We are back home from Canada (actually we got home 3 weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to this!). We had a good trip and got to see a lot in Canada as well as en route. 16 days, 4100 miles, 10 different states, 2 trips across the border & God only knows how many orders of french fries(!) later . . . we are glad to be home!
The kids were awesome travelers and kept themselves entertained quite well in the car (and when they didn’t, they were subjected to re-runs of “The Human Body in Action” movies! – since we were finishing our study of the human body on the road). Daniel was exceptionally patient and tolerant with the two littlest kids on either side of him in the back seat (Anna spent half of the trip leaning over, resting her head on him!). We also listened to some books on tape and some worship music on Kevin’s new iPod. I’ve posted a million photos (at least it felt that way uploading them!)
Some of the trip highlights were:
~seeing Taylor in Omaha, playing in the pool and enjoying dinner together
~touring a chocolate factory near Chicago and seeing a 2500lb Statue of Liberty made entirely out of chocolate!
~playing at a playground right on the beach on the shore of Lake Michigan, and getting really wet and sandy (when it was only about 55 degrees out!)
~figuring out that pretzel sticks, peanut butter and apples make a pretty good dinner when you’re really hungry and in the middle of nowhere!
~watching the sun appear on the horizon while driving a car full of sleeping kids down the highway
~crossing the border into Canada!
~the park by the water near Toronto–with a “teeter-totter” big enough for five!
~our time in Canada, the conference and the gals who watched our kids for part of the time
~Niagara Falls (even if it was a fairly chilly day)
~buying milk in a bag (that’s how they sell it in Canada!)
~finding a really good used book store in Toronto (after Emily ran out of library books!)
~the Mall of America (who knew you could make so many things out of Legos?!)
~discovering we had a very unsafe tire at a gas station (one that “just so happened” to sell/replace tires)–all of which was much preferred to discovering this on the highway going 70 mph!
~finding a very cool McDonald’s play place right across the street from the service station where our tire was being replaced (they even had a free air hockey table!)
~visiting with our friend, “Auntie Hannah”, in South Dakota
~waking up in South Dakota to a stampede of cattle “moo-ving” down the street in front of our motel!
~seeing Mt. Rushmore (in the rain)
~arriving home to find fresh fruit in our kitchen after eating WAY too many french fries!
We have enjoyed being back home. The past 3 weeks have been a flurry of activity and a joyful mix of endings (soccer season, AWANA’s, school!) and beginnings (baseball season, summer break, having a trampoline in our yard!, and packing) We spent Memorial Day weekend celebrating Anna’s birthday and looking at rental houses. We are planning to move sometime in the next month. Kevin still does not know what ministry/job he will be doing next. His time with the Providence Network is winding down and we are trusting that it will become clear to us fairly soon!
