Brazil, Indiana, that is. I couldn't help but be amused when we passed a sign for Brazil earlier and I thought it would make for a catchy beginning to a blog post. ;-)
Before I begin on The Big Trip review, here are a couple of pictures for my Dad. Be sure to show him, okay, Ma? He can probably use it now to break up the last-minute stress and pressure. :-) I think Sam dressed up so I could take a picture "for Grandddad" this day. (It was sometime this week.)
Okay! The Big Trip!!! Leg One of the trip was nice and easy. We travelled about 8 hours yesterday, I think. Talk about nice and easy! The kids did lots of reading, and Katie and Joe started keeping track of all the different license plates we see along the way. They are up to 35 states and two Canadian provinces. They're pretty excited. Joe was especially thrilled to see a car from Alaska this afternoon. Now if they could just find one from Hawaii...
We made it to the Adams' house at about 6:00 last night, I think. It was so good to be there with them! We had such a nice, leisurely evening and sooooo enjoyed the fellowship. Brother Ray grilled some yummy chicken for us while Sister Tammi put out all the fixin's: corn on the cob, green beans, mac-n-cheese, salad, and dinner rolls. It was all great! Especially the Blue Bell ice cream afterwards! What luxury! Unfortunately, the one picture that I took of Sister Tammi happened to have a spatula concealing her face so I decided not to post it. However, I couldn't NOT post this one...
Ha! And here's Brother Ray showing off a piece of chicken that he cooked a little long. He seemed pretty proud to discover that he can make chicken jerky!
James insisted on taking a close-up.
The Adams are wonderful hosts and I recommend that you all go stay with them sometime. :-) I have the liberty to say that, right, Sister Tammi? Ha! They will treat you like royalty and even insist on giving up their own bedroom for you. Of course, Brother Ray removes several things from the bedroom first... his fan... blankets... pillows... more blankets... the mattress... ;-) Okay, so it wasn't really THAT bad, but I figured Sister Tammi would have him read this and he would be thrilled to find me sharing such things on the web. :-) They really did treat us well and I slept soooooo well last night--what a great bed they gave up for us!!!
The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing in the back yard with the Adams' nephew, Ethan. Sister Amy came over to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary by visiting with all of us (she left her sick husband in bed--they sure know how to celebrate! Ha!) so her three girls livened up the party in the back yard. It was especially lively when Madison decided that something was in her pants and came to her Mom for some assistance. They disappeared into the bathroom for a minute or two and suddenly we heard crazed and maniacal laughter erupting from behind the door--I really thought Sister Amy was going to hurt herself or throw herself into labor or something! Ha! It was WILD laughter!!! She finally opened the door and started screaming that she needed Joe's help, which threw us all for a loop. Long story short (too late for that, isn't it?!) Madison had somehow managed to get a FROG up her pant leg and when Sister Amy started investigating it jumped out of her pants and hopped behind the toilet to hide! HA! Can you imagine?!?!? Sam was the closest kid so I hollered for him to come inside and rescue the silly girls in hysterics in the bathroom. Actually, Madison was quite calm--although she had NO interest in touching the frog. (She'd had quite enough of that already, I presume!) Sister Amy, however, was pretty hysterical! Ha!
Sadly, that's the only picture I got of Sister Amy! Ha! I feel so bad for her. She looks great, but she looks so miserable!!! She's just sooooo big for such a little person! I'm sure she'll feel so relieved to have that baby on the outside very soon. I know it'll be easier on her back that way! Ha!
We were so glad she and the kids were able to come spend some time. Especially because now we all have the great frog memory to carry with us! :-)
We stayed up visiting with the Adams until about 11:00, I think, which is VERY, VERY late for Brother Ray and actually felt quite late to me, too! I don't know how I can sleep for half of the trip and then be so tired. We had a really good visit and I'm just so thankful we were able to stop over and have some time with them. And a free meal and room! ;-) What a blessing!
We hit the road at about 8:30 this morning, I think, and have had another good day of travelling, though I think Pennsylvania is crawling farther east as we go. We're not nearly as close as I thought we'd be. It looks like another full day of driving tomorrow--which makes me realize just how long and miserable the days would have been if we'd decided to make this trip in just two days instead of three!
The kids have done lots of reading (Joe brought some "Harry the Poisonous Centipede" books with him, so that keeps him occupied), playing games, singing, and scoping out the license plates. Joe ke-e-e-e-e-eps asking me what they say--as if he can't read them for himself. I've started just screaming them before he has a chance to ask. "MISSOURI, Joe!!!!" "WASHINGTON!!!!" As for myself, I barely even noticed the ELEVEN Steak ~n~ Shake restaurants we passed today (~ahem~) before we finally stopped at one for dinner. :-) The number 12 has been my favorite number all my life and I've wondered why for all of these years... only to find out now! Ha! I thought of Dustin Hays a few times as I was savoring every greasy bite of my Frisco burger and sipping on my delectable orange freeze because the terms "pure deliciousness" and "nectar of the gods" kept popping into my mind! Ha! It was truly grand. :-)
And now here we are, somewhere between St. Louis and Indianapolis. I think we've probably got another 8 hours to go tomorrow. The goal is simply to get to the grandparents' house before dark so the kids can run and play a bit. That should be easy enough to do. It's strange... I have really, really been missing Hershey Dog on this trip! Isn't that nuts?! Like it's easier to travel with a dog?! Not hardly! Still, he was such a good traveler and he sooooo loved to go. And he loved being in Pennsylvania, being at the house up there, running away up there and coming back hours later... ~sigh~ How do I miss that?! Crazy. Dog people are just crazy, I guess. That realization doesn't change a thing though. I miss 'im. I'm anxious to see the puppies at my folks' house--maybe that'll help me feel better! That won't be until the end of next week though. Until then it's sure to be a fun and eventful week on Pennsylvania! :-) (But with no dogs...)
I'll TRY to post this week, but it just depends on the Internet connection and availability and all that. We'll see!
9 comments:
Wow you are getting much better at blogging- now you are even blogging on a trip- and a great one at that- Loved the frog story :-D
I opened the front door this morning to step outside and just check out the day. When I opened the door, puppies started piling out of my wicker lawn chairs on the porch and excitedly greeting me. What are they doing on MY furniture instead of their own furniture next door? *sigh* But I have to admit, they are a LOT of entertainment! They've gotten so big, though. They aren't near as cute as they were when they were less than half this size.
You did GREAT to post on your trip! THANK YOU! And the pictures are GREAT! I'll be sure to show Sam's picture to Dad. He'll get a kick out of it. And the frog story is hilarious. --I'm so glad you got to enjoy being with "old friends." That's NOT a comment on the personal age of the friends, but that they have BEEN our FRIENDS for a very, very long time.
Ya might as well comment on the "personal age" your daughter called me "old"er within 5 minutes of arriving! ~hee hee~ Little rat!
Yes, Bec, you are totally allowed to tell others to stop by on their way through OKC. We loved having you spend the night...I think that is the first time you've been to our home since you got married almost 10 years ago...long over-due. You did a good job of re-telling the frog incident, but I don't think that anyone who wasn't there can really appreciate the hilarity of it. The contrast between mother and daughter's expressions still crack me up. How's Sam's bump?
Have a great time and remember that we'll leave a light on for ya if you are passing through on the way home. Thanks again for stopping to visit.
Great blog! you are doing really good, liked the frog incident that was funny wish i was there to see it. Thanks for blogging.
It sure was great visiting with you guys while you passed by. I believe we are on your way back from the the assembly as well and we'll have a new addition to the family by then. :) Lunch or dinner somewhere sure sounds good with friends passing through. BUT... I know how it is after such a long trip, sometimes you just feel like getting home.
Thanks for the frog picture. I saved it to my computer for a later time and just may post it under our frog story on my blog too. :)
Hope the rest of your trip is good and looking forward to more post from you.
Are ya'll in Venezuela yet? :)
ooo.. steak and shake.. i miss that place..
Micah hates steak and shake, except for their milkshakes, due to all the years of Assembly and BTI.. hmph.. I think it has something to do with the fact that since Bethel only has a few restaurants, he got sick of whenever he DID leave, the only places he would eat at were CiCi's and S&S.. that's the way Rusty is now since Bethel got a Subway. "Aww.. please.. can we go anywhere else? PLEASE?"
Mmm.. My favorite was always the Philadelphia sandwich.. peppers, onions, and LOTS of cheese. MMMMmmm.
Okay.. I feel a craving starting to come on...
haha!! I saw that you were in Brazil, and I thought.."what!!" When did that happen!!??" lol.
I love reading your blogs!! keep them coming!!! =)
Sounds like your having your usual very eventful life. :D That's great that you are having such a good time already. That story was too funny. I'm still trying to figure out how a frog jumps up a little girl's pants??!!?? lol It cracked me up thinking of a houseful of grown women getting "rescued" from a frog by a 5 yr old boy. Ha! too funny. Isn't great how different God made males and females? *grin*
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