Idaho

Today is Sunday. It has been a crazy week. The kids finished the school year with a hectic schedule. Robbie had his field trip to Medieval Times, ShaeLynn was scheduled for a field trip to a bowling alley-which we skipped to go to Kansas over Memorial Day weekend to help my sister move in, Nathaniel had two field trips within a week (to the Milwaukee Art Museum and to the zoo), and TaLisa had a field trip to Lapham Peak. The same day TaLisa had her field trip, the school had scheduled the fifth grade graduation. We spent our time split between the two. It truly was a wonderful day, recognizing all the hard work that has brought ShaeLynn to the conclusion of elementary school. The last day of school we also closed on a fixed mortgage on the house and met long time friends, whom we hadn't seen in 13 years, for a picnic supper at the park. It was wonderful and way to short to catch up on all those years.

Arriving back at our house, we packed the van and went to bed. We had just fallen asleep when Nathaniel threw up. A load of laundry and clean up, and then it was back to bed. I guess he threw up again in the night, but we never heard it. We got up at 3:20 am, and we were on the road by 4:28. We had hotel reservations in Cheyenne. That is an area I would love to be more impromtu in, but most hotels do not have rooms for families of six.

We had great driving weather, and Nathaniel only threw up two times in the van and at every bathroom stop along the way. Poor kid. The last couple of hours of our trip were incredible weather wise...tornado watches out and dark ominous clouds, rain, and lightening. We stayed the night at the Plains Hotel in Cheyenne. It was built in 1913, and it was a very interesting place to stay. Not extremely modern, but comfortable and clean.

The next morning we were able to have a later start. We were hoping to stop at a few places along the way, but it rained the WHOLE way to Idaho. So we only really stopped at Little America for a $.50 icecream cone. I am so thankful that Nathaniel was not sick at all, and seems to be feeling completely well now. As we were driving across Wyoming, I was reminded of how much I love the open spaces. I hope that one day God will allow us to live in a place with open spaces and beautiful mountains around. For several hours during our drive, the temperature was only 33 degrees outside. It was crazy to see that it was going to be 80 degrees in Wisconsin that day! I am so thankful for a husband who will fill up the van for me in that kind of nasty cold weather. And I am thankful that we are here now.

It has been wonderful seeing friends and family again! I really love and miss some of these people, and they make me feel like I am coming home. I am thankful for a couple days with a slower schedule! God knew I needed this time to catch back up on rest and to be refreshed.