucks in the next fairly large city. Please let me clarify - a REAL bucks - grocery stores do NOT count as REAL bucks (see last years long dicertatcion about the differences! lol). So I pulled out my trusty map to look up the Starbucks in the next city - okay it was just my phone - and guess what? THREE hours away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh heavens, we might have a mutiny on our hands. But what to do but trudge along...
The big boys did end up falling back asleep in their up-front positions, one not so comfortable, so we did have a little piece and quiet for a bit. You'll have to excuse my froggy brain of this morning since I didn't have a lot of nourishment, okay caffeine, to keep me on my game. And about half way to our most pertinent stop, Mr Chauffeur asks if we even have any leftover coffee I could get him!?! I said I would check. And we actually did.... yes, despite our morning ritual we even drink our own leftover coffee. lol You can't waste something like that.
{IMPORTANT CAVEAT.... we would never serve leftover coffee to a guest in either the rolling tin can OR our house on the ground - just fyi! So you can still feel comfortable coming over and being served a nice cup of fresh hot coffee!}
HOWEVER, when I say leftover, this is leftover from what we made at our house last before we left on Day One - take 2!!!! So it's really leftover! But I guess he's THAT desperate. Now is when the real fun begins and I'm so sorry I don't have a photo to show you of it so use your imagination. I now have one little up and out of bed so I'm getting that one some breakfast. And somehow he's going from sweet delightful morning-snuggle-bug to demanding not-so-cute-toddler in a matter of minutes. YIPEEE!!!!! Back to the driver's coffee.... so we can run the microwave while we are driving if we turn on the generator. Because you know we might do leftovers, but cold coffee is certainly NOT an option for the driver. lol However, we are missing a part to our microwave (don't ask how or when or why please) that helps the turn table go around. Just go with me here.... so the turn table turns, but it's only propelled by a piece in the very center of the plate. Okay the bottom line is that besides the very center of the turn table every other place on it is wobbly, maybe like a kid's top (toy). That's not so bad when we are parked but when we are driving you run the risk of your item in the microwave slipping off of center [IE. A GLASS COFFEE MUG!!!!]. Oh and not to mention we were going down not the smoothest highway in the world. So I'm standing guard at the microwave to open the door and save the sliding coffee, if necessary, while the 2nd little is calling to get out of bed {like NOW mom!}. So I'm trying to tell my sweet precious baby girl that I will be right there to get her while mentally hurrying along the timer on the microwave. I think it made it till like 18 seconds left and there it slid!!!! That was just going to have to be hot enough for the driver, huh!?! And yes, it did slop on the inside of the microwave. So I quickly cleaned up my mess, poured some cream & sugar in his coffee and put on my server's apron with a towel over my arm to deliver it to the front of the tin can. Phew..... thanks for sticking with me on that. I think he drank the whole cup in one swallow, from which I deduce.... A) he REALLY needed his caffeine, B) that was a big sacrifice on my part, couldn't he at least have taken 5 minutes to drink the whole cup?, C) what about mine? Oh wait - no time for thinking 'C,' I'm sure there was a sippy cup of milk to be refilled, an apple to be cut or a diaper to be changed. And then there's the big boys.... 'mom, can you play chess with me?' To which I reply, 'Oh sure son, I'd love to! Let's just lock the littles in the bathroom and ignore them!' lol {joke! don't go calling the authorities on me!}
Okay, I digress, where were we now....
The hallelujah chorus was heard 5 states away when we finally pulled up to this...
I think everyone was suffering the lack of caffeine by the time we arrived, there wasn't one shred of sibling rivalry, or toddler tears or complaining or whining AT.ALL. Oh goodness it was only 11am on day 3! Do you guys believe in intercessory prayer? If not, could you just try it for my sake! lol ;P I'm totally {partly?} kidding! We really do have the time of our lives on these trips. See look, everyone is happy as a clam...
After the Starbucks in Laramie, WY we headed down the highway and this gorgeous church was standing so tall and proud against the backdrop of the hills. I tried to snap a quick photo of it, but it doesn't nearly do it justice.
So some of you might be wondering what the kids do all day long while we are driving and here's one quick photo I snapped for you today. The Dollar Store has been my best friend in preparing for this trip. Here Esther is putting stickers on a note pad. Yep, it's the simple things and SHE gets to be in charge of what stickers go where! lol ;) That's just one of the many activities we do to fill the long driving days.
Somewhere along the way, it came up, okay I think I mistakenly offered, to drive. Yes, I have driven the tin can before but it definitely takes focused concentration. I doubted that the driver would say YES, but he did. I can't reveal to you HOW we switched but we did and everyone lived to tell about it. ;)
NOW the story can begin.... all in all I ended up driving about half the day. Here's what I did during that time, request a podcast be put on and drive! Oh ya, we stopped for gas in North Platte, NE and I was a little crooked pulling up to the gas pump. But other than that, that's the extent of my afternoon. You know, now that I think about it, I might have accidentally cut one car off switching lanes but that was at dusk and it was a total accident.
NOW Kevin (no longer 'driver'), on the other hand, had a very full and exciting afternoon! lol {YES - read between the lines!} He thought he was going to get a nice relaxing, pleasurable afternoon to lounge around the rolling living room as I did the heavy-lifting driving! :O Oh heavens, if everyone wasn't sleeping right now, I would belly laugh right with you! Can you see where this is going?
~ Dad can you play chess with me?
~ Dad can I have a cookie? Oh, I want one too!
~ I'm thirsty!
~ Esther has a poop!!!!
~ Can we play legos on your bed?
~ Can we eat a 7 course meal on your bed?
~ I want to color.
~ Where's my stickers?
~ I want OUT!
~ She's taking my toy!
~ He's playing with MY legos - No I'm not!!!!
~ I am hungry.
~ When are we stopping next?
~ Can we watch a movie?
Are you with me here? lol I just waved from the drivers seat, focusing on my 10/2 hand position with a GIANT grin on my face! At some point I think I actually heard him flop in the passengers seat, point at me and mutter something about 'driving is the easiest job in this place!' Oh it was great! So guess what, I drove and drove and drove and drove and drove some more! lol He rocked it being the back-of-the-house parent, changing diapers (LARGE bowel movements too! - I know you wanted to know that! lol), helping the other do his business on the toilet without falling in! All while I'm trying to keep it as steady and smooth as possible - I really was, I promise! ;)
We finally pulled up to dinner at a Panera Bread in Kearny, NE and all enjoyed the excuse to exit the cabin using the side exit (after we put our trays in the upright position). I parked the tin can in a great spot but was dared that getting out of said spot would have to be handled by the driver. Pssshaaa.... nothing a 12 point turn can't handle. This girl got us out of the parking spot and back on the road in no time.
Alright, it's 8 hours into Chicago tomorrow where we are so excited to see Kevin's mom, her husband and Kevin's sister and family.
Hopefully tomorrow I can remember to tell you about the challenge we gave our big boys for this trip...
PS. No more puking! Must have been a one time thing! Phew.... I'm glad that didn't continue!
But on this particular morning we had to hold out for our morning ritual. There was a Starbucks in the town we were pulling out of, but stopping while the littles are getting close to waking up is a risk we didn't want to take. Plus it might have entailed back tracking a bit, which doesn't happen lightly when you are privileged enough to have our driver! lol ;) So forward and onward we headed hoping there would be a bucks in the next fairly large city. Please let me clarify - a REAL bucks - grocery stores do NOT count as REAL bucks (see last years long dicertatcion about the differences! lol). So I pulled out my trusty map to look up the Starbucks in the next city - okay it was just my phone - and guess what? THREE hours away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh heavens, we might have a mutiny on our hands. But what to do but trudge along...
The big boys did end up falling back asleep in their up-front positions, one not so comfortable, so we did have a little piece and quiet for a bit. You'll have to excuse my froggy brain of this morning since I didn't have a lot of nourishment, okay caffeine, to keep me on my game. And about half way to our most pertinent stop, Mr Chauffeur asks if we even have any leftover coffee I could get him!?! I said I would check. And we actually did.... yes, despite our morning ritual we even drink our own leftover coffee. lol You can't waste something like that.
{IMPORTANT CAVEAT.... we would never serve leftover coffee to a guest in either the rolling tin can OR our house on the ground - just fyi! So you can still feel comfortable coming over and being served a nice cup of fresh hot coffee!}
HOWEVER, when I say leftover, this is leftover from what we made at our house last before we left on Day One - take 2!!!! So it's really leftover! But I guess he's THAT desperate. Now is when the real fun begins and I'm so sorry I don't have a photo to show you of it so use your imagination. I now have one little up and out of bed so I'm getting that one some breakfast. And somehow he's going from sweet delightful morning-snuggle-bug to demanding not-so-cute-toddler in a matter of minutes. YIPEEE!!!!! Back to the driver's coffee.... so we can run the microwave while we are driving if we turn on the generator. Because you know we might do leftovers, but cold coffee is certainly NOT an option for the driver. lol However, we are missing a part to our microwave (don't ask how or when or why please) that helps the turn table go around. Just go with me here.... so the turn table turns, but it's only propelled by a piece in the very center of the plate. Okay the bottom line is that besides the very center of the turn table every other place on it is wobbly, maybe like a kid's top (toy). That's not so bad when we are parked but when we are driving you run the risk of your item in the microwave slipping off of center [IE. A GLASS COFFEE MUG!!!!]. Oh and not to mention we were going down not the smoothest highway in the world. So I'm standing guard at the microwave to open the door and save the sliding coffee, if necessary, while the 2nd little is calling to get out of bed {like NOW mom!}. So I'm trying to tell my sweet precious baby girl that I will be right there to get her while mentally hurrying along the timer on the microwave. I think it made it till like 18 seconds left and there it slid!!!! That was just going to have to be hot enough for the driver, huh!?! And yes, it did slop on the inside of the microwave. So I quickly cleaned up my mess, poured some cream & sugar in his coffee and put on my server's apron with a towel over my arm to deliver it to the front of the tin can. Phew..... thanks for sticking with me on that. I think he drank the whole cup in one swallow, from which I deduce.... A) he REALLY needed his caffeine, B) that was a big sacrifice on my part, couldn't he at least have taken 5 minutes to drink the whole cup?, C) what about mine? Oh wait - no time for thinking 'C,' I'm sure there was a sippy cup of milk to be refilled, an apple to be cut or a diaper to be changed. And then there's the big boys.... 'mom, can you play chess with me?' To which I reply, 'Oh sure son, I'd love to! Let's just lock the littles in the bathroom and ignore them!' lol {joke! don't go calling the authorities on me!}
Okay, I digress, where were we now....
The hallelujah chorus was heard 5 states away when we finally pulled up to this...
I think everyone was suffering the lack of caffeine by the time we arrived, there wasn't one shred of sibling rivalry, or toddler tears or complaining or whining AT.ALL. Oh goodness it was only 11am on day 3! Do you guys believe in intercessory prayer? If not, could you just try it for my sake! lol ;P I'm totally {partly?} kidding! We really do have the time of our lives on these trips. See look, everyone is happy as a clam...
After the Starbucks in Laramie, WY we headed down the highway and this gorgeous church was standing so tall and proud against the backdrop of the hills. I tried to snap a quick photo of it, but it doesn't nearly do it justice.
So some of you might be wondering what the kids do all day long while we are driving and here's one quick photo I snapped for you today. The Dollar Store has been my best friend in preparing for this trip. Here Esther is putting stickers on a note pad. Yep, it's the simple things and SHE gets to be in charge of what stickers go where! lol ;) That's just one of the many activities we do to fill the long driving days.
Somewhere along the way, it came up, okay I think I mistakenly offered, to drive. Yes, I have driven the tin can before but it definitely takes focused concentration. I doubted that the driver would say YES, but he did. I can't reveal to you HOW we switched but we did and everyone lived to tell about it. ;)
NOW the story can begin.... all in all I ended up driving about half the day. Here's what I did during that time, request a podcast be put on and drive! Oh ya, we stopped for gas in North Platte, NE and I was a little crooked pulling up to the gas pump. But other than that, that's the extent of my afternoon. You know, now that I think about it, I might have accidentally cut one car off switching lanes but that was at dusk and it was a total accident.
NOW Kevin (no longer 'driver'), on the other hand, had a very full and exciting afternoon! lol {YES - read between the lines!} He thought he was going to get a nice relaxing, pleasurable afternoon to lounge around the rolling living room as I did the heavy-lifting driving! :O Oh heavens, if everyone wasn't sleeping right now, I would belly laugh right with you! Can you see where this is going?
~ Dad can you play chess with me?
~ Dad can I have a cookie? Oh, I want one too!
~ I'm thirsty!
~ Esther has a poop!!!!
~ Can we play legos on your bed?
~ Can we eat a 7 course meal on your bed?
~ I want to color.
~ Where's my stickers?
~ I want OUT!
~ She's taking my toy!
~ He's playing with MY legos - No I'm not!!!!
~ I am hungry.
~ When are we stopping next?
~ Can we watch a movie?
Are you with me here? lol I just waved from the drivers seat, focusing on my 10/2 hand position with a GIANT grin on my face! At some point I think I actually heard him flop in the passengers seat, point at me and mutter something about 'driving is the easiest job in this place!' Oh it was great! So guess what, I drove and drove and drove and drove and drove some more! lol He rocked it being the back-of-the-house parent, changing diapers (LARGE bowel movements too! - I know you wanted to know that! lol), helping the other do his business on the toilet without falling in! All while I'm trying to keep it as steady and smooth as possible - I really was, I promise! ;)
We finally pulled up to dinner at a Panera Bread in Kearny, NE and all enjoyed the excuse to exit the cabin using the side exit (after we put our trays in the upright position). I parked the tin can in a great spot but was dared that getting out of said spot would have to be handled by the driver. Pssshaaa.... nothing a 12 point turn can't handle. This girl got us out of the parking spot and back on the road in no time.
We drove to our destination for the night, Lincoln, NE and pulled into our spot that the (now) co-pilot found for us AFTER he got the littles to bed - I tell ya, that job never ends. And no, that should tell you, we don't generally plan our stops ahead of time since we don't know how far we'll get in a day. Because as we know important things pop up like Michaels, of course Starbucks, Staples (I didn't tell ya about that one! lol), Costco and oh so much more....
As I'm in bed typing out the rest of the day for you, and Kevin is reading, we hear a thud. Son #2 wanted to sleep on the couch tonight, but I guess during his REM he must've thought the floor was better!?! We just laughed and laughed back in our bedroom as we knew exactly what had happened. Kevin went to help him back up onto the couch but he was still asleep on the floor! He probably wouldn't have minded staying there all night. Kevin thinks it will happen again tonight so I told him to be sure and grab a photo of him on the floor when it happens (FYI... I intend to be sleeping!) but until the next fall, I finally remembered to give you a visual!
As I'm in bed typing out the rest of the day for you, and Kevin is reading, we hear a thud. Son #2 wanted to sleep on the couch tonight, but I guess during his REM he must've thought the floor was better!?! We just laughed and laughed back in our bedroom as we knew exactly what had happened. Kevin went to help him back up onto the couch but he was still asleep on the floor! He probably wouldn't have minded staying there all night. Kevin thinks it will happen again tonight so I told him to be sure and grab a photo of him on the floor when it happens (FYI... I intend to be sleeping!) but until the next fall, I finally remembered to give you a visual!
(He didn't end up falling out of bed again but did get up sleep walking at 4am and tried to get into bed with his little brother. Kevin heard the door to the bunks open and found Tate trying to crawl in with Reed. Lol What's funny is that he didn't remember a thing about it in the morning!)
Alright, it's 8 hours into Chicago tomorrow where we are so excited to see Kevin's mom, her husband and Kevin's sister and family.
Hopefully tomorrow I can remember to tell you about the challenge we gave our big boys for this trip...
PS. No more puking! Must have been a one time thing! Phew.... I'm glad that didn't continue!
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Day TWO!
We pulled into Jerome, ID last night about 10pm (mtn time). We actually had stayed at this same KOA last year so we knew it. What we failed to remember was the lovely cow perfume that permeated the campground! Lol Luckily it was not nearly as fragrant as before. So we hooked up and the four of us that weren't already in bed, went to bed after having a few late night treats.
And FINALLY...
Sometimes when you are the littlest you get to get to stretch your legs with mom & dad while the others hold down the fort....
One of the boys had a Michaels gift card that he had a partial balance on and really wanted to be cashed out of it, so we meandered across the street to a Michaels that we spotted. I went in and found a few things I couldn't live without. Actually one of them was a project I have been wanting to do for the hill billy tin can. We have this spot that is supposed to have a tv in it, but doesn't, and is really too narrow to do anything super productive with. So I found an idea where you cut cork into the shape of the US, draw the states in and then keep track of the ones you've been through. Not sure if we'll use stickers or pins or ???? And since the boys learned how to draw the USA and all the states this year, I thought it would be a perfect educational project for them. Photos of completed project to follow.
And way past schedule we finally got back on the road. But also did get some other cute accessories for the tin can at Michaels. So I got to try those out. :)
One of the incredible blessings of being on the road is the amazing creation that we get to drive through and by, like these mountains in Utah. The photo does give them justice but they were exuding with such grandness from the ground and some still snow capped. Now driving through it for a 2nd time, Utah really is a gorgeous state.
And we finally made it for a pertinent stop at Costco in Ogden, Utah. Even though it was 4pm we decided to have lunch, or would it be dinner, oh okay, let's just call it linner! ;) What's better than good ol' Costco meal for a family of 6! {That is until we were driving down the street afterwards and saw an In & Out! Wahhhhh...... there was definitely crying and gnashing of teeth then!}
Upon leaving Costco with the most sought after Angus Burgers that the boys LOVE and a few other can't-live-without-items-that-will-fit-in-tin-can, we stopped at their gas station. Now normally I would be giving you a shot of our endearing chauffeur who pumps our gas all over the country but I couldn't get a shot of him because the gas attendant just couldn't get enough conversation in with the chauffeur. I mean I can't blame him, I like talking to the driver too! And what else is there to do when you are a gas attendant who doesn't have to pump people's gas for them!?! lol ;P So here ya go, driver and chatty Kathy Utahan gas attendant....
Back on the road again with some very cool God creation and man creation.
We were hoping to make it to Cheyenne, WY but that didn't happen, like FOUR hours from happening! lol So we pulled into the KOA in Rock Springs, WY and set up about 9pm (mtn time). It was still light out. The driver was happy to not be driving in the dark and the kids immediately took off for outside activities... skate boarding (the one recreational item that fit in the tin can), the KOA had a play structure and then there were bunnies galore to try and catch (to no avail - thankfully!).
Shhhhh......... do you hear it? Neither do I! The driver even took the littles over to the play structure and it was just me, alone, in the tin can. Ahhhhh! I almost locked the door and didn't let them all back in but then I came to my senses.
I did a little ironing, yes, ironing, which the driver thinks is hysterical! He actually made me take this photo. I might be fake-blondish but I didn't think plugging the iron in while driving would be such a brilliant move, I know totally over cautious, right? But I had a few little things I wanted to put up in the tin can and they just wouldn't have look right all wrinkly. I'll show you a pic later.... ;)
I'll leave you with a photo of our cute little night light that hangs by the microwave.
Until next time....
PS. Don't forget to leave us those name suggestions.... so far some of the good ones are the Ark, Starship Enterprise and all the deer reference names will be saved for when we trash talk the tin can!
Quiz... what's the required first stop of the day? Yep! You guessed it! So we put it in our GPS to make a straight shot to our caffeine! And here's where it told us to go...
Hmmm...... a touch out of the way! ;) Not sure how that came up, but not to fear. I set where we were currently located and did not give up. It found a very nice Starbucks for us just a few miles away. So we headed straight away.
However, the driver decided gas was a more pertinent first stop of the day.... silly man! lol But we had some very helpful and handsome window washers - which is no easy task in the Hill Billy Tin Can! ;)
However, the driver decided gas was a more pertinent first stop of the day.... silly man! lol But we had some very helpful and handsome window washers - which is no easy task in the Hill Billy Tin Can! ;)
And FINALLY...
Yep - he's lost his mind heading up our gaggle!
Sometimes when you are the littlest you get to get to stretch your legs with mom & dad while the others hold down the fort....
It's during these times that we get those looks that say... 'Oh look at that cute older couple that had one child late in life!' Lol
One of the boys had a Michaels gift card that he had a partial balance on and really wanted to be cashed out of it, so we meandered across the street to a Michaels that we spotted. I went in and found a few things I couldn't live without. Actually one of them was a project I have been wanting to do for the hill billy tin can. We have this spot that is supposed to have a tv in it, but doesn't, and is really too narrow to do anything super productive with. So I found an idea where you cut cork into the shape of the US, draw the states in and then keep track of the ones you've been through. Not sure if we'll use stickers or pins or ???? And since the boys learned how to draw the USA and all the states this year, I thought it would be a perfect educational project for them. Photos of completed project to follow.
Needless to say, as I was walking out of Michaels with Grant, I wasn't sure where Kevin was parked so I was following intently behind Grant and all of a sudden, or rather too late, I realized there was a curb. I know crazy, right!?! A curb in a shopping center parking lot - get out of town! Well in honor of ummm, ummm.... the state of Idaho - yes that - I felt the rather instant urge to fall to my knees in adoration, after missing the curb. Yes it was a delightful tumble off the curb. I scratched up the front of my foot, my knee and my pride but otherwise I was fine. *No no no there is no photographic show & tell!*
In the shopping centers (do you even call them that anymore? lol) parking lot was a very cool large bridge over the Snake River, a trail that overlooked the river and a viewing point. So we of course had to stop for a photo.
In the shopping centers (do you even call them that anymore? lol) parking lot was a very cool large bridge over the Snake River, a trail that overlooked the river and a viewing point. So we of course had to stop for a photo.
And way past schedule we finally got back on the road. But also did get some other cute accessories for the tin can at Michaels. So I got to try those out. :)
One of the incredible blessings of being on the road is the amazing creation that we get to drive through and by, like these mountains in Utah. The photo does give them justice but they were exuding with such grandness from the ground and some still snow capped. Now driving through it for a 2nd time, Utah really is a gorgeous state.
And we finally made it for a pertinent stop at Costco in Ogden, Utah. Even though it was 4pm we decided to have lunch, or would it be dinner, oh okay, let's just call it linner! ;) What's better than good ol' Costco meal for a family of 6! {That is until we were driving down the street afterwards and saw an In & Out! Wahhhhh...... there was definitely crying and gnashing of teeth then!}
{sap alert} He's definitely MY Captain America! ❤️
Upon leaving Costco with the most sought after Angus Burgers that the boys LOVE and a few other can't-live-without-items-that-will-fit-in-tin-can, we stopped at their gas station. Now normally I would be giving you a shot of our endearing chauffeur who pumps our gas all over the country but I couldn't get a shot of him because the gas attendant just couldn't get enough conversation in with the chauffeur. I mean I can't blame him, I like talking to the driver too! And what else is there to do when you are a gas attendant who doesn't have to pump people's gas for them!?! lol ;P So here ya go, driver and chatty Kathy Utahan gas attendant....
Back on the road again with some very cool God creation and man creation.
We were hoping to make it to Cheyenne, WY but that didn't happen, like FOUR hours from happening! lol So we pulled into the KOA in Rock Springs, WY and set up about 9pm (mtn time). It was still light out. The driver was happy to not be driving in the dark and the kids immediately took off for outside activities... skate boarding (the one recreational item that fit in the tin can), the KOA had a play structure and then there were bunnies galore to try and catch (to no avail - thankfully!).
Shhhhh......... do you hear it? Neither do I! The driver even took the littles over to the play structure and it was just me, alone, in the tin can. Ahhhhh! I almost locked the door and didn't let them all back in but then I came to my senses.
I did a little ironing, yes, ironing, which the driver thinks is hysterical! He actually made me take this photo. I might be fake-blondish but I didn't think plugging the iron in while driving would be such a brilliant move, I know totally over cautious, right? But I had a few little things I wanted to put up in the tin can and they just wouldn't have look right all wrinkly. I'll show you a pic later.... ;)
And the big boys were being silly in their bed.
I'll leave you with a photo of our cute little night light that hangs by the microwave.
Until next time....
PS. Don't forget to leave us those name suggestions.... so far some of the good ones are the Ark, Starship Enterprise and all the deer reference names will be saved for when we trash talk the tin can!
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