It's Christmas Time

Chocolate and peppermint checkerboard holiday
cookies, complete with wobbly sides.  

It's a chilly December weekend and I'm making cookies with my kids.  We picked up a magazine a few weeks ago with lots of new recipes to try, so today we're making checkerboard cookies.  The kitchen smells like chocolate and peppermint.  And even though I can't manage to cut very straight, the cookies have turned out nice and pretty.

We still have to decorate our tree and I'm not sure we'll get to putting lights outside this year, and tomorrow we're decorating a gingerbread house.  I really love all the trappings of Christmas with kids.  It's such a blessing.

I just can't believe that the end of the year is nearly here.  This year has been a fast one for me.  And I'm reminded of that when I look to see how much my kids have grown over the last year.  It's terrifying.  Parenting is definitely not for sissies.

So as I listen to Christmas carols and feel the joy of the season swirl around and through me, and feel compelled to do silly, spontaneous stuff like this, I'm reminded how grateful I am to be a mom, and how grateful I am for the gift of baby Jesus. I'm surrounded by friends who are not believers, and that's fine. They poo-poo the whole concept and say, "If Jesus even was born, he wasn't born in December."  And that's fine, too.  It's not about the date on the calendar. It's about celebrating this incredible gift to us all, and the whole miracle of it all. The fact that God would put on flesh to walk among us and teach us, it's just over-powering.  I am so grateful.

So all my friends, believers and non-believers, I hope your hearts are all touched by the spirit of the season and that you are all truly blessed this time as well as throughout the year.

Giving Thanks

Hello Pacific Ocean.  I've missed you.

This was a different Thanksgiving for me.  I left my husband and kids for a few days and headed to California to visit my dad.  I flew to Santa Barbara, rented a car, and drove up the coast.  This was where I grew up and it was good to be home again.  And it was hard.  My stepmother tragically passed away earlier this year and it's been heartbreaking for all of us who knew her, and absolutely devastating for my dad.

It was good to talk to him.  I spent time asking him about his life growing up in Texas, about his brothers, and about how he ended up in California before I was born.  It was good information to have, and maybe on some level it helped him to talk about it.  I wish I'd had more time to spend there with him.  But my heart was also yearning to get back home to be with my husband and children.

I also got to visit a very dear friend I've known since Kindergarten and have lunch with her.  It was nice to spend time catching up and sharing the goings on of our lives with each other.

What the?????

I don't fly much.  I actually really dislike flying (okay, I'm a weenie). And I can't remember the last time I rented a car. I think it was in the early 80's.  So this was quite an adventure, especially going all by myself.

Our cars at home are all fairly old.  The newest one is from the late 1990's.  So when I rented this new-fangled car, there was a bit of a learning curve.  First off, it was an automatic.  I'm just not used to driving one for the most part.  But this one had the shifter deal in the floor, between the front seats. The one I do drive on occasion at home has this deal on the steering wheel.  So instead of putting this little rental car into drive, I kept washing the windshield.  At least my windshield was clean.  Also, I noticed something peculiar when I got into the car.  There was a little yellow indicator all lit up that looked, to me, like an exclamation point between two parentheses.  I figured since it had an exclamation point, it might be important.  So I called my husband who is a car genius and asked him if he had any ideas.  He didn't.  So I dug around and found an owner's manual in the glove box and looked it up.  Aha!  The manual said this was a low tire pressure warning light.  So I called Mr. Mechanic back and told him that.  His advice was to get out and look at all the tires and see if they looked inflated. And they did. So off I went.  And the trip went well.  Dinged danged indicator lights.  I prefer cars that don't tell you stuff like this. I'd rather find out on my own, thank you very much.

I also had to re-tune the radio in this car.  What came blasting out of the speakers when I started the car was rap. Very loud rap.  Yikes.  So I quickly found one of my old standby's when I lived in California and rocked out as I drove along Highway 101, confident in my mastery of the workings of this little car, clean windshield and all.

When I flew out of Santa Barbara this morning to return home, they announced that they were going to have to de-ice the aircraft.  Everyone laughed.  But it was legitimate.  It was actually below freezing and they had frost on the plane.  I'm sure the ground crew at the airport there isn't used to doing this very often, but they did a stellar job, for which I am most grateful.

Every time I go back to California, I realize how much I miss it there.  It's lovely to me, especially the Central Coast.  And a part of my heart will always be there.  But it is good to be back home with my husband and children, too.  I'm grateful for an easy trip with no real snafu's (we won't count my little adventure trying to figure out how to fill the rental car with gas last night) and a lot of heart-touching moments.  I am so very thankful for my family, my dear and wonderful friends, all the many blessings in my life, and I realize I need to express my thanks more often.  There's a saying I think we've all heard before, but it's so true. What matters is not how many breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away.  Flying over the Pacific ocean and the Sierras and the Rockies all in just a couple of hours was breath-taking. (I may be a weenie, but occasionally I sneak a glance out the window from my aisle seat and really do appreciate the view).  Heart-felt hugs from family members and friends that bring tears to the eye are priceless.  And just time spent together, giving thanks, and nourishing my soul on these memories is precious to me.

The Cusp of Winter

We had our first real snow of the season here the other day.  The kids were quickly out in it, rolling a snowball so big that their dad had to help finish it.  The snowman is still on our front lawn, attesting to how chilly it's been.

As the daylight hours wane and the weather turns cold, thoughts turn to the holidays and family and baking, and just fun, quiet times indoors.  We have baked the pumpkins we carved for Halloween and have saved the mush to make cookies and bread and pie.

Since times are tight financially, we'll probably be making baked goods for Christmas presents this year.  In my opinion, this is much more fun, anyway, and may mean more to the recipients.  I feel fortunate that my family loves these simple pleasures and we don't need a lot to be happy.  Great memories are made of such things as these.

During the last few weeks, my daughter, inspired by a class she's taking, has captured a lot of end-of-fall preparedness in nature.  Amid the dying perennials in a flower bed in our yard, there were still a few California poppies blooming.  She took the time to find that there were bees taking advantage of the warm afternoon to collect pollen in these flowers.  The poppies are usually among the last flowers to disappear completely for winter, and come back each spring when they reseed themselves.  After more than a decade after I first planted the seeds here, they've naturalized.  It's a lovely surprise to see them coming up in the spring.

The heavy clouds coming in from the west this time of year are always spectacular, too.  We see them coming over the Rockies and sometimes they disappear entirely before coming right over our house.  Sometimes they look perfectly patterned and it's not hard to image that God is painting them there purposefully.

Soon, we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving.  I hope this is a time to reflect on what is truly important to us all, and to give thanks for all the many blessings that have been bestowed on us.  I know I'm deeply grateful for all the beauty around us this time of year as well as the rest of the year. I'm grateful for my family and my kids' health and well-being.  I'm thankful to everyone who has fought for this country and the freedom and liberty we have here.  I'm thankful for this life and all the experiences I've been able to come through and learn from.  And I hope my children learn to appreciate the many blessings we have as well.

Quilt Show Time!

Horse Feathers

Once a year, my local quilt guild hosts a quilt show.  Last year, I had a quilt hanging in the show, and this year I was supposed to have three.  But between working full-time and having a full life at home as well, I ran out of time to complete the third quilt.  But two quilts are better than none!

Pueblo Pots

I entered my mystery quilt, which I named Horse Feathers. It features a lovely deep blue Laurel Burch fabric plastered with colorful little horses, as well as lots and lots and lots of feathers quilted on it - including 18 feathered wreaths.  Whew!  The border has a running feather/cable quilting motif as well.

I also decided to show my Pueblo Pots quilt.  This was completed for a national contest a few years ago, and won third place. I still feel thrilled about that.  I'm not sure I'll ever achieve something like that again in the quilting world, but it was nice to have been able to do it when I did.

It's a tote! It's a cupcake!  It's both!

This year, for the second time, my daughter also made something for the show.  Last year, she made her first quilt. This year, she made a small, quilted tote bag, resembling a cupcake, that was adorable.

The show is a fun way to help me get stuff done - in other words, a deadline!

I'm already plotting next year's entries...

Remembering 9/11

I will never forget that day, and I take time to grieve about it every year on its anniversary.  I was at work early that Tuesday morning when I heard on the radio that a small plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. At the time, I was working across the street from the World Trade Center in downtown Denver.  I thought that the pilot must have problems and it was an accident.  About ten minutes later, I got chills up my spine when they said a second plane had hit the other tower. I knew then, as did everyone else who heard, that this was no accident, and of course later learned the details that it was no "small" plane that hit the first time.  I immediately tried to locate co-workers who were flying that morning, or on job sites along the Eastern part of the country.  It wasn't until hours later that I learned my co-workers were all safe, if stranded.  My building was evacuated and I reluctantly left my office to go home.  Denver, like any big city, is usually bustling and noisy.  But that morning, as we all made our way to bus stations and car lots to get home, it was so quiet.  You could see the grief on everyone's face and  no one could bear to say a word.  I think we all, in our quiet way, felt close as Americans and knew that something had struck us to the core.  I remember one fellow was standing on an overpass, waving an American flag.  People politely slowed down, waved, or honked their horn in support of this man's gesture.

And even amid the horrible tragedy, there were stories of hope and survival.  People trapped in a stairwell on the lower level of one tower miraculously survived.  A man, hearing a plea for help high up in one of the towers, rescued another man who was still trapped in debris in the same office where one of the wings of the second plane had come to stop.  Both men made it out and found sanctuary in a close-by church before the towers collapsed.  

And I remember us, Americans, as we were on 9/12, how we stood as one to do whatever we could to help, resolved to be strong in the face of horror, and how united we felt.  

So every year, I grieve for what was lost that day, and I thank God for being alive and for being an American, and I hope we can reconnect with who we were on 9/12.  Amid the mayhem of just getting through the day, I hope we can all pause to reflect on the significance of this day, remember all who lost their lives and the loved ones they left behind, raise them in prayer, and remember how much unites us.

Escalator to Heck

I don't know if this is a photo of the same escalator, but
I get dizzy looking at it, so it is close enough!

While we were in DC, we rode the Metro to someplace (I can't recall where, exactly) to have dinner with other folks who were in DC from Colorado.  When we left the Metro underground station, we took THE longest escalator I've ever seen, probably some 5-stories high, all one, single escalator.  It was a long ride up, several minutes at least.  What I failed to understand until later was that we would eventually end up back at this station from the top, and I'd have to ride the other escalator DOWN.

So, several hours and one dinner later, we got to the station.  I admit, I get vertigo pretty easily. I'm terrified of heights.  And basically a weenie about such things.  So I finally psyched myself into getting on this thing, and then dared to look down to the bottom. The only problem was that you really couldn't see the bottom. And that's when the panic set in. However, I was already on the thing, it was moving, and I was committed.  I must have looked ridiculous, clutching the black rubber moving hand rail thingie with both hands on one side (I could NOT face forward, it was impossible).  And I swear the ride down was several hours long.  It wasn't until we were nearly to the bottom that I could release my death grip on the rail and actually contemplate stepping off.  Phew.

They say what doesn't kill you can only make you stronger.  That may be true. And in light of life's other challenges, this really wasn't that big of a deal.  But the adrenaline rush of making it to the bottom, alive, was incredible.  But I probably won't want to use this particular Metro station again.  I can't imagine how people do this every day. In my opinion, an escalator like this warrants flashing red lights, and a replica of Robbie the Robot waving his arms frantically while saying, "Danger, Will Robinson!"

To my credit, I did cling to the RIGHT side of the escalator.  So those crazy people who walk down escalators like this, without a thought of how close they are to loss of life or limb, weren't getting too annoyed at me since I wasn't blocking their path.  I learned pretty quick that if you don't stay to the right as a slow-pokie like me, people get pretty impatient with you and feel inclined to let you know what they think of you blocking their egress.

Summer Evening

I wish I could be this relaxed in the car. 

We've been home from vacation a few days now and things are starting to feel pretty normal.  Laundry is all done, grocery shopping is done, all the critters are home and settled in, and life is good.

I was sitting on the front porch tonight shucking corn for dinner and thinking about how relaxing and peaceful it was.  Crickets are chirping and the days are still warmed with a summer sun.  But the nights are getting cool and thoughts turn to fall and all the changes that will bring. Cold-weather gear, tracking down mittens and scarves and coats that seem to get perpetually misplaced, and the delight of the holidays. I won't mind the cooler weather.  At least not right away.  Usually, by about March, I'm desperate for summer, so I reserve the right to complain about the cold at some point during the winter.

But for now, I'm just enjoying the dog days of summer.

Almost Heaven

On Tuesday, we packed up the car and left the DC area after spending six incredible days there.  I had been told, prior to our trip, that a week there wouldn't be nearly enough, and that is completely correct.  I think we could have spent a month in DC and barely scratch the surface of everything there.

After having spent some time driving around Alexandria, Virginia, and seeing the lovely old houses, and headed toward West Virginia.  As we traveled west, the humidity got lighter and the terrain became more hilly and wooded.  I saw several sets of three crosses along the highway, and wondered about these. These were huge, probably 15 or more feet high, so these were no road-side memorials.  Out of curiosity, I looked this up on my iPhone and discovered that there were 352 such sets of three crosses in West Virginia alone.  A man named Bernard Coffindaffer  placed hundreds of crosses in many states and in other areas in the world.  They were inspiring for me, especially after the amazing event of Saturday on August 28 at the Lincoln Memorial.  

Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky were lush and gorgeous, with all the rolling hills and forests so thick you could only guess at what was beyond them.  Surprisingly, it got less humid as we headed into Kentucky.  I don't know if that's typical, but I expected the opposite to be true. 

We had kind of a long day of driving, and ended up in Lexington, Kentucky. We discovered the morning after our stop there that we were near the site of a former race track, and at the old site was a really beautiful race horse cemetery.  So on Wednesday morning, we drove around a bit to see what other treasures Lexington had.  We drove through Frankfort, and found the Capitol building.  It was remarkable in that it was sort of surrounded by trees and residential areas, not really in an urban setting, as most Capitol buildings we've seen seem to be.

Home Sweet Home!

Sorry I haven't been adding much new in the last week. It wasn't for lack of trying. We had some major internet issues on the road. I would type and look up and see the spinning wheel in rainbow colors (which usually means the computer is "thinking") and find out that all my typing didn't do anything.  There would be brief 10-15 seconds periods of being able to type, followed by 3-5 minutes of "thinking" which was excruciatingly frustrating for me.  Yeah, we're spoiled by being used to fast internet.  But still. It was too much. I didn't have hours to sit waiting while the computer thought and chugged away. It would destroy my flow of writing.  Dang machines.

So, the news this morning is that we're home!  We drove from St. Louis, Missouri yesterday all the way back home in Colorado.  Wow.  Almost 900 miles.  We pulled into our driveway last night about 11:30 and were almost in tears to see our house again.  Vacation was great, but sometimes the best part is getting home again. I know the kids were homesick, and we all miss our critters, so it's good to be here.  We pick up our dogs in a couple of hours. I can't wait to see them.

You know, much as people malign American-made cars, I have to mention here our Dodge Grand Caravan, which has taken us on numerous family road trips over the years.  This van tuned over 200,000 miles within the first few days of this recent vacation.  On the second morning of our trip, somewhere in Iowa, we heard a THWACK! THWACK! THWACK! under the hood after setting out on the freeway.  Pulling back off the freeway, we discovered a chunk missing out of one of the belts on the engine.  Fortunately, we were within a few miles of a NAPA parts store, which was open (this was a Sunday morning - yay NAPA!).  My husband bought a new belt and a tool to replacement, but felt we should just go on, hoping the belt would hold until we got to a better place to fix it.  And you know what?  We still haven't replaced that belt.  Our great car went another nearly 3,000 miles, chunked-out belt and all.  In total, our trip was about 3,600 miles. Wow.  Granted, my husband is a gifted mechanic and keeps all our cars in great condition.  But still, how many people would head out on such a long road trip with a car nearing 200,000 miles?  I kind of expected everything to fall off the car when we pulled up to the house last night, thought it would be kind of a comic end to our trip. But the car is still sitting there this morning, appearing to be completely intact.  What a great car!

So today we express our thanks for all the prayers and well wishes for our journey, and for the opportunity to take this trip with our kids. It has been a huge blessing for us. 

Brushtrokes and Family Time

On Sunday, we met friends and visited the National Art Museum along The Mall in DC.  Words are inadequate to describe the Art Museum. There are original works by Matisse, Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, and so many others.  You can get so close to the work that you can distinguish individual brushstrokes on the paintings.  They were stunning.  Each room of the museum comes with an attendant to make sure you don't actually touch anything, but you are close enough to touch them.  Among the items on display is a chalice that predates Christ and is partially made from carved stone.  It's perfectly round with ridges evenly spaced along the outside, and is set in a gold worked piece to complete the chalice.  I have to wonder what kinds of tools were used to carve the stone.  I think we need to credit our ancestors with having some incredible abilities, even without electricity and diamond-tipped saws

On Sunday afternoon, we left The Mall and headed back to the car, parked at a Metro Station.  We drove to my husband's Aunt and Uncle's house in Alexandria where we were delighted to see not only them, but several cousins, children of cousins, and a sweet baby boy who was absolutely delightful.  It really helped complete our trip to enjoy time with family in the DC area.

The Art Museum

Today we kids went to the art museum in D.C. We saw an extremely large amount of priceless paintings and statues made by famous painters and sculptors. It was a very educational opportunity for us, so I'm glad we went. I wonder how the artists made all of those tiny details in the paintings?

God Bless America!

Well, it's been a few days since I've written a post and figure I'd better catch up and quick.

Friday is a blur.  But I spent the day at the hotel working on a quilt while the family went back to see the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum.  Apparently, there is a simulator there two can ride in where one flies the plane and the other shoots down enemy aircraft.  The kids enjoyed the simulator, and the husband enjoyed all the engines and motor things that fascinate him.  It was a good day.

We went out Friday night and met friends who are also out here from Colorado.  We decided to take the Metro over to their hotel, in amongst many of the embassies.  That was a fascinating area full of lovely buildings, each more and more amazing.  The streets are narrow and the buildings clustered together, but it has a historic feel to it.  We all ended up at a great restaurant, and the kids all had a nice time playing together and catching up.

Friday night, we were all pretty wound up since the Restoring Honor (8/28) event was Saturday morning.  We got up at 5:00 and were out the door shortly after 5:30. We drove to the nearby Metro station and parked our car and waited with several dozen others who were all waiting for the station to open as they were going to the Restoring Honor event as well.  The station didn't open until almost 7:00, and we all caught the first train out, which was packed.

When we arrived at the Smithsonian stop, we got out and walked as close as we could to the Lincoln Memorial. We were actually near the opposite end of the reflecting pool, near the World War II Memorial and almost in the shadow of the Washington Monument.  It was amazing. When we got there, there were already thousands there and more streaming in as buses and trains arrived.  We were there almost two hours before the event started and were lucky to get a great spot under the trees (and thus in the shade) and yet close enough to see one of the giant screens set up for us to see what was going on up front.
Just as the event began, I heard a gasp of amazement from everyone and looked over toward the reflecting pool to see three geese taking off in a small "V", gain some altitude, and fly all the way down to the far end of the pool and away.  A lady behind me said, "they must be trained geese".  Well, I doubt that. But it was a cool moment.  A few minutes later, a group of probably a dozen geese took off in a similar fashion, and people broke out in applause.

Say what you will about Glenn Beck, but this event was amazing. I think a lot of people had pre-conceived notions and maybe thought this would be something other than what it was. But I've been listening to him lately and the event was exactly what he said it was.  He brought together leaders of many faiths, people who told amazing stories of faith and dedication, and brought forward some true heroes from the faith community, the military, and just people who have dedicated their lives to living life in a way that's true to Hope, Faith, and Charity. It was very inspiring.  And the message throughout the day couldn't have been stronger: We are, each of us, responsible for ourselves and how we live our lives.  The generations we leave behind are watching us, and if we don't step up and provide leadership and set a good example, we are not leaving a good legacy.  The event was very positive.  As was said during the day, we should learn from our scars, but not dwell on them, but instead upon our strengths as people and as a nation.

After the Restoring Honor event, we waited a while to let the crowds thin down.  I didn't see any point in hurrying up just to wait for hours in a line at a Metro station.  We still had a nice, shady spot to wait it out, so we did, and talked to others sitting around us.  People had come from all over.  A family sitting in front of us had come all the way out from Southern California.  A lady sitting behind us had come out from Indiana with her husband. Everywhere we met, we ran into people who had come out by bus or plane or car just to be here for this event. It was astounding.

When we were able to, we made our way back over to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum for our third trip there. You know, everyone I talked to about this trip beforehand said you would need days and days just to see the Smithsonian. I have to say, they were right!  There is so much to see, I think several weeks could go by and you still couldn't see everything there is to see.

Saturday night, we met up with a group of folks from Colorado who were here for the Restoring Honor event, and we had dinner together.  I had not met most of these folks previously in person, so that was great.  It's nice to meet people you have so much in common with like that. I think everyone was pretty inspired after the day's events and it was nice to talk about it and re-live moments of the day and share our experiences of coming out here for this event.

Sunday has been another amazing day. But my bed beckons and I'm going to have to write more about that later.  This trip has been exhausting in some ways, eye-opening in many ways, and one of the most  incredible experiences of my life so far.  I feel so blessed that we've been able to do this and hope the memories live for many years.

The Kids Take Over!

The moon.  Duh.

Hi! This is Laura and Eric P. Since our mom (the usual writer of this blog) can't write right now, we'll be in charge of this blog. Happy reading!  :) 


Today we went to the Air & Space museum (Again). Yesterday we didn't get to see that many exhibits, so today was really exciting. We saw all sorts of interesting things, like a Predator Drone. Drones are like normal airplanes, except they are remote controlled so that nobody has to be inside the drone to pilot it. We also saw some moon rocks. They looked a lot like rocks from Earth, except that they had all sorts of holes and craters in them. They were really cool!






  LAURA & ERIC P 

Riding the Metro

Today was our first full day in our country's Capitol.  Our hotel has a shuttle service to the Metro station close by, so this morning, after breakfast, we headed over there, camera in hand, anxious to see the Capitol and all the sights.

The kids at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum.

The Metro ride was fun.  We got pass cards loaded with enough to ride for a few days.  WMATA has made it easy to get passes and ride. Even I could figure out how to use the system, which is something. I tend to get pretty freaked out in big cities.  (I'm still in denial that I work in a big city, btw).  There is a wide variety of people riding the train.  It looked like there were military people, business people, students, tourists (like us!), and locals just trying to make their way around to go about their business.  People have been friendly and helpful, save one over-bearing lady we encountered earlier in Kohl's, who worked there and I assume was trying to be helpful, but who kept interrupting me when I was trying to ascertain from my son whether or not had found the potty. I finally had to ask her to let me talk to him.  She has obviously never had a child who had to go potty before.

We got to the Smithsonian and only saw about 1/849th of it, but it was impressive.  From where we exited the Metro station, we could see the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol, and the Washington Monument.  It's very impressive. The Mall isn't exactly what I expected.  The walkways there are gravel, and the grass doesn't have an edge to it, if that makes sense. It just sort of ends where people stop stomping on it from the gravel path. I guess I expected this expertly groomed lawn, but when I got there and saw the expanse of it, I realize that would be impossible with all the tourists and whatnot.  It's still lovely, and a thrill to be here.

Eric and Laura in front of the Castle at
the Smithsonian, adjacent to the garden.

While wandering around the Smithsonian, we came across this gorgeous garden and there saw an amazing variety of plants.  It was such a peaceful, beautiful place in amongst the busy-ness of the Capitol.  There were several people enjoying the garden and having lunch or quiet conversations.  Simply amazing.

When we spent some time looking for hats and getting a few more groceries, we finally got back to our hotel and our kids finally got to check out the hotel pool.  While they were working off some of that youthful energy, I finally got to wash our stinky clothes.  What a relief!  Our clothes will no longer walk on their own.  We may have averted several plagues. Who knows?

At the pool, my husband met a few other people who are also here for the event on Saturday, the Restoring Honor Rally.  One couple left August 6 from their home in Seattle to be here! Amazing.  And this is just at our hotel.  I'm guessing this event Saturday is going to be huge.  I guess we'll find out in two days!  I can't wait.  This event has raised funds for the Special Operations Warriors Foundation, which is an amazing group.  I highly encourage people to support them.  They take care of kids whose fathers (and mothers) have lost their lives in their service to our country, even to the extent that they make sure kids stay in school and do well in life.  Pretty great.

Well, the kids are clean, the clothes are clean. There's a pizza in the oven, and we upgraded our internet access for high-speed (which is saving me from pulling all my hair out).  So, life is good!

I'd like to thank my friends for their well wishes they've been sending. This has been an amazing trip for us, and I'm so encouraged by all the words and prayers of support we've received.

DC, at Last!

Tonight, we're in DC.  Well, close to DC.  Just across the Potomac, in Virginia.  We got a terrific hotel suite that is bigger than the first house I bought. It's very nice.  There's even a walk-in closet. I kid you not. There is a laundry on our floor, and the hotel has a gym and a pool.  So I plan to hit the gym early in the morning!  And do some laundry as we're getting kinda stinky after 5 days in the car. 

Putting the "fun" in "funicular"...Altoona style

I'm SO glad we're in a place to stay put for a few nights. We'll travel around during the day to see our nation's Capitol and all the historic places here we want to take in. But we won't have to be hauling our bags around for almost a week, and that's a blessing. 

Earlier today, Lee and the kids walked through a railroad museum in Altoona.  At one time, the Pennsylvania Railroad built its engines there and employed about 18,000 people who lived there.  Amazing.  We also went up to Horseshoe Curve, a route over the Allegheny Mountains - the first worthwhile route for railroad over those mountains.  It was also heavily forested, but we did see two trains go up and around the curve.  They have a funicular train that would take you up the side of the mountain a distance.  I didn't know what that was, either, until we saw this today. For folks who don't want to or can't hike the steep trail up, it's a great way to get up there. 

We hit our first real snag in traffic today as we got closer to DC. But considering we got here just as the rush hour started, it really wasn't too bad.  And I'm so grateful we've had easy traffic and no car issues on this trip so far.  Our trusty Grand Caravan turned over 200,000 miles yesterday! Can you believe it? That car has taken us to Washington State, to California, to Oklahoma, to New Mexico, and to South Dakota several times, and now nearly 2,000 miles to DC. WOW!  Good American car.  We're very blessed.

Since our hotel has a kitchen and dining room (yes!), we made our dinner tonight - nachos and a nice salad. It's so good to have some fresh veggies. 

World Domination!!!!!!

Or not.

Yesterday, my daughter was drawing in her notebook, and showed me the page she was working on.  The right says, "World Domination" and presumably has a picture of her brother standing on top of the earth.  Are those flying monkey-elephants on the left?  We may never know.

Adventures Along the Benjamin Franklin Highway

Leaving Ohio...

Day four, and we're in Pennsylvania!  Tonight, we're in Altoona, and we had a really lovely drive here through the hills and forests of this state.  A few miles before we reached PA, along side Highway 422 in Ohio, I looked over to the side of the road to see something absolutely stunning.  A small fawn, looking exactly like Bambi, was carefully stepping out of the forest into the tall grass alongside the road.  By the time I saw it and told my family, it was almost too late for them to see it.  My daughter caught a glimpse of it, though.  I wish I'd had the camera ready.

That wasn't to be our only encounter with a deer or other wildlife today.  After we headed down the Benjamin Franklin Highway, we saw a wooded area that had zebras running around.  We had to go back and have a second look, and found this amazing little wildlife place. So we decided to stop and go through it.  It was actually really fun.  They had a nice selection of animals, but it wasn't so huge that we had to hike for hours, either.  There were highland cattle, some impressive big cats, camels and llamas, the zebras, of course, and lots of very hungry and friendly donkeys, ponies, and goats.  And of course lots and lots of deer.

A bit later, we came across a small quilt store in Elderton, and I had to stop since I had broken a machine needle the night before and needed some replacements.  (Not to mention I just have to stop at quilt stores.  One can never have enough quilt fabric).  While I was there, the lady who rang up my purchases asked me if I had a punch card. (The punch card is a quilt store thing, I'm thinking.  For most stores, if you spend, say, $500, you get some percentage off your next purchase.)  I explained to her that we were from out of state and she asked where we were from, and when I told her Colorado, she asked me if we were with the other people from Colorado. Apparently, earlier in the day, there were several ladies in there store who were from Colorado. What a small world!  Of course, I have no idea who they might be.  But now I'm wondering if they bought fabric I'd want.  Hmmm....

Eric feeding reindeer.  I wonder if Santa knows about this?

When we got to Altoona some hours later, we still had a couple of hours before sunset, so we drove around town.  I'm once again amazed at all the lovely old homes.  And in this town, there seem to be a lot of churches, mostly Catholic.  Some are stunning.  Thanks to a new app my husband has on his iPhone, we found a really great restaurant we never would have found otherwise. Lena's Cafe had home-made pasta that was very nummy.  It appears to be a place frequented by locals.  There, our waitress was a lady from Denver.  She seemed excited to run into people from Colorado, and told us where to find some interesting historic railroad things around Altoona.  We'll have to check them out tomorrow morning.

Sandusky, OH

Monday, we reached Sandusky, Ohio, along Lake Erie, and got checked into our hotel.  I dropped Lee and the kids off at the Cedar Point amusement park, which boasts the most and largest roller coasters in the country.  It looked like a great place!  I tried heading back to the motel and only got lost once, which was pretty good for me!  We discovered after checking in that we had no wifi.  Not only that, but we also had no cell phone coverage.  Boy, we are spoiled!  Since Lee was going to call me when he was ready for me to head back and pick them up, and I had no phone coverage, I had to go down the street a ways to find a place where I had service, call him, and let him know to call the motel room phone instead.  What did we used to do before the internet and mobile phones?  Crazy.

I figured I had a few hours to kill, so I got my sewing machine and projects out of the van and began to set things up in our tiny motel room.  I managed got a small quilt basted, then got my sewing machine set up and got most of it quilted.  About that time, Lee called me and it was time to pick them up. I didn't get lost on the way there.  Yay!

That evening, we drove around a bit, along the historic water front.  Sandusky used to have a big paper mill and we saw several very old-looking factories that were shuttered there.  There were a lot of lovely, old homes near the water, and a very fancy-looking yacht club as well.  It reminded me a bit of driving along the coast where I grew up in California, sea gulls and all.  Can you call them sea gulls when they live along a fresh water great lake? 

4 States and Counting...

Today we reached the east end of Iowa, crossed through Illinois, and ended in Indiana.  I'm counting four states today, because we took a quick foray up into Michigan, a mere two miles from where we're staying in Elkhart, IN.  Up there, my husband found a geocache at an old, lovely cemetery where we saw headstones dating from the late 1800's to modern times.

This is the earliest we've checked into a hotel so far, so I hope we can take advantage of the hour and get a good night's sleep.  Last night, very late, I awoke to find my two children on the floor near the window, where light was coming in beneath the curtains, playing Pokemon.  Sigh. I also hope our TV doesn't randomly come on at 4:30 this morning like the one in our hotel room LAST night did. That was weird.  I think someone played a practical joke on us.  My husband found out it was set to do that. Nice.

I can't complain too much. My kids are doing very well with all the car travel (nearly 1,100 miles in two full days!), and we've been doing school work both mornings in the car.  But they've been troopers. Hopefully, tonight, they will go to sleep.  Tomorrow is a big day!  We're going to get up early and travel about 3 hours to Ohio where they'll enjoy one of the biggest theme parks in the country.  Fun stuff!  This IS vacation, after all. 

There were a few firsts today.  I've never been to Indiana, Michigan, or really Illinois (save a few minutes at the airport, running from one plane to the next).  Iowa was a real surprise to me. I'd always assumed it was extremely flat and featureless, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was mostly rolling hills and seemed pretty heavily forested in some places.  And very, very green.  Much of the drive since then has been the same, with even more forests as we have traveled east. The little bit of the south part of Michigan we saw was absolutely gorgeous.  Several houses with lovely little forests for front yards.

(BTW, I didn't take this photo. I found it online and it's the supposed to be near where we were in Michigan this evening.  If I'd tried to take a photo of a view like this, it wouldn't look like this. I'm bad with a camera.  And not bad in a good way.)

After today, we'll be traveling fewer miles each day, so I hope to get more photos. Its' been pretty crazy so far with all the car travel, but our trusty van has held up and we're all in great spirits.  We did have another Coloradan honk and wave to us as he passed us in his Jeep, somewhere south of Chicago.  That was pretty neat.

I'm off to bed.  If I can get the kids to put away their Pokemon cards, that is...

Fields of Gold

After not quite 8 hours of sleep, we woke up in our hotel in North Platte, Nebraska, and had a nice breakfast before setting out to meet my husband’s long-time friend and his family in Omaha.  After many hours of crossing quite a bit of that wide state, we met them at an air and space museum just west of Omaha.  There, we were surprised to see, prominently displayed, an SR-71 Blackbird just inside the front doors. My son said, “What a neat model, Mommy!”  I had to explain to him that all the aircraft displayed were the real thing, not models.  He was suitably impressed. Inside a hangar they have a number of Vietnam War-era aircraft displayed, and several simulators you can ride in for a modest fee. The kids twice did the simulated helicopter ride.  From outside, you can watch what they are seeing inside on a small TV screen.  It looked like fun.  The whole simulator moves all over the place, so I imagine it feels pretty realistic inside the thing. 

After Omaha, we headed east again, eventually crossing into Iowa.  We’ve seen hundreds of miles of corn fields with all the corn in golden tassles, and after getting into Iowa, the occasional soy bean field. There are large, lovely rivers here that look so peaceful under the canopy of trees that lean toward the water.  It’s sultry here, and my daughter keeps telling me the air feels “funny.”  It’s so dry in Colorado that they just aren’t used to the humidity.

I’m at the pool at our hotel now. The kids are burning off some energy they’ve patiently saved all day while riding hundreds of miles in the car. Since we left Denver Friday night, we’ve traveled nearly 800 miles now, but have another 1,000-plus to reach DC, so we’re not quite halfway there, but should make a lot of miles tomorrow which will put us much closer to our destination.  After Sunday, we’re planning shorter driving days and hopefully a few fun diversions for the kids along the way.  

Somewhere in Nebraska

We drove from Denver to North Platte, Nebraska and it's very late.  Somewhere near Sedgewick, we saw this gorgeous sunset from the highway.  The photo doesn't do it justice. The glow of the sunset was reflected in a lake.  Very nice.

I think we're all very tired and are going to get some sleep.  Our hotel room is comfy, and I was delighted to see the beds have quilts on them - real quilts with large lone star blocks.  Very cozy.

The kids are already talking about our "free" breakfast in the morning at an adjacent diner.  I hope they are able to unwind and get to sleep. I sure need some!

'Twas the Day of Vacation...

It's a bit hard to be in "vacation mode" when you've worked all day, but I'm getting there!  Work is done, and I'm just waiting for my husband and the kids to pick me up.  I got all packed up last night (and a little bit more this morning), and am trying to relax and realize that if I'm really in need of something I didn't pack, there are stores between home and our destination.  After several years of schlepping my sewing machine and a quilt project or two along on our vacations, my husband didn't bat an eye last night about packing up my machine, a huge bag of batting, and a huge tote full of projects.  Ain't life grand?

During an email exchange with a friend today, and talking about the antics of our puppy, I realized I'm really going to miss our critters during our trip.  But it will be lovely to be away for a couple of weeks.

I need to run. I just realized something else I need to grab and throw in the car...

Summer 2010

The family summer roadtrip has been planned for months, and is now less than two weeks away.  I can't wait!  We're going to drive from Colorado to Washington, DC and back.  I've never seen our nation's Capitol, and this should be an education for me as well as my kids.  I hope to blog often to let family and friends know how the trip is going.  I'll be going through a lot of states I've never seen, so this really should be interesting.