Bluebonnet Pictures 3-21-09

Last Saturday (March 21, 2009) we were at family reunion for Grandma Herzog's side of the family. We were all in coordinating clothes, and the bluebonnets were in full bloom, so we took advantage of the opportunity and got some bluebonnet pictures on the way home. It was quite challenging to get everyone to look at the camera all at the same time, when all they were looking at was a little orange blinking light. "Smile at the blinking light" we kept saying, but the cars passing by, and the flowers all around, and the bright sun in the sky were all far more interesting than a blinking light. Out of (I kidd you not) 472 pictures, we managed to get just a few good ones where most everyone at least looks pleasant. What a memory making event!

More fun on our trip back home 3-6-09 through 3-15-09

We tried to stop off at as many parks as we could, and the Lord always showed us where to find one. The kids really looked forward to going to the "play park". Martin and Millie would run around and play with the other kids and have a really good time. Bella Jane would just thoroughly enjoy standing in one place and watch all the kids run aound her. Elaina had a good time doing whatever, but mostly eating the wood chips on the ground.

We went to DQ and got a treat while we were in Indiana. Even though it was around 55 degrees, we still got a blizzard. You just can't go to DQ and not get a blizzard!

We had a great visit with Josh and Sarah. We got to watch Josh at work at Discount Tire, play at a local park, play in the falling snow for just a few minutes, walk around in the Opry Mills Mall, visit at their appartment, get our generator worked on at Camping World, play dominos...We just had a delightful time! The funny thing is, Mrs. Betty Masters flew up to visit Josh and Sarah the day after we got there. Mr. & Mrs. Masters only live about 11/2 hours away from our home, but we both traveled all that way to visit together in Tennessee. It was so good to have that time together with everyone. Josh and Sarah are expecting their first little one this coming fall, so we can't wait to see what it will be and get to play with him or her!

We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on our trip! March 13, 2009 was 5 years for us. It hardly seems that like long. We are still on our honeymoon I think. We started out our day in Tennessee and by the evening, made it to North Little Rock, Georgia. It was a freezing cold day, but after driving for several hours and several hundred miles, we were so grateful the Lord led us to...you guessed it, another park! This was quite a different and fun park. It had many tunnles, big rocks to climb, a slide, and big hills to roll down. Martin, Millie, Bella and Stephen all had a blast. Elaina hardly smiled which is very un-characteristic of her, and I think it was because it was so cold. Then for supper, Stephen took us out to a Mexican restaurant. We had such a good time!

We had a great visit with my grandparents on our last leg of the trip. They were so gracious. It was so good to see them! Gram fixed us a delicious pork roast supper with mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli, cauliflower, and salad. It was so neat to see my daughter, Elaina, sit in the same high chair that I remember growing up. Martin, Millie, and Bella sat at a small table to the side. Uncle Dan and the boys, Daniel, Gunter and Jackson joined us for supper as well. It was a nice visit with everyone. Grandpa moved his motorhome to an empty parking lot around the corner to allow us to back in to their "spot" in the backyard so we could hook up. That was so generous of them. He also got us hooked up with lots of fun info for our camper. We look forward to visiting them again...hopefully sooner than later.

Our New "Family Vehicle" 3-6-09 through 3-15-09

Here are a few highlights from our trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We flew up there on Friday, March 6th, then had a wonderful vacation driving our new RV back home. It is a 1992 Fleetwood Jamboree. We are not sure when it was used prior to us getting it, but most everything seems to work well. It is very clean and runs good. Stephen has really enjoyed working on it and getting it back "up to snuff."

The kids have really enjoyed it. They all have their "spots" to sit in with their
new warm blankets, and like to "look at all the country" as Martin says.
We made several trips to Wal-Mart and Meijers (a locally owned "Wal-Mart" up in the north) to get the RV stocked with everything from pillows, blankets, pots, pans, food, utensils, cleaners, maps, tools... We found out that "dry camping" is quite a fun and a very economical way to spend the night somewhere. We pulled over into Wal-Mart/ Meijers parking lots 6 out of 9 nights and dry camped. It was so much fun! We all slept very well. To my surprise, the kids slept great! We visited a total of 6 other states other than Texas on our journey. It is funny...no matter how much fun you have on a vacation, you are always ready to come home.

Stephen was extremely generous when it came to furnishing the camper. We got a beautiful quilt for our bed that is blue and yellow. Each of the kids and Stephen and I got new blankets as well.

The kids are all buckled up and ready to go. They changed places every now and then so they could get a different view.

Making lunch. Most of the time, the kids were sitting on the bench right by the kitchen sink watching and wanting so bad to help. It is so fun to cook in my new kitchen!