our traveling debaccle

as we were so excited that our new car came with a new adventure, and a little "get away" for John and I, we began to make our plans and reservations for the trip. we thought all items were neatly arranged for and when the day arrived we dashed to the airport to catch our one way flight to Chicago. only they didn't have our tickets.

no Shirley's scheduled to be on board today, was our greeting. panic ensued.

after some sleuthing and a phone call to home (where our itinerary had remained),

we were informed our purchased tickets were for a month in the future.

oops! being the gallant husband he is, John went to work secured our spots on that days flight and off we went. that left two one way tickets to Chicago looming in our future, and new plans began to bud. as we ran from sight to sight we kept saying to each other, we'll be back in a month so we can catch that then. or I'd like to do this next time. excitedly we made more plans to visit again - this time with better weather, so we can rent bikes and really see the city.

fast forward one month...

a new opportunity arose and we jumped at the chance to trade in our extra trip to the Windy City for a family trip to Lake Powell. I mean who can resist an invitation for a weekend of sun sand and waves?

near perfect conditions for a chance to hang off the
back of a boat and try new and exciting water sports.

and we didn't have to leave these three for a single minute to enjoy any of it. this was the cherry a top our sundae of fun - time for the two of us plus a glorious family fun filled adventure all within one month. life can be pretty good, don't you think?

the drive. the long long drive.

after our hay day in Chicago it was time to hit the road and head home. and home was a very LONG way off. but we made the most of our two and a half days in the car.

we looked for interesting monuments along our way.

avoided storms and witnessed amazing scenery.

John drove.

I drove.

saw what seemed like countless miles of road.

road next to green farmlands, and rolling hills.

we saw lots of fields cultivating wind generated power.

the likes of those could only be topped by this....

it is an original dutch windmill, purchased and moved piece by piece from Holland to the middle of Iowa farmlands. and now a quirky tourist stop.

and it is their pride and joy. perfect stop on our way through the heart of corn country.

stopped to stretch our legs here and there.

hiking around to keep ourselves sane, discovered the Badlands in South Dakota - which was anything but bad.

went a little out of our way to visit these lovely people and enjoy their company and hospitality. not to mention get a killer view of Mount Rushmore. we are anxious to share this place with our girls, but this family may be the bigger draw!

one recurring theme on this trip was the wildlife we saw. buffalo, mountain goats, mule deer, antelope, prairie dogs, numerous birds of prey - amazing stuff! loved custer national park.

stopped to check in on some family, who seemed happy and doing well!

and high tailed it as fast as we could toward our home. it was a whirlwind trip full of new places and adventure. but mostly full of my handsome husband and his charm and wit.

what a lucky girl I am.

first, the reason, then the escape.

because my blogging is so hit and miss, you may have missed the event that recently sent me into a tailspin. I totalled our very functional paid off car. and the best part is that I was actually paying attention to my driving, just not close enough. a light changed to yellow while I was making multiple lane changes. long story short, not a bad accident - only injured cars, just hairy enough to total my car.

the insurance co. (who was really good to work with) took two weeks to decide that it was a total loss. so at that point we were in a mad dash to decide what direction to go in - do we buy new to help infuse the economy? do we buy used but new to us and have a car payment but different car? or do we go with what we had and no car payment?

we had a lot of fun trying out new cars and dreaming of some days and maybes and different possibilities. when it came down to it, we had to go with an exact replacement. it has been a great car for our family. and it happened that the exact replacement happened to be in Chicago. that means the car came with a fabulous road trip to boot. what better excuse for a weekend "getaway" I ask? (ok, yeah, I can think of a few others too.)

but I will take any opportunity to have my husbands undivided attention. I mean he is really amazing, and totally cute. I only had to share him with the many architectural masterpieces Chicago has to offer. notice, one of the many obligatory "get pictures of me so John won't hear about how the only pictures he took were of the architecturally interesting points around the city" shots. can you see the eyes roll....

Honestly, though. Chicago is a beautiful and amazing city. history and progress. love those amazing high rises next to gargoyles and steeples.

we only saw a few sights - there is so much and we had to hit the road. but we did enjoy what we saw - this was taken minutes before John and I slide down the side of this bridge. and then got scolded by security. whoops. but it was fun to pretend we were still young and fun. well he is, but I have to work up to it, hence security had time to find us!
and I have video to prove it - but no knowledge of how to post it.
where do I sign up for that workshop, people?



we walked so much of this city and didn't even scrape the surface. had our obligatory deep dish pizza. which was good, but was still just pizza. saw the Art Institute, gardens, walked the river say the magnificent mile, tried to shop H&M, and had an amazing and refreshing time.

enjoyed the many art installations around the city. I love creativity. I envy it. so grateful when people share it and support it.

one of the few pictures of us together. we had fun playing in the rain together. holding hands up and down the many avenues. talking over lunch. perusing shops and museums. so nice to remember why you enjoy each other.

leave it to John to find the coolest functional works. I love how he has opened my eyes to architecture. I asked him if he thought I would enjoy this stuff if it hadn't been for our marriage - he complimented me by saying yes. and I might, but I find it so much more interesting because I understand buildings because of him.

thanks babe. you are my knight in shining armor.

oh, and did I mention he flew us FIRST CLASS?

yeah, he is pretty princely.

I am Glad that I live in this Beautiful World...

last week as my sister in law Michele and her brood were visiting we got to attend a little music class she organized for Grandma April's neighborhood play group. and as it was winding down she had the kids sing "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" a favorite primary song we both share. instantly I was in tears and touched by the little voices singing "Whenever I hear the song of a bird or look at the blue blue sky..... I'm glad that I live in this BEAUTIFUL world, Heavenly Father Created for ME."

I am constantly in awe at the beauty of the world around me. how glorious a morning can be in all it's dawning splendor. the colors of sunset. the crispness of night after a snow storm. the green of the new spring. the blueness of the sky after the cleansing of rain. snow capped mountains, red rock canyons, and rolling waters - my list can only go on and on. my gratitude for the beauty of the earth is great and only growing.

way back in October we ventured to Moab, Utah to escape the painters last visit.
camping in red rock country sounded like a dream escape. and it was.


we were lucky enough to meet up with some neighborhood friends who were heading that direction. Grace in all her braveness called them up, unrehearsed and without prompting, after I mentioned to John that we could connect if we wanted to go to Goblin Valley. John discovered there was an event there and didn't want the crowd. Grace informed them that the spot they planned to visit would be crowded and that they should make their way more east, with us. I was pretty impressed with her 8 years of boldness.


happily they consented - it made the trip even better for our girls. and us too.
Arches and blue sky GALORE.

the scenery was fantastic and interactive.

a riveting and thrilling new world;

of red sand and rock - our car and tent were lined in it.

and somehow I was able to tolerate it. go figure.

and a visit to an old but new watering hole that was too cold for us, but not some of the locals. when John was young he spent many a weekend and vacation with his family around these parts. strangely we have never visited here together. we know we didn't dent what we could explore and we are all looking forward to more adventures in red rock country.

reason #2

reason #2 for my long absence was well worth it. I lugged my three darling girls down to Dallas for a glorious extended weekend with my sister and her family.

it was SO refreshing to wake up to this every morning. blue skies, birds singing, green trees, plenty of sunshine to bask in and room for the kiddos to run, and lots of cousins for every one to mug on. the sky seemed so big and blue. it was a welcome change.

a long awaited trip; the girls barely slept for days before their first official plane ride. and the anticipation to be in the presence of longed for cousins. it was thrilling, as always, to spend time in my sisters home. she has such a knack for making out of towners feel reveared. and her new home is a lovely place, housing very lovely people who are very dear to us. for me alone, it was so nice to be near her for a few days. I always return from visiting their home with a renewed sense of being able to do more in a day, teach my children more and love them better. thank you Katie and John for your examples.

and to be present for a very special event for an eight year old niece.
congratulations Miss Madison.

and to spend some much needed fun time with my girls was oh so sweet indeed.
an evening in the American Girl Boutique and dinner in the AG Bistro.
new hairdo's for American Girlfriends. window shopping for doll accessories and picking out something new and special as a birthday surprise for each.
Thank you Grandma Noodle for your part in a grand experience!


and in case you wondered, THIS is truly the happiest place on earth. I was literally brought to tears at dinner with the shear excitement I felt at being somewhere that not only was fun for my daughters to be, but also brought the opportunity for them to learn about events that have shaped the America we now live in. and a role model in each character girl; someone who shares the values we are trying to teach our own girls. and doing it in a way that is, well just a good time. well done American Girls.



and four blissful days of pandemonium with this crew.
this was an A list distraction from blogging, my friends.

Yosemite

we are fortunate enough to have some old friends, Anne Shane Nathan and Ella Barrow, who live just south of the Yosemite park entrance. so being as we were in the neighborhood, and being as they just moved into a very 'green' home that John designed for them we had to make a visit. and we are so glad we did!

Yosemite is such an amazing place. we have always enjoyed the time we have spent with the Barrow family there and the chance to view some of these amazing natural monuments. this trip we took a LONG hike into GIANT Sequoia territory. we expected to see some big trees, what we saw was head turning. these pictures do no justice to the majesty and size of these amazing ancient forest inhabitants. the picture of the kids sitting under twisted wood is actually of a fallen trees root bed, you can see how wide it once was. Shane shared a story or two about when they first discovered these trees. they cut down one of the biggest trees to send back east - so people could witness for themselves the size of these mammoths. the tree trunk had to be cut into fourths just to be squeezed onto a flatbed train car. people back east, for the most part, didn't believe it was for real. that chunk of tree served as flooring for a local pub after that and a few other establishments as well. there aren't any sequoias that big anymore, but really you have to see them for yourself, we would be happy to go with you - we really like it there.

we raced along the twisting roads and through tunnels to try and see the north eastern corner of the park, but evening fell fast and dark. John and I were so excited as we watched the sky change into surreal hues of pink, yellow, orange, indigo and finally the velvet purple of night. we rushed to a spot, that I am sure will be a long time favorite, to try and get a family shot before the light was gone, but as you can see it's only distant sunset that came out. still an appealing picture. enticing isn't it?

KIDSPACE

On our way out of Newport we stopped in Pasadena at the Kidspace Children's Museum. The girls thoroughly enjoyed playing inside and out as the pretended to be a two headed spider, climbed the water and leaf towers that lead to a two story look out, explored the garden paths, and even drove various trikes along a well designed motto course. It was a fun way to stretch and play before another long drive.