Road Trip 2013: Aberdeen, SD

From Minnesota we headed to Aberdeen, South Dakota.  It’s a little city in northeastern South Dakota.  We headed there to see family that lives nearby.  We stayed in Aberdeen because the town they live in is tiny and only has a hunting lodge.  My mom isn’t a fan of hunting lodges so the bigger city was better for us.

Aberdeen is about six and half hours from the mall.  It might not take so long but it’s mostly back roads with lower speeds.  We spent the day enjoying corn and soybean fields broken up by the occasional small town.  And by small I mean tiny!  We went through one that had a population of 10.  I didn’t know you could have a town with only 10 people. 

I was very excited to see family.  We visited The Man’s oldest brother’s family.  They hadn’t met Munchkin yet and I hadn’t seen them since our wedding 4 years ago!  The visit was long overdue.  We had dinner the night we arrived and the next day we went to Storybook Land and than had dinner at their house. 

We had a great time!  Storybook Land was fun and Munchkin loved it!  It’s a free park and it has tons of slides and things to climb on, all themed from kid’s story books.  There was also a carousel that Munchkin got to go on (twice) with her cousin.   The write of the Wizard of Oz lived in Aberdeen for a few years so there was a section based on the book.  I’m not a huge fan of Oz but it was fun. 

After resting for a few hours Mom, Munchkin & I headed to my in-laws house for dinner.  We were able to talk and relax for a few hours.  An added bonus was that we go to watch the forth quarter of the Ducks game.  I also found out that my brother in law is cooks as well as his brothers.  I married into the right family as all four brothers can cook, and cook well.  We were treated to BBQ chicken, deviled egg potato salad and baked beans.  It was so nice to eat home cooked food after eating out so much.

After this we were venturing out into ideas of what and where we wanted to go and nothing set.  We decided our next stop would be Rapid City to see Mt. Rushmore!

Alaska

My parents had talked about taking an Alaskan cruise for their 35th wedding anniversary for YEARS.  This year is their 35th anniversary and my mom still wants to go to Alaska.  She doesn’t want to go by herself so I get to go with her.  We set sail today, on the second anniversary of daddy’s death.   We’ll remember and celebrate his life.  I wish he was still here to go with mom but since he isn’t, I’ll go.   We’re also looking forward to relaxing and recovering from our two week cross country drive!   The Man is taking time off work to take care of Munchkin and I’m glad they’ll get some quality daddy-daughter time.  I know, from experience, how important that father daughter bond is.  I want my daughter to have that with her daddy as it can make a world of difference.

Time has helped heal some of the pain but  I still miss my daddy everyday.  I know he would love his granddaughter.  I hate that she will never get to meet him.  I look forward to seeing him again someday.  So until then, I’ll miss him everyday.  Everyday. single. day.

 

 

Road Trip 2013- MA & NH

After a year and half, The Man & I convinced my mom to move to the PNW.   We’re well aware that it was the baby that was the big draw.   I’m so glad she’s going to be around so she can be involved in her life and able to help out, especially as more little ones arrive. So Munchkin & I flew to MA so we could drive to WA with my mom.  This was going to be my 4th cross country road trip in 4 years.  It’s a good thing I enjoy driving and see the United States!

We arrived at Logan Airport in Boston about 8 am and headed to my mom’s house  The baby and I took a nap for a few hours.  After that there was some last minute packing up to do in the house and then we had to load the moving truck.  It took two hours to load the storage unit onto the moving truck.  I’ll be honest, I wasn’t much use as I was trying to keep the baby out of the way.  We had dinner with friends and then it was our last night in the house.

The last night was spent on air mattresses.  I didn’t sleep much.  I was awake for the majority of it and 2am found me crying in the kitchen.  I’m sentimental and selling the house is hard emotionally for me.  I know it’s the right thing to do but it’s still hard.  I walked around the first floor just taking in each empty room, letting my mind wander back in time and relive memories.  I eventually managed to get a couple of hours of sleep.

There wasn’t a whole lot to do the next morning, just pack up the Jeep.  There wasn’t much food in the house so we decided to go out to breakfast one more time.  We went to the local cafe.  We sat near some guys I went to high school with (though I didn’t talk to them, I did recognize them).  Then the parents of my childhood best friend walked in.  It had been years since I had seen them.  We caught up for a little bit and it was a nice way to end our time in the town.

  Once breakfast was eaten and the Jeep was packed, we headed to the Keene, NH area to see my Aunt.  It’s only two hours away so it was a very short day but Munchkin & I were exhausted.  We also wanted to spend some time with my Aunt as we have no idea when we’ll see each other again!  I spent a lot of time in the area where she lives as a teenager and I wanted to say goodbye and see it one last time.  There’s always the chance I’ll make it back there but you never know.

 

*I decided to not post about September 11 this year but that does not mean I have forgotten.  Forgetting is impossible.  Instead of writing something new, I’d like share the post I wrote for the 10 year anniversary.  I’ll be praying for those affected, our country and remembering that day 12 years ago. 

Behind The Scenes: Mule Deer

My mom, Munchkin & I had had a long but fun day at Yellowstone.  We ended up driving the entire outer loop of the park and were exhuasted.  Our hotel was in West Yellowstone and we were on our way out of the park when traffic slowed down.  At Yellowstone, that usually means one of two things: road construction or wildlife.  We had driven this road on the way in and knew it wasn’t road construction so it had to be wildlife.  We had already seen our share of bison and really wanted to see elk or a bear.

We slowed to crawl.  I opened my window and try to spot the animals but could see nothing.  We were coming up to a bridge so I undid my seatbelt, hoisted myself up and leaned out the window.  I has about halfway out the window as we slowly drove by a lady carrying a camera.  I called out to her “What are we looking at?”  She called back" “Mule Deer!  There are three of them.”  I said thank you and in about 2.5 seconds my mom & I agreed not to stop.  After all, we had a sleeping baby and we didn’t want to get her out of her car seat again.  I’m sure Mule Deer are cool, but not cool enough to get her out of the car.

Mom was still driving S-L-O-W-L-Y and I managed to see one and snap the picture of it. I know it’s a horrible picture but my mom was laughing me because I had shouted at some lady.  I love the photo because you can see the deer and you can see my shadow taking the picture.  I also don’t know who that lady is but if it’s you, I’m sorry I took a photo of your bum.  It was just kinda there. 

After I took the picture we were able to speed up for about a mile and then traffic backed up again.  We had about 8 miles left and were surprised that there was another animal sighting.  We waited and waited and waited to get to the animals but none appeared.  We were crawling and had no idea why (I actually could have run faster than we were driving and that’s saying a lot!)  To make matters worse, Munchkin woke up and was screaming.  Not just crying but SCREAMING.  At the top of her lungs.  It took us about 45 minutes to go those last 8 miles.  As we reached the park exit we figured out why traffic was so slow.  We were behind a line painting truck and he moves at a snails pace.  It was torture.  We were so excited to get to our hotel room and crash!

I’m linking up with Crystal Stine for the Behind the Scenes. Wondering what it’s about?  Here is how Crystal describes it: Social media and online relationships can make us feel like everyone else has it all together. We're edited, proof-read, Pinterest-perfect versions of ourselves  (or so some might think!) when - in reality? There is an unfinished pile of laundry around the corner. That cute toddler smiling for the camera just had a massive meltdown seconds ago. That yummy breakfast-for-dinner you just showed us on Instagram? It's because the cat licked the chicken that was supposed to be for dinner.

 

Also linked up with:

Home Again

After two and a half weeks and 17 states, Munchkin & I are home again.  My mom has moved in with while we wait for her house to sell (if you pray, please pray it sells quickly and at a price that is good for my mom) and find a place out here. 

The trip was fun and crazy.  We had a blast!   I’ll be sharing our adventures, mostly for Munchkin to read about in the future, since she won’t remember our trip.  I missed blogging while I was on the road and I’m looking forward to jumping back into it.  

At the moment though, I have a cranky, sick, teething baby.  She’s miserable.  It’s a good thing we’re home cause it would be even worse on the road.  It’s looking like her cousin shared with her what she had when we visited two weeks ago!  The sad news is that she had it for two weeks so we still have a bit to go.  This is the first real sickness (she’s had an ear infection but it really wasn’t that bad) that she’s had and I’m not sure who it’s worse for, her or me!

Also, it’s great to see my husband.  I missed that man a lot!  He was busy while we were gone and the house looks great.  Maybe I should go away more often….

I hope you’ve been well.  What’s been happening with you over the past two weeks?

PCS Adventures

Ashley over at Eights on the Move is hosting a newish link up for Military bloggers.  The topic this week is on PCSing, or Permanent Change of (duty) Station.  Most families move every 3-4 years. Since The Man only did one enlistment that included school and a sea tour, I only moved once.  I met The Man while he was at sub school in Groton, CT and from there he went to his first duty station.

At the end of school he had orders for WA.  Since we were not yet married, I was not on his orders.  When we got married 10 months later we had to move me cross country ourselves.  We had considered getting married before his orders were cut but due to promising my parents we wouldn’t, we didn’t.  If we had they would have paid to move me.   

After a lot of research we decided that the cheapest way to move me was for us to drive cross country pulling my stuff in a trailer.  So the day after our wedding was spent finishing packing up my apartment  and loading up the trailer.  Mid-morning the next day we headed out.  We took 90 cross country and we booked it to the western part of the country.  We had a little time for sightseeing and had plans to stop at Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse & Yellowstone.  We also spent one night with my brother in law in Montana.  The Man also did ALL of the driving EVERYDAY because I wasn’t comfortable driving the Jeep pulling the trailer.

The trip was slightly crazy but fun.  We had issues with the taillights working on the trailer, which we finally got working in Iowa.  One night in South Dakota we got salads from Subway and ate them while we drove.  The road was straight and had rolling hills.  I ate my salad first and then while The Man ate I held the steering wheel (as long as there were no cars coming at us.)  Then we took the scenic route into Yellowstone through the Big Horn Mountains.  It was gorgeous but very hard on the brakes.  We had to stop more than once because they kept smoking.  Going up some of the mountains were nail biting as well.  There were a few times I didn’t think we were going to make it!

To make the trip even more interesting we had my two cats with us.  They didn’t love being in the car.  We put them together in a soft sided dog carrier. Ig meowed the whole time, even on kitty Prozac and both kept clawing at the carrier.  We spent two nights in Yellowstone (they slept in the tent in us) and while we were driving around the park we let them out of the carrier and let them roam around the car.  They were much, much happier this way.  So we continued to do it after we left.  Ig would sit in my lap or up high so he could see where we were going.  Al would do a lap of the car, get a scratch from me and then go back in the carrier to snooze.  I did have to keep them from getting under The Man’s feet a few times but overall it wasn’t a problem.  This worked for us and I know it wouldn’t work for everyone.

If we had to go back and do it again, this is how I would do it.  I had been wanting to drive cross country and this fulfilled that wish!  I’ve now driven cross country 3 times and am doing it again later this month.  Even though it’s a long trip I enjoy it.  I love seeing the different parts of the country.  We are blessed to live is a beautiful country and I’m so thankful I get to drive & see it!

Linking up with:

+

Little Traveler

Munchkin has, in her ten months, has taken two airplane trips.  She took one when she was 3 months and she just completed her second one at 10 months.  Hopefully this is just the beginning of her traveling adventures!

This past trip was easier for at least two reasons that I can think of.  One is that The Man traveled with us and it was so nice to be able to pass the baby back and forth.  I think it was also easier because Munchkin is older and is more interested in toys.  When she was 3 months she wasn’t too interested in her toys and enjoyed crying while we were on the plane.  I was so afraid of being THAT mom with the crying baby.  I’m over that now and it eased my stress level a lot!  There are some other things that helped me while traveling with Munchkin while she was an infant.  They are:

1.  Travel light

Since I was going to have the baby to take care of while traveling, especially alone, I didn’t want to have to deal with luggage.  I checked it and made sure to fly on an airline that offered one bag free.  Munchkin’s clothes don’t take up too much room so it was easy to share a suitcase with her.  I also didn’t have to worry about a car seat since I was visiting my mom and we have lots of friends with kids.  We were able to borrow a car seat.  It was nice to not have to bring one! I packed one carry one, filled with items that were mostly for Munchkin.  For me, I only brought my Kindle, wallet and iPod with earphones.  The airline I prefer has personal TV screens so I use that for entertainment while Munchkin sleeps.

I didn’t bring a stroller.  I’m not a stroller person and while we have one we barely us it.  I’m a HUGE fan of baby wearing.  I wore Munchkin both times.  There are huge advantages to baby wearing in the airport. One is that you are able to wear them through security (as long as the  carrier is on under any kind of jacket/coat. If not, you will have to take the baby off to take the coat off.)  You don’t have to go through the x-ray scanner.  Instead you go through the metal detector and get your hands swabbed.  Easy peasy.  Wearing the baby also helps keep them from getting over stimulated from the activity going on around them.  I’ve heard that you have to take the baby out of the carrier of take off and landings but I’ve already had her out so I haven’t had to deal with it.  I have worn the carrier during the flight while Munchkin slept.  She gets heavy and it was nice to have it help take some of the weight off my arms.  It frees up my hands as well so I can read if I want too.

So when I’m going to the gate, I have my baby in my Ergo and our diaper bag.  It’s very doable and it’s my normal load

If you do want to bring a stroller, you can check it at the gate which is nice.  It might be worth it just to carry the carry on, depending on how big and heavy it is!

2.  Dress the baby for easy diaper changes.

Both times Munchkin traveled I had her wear a long sleeve onesie and baby legwarmers.  This allowed for very easy diaper changes because I didn’t have to worry about taking anything off.  The last thing you want to do is to try to fight to get their legs into pants while in a airplane lavatory. 

3. Use disposable diapers

If you use disposable diapers normally than this one is easy for you!  If you cloth diaper then you might want to consider using disposables.  It was super nice to just be able to throw the diaper away.  I’ve found that I tend to change Munchkin more while we travel and I don’t want to have to carry that many cloth diapers, even flips with disposable inserts!

4. Think about the flights

I prefer having a non stop flight so I don’t have to deal with a layover.  You might be the opposite.  But figure out which one you prefer and do it!  All 4 of Munchkin’s flights have been non stop cross country flights and it works for us. We try to book them for when she will be sleeping because a sleeping baby on an airplane isn’t crying/fussing/wanting more room to play.  She doesn’t sleep for the whole thing but will sleep for most of it.  I don’t want to have to try to get her asleep twice with a layover! I also don’t want to deal with changes in air pressure and her ear drums twice.  You might prefer to have a layover depending on your flight…if you do, make sure you have one!

5.  Don’t stress

Babies cry.  It’s a fact and sometimes there is just nothing you can do.  Some people might give you the stink eye.  Don’t worry about it.  Do what you can to calm down your baby but don’t let others get to you.  Most people, especially other parents, understand.  If they don’t, oh well.  You’ll probably never see them again!

Do you have any other tips for traveling with an infant or baby?

Lost and Found

Source

So back in December when I was driving back to WA from MA with my friend Meg, I lost my keys.  I have a big set of keys and it was getting cumbersome to have them with me all the time.  The only one I was using was the car key, so I took it off and put the other keys somewhere safe so I wouldn't lose them.  I must have done done this on the second day or so.

Fast forward 4ish days.  We arrive home and it's about 5:30.  It's pitch black out since it's winter.  I had no idea where the keys are.  We're locked out.  Meg & I start tearing the car apart and we're searching in all our bags, under the seats, in the console, in the door.  I make some calls and find out that a friend does have a key!  YAY, we can go get it so we start reassembling the car.  Molly doesn't really want to get back in, but she has too.  Before we drive off I just go and check one thing.  I'm able to finagle my way into the house.  I go and open the door.  Molly comes bounding in and I call out to Meg that we can get it and I see utter relief on her face.  I call my friend and tell them I'll get the key later.  Thankfully we had 1 spare key in the house and that's what I've been using.

Source

Fast forward to today, March 2, 2011. I stopped by the Department of Licensing to see if a copy of my title had arrived so I could transfer my plates. (I've been trying since last week to do this).  Thankfully it was there and I could get WA plates.  I am no longer a resident on MA...Officially I live in WA.  Bittersweet.  My MA plates are on the car cause I haven't gotten a chance to change them yet (obviously blogging about it was more important!)  I needed my registration so I ran out to the car to get and pulled out all sorts of paper from my glove box.  I threw the papers on the passenger seat and took what I needed back in with me.  Once I got back out with my brand new plates (the one in the picture IS NOT mine!) and went to put the papers back in the glove box.  And what do I see there?  Keys!  That's where I put my keys for safe keeping!  I really thought Meg & I had had looked there.  Guess not!  I'm happy to have my keys back though I think I'm going to get rid of what I don't need.  I've gotten use to carrying smaller, lighter keys!

Have you lost anything recently?

Where did you find it?

2010 in Review

As 2010 comes to a close, I thought it was be a good idea to do a year in review (like everyone else).  So without further ado, I present our Top Ten 2010 Moments:

1.  We completed one full year of marriage.  We were married in August of 2009, so 2010 was our first complete year.   I'm very much looking forward to celebrating another New Year's with my love.

New Year's Eve 2009

2.  We bought a house.  There are times when I'll just stop and look around in amazement that we actually bought a house.  We love it.  It's perfect for us and we love being homeowners.  We changed some things and are looking forward to continuing to leave our mark on it.

3.  We added Miss Molly to our family.  Before buying our house we lived on base and were only allowed two pets.  We had Edgar & Allen so we couldn't get a dog.  We picked up Molly the day after we completely moved into our house.  She fits in perfectly and feel like she's been apart of our family longer than 7 months.

4.  Time together.  I love spending time with The Man.  It doesn't matter what we do I like doing it with him.  From hanging out at home to exploring the Pacific Northwest, we've had a great time. 

5.  Creation Northwest 2010.  For our anniversary we went to Creation.  It's a huge christian music festival and I have wanted to go since I was in high school.  I thought it was only held in PA but nope, they have one in WA too!  Our favorite bands that played were The David Crowder Band, Toby Mac & The Newsboys.  Both Toby Mac & Newboys played Jesus Freak...take me back to my teen years!

6.  I got my car back!  I had been driving my mom's Jeep and so I drove it cross country so she could have it back.  I got to drive my car home.  I miss having the Jeep for it's size but I LOVE my car.  It's saving us a ton of money for gas too!

7.  The Man was home in time for Christmas!  He was truly the best Christmas present I got.  I did get some others that were pretty good too!  The Kindle tops the list...although I'm very much enjoying the new clothes and the new iPod speakers.

Christmas morning 2010

8.  The Man became a friend of Bill's.  This is going to have a lasting impact on our lives and marriage.  We're both happy about it.

9.  Exploration.  Neither of us have lived in this area so it's not unusual for us to take day trips to explore the area.  We've done some fun stuff in Seattle, like the aquarium and a harbor cruise and we've driven 101 and spent time in Ocean Shores.  We've also been to Eugene, OR a few times and we like to stop at different places along the way.  We love making random stops and finding new places!

10.  Thanksgiving with my family.  The Man wasn't able to be with us for Thanksgiving, but I loved being with my family.  I hadn't seen my Aunt, cousin & her family since my wedding in August 09 so quality time together was long overdue.  It was great.  I'm blessed by an amazing, supportive family.  They are the best!

Nieces & Nephew playing with Molly at Thanksgiving

What are some of your best moments from 2010?

A Drive By of Las Vegas

Meg & I were planning on driving by Vegas...the route (who remembers the number?  40? 95?  71? ) brought us right past it.  Since neither of us had been there before, we decided to do a drive by of The Strip.  Using our vast mental powers we figured out what exited we needed (and managed to get it on the first try.  Go us!)  Meg drove and was in charge of not killing us while I took as many pictures as humanly possible.

Vegas Skyline

Just one of many wedding chapels

Stratosphere

What are crapless craps?

Take me to your leader...

Fountain

These are only a tiny fraction of the pictures I have of Vegas.  Really, if you haven't been, you need to see it for yourself.  It's sparkly, glitzy, gaudy, over the top crazy.  As we were at a stop light, I snapped the last picture.  Meg said something along the lines of "We're in the middle of the dessert.  Las Vegas is so fake and over the top and they glory in it.  It's great"  This made me think.  As I was thinking a little thread of discord stirred in my spirit.  She was right.  Vegas is fake and manmade.  Why bother bother going to NYC, Paris and Cairo when you can just come here and see the replica?  Who needs real love when you can have lust?  Who needs hard work when you can gamble and possibly increase your worth?

I will admit that my distaste had been growing the further we drove.  Las Vegas is the ultimate indulgence.  It screams ME ME ME ME ME.  You can have anything you want in Vegas...gambling, sex, drugs, alcohol, shopping, fine food, shows.  You name it and it's there.  It promises to fill you up.  It doesn't tell you that it will leave you feeling emptier than before.  What's there is fake and not long lasting.

My spirit was uneasy.  I wanted to flee and get as far away as possible.  There was nothing good for me there.  It would only bring me down and cause me harm.  I am totally OK with never going back.  I know there are people who go and have a good time.  There are people who love it there.  People that I know and am friends with.  I'm not judging them for liking it.  I'm not judging them for going.  I just know it's not for me. 

I want more meaning in my life.  I want what's real.  I want Truth.  Not subjective truth, but upper case T Truth.  Unchangeable, lasting Truth.  I want what is eternal.  I want Love not lust.  I want less of me and more of Christ.  There needs to be less of me and more concern for others. 

I was glad to be out of Vegas.  I was glad to get out of Nevada.  I can safely say I hope I never have to live there.  It's OK, there are still 49 other states to choose from!



*These are my thoughts, feelings and opinions on Las Vegas.  It's totally OK if you disagree with me.  Please comment but keep it nice.  I do realize that there is more to the city than The Strip.  I'm sure it's very different and may be a very nice place to  live.  It still doesn't change my thoughts.

The Grand Canyon

We got to spend about 3 hours at the Grand Canyon.  It was not enough time, not even close.  We were able to go to two views on the South Rim and hit a bookstore.  I'm glad we went but I really want to go back!  My goal for next time is to see the river.

The Canyon is amazing.  Pictures don't do it justice.  It is breathtakingly beautiful.  I could have stood there for hours just looking, drinking in the beauty.  It was like a long cool sip of water for my soul.  The colors and the depths of the canyon leave me in awe.  What an amazing God to have created this!  All I could do was to praise Him.  If you haven't been to the Grand Canyon then you need to make it a priority. 

Our first view of the Canyon

Poe & The Canyon

Thanks for bringing me here Mom!

Are we done with pictures Mom?  I want to look some more!

Molly almost lost her ball...

Meg, Poe & Molly

Poe and the Canyon...I feel so small!

Meg has a love-hate relationship with signs

Duh.  What's happened to common sense?

That's only a fraction of the pictures I took.  I figured you didn't want to see them all.  I was having so much fun taking pictures.  It was incredible!

Have you been to the Grand Canyon?  What did you think?  What did you enjoy most about it?