We are back in the US!

Well it is Sunday night. We are in Sioux City Iowa, in a hotel, enjoying the pool, cable, and WiFi. Pizza Hut for dinner was a must. Yesterday we finished traveling through Alberta. It was very Kansas looking and VERY windy. We saw several LARGE wind farms. They we very cool. They look like giants walking across the plains. Many of them were very near the road. It was a lesson in humbleness. We were so small, they were so massive and powerful. Right before the Canadian/US border, we stopped at the Alberta visitor center.

There we found a TREX! Yes, I have great pics of the boys running from the TRex pursuit. But, I have discovered that I may have left my camera cord at home. When I get it all figured out, I will post pics to these posts, just keep checking back.
We decided to drive through the night on Saturday night. We stopped at about 4:00 am on Sunday morning at a rest stop in South Dakota in the Black Hills. Brad and I joked that night that the Black Hills were rightly named. They sure were black. I suppose to a sleep deprived and weary traveler, that was funny. After a 2 hour nap at the rest stop, we all awoke, took a bathroom break and discovered that we were only 24 miles from Mt. Rushmore. Of course we went.

It too was humbling. It was a beautiful clear day, we arrived at about 7:30 in the morning so there were still not too many people around. It was incredible, indescribable, so very moving.
Tomorrow we hope to arrive in Jefferson City. We have many more travels ahead of us. I feel like we have been on the road for a month. I saw a funny saying at the Alberta rest stop. It was a quote from someone, I forget who. It went something like this. If you truly want to get to know someone, travel with them. I feel that we have all learned from each other in so many ways. We have so much more learning to do.
Till next time...

On Our Way

We set out on Tuesday. We were packed to the top, but we had just enough room for our bodies and our soaring spirits. Our trip was fairly uneventful through Alaska. We reached the Canadian border and crossed it quickly. Within just a few minutes, we came upon a little black bear hanging out right on the side of the road. He was so sad looking, he just sat on his hind end and looked longingly at us. The boys named him Happy. From that point on we saw bear after bear. Some alone, some together. We decided to drive through the night as everone was prety excited still. At about 3:00 a.m. Brad and I decided to pull into a rest area and get a few hours of sleep with the kids. So as adventues go, ours was not too eventful. We saw lots and lots of wildlife and Brad would always pull over so the boys could see.
Wednesday afternoon we made it to Liard Hotsprings and decided to stay there for the night Thus, the adventure begins.

We set up camp, changed to our swim suits and took a relaxing dip in the hotsprings. One end had some cool water springs mixing in and made that end of the springs perfect for children. There were also some fallen logs across the water that the boys were able to hang from the trees. It was very Swiss family Robinson. When we got back to our site, the wind decided to pick up and cool off. Dinner was fixed quickly, jammies were put on and everyone was tucked in for the night by 8:00. The boys drifted off quickly. As Brad and I lay there trying to go to sleep ourselves, we heard a man VERY near our tent holler something and then we heard what was distinctly bear paws running away from our tent! Yes, just moments prior I was praying and asking God to watch over us and keep us safe for the night. After that I prayed again and thanked God for sending that man to scare the bear away! I was seriously considereing packing it up and getting back on the road. But, we decided that the boys needed a good nights sleep out of the car, and so did we. So we stayed. Not a moment later it started to rain! Once again I was talking to God to thank him for the rain and asking that it stop by morning so we wouldn't have to break camp in the rain. Brad and I looked at each other again and all I could say was, "I don't think tent camping is our thing. It always rains." We both laughed and stuck it out.
4:00 a.m. brought us all to freezing and by 5:00 we were all up, shivering, and heading to the recently warmed suburban. And yes, the rain had stopped. Another thankful prayer. We were on the road by 6:00 in our jammies, but we were warm. That was all that mattered.

Tonight, Thursday, we are in Dawson Creek at the Best Western that recently put in a waterslide in their indoor pool. We watched cable (mostly Mythbusters and OCC) and we ordered dinner from Tony Romas next door. We are happy, warm, and well fed. Tomorrow we head to Edmonton for another day of civilization, malls, restaurants and hotels. YEAH!
I forgot to bring in my camera, so I will post pics tomorrow night, hopefully!
Will we try tenting again? Perhaps when we get to the states where it is a heck of alot WARMER!!!
Much love.....

The Best Day Ever! - By Avery

Today's post is authored by Avery. Enjoy.

Today I went to school. I read alot. Then I ate lunch. And I drew a little bit. I drew a picture of my family. Next was recess. I played with my friends on the monkey bars. We went back inside. We drew a picture of a school bus. Then we did reading groups. Next we went to specials. I had music today and we got to go outside. When we got back from specials, we finished our school bus project. Then we cleaned out our desk. We put all our stuff in our backpacks. I gave my grape smencil to my friend. Then I went home. Tomorrow is the last day of school!!!! The end.

Celie's 1st birthday

Finally, a child that does not have a birthday during the coldest part of the year. We had a big bar-b-q. The sun was shinning, and the temp was not too cold. The yard was FULL of kids and I don't know if the grass will survive the 12 little boys playing baseball and football on it for hours!

Celie enjoyed the activity and her first taste at pure sugar.

Spring has ARRIVED!!

Spring has arrived! Over the years I have developed my own personal version of the Farmer's Almanac for our area. It is simply this. If we have buds, and trees starting to pop with leaves by Cinco de Mayo, then we will have a decent summer on the warm to hot side. If there is still little sign of leaves coming out, then it will be a cool, wet summer (much like last summer). So, the forcast for this summer is..... trees are leafing out even as we speak! I have flowers coming up rapidly in my beds and when you drive down the road, you can almost see the landscape growing greener by the minute. YEAH!!!!! We had a record breaking temperature weekend. We were above 70 degrees Sat and Sun! We spent the entire day outside. It was fantastic. We are all exhausted, but we smell sweetly of sunshine and fresh air. I think we all grew a bit taller this weekend just being around so much growing in nature. IT WAS GREAT!