No, we have not fallen off the face of the earth! We have spent most of the last month on the road with limited internet access and little time to blog.
The boys and I started our travels heading to Nebraska to spend time with my family while Brian took a group from our youth group to Wilderness Trek in Colorado. The boys had fun spending time with Grandma Sandy and playing with their cousins, and I had fun getting to know my nephews and niece a little better and getting to be with my mom. I love where we are at right now, but it is hard being away from my family and only getting to see them twice a year. It was neat for the boys to get to play with their cousins and hang out at the farm where I spent every summer of my life while I was growing up.
Another highlight of our trip to Nebraska was going to see the movie Cars. David sat mesmerized through the whole movie. Nathan liked it pretty well too, although it was a tad bit long for him. At one point during the movie, one of the characters said, "Oh my gosh" to which Nathan yelled "He said a bad word!" Of course, the theater was quiet when he said it so everyone heard it.
After a week in Nebraska, my mom, the boys and I headed back to Arkansas so that we could be with Brian for Father's Day. The boys made those coffee mugs with the paper inserts for Brian and also gave him some golf balls. While we were shopping for a present for Brian, the boys and I were talking about what he would really like to have. As we passed down the aisle with the vacuum cleaners, David said, "Daddy likes to vacuum. We should get him a vacuum cleaner." Nathan chimed in with "A blue vacuum cleaner." David then said, "Yeah, a blue vacuum cleaner because Daddy's favorite color is blue." It took a few minutes to talk them down from the idea of getting him a vacuum cleaner, but they eventually decided that he would like to golf more than he would like to vacuum.
We spent less than a week at home with most of the time spent getting ready to leave for a mission trip to South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. We went to Pennsylvania to do a Vacation Bible School for the church there. The people in South Williamsport were great and we had a lot of fun with the kids at VBS. Besides that, Pennsylvania is a beautiful state. We spent many of our free afternoons driving around taking pictures of covered bridges and old barns and looking at all the areas that had been flooded while we were there. (No, it doesn't take much to amuse people from Arkansas and Nebraska!)
After our week there, Brian, the boys, my mom and I took a short side trip before coming home. We headed to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania and spent a couple of days in Amish Country. We rode on the train in Strasburg, took a buggy ride to see Amish farms, and took the boys to an amusement park called Dutch Wonderland. We also shopped at outlet stores and spent too much money!
We finished off our Pennsylvania sight seeing by stopping at the Flight 93 Memorial. What a neat place to remember some very heroic people. Before we got there, we explained to the boys about what the people on Flight 93 did and the sacrifices they made. It was pretty tough for a 3 year old and 5 year old to understand, but I think that at least David understood part of it. They were both pretty quiet and respectful while we were there. At one point, Nathan asked where the people on the plane that crashed were. I told them that they had died, and in a very sad voice, he said, "But I want them here." I love the way that kids have a knack for voicing the way everyone feels.
After that stop, we started our long trip home. In an unfortunate incident, our travel size DVD player stopped working, which made a long trip home even longer for the boys. They did pretty good without it, but Nathan kept getting a little loud and David would yell, "Nathan stop being so loud. You are cracking me out!"
Our trips were great and getting the chance to spend time with my mom was good for my soul and sanity. Even with both of those good things, I must admit that it sure is nice to be home though. My mom left for home today, and I think she is also ready to be back in her own home and sleep in her own bed.
So, that is what we have been doing for most of the last month. I have missed sharing stories on my blog and will try to share some of the funnier moments in more detail over the next few days.
3 comments:
I remember the time our DVD player broke on one of our long family trips when I was a kid. It was horrible.
No, come to think of it, we didn't have one.
Glad you're back.
Wasn't that before TV was even invented?
I know; I am spoiled by technology. I always said that I would never have a tv in the car because I wanted my children to "experience" our travels.
Yeah, whatever. Now I just want them content and calm so that we can get there without my nerves frayed beyond belief! :-)
I am glad we are back too and enjoyed reading about your trip to Louisiana. You do good work!
"I remember the time our DVD player broke on one of our long family trips when I was a kid. It was horrible.
No, come to think of it, we didn't have one."
I'll be sure to mention that to Alan the next time he asks why he can't have a CD player on a youth trip. :-)
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