5 car caravan and 9 states

Destination: Rockport, MA

With most of my family in Iowa, my sister and I who live in Kansas drove up to Iowa on Friday, July 26, so we could start the big trip together.

We had heard earlier in the week that my grandma decided to come.  That makes a total of 22 leaving from Greenfield, and 24 by the time we picked up my aunt and uncle in Davenport, IA.

We arrived in Iowa around 6:30 and enjoyed supper with my family.  After nearly a year or so in planning, we could hardly believe the trip was finally here.

Saturday, July 27, we set out for our trip in 5 different vehicles.  My dad lead the way.  The Robleses were number 2, we were 3rd, Piearsons 4th, and the Hilpipres picked up the rear.  Did I mention that *I* was the one driving?  Not Seth.  Me.  Yep, I took the wheel for most of the trip.  Seth hates to drive and I like the long drives.

We left around 9:30 after asking the Lord's blessing on our trip and safety as we travel.  We stopped for lunch but realized we had forgotten the bread so we took the exit at Coralville and ate at Hy-Vee and purchased forgotten supplies.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, a miscommunication lead to me getting lost.  Papa and Andy had taken a left on the frontage road while I pulled out onto the actual road followed by Tim and Nate.  Sara called to give me directions from Tim.  Andy called Seth to let him know what they were doing.  I got confused and pulled into another parking lot.  I only need one person telling me what to do and 2 people with 2 different ideas was too confusing so I decided to pull off the road and figure out exactly what I needed to do.  Finally, I got back on the road 2 miles behind everyone else.  Amanda called from Davenport to check on me.  We arrived in Davenport to pick up my aunt and uncle, Ron and June.  Then, straight into Illinois.

As we arrived in Chicago, I lost Papa and Andy in a toll booth.  I was now in the lead with Tim and Nate behind me.  No problem.  I knew to stay on I-80 East.  After a bit, Mom called Seth to let him know the exit to continue on I-80 comes up fast.  I was keeping my eyes on the signs.  As the exit grew closer, Amanda tried to call me but I couldn't answer in time.  I took the exit for I-80 while my daughter K and niece were repeating to me what the GPS  was saying.  Then, as I'm taking this long, sharp curve, I receive a call from Sara...which I couldn't answer either.  Stupid phone.  It was a little hectic.  We made it onto the main road for I-80 and continued to drive East out of Chicago and into Indiana.  Come to find out, Amanda called to see if I wanted Nate to take the lead who did not realize we needed to take an exit to stay on I-80.  Sara called to ask what on earth I was doing because Tim did not realize we needed to take an exit to stay on I-80.  That's right, boys.  This girl knows how to read road signs!  ;)

We arrived at our campsite in Indiana around 10:45 EST.  We all set up our tents in the dark.  Ron and June stayed in a hotel.  Grandma slept in my parents' tent.  It was an exciting first day, for sure!  We were thankful that God watched over us and got us through the difficult areas and we were safe at our first destination, ready for bed.

Sunday, July 28, we left the campground around 8:30.  We drove through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and into New York.  We arrived at our campground around 6:00, set up the tents, and ate supper.  Then, we went to see Niagara Falls.

This was my 3rd or 4th time at Niagara Falls.

But for my kids and some others, this was the first.

Here is the youngest traveler at 2 1/2 months old.  She was a trooper!

My dad is helping Little A look through the viewer.

My grandma, the last-minute traveler and the oldest traveler was quite the trooper, too.

We stayed late enough to see the colored lights shine on the falls.

Grandma decided she had enough tenting and joined Ron and June in the hotel.  We all enjoyed a good sleep in our tents, not knowing this would be the last time we slept in tents on this trip.

We left around 10:30 on Monday, July 29.  As we headed into Albany, the GPS took us in different directions.  Papa, Andy, and I continued on I-90 through the toll booth while Tim and Nate passed us by on a different interstate around Albany.  Again, I lost Papa and Andy at the toll booth.  We later figure out where Tim and Nate are.  My mom ended up being really sick so Papa found a place in downtown Albany and Andy just followed.  Since they were out of my sight, I had no idea that they had pulled off, so I continued on, all alone.

We entered Massachusetts and reconnected with Tim and Nate at a rest area on the toll road.  Andy and Lisa decided to leave Papa in Albany and join us so we waited for them there and ate supper.  Mom was really sick and they were considering staying in Albany.  It was just us sisters and our families.  Tim and Nate had been to my aunt and uncle's house in Rockport more recently than Lisa or I had been.  In fact, the last time we were there was 21 years ago.  I was 14.  Sure, we could rely on the GPS, but Bob and Lou's driveway was hidden and could be easily missed.  Tim took the lead, I took 2nd, Andy 3rd, and Nate continued in the last spot.  On we went.

Those stupid toll booths.  I lost Tim as we headed into Boston.  Andy and Nate were nowhere to be seen behind me.  I was alone again.  This time in the dark.  I was forced to rely on the GPS (which I hate doing!).  Eventually, Andy and Nate caught up to us.  Amanda called to see if we were ok or if I wanted Nate to take the lead.  I let Nate go ahead of me because I simply do not trust the GPS.  Tim was still too far ahead of us.  We made it into Rockport and arrived at Bob and Lou's around 10:00, shortly after Tim.  My parents were already making their way here.  Mom still wasn't feeling well, but she was doing ok enough to travel.  They arrived about an hour later.

Whew!  We all arrived safely.  A few mishaps, a bit of panic, but all under God's protection and care.  God is good.

More to come...

It's coming...

My family just returned from a big trip to Boston.  Well, actually, Rockport, MA.  My aunt and uncle were celebrating 40 years of marriage and wanted all of the family to come out to celebrate with them.  So we did.  It's been a year or so of planning and 24 of us drove out to Massachusetts from Iowa.

I will have plenty to blog about once I am ready to upload my pics.  This is just a teaser blog so stay tuned!  :)

Kingdom Under Construction

We just finished our Vacation Bible School.  It was another amazing week as VBS usually is!  This year our theme was "Kingdom Under Construction."  This had a duel meaning.  First, there is major construction going on outside of our church building making it very difficult to get into our parking lot.  Second,  God is still working to build His kingdom and we are a part of it.

As I have done since 2005, I wrote a skit to go along with the message for each night.  This year, our speaker was Joe Hawkinson.  He did a fantastic job.  The kids really enjoyed him.  We had a total of 73 kids!!

On Monday, the kids learned about King Saul.  In the skit, the princesses disobeyed their guardian, Dorma Fairy, and spoke to the evil queen's 2 daughters.

Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  'Honor your father and mother,' which is the first commandment with promise: 'that it may be well with you and you will live long on the earth.' "

As the kids first entered, they were met by this guy:

And then greeted by 3 smiling faces here:

After they were signed in, they entered through these doors 

And sat here for singing and the message.

On Tuesday, the kids learned about King David.  In the skit, the princesses realized they needed to confess their sins if they truly wanted to serve King Matthew.

1 John 1:9-10 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."

After the message, the kids split up.  2 families (teams) went here:

For crafts:

And the other 2 went to the courtyard for games:

On Wednesday, the kids learned about Pharaoh who did not listen to God when He sent Moses to free His people.  In the skit, the Jester warned the evil queen, Queen Lucinda, that she needed to listen to King Matthew or her household could be cursed.

(Played by me)

Proverbs 3:33-34 "The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the just. Surely He scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble."

After games and crafts, the families either went here:

For some snacks

Or here to learn their nightly verse taught by MaryRuth Moore.

On Thursday, the kids learned about King Nebuchadnezzer.  In the skit, as he was dying from his fight with the queen's dragon, Prince Shane forgives the people for not believing in him and he gives a warning about the evil queen whose daughter was also losing her life.

2 Corinthians 7:10 "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."

Then it was time for the kids to go back out for more crafts

And games

On Friday, we invited the families to attend.  We learned about the King of kings - Jesus!  All the other kings sinned, but Jesus is perfect.  He took our punishment for our sins and died in our place so that we may live, forgiven of all of our sins.  In the skit, King Matthew announced Prince Shane as the rightful heir to the throne and the evil queen and her dragon were cast out of the kingdom forever.

Acts 4:11-12 "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

When the kids returned to the Great Hall, they got to enjoy the skit.

King Matthew, the Jester, and Queen Lucinda are missing

Thursday evening, a huge storm came through with 80+ MPH winds.  It blew down huge branches and some trees.  We were forced to move the games inside and the crafts up front in the foyer.  All of the seemingly chaotic changes were handled extremely well!  This is also when I took most of these pictures so that's why the games are pictured inside.

When VBS ended that evening, this is what we walked outside to...

However, we lost part of our power!  Our AC went out, microwave and oven didn't work, dryer didn't work, and most of our lights were off.  We were able to plug in a window AC unit, charge devices as necessary, and run an extension cord to keep our refrigerator running.  We finally got all of our power back today!!

It was a great week and I look forward to next year's VBS!!

Thank you to everyone who worked hard putting it all together!!!

12. Years. Old.

Do you ever have those moments where you just cannot believe you're actually an adult?  You go back to your childhood when you would dream about the future and wonder if you would ever get to that point in life.  And then, since you have reached that point in life, you are still in disbelief that you are there?

I have a 12-year-old son.  J had a birthday yesterday.  I just cannot wrap my head around that!  He was born a few months before 9/11.  We moved to Kansas when he was just weeks old.  New baby, new job, new city, new state....talk about completely life-changing!

Well, life has been crazy busy.  As I looked on the calendar, I was having a hard time finding a day we could even celebrate his birthday.

After K's birthday, Seth's grandma passed away.  So, the following Thursday, we drove to Topeka and spent the night with some friends.  Our kids all got along great!  Early Friday morning, I took Seth to the Kansas City airport where he left to go to Idaho for the funeral.

On Sunday, J and K went to Kansas Bible Camp.  It was just Little A and me for a few days.  We went swimming.  We helped get things ready for VBS.  We enjoyed special treats.  We just had some good 1-on-1 time.

On Wednesday, we were going to leave for Kansas City at 9:30 in order to pick up Seth at 1:45.  However, his flight was delayed.  And delayed.  And delayed.  We left at about 3:30 and we still had some time to kill.  We wandered around Cabelas for about an hour.  Seth's plane landed around 8:45 Wednesday evening.  We picked him up and didn't get home until after midnight.  Seth had been awake for nearly 28 hours.

Friday, Little A and I traveled to the camp to pick up J and K.  They had a great week.  By this time, I knew we had just a few hours available to celebrate J's birthday so I told him the plan.

Saturday morning, I went to a town about an hour away for a Thirty-One meeting.  The local meetings were both during VBS so I had to find a different one.  I came home about 1:00 and we had lunch.  Then, it was time for a birthday celebration!

I got the presents and he opened his gifts and cards.

 

We sang "Happy Birthday" and he blew out all 12 candles on his cake.  I didn't realize how long it took to light 12 candles!  lol  However, since lunch was so late and supper would be soon, we saved the cake and ice cream for later.

 

 

For supper, J wanted to eat at HuHot.  Since we couldn't have that option on his actual birthday, his Saturday celebration continued there.  HuHot is a family favorite.

 

Then, I had to go to our VBS skit dress rehearsal.  VBS was right around the corner.  It was fun seeing everyone's costumes.  And we ended sooner than I had anticipated, which means the skit was coming along very well!

 

Once I got home, we enjoyed the cake and ice cream.

 

Sunday, we got to sing to him at church.  Then, I stayed all afternoon for our VBS training.  Of course we have another skit practice immediately following the training.  This is just to clean it up, fix the details, make sure everyone is in his/her proper place on stage.  Since everyone was doing so well this year, it didn't take very long.  I was exhausted when I got home.

 

Monday was his actual birthday.  It was his day, his choosing of what to do until 4:30.  He received a package in the mail, so he did get to open one gift on his birthday.  It was from the Piearson family, his aunt, uncle, and cousins in Iowa.

 

 

 

We had shells and cheese for lunch.  He played the Xbox most of the morning.  Then at 2:00, he decided to go swimming.  So, we quickly got ready and headed to the pool.

 

It was a short swim, but it was fun.  Both J and K jumped off the diving board.  And all of us tried to teach Little A how to swim better.  We left her life jacket at family camp last summer so I really want her to learn how to swim soon.  She does fine in the shallow end on her own.  She knows how to swim...she just doesn't know how to keep herself above water.

 

After swimming, we rushed home to change and headed back out for our first night of VBS.

 

Seth was going to have to work in the same town I went to on Saturday.  But he had to be there by 4 this morning.  At first, he was staying in a hotel, but then decided to sleep in his own bed and leave here around 2:30.  So, he was home and got to wish J a happy birthday.  That was a nice surprise.  :)

 

So, even though life has been busy and we've  put a lot of miles on the van this week, I think J enjoyed turning 12.  He is growing up into a very nice young man who loves the Lord.

 

 

Happy birthday, J!  I love you!