And the History Continues

After a short stop at my brother Christopher's home in Arvada, Colorado (I hate that we did not have more time with him, but the boys are already talking about another trip just to see their cousins!)...we made our way back to Texas.  My mom had her planned visit in Denver so did not continue with us.

This time our family history follows my grandmother's side of the family (my father's mother) in Post.

My Aunt Peggie and cousin Karen met us at the local history museum.  The boys and I have been to this museum three times before but none of the others had been here.  I love this museum...maybe it is because it relates to our family but I always feel at home here.

I also called ahead to find out if the curator would find some of our family history.  I have met with her before and she is wonderful!  I really think she enjoys learning the history as much as we do.  I told my aunt how much she was going to help us, so she brought along some pictures to share (one of the children standing in front of the first school house dating back to the 1920's).

We arrived at the museum just as Ms. Pat was unlocking the doors.  We shared the things we brought and the questions we were hoping to answer by the end of our stay.  Ms. Pat was quick to look up the information needed while we walked through the displays.

For those of you who do not know, C.W. Post was a business man who wanted to start a town in West Texas that would specialize in wheat and cotton.  You might know Post from the cereal boxes you have in your pantry!


He also wanted the community that built up to join together in their efforts.  He believed in strong community.  He had a vision that the town would build up around the fields and everyone would have their needs met.  He would sell a plot of land (160 acres) that would also include all improvements.

My great-grandfather (Peter Watkins) saw this vision as an opportunity to provide for his family.  The family packed up and left Michigan to start a new life.  We found out in this trip to Post that another family (the Colemans) who knew the Watkins moved to Post around the same time.  We are not sure if they talked to each other about their plans but these two families became neighbors in Post.  These families would later be connected by marriage instead of just fence posts.

My great-aunt Catherine (nee Watkins) would marry the eldest son Lewis Coleman.  These two amazing people actually lived a long single life working throughout Texas before settling down to married life when they were in their fifties!  I will forever hold these two close to my heart.  We would visit them in the summers in San Antonio.  I loved to hear their stories of the "good old days."  My biggest regret is that we did not write their stories down or record them.  All of their history died with them.  Maybe that is why I am so determined to record the stories I can from those who are with us.

We also learned that the youngest daughter of the Coleman family married one the Watkins brothers.  So, these families must have enjoyed a special bond.  Somehow I did not come away with their names...I need to go back to the others for the information.

We were growing tired and hungry by this time, so we asked for a place to have lunch.  Michael took the children to the local drive-thru and they were off to the hotel pool.  (I got smart...didn't I?)  The older girls (Aunt Peggie, Karen, Amanda and I were told about a gourmet tea room we should visit.  We arrived to locked doors and a phone number to call.  When we tried the number, we were told to leave a message.  While we waited, we pondered where to go for an alternative lunch.  When behold an energetic young man came rushing up to unlock the doors!  He was so full of life, we could not help but fall in love with his personality!

He opened the doors to his "Christmas Gallery" and proudly shared all his dreams with us.  After a quick tour around the store, he told us how he was so busy with a graduation party that lasted until 1am the night before and a wedding to cater in the afternoon.  I started to wonder how he was going to create a gourmet lunch for us.  And, the answer was...he was not!  LOL!  But, he did have a special treat for us.  His dreams did not end on the sidewalk outside of his store....he had big plans for the small town of Post.  He was creating a miniature village for artisan shops down the street.  He wanted to take us on a personal tour of what he was creating.

We forestalled lunch to make our way to his shops...and it was well worth our time.  This young man was a visionary!  He had such great ideas...and his inspiration was contagious!  The outer shell of all the buildings were complete and the plan is to open the doors officially in September.  By the time we had walked through the grounds with J, we made a promise to be back in the fall!  So I am sure you will hear more of this in a later blog post.

So...finally we are off to lunch and get back to the museum to brag about Ms. Pat's nephew...so she in turn brags about what she learns about the family history.  By this time, there is another woman at the museum looking up information also...Ms. Linda.

Ms. Linda is a write and historian.  She has written three books about the area...one on C.W. Post, another about the families of Post and another about the history of Garza County.  I now have all of her books!  She also happens to be the president of the cemetery committee.  She decided to look up information about our family members buried here.  To our surprise, we found out that Aunt Catherine and Uncle Lewis are buried in Post.  We never knew this because toward the end of their lives other family members took over their care and left us out of the loop. (I hate it when families quarrel over petty things, especially when it causes families to be separated from loved ones at the time of death...so pointless!)  She also told us about several other Watkins and Coleman family in the cemetery.


Ms. Pat shared several articles and such about the families.  While looking through the family pictures, I noticed a familiar face.  I had mentioned that I thought a family painting was in the museum the last time I visited, but no one believed me.  However, Aunt Peggie had brought a photo of my great-grandmother (Mary Agnes Watkins) to show the curator.  Ms. Pat and I both grabbed up the picture and rushed back the the room with the painting on the wall.  It was a match to everyone who saw the two together.  Ms. Pat said she always wondered who was in this painting!  However, Aunt Peggie said it was not her.  Here is the picture next to the painting...tell me what you think.  Remember that a painter would take out all the blemishes and sags that come with age.  Also, we do not know when the painting was completed so it might have been in her younger years.

We were on our way out the door, when I made the comment that it would be nice to see a yearbook from the early days.  Ms. Pat stopped and said she did have some year books from the 1920's!  Then the search was on for more family photos.  We found several of my grandmother's brothers (William and Edward) but none of her.   We enjoyed seeing the stories of sporting events and other high school successes.


Then we were of to the cemetery.  We did find the grave sites for Catherine and Lewis, as well as other Coleman (only related by marriage).  Then we found the Watkins burial plot.  There were many buried here but none that we knew without more research to find the connection.  We suspect the brother of Peter Watkins is buried here but we will need to verify dates to be sure.

It was a fun day and it went by too quickly!  We ended our day with a picture together and a home cooked meal (Aunt Peggie and Karen had a suite with a kitchen, so I volunteered to cook.)  We are already talking about coming again to learn more.  Maybe will convince others to join us!  We might even convince others to have a family reunion here.

We parted ways the next morning to head home with promises to meet again soon!

So there you have the family history tour, but there is still more to tell.  I think I will tell about our fun times at the discovery centers and painted objects next!  You will be amazed at what people are willing to decorate around this country!

Who Knew Family History Could Be So Much FUN?

I told you from the beginning that I had a few stories that would not be so flattering....well you won't want to miss this one!

Our family history tour continued some days later after picking up my mother in Rapid City.  She had decided that she did not want to be in a car with all of us for 14 days.  By this time, I was starting to understand her sentiments!  Let us say that things were not always going so well.  There were eight of us in a van and we had already gone past our halfway point at this time.  I love my husband and children and had planned this trip with their interests in mind.  We were having a great time at all the stops along the way, but it was the "ON THE WAY" part that was bringing us down.  I was trying to be patient with them as I knew it was hard to be on the road.  I had lost my cool from time to time but it was going okay for the most part.
Then we got to Alliance, Nebraska!

SIDE NOTE:  For those of you who do not know.  This ENTIRE trip was planned around me getting my mother back to Alliance.  I have wanted to take this trip with her for a long time.  Hindsight tells me that I should have done it with just the two of us, but we did not.  She has not been back to Alliance in over 50 years and I really wanted her to tell her stories (several I have heard many times growing up) in the place of their origin.

I had it all planned to get in the car and record the stories as we traveled the area.  Michael and the children all knew that this was the plan.  Things started out well.  We made the hour drive from the hotel to the outskirts of Alliance.  Mom had already told some of her stories (and some were new ones I had never heard!).

Then the BIG REVEAL...we were in the downtown area where many of her stories centered and the restlessness started.  I am not sure why I did not think to have Michael take the children to the park and play.  We were right there and had even stopped to talk about the multi-colored fountain my mom loved to see as a child.  BUT...we did not make that wise choice.

THINGS GOT WORSE.  The fighting began in the back seat.  It was over something small, but it was not good for recording stories.  I tried to get them to settle down in between stories.  Michael tried also.  It was not working.  Then I lost it!...The baby was screaming...the boys were fighting...Amanda was lost in her headphones...Henry (our photographer) was not taking pictures I asked him to take!  I had HAD ENOUGH!!!!!

So...I kicked them out of the van!  The entire lot...screaming baby...fighting boys...not so helpful husband...and my aloof adult daughter...that is what I told them as I THREW THEM OUT OF THE VAN.

Mom's childhood home.

Yep...that was the worst day of the trip and the ONE DAY I wanted to be special.  I was close to tears...but then my mom and I went around to the last few spots in town and she finished telling her stories.  I began to calm down and realized the family was scattered to all corners of this small town and I would need to find them.

One by one...I found them.  However, by this time I was driving around town slowly.  In fact, at one point I was stopped at what I thought was a 4-way intersection and realized two things...I did not have a stop sign and a police officer was waiting in his cruiser at the stop sign.  I told the child outside of the van to get in quickly and we made our way down the next street.

It was then that I realized the police officer was following me.  I told my mom but she insisted I was just paranoid.

Funny...the police made the next turn with me too.  And the next...and the next!  The slow speed chase through town had begun!

By this time, I had all but two children in the van.  I told those in the van that if I was pulled over that I would cry.  My mom told me I had nothing to worry about as I was doing nothing wrong.

As I made my final turn to park and let the last two in the van, the police officer pulled in beside me.

For those who know me, you know I am not a weepy woman, but I had met my limit.

I rolled my window down, as he approached the vehicle.

PO:  Ma'am, are you having a nice day?

ME:  No!  [as I begin to cry]

MOM:  Yes!  I have not been here in 55 years and I was just telling my family stories about my childhood.

PO:  Well, ma'am.  I got a report that a big white van with a lot of people were running around town selling magazines!  I decided I better check it out.

ME:  No, sir!  We are not selling magazines...in fact, we have been picking up magazines for days! [As I pull out the Nebraska travel guide from the basket by my seat.]

PO:  Well, ma'am this is a small town and I have to protect it.

My mom then decides to ask him about family who lived in Alliance.  How long had he been on the police force and if he knew her cousin (Spike) who was once the police chief.  The entire time I am just balling like a baby.

He then sent us on our way and I left Alliance behind me much as my mother did fifty years ago.  No that my mother was ever arrested, but not wanting to see the sights of it again any time soon.

As we left, I just reminded my family that I planned 3000 miles of road trip with their interests in mind.  All I asked was for five miles of the trip for myself.  I did not think that was asking too much.

And you know, I think I was justified in my anger.  But as the days went on, I felt bad that I got so upset.  I apologized and things got better.  We tried to find ways to make the ride to the next spot a little more bearable.  The rest of our trip was actually subdued compared to the first days.  I think sometimes it is best to let it go (yes the phrase as become cliche).  I needed to let go of the disappoint of not having that special time with my mom be perfect.  They needed to let go of all the hurtful things I said.  We all needed to let go of the anger that had built up in that van all those days.

And when we did let it go...we could all laugh about it together.  Although I think the others were laughing long before I was... and in the end ... mission accomplished... I got my mom's stories recorded.

But ... WAIT!... there is more family history adventure to tell...I guess I will save that for tomorrow!

Looking around for Family History

I have come to find out that when studying family history it often leads to graveyards.  This trip would be no different.

We actually started out at my Aunt Peggie's house on the second day of our trip.  We only had a short time, but since she knew we were coming, she already had several stacks of photos and documents ready for me. We also knew that we would be meeting up again at the end of our road trip.

I was amazed at both how much I remembered and how much I never knew.

For instance, I knew that my grandfather (Harold) was adopted into the Edmundson family.  What I did not know is that his mother was a governess for Mr. Edmundson's four daughters before she married him and Harold was adopted.  Harold is not in the picture her because he had already left home.  We will probably never know the full story about this interesting family situation.  I left wishing I had asked more questions from those who would have known the answers.

There were other stories told of interest as well.  I wish I had recorded all of the stories Aunt Peggie told me.  I will just need to remember that when I go back to visit her again.  Michael and I had to play tag team at the restaurant because Zaira had so much energy from sleeping in the car to get there!

When Aunt Peggie suggested going on a little side trip, I convinced Michael to take the wound up children to the hotel and let them swim off some of their energy.  He was not thrilled about the idea of going this alone but was kind and did it anyway.  It probably did not help that Amanda and Henry decided to come with me instead of helping him  However, I am glad they came along because they took amazing pictures I would have missed of these large praying hands!

The family history tour continued a couple of days later when we entered into Iowa.  Both of Michael's parents grow up in Iowa and we had hoped to visit with one his cousins.  These plans fell through, so maybe another trip that direction is in order.  The family has a family reunion every year and we have never gone.

We did have an opportunity to go to the cemetery in Leon, Iowa.  This is where Michael's grandfather is buried.  Michael remembers his grandfather and will never forget the circumstances that led to him missing his funeral.  Michael and the family had made their way back to Iowa for the funeral.  However, the night before Michael was stung by a wasp (or so everyone thinks) and his entire arm was swollen and he was sick for days.

Since this happened, Michael had never visited his grandfather's grave.  He was determined to find it (we did not have a location or directory to lead us).  I am not sure how we managed it but when we arrived, I suggested that we drive around the outer edges of the cemetery and see what we could find.  Just as we were about to give up, we looked out and there it was as if calling out to us!  We also found a few other Reynolds grave sites.  Michael thinks they were an aunt and uncle.  We will need to verify this information so we can add to our family notes.

The next part of our family history tour through the Midwest took us to Nebraska.  I will save this story for tomorrow because it includes a slow-paced chase through the streets of Alliance and a friendly talk with a police officer!

GEOCACHE ALERT!

A little side note for my geocaching friends.  We have only recently renewed our caching before we started our trip.  I had heard that caches were often found in cemeteries (I love cemeteries!) but had not found one ourselves.  On our way to Leon, we had to make an unexpected stop...someone in the van just could not wait!  So I happened to pull out my phone and check my geocaching ap...their it was!

I did not know at the time it would be THAT cache, so I sent Henry off to find the cache that was only 200 feet up a hill.  We were in a hurry and he did not return quickly so I sent Michael after him.  Then Michael did not return, so Sean went out after the lost ones.  Come to find out they were not lost at all!  They had come upon a hidden cemetery and the cache was in a hollowed out tree trunk!  How cool!  I guess it is a good thing I was not told about all of this until we were down the road or I would have been out of the van myself exploring this treasure!  I think it is the coolest cache we have found yet, and I only got to see it in pictures!

National Treasures

National parks and memorials are always a part of road trips.  We learned early on in our marriage that these places along the road side are inexpensive and fun.  One thing we learned on this trip is that Michael's veteran status added more to our valued treasure...he can get a annual pass without cost because he served our country!  YAY!!!  We saved a lot of money thanks to this veteran perk!

Junior Ranger Pledge at Badlands Nat. Park

And thanks to our children we always enjoy learning about the different aspects of the parks we visit while they earn their Junior Ranger badges.  If you are a parent and have not taken advantage of this program...you are missing out on your children gaining information in a fun way!  We love this program and it is FREE!!!  Almost every national park and memorial have some kind of booklet and it greatly enhances the experience, including all the aspects of the park (historical, cultural, and natural).

I will try to keep these stories brief as not to bore you with all the details...here are a few of the highlights we enjoyed:

We endured the smelly sulfur smell that wreaked throughout the area just so we could get close to our first geyser.  This was in the Chickasaw National Park north of Ardmore, OK.  None of us have seen a geyser before so we were very excited at the thought.  We had no idea what was in store for us...are all geysers this smelly?  Let me just say that we did not stay long!  However, the idea of a geyser was still cool!

One of our most emotional stops was at the Oklahoma City Memorial.  We really thought we would only stay here a few minutes.  In fact, I only put enough quarters in the meter for thirty minutes.  Needless to say Michael had to race back to feed the parking meter so we could fully embraced this compelling site.  The park ranger had me in tears many times during his explanation of some of the components of this memorial.  For instance, the rectory across the street from the memorial was destroyed in the explosion.  In order to honor those lost in this devastating event, the Catholic church erected a large statue of Jesus weeping (John 11:35).  When we approached the statue, it was hard not to notice the many black pillars surrounding the statue.  When we asked the ranger, we were told there were many interpretations, but the one with the most impact is that the pillars number the number of children who died in the blast.  Jesus is walking away from the explosion into eternity and the children are following Him.  All I can say is that I had a hard time leaving this place.  There was so much meaning in its simplicity, and I encourage anyone who is within a day's drive take the time to go to this place where time seems to stand still.



I think the place we took the most pictures was in the Badlands National Park and Buffalo Gap National Grasslands.  These sites are somewhat connected and extraordinary landscapes.  Every turn in the road had us oohing and aahing...we also had to drag Amanda and Henry back into the van on many occasions. Amanda insisted she could hang out the window and take pictures!  I really thought I would be forced to tie a rope to her waist, but I convinced her that it would be too dangerous!

Mt. Rushmore National Monument was nice.  However, some might be surprised that this was not our favorite highlight of the trip.  It was magnificent in itself but it is actually quite small.  We spent time exploring some of the paths but only spent a couple of hours at this site.  Although the monument is a true art form, the best part of this stop was seeing our first (and only) mountain goat and Henry became a professional photographer (He was paid for his first photo!).

My mother (who joined us for this leg of the trip) told us that when she was young there was only a picnic table at the bottom of the mountain side and most people would only snap a picture as they drove past.

As we entered into Nebraska, my mother talked us through the important spots that she knew growing up.  Not only did we hear the history of the area but also some of her childhood stories.  We made stops along the way at Agate Fossil Beds National Park, Scott's Bluff National Park, and Chimney Rock National Monument.  We were a little upset to find out we walked a two-mile trail at the fossil beds to find out it was just an empty hole.  However, the view at the top of Scott's Bluff was beautiful.  Henry took many pictures at the top of the bluff.

My Mom helping with the Junior Ranger booklet at Agate Fossil Beds

The most disappointing national park was Capulin Volcano (in New Mexico), but not because of the park.  We left early in the day to try to make it to this site.  We knew we would need to arrive by a certain time to be able to make the drive to the top of the rim.  However, rain storms and auto accidents ate away at our time on the road and we arrived just as the rangers were closing the gates.  No amount of begging could convince hi to keep the park open for us.  We could hardly blame him, as he was just doing his job.  To add to this disappointment, I had told the boys that there was a fossil bed discovered by the construction crew and it was available for us to walk through the fossils.  The older children and I had done this 14 years ago.  However, when we walked the trails, we discovered that the fossils had been removed.  We will need to do some research to find the missing fossils.  The only option...plan another road trip.

Some of the more historical spots along the way included Fort Scott (Kansas), National Pony Express Memorial (St Joseph, MO with a private museum close by), and the Minuteman Missile National Site (South Dakota).  We did not spend a lot of time in these places but hope to learn more about them over the summer months.  We also drove through many national forests, trails and grasslands.

We loved the experience.  These parks alone would be enough for a two week vacation, but as you all know, the Reynolds family never does things that way.  There is more to tell, so continue reading over the next few days for more of the other stuff!

The Trip of Detours

Well...we are home form our vacation.  Our 3000 mile adventure eventually turned out to be almost 4000 miles, which is why I named this introductory post "The Trip of Detours."  To be truthful, I did not think we would make it back alive or in one piece, but in the end we managed to make it work.  One day, one of our children can write the screen play and make a lot of money off of our journey...it would make a great comedy for the whole family!

Notice the little people in the picture above!  Those were our special guests along the way.  Back when Michael was deployed, you might recall these guys showing up for his adventures.  Well, as we prepared to take them along for this trip, we decided to have a Lego person for each of us as well.  So, you will see both sets of people along the way.  It was fun and added to the adventure!

Michael and Michelle...

the pair that instigated this grand adventure!

Amanda...the eldest of the crew
who kept the back seat under control.

Sean...who made sure the group knew about
every insect and bird along the way,
as well as watching the map for turns missed.

Henry...our amazing photographer...
you will see his artwork throughout the coming days.

Zaira...poor thing was given a power hammer for the trip...
she is definitely our powerhouse!

Brendan...our genius in action...
as a SCUBA diver?!?  Who knew?

Edward...I guess he thought
we needed some protection for this trip!

Gramma...she lost her hair half way through the trip...Sean let her borrow his hat...is this foreshadowing!  LOL!  She came along for five days of the trip!

The original crew enjoyed a little R&R with the family!

I tried to think of how I would divide up the posts to give the highlights.  I could have taken it one day at a time but to be quite honest I want to move on to other topics soon.  (We have a lot going on this month and next!)  So then I thought I would divide the trip by states but that would still be too long as we visited 11 states over the 14 days.  So, I decided I would break the trip up by theme.  Here are the posts to come over the next week:

• National Parks and Memorials
• Family History
• Discovery Centers
• Painted Objects
• Unexpected Detours (AKA The Un-tourist-y Stops)
• Little House Tour
• and...The Upsets...just so you know it was not all rosey-posey all the time! 

In spite of ourselves, we had a great time.  I was telling my dear cousin Karen (on day 12)...yes...we had some difficult moments and we struggled with keeping our cool, but ultimately, we had a great adventure.  I would just like to remember the good times.  However, I am not ashamed to tell the really bad stuff either, just so everyone knows that life is not perfect...and because everyone should be able to humble themselves and laugh at the craziness too!

So watch out blog world...the retelling of the adventure starts tomorrow!

Ultimate Birthdays!

First...I want all to know that I will be posting about our vacation starting tomorrow...there were so many great adventures!  However, I wanted to send a shout out to my two peas in a pod...Michael and Amanda...on their special birthdays!  Michael celebrates his ultimate birthday of 42 (Hitchhiker reference to those who do not know) and Amanda celebrates her 21st birthday!

We started out the day right by allowing these two late risers the opportunity to sleep in until 9am before presenting them with breakfast in bed.  Thankfully they both like the same food as we were able to prepare an amazing sunny side up egg special with bacon, stuffed hash-browns and cream cheese bagels.

Then we began Michael's birthday theme which was all about Hitch Hiker gifts.  My dear cousin Karen created a unique towel with the ultimate number and "Don't Forget" embroidered on to the sides of the towel.  Everyone knows that you cannot forget your towel when going on adventures!  The towel is the ultimate tool when travelling through time and space.  Michael immediately demonstrated the use of the towel as nourishment on the journey!  Then I gave him a tablet cover with the words "Don't Panic!" emblazoned on the front.  Very helpful advice for any situation!

The best gift of all was the pursuit for the ultimate replacement vehicle for the one he totaled two weeks ago (right before our vacation).  Who would have guessed that he would end up with a heart of gold to commute to and from work?  He found his car with the first test drive and was even given a 'gift' of transferring his maintenance plan to the new vehicle.  That was nice since it was not even used for the first vehicle!  He is especially pleased that he now has power windows and doors as well as a place to set up his phone and MP3 player directly into the speaker system.  Considering his last car was as old-fashioned as he could get, he was quite pleased!  My favorite part of the new car?  It has lower payments and a manual transmission!

We ended his birthday celebration at a family Italian Bistro where the waiter humored our crazy side.  We acted like we were just pushing our food around the plates and not eating (although our hunger overcame us and we did eat our meals!) and we played bistro mathematics (You do know that is what keeps the universe in motion, right?!) with the price our individual meals!  The waiter was even kind enough to bring out a chocolate cake to celebrate!  We laughed so hard when he asked where we were traveling from...we just told him we traveled 4000 miles to get there even though we were currently living in San Antonio!  We were tempted to talk in our Midwestern accent the remainder of our stay but decided that we had tormented him enough!  He apologized profusely and said he just wanted to make sure we did not order the spicy foods on the menu which made us laugh even harder!

Amanda's birthday was all about hats (and a tail!), as well as an introduction to an Irish Pub.  The second day of our trip, we knew one of the gifts we would need to buy for Amanda.  She was always loved hats, so it was no surprise to find ourselves buying her another one.  She fell in love with it and wore it around the store and then gently placed it back on display before leaving.  I then promptly picked it up and purchased it and then hid it until just the right moment.  She squealed with delight!  I love buying hats for her!

As we strolled down the streets of downtown San Antonio, she found a hat shop.  She had to go in as she was on a mission to find a true black fedora.  She was so happy when the man who helped her took her to the perfect hat!  She had been looking for this hat for a long time!  So, the second hat was purchased yesterday!

Did I mention that Amanda was walking around with us yesterday in one of her many costumes?  She had cute fluffy ears and a tail (purchased by dear cousin Karen for her birthday last weekend!).  She was adorable and had no care for those who stared at her as she walked by on the River Walk.  She had a blast even if she was walking around with her "boring" family!

Then we took her to her first Irish Pub....Dirty Nellie's, which is on the River.  I can honestly say that I will not worry about Amanda abusing alcohol..she hates the stuff.  We bought her a token drink for the occassion just so she could be ID'ed and she only took two sips of the rum punch offered her.  The boys enjoyed eating the peanuts and Zaira was the life of the party as she danced to the Celtic music played by the "piano man."  We only stayed about 15 minutes, which was just the right amount of time to spend in a pub.

We ended the evening with a special float Amanda created with lime sherbet, grape soda and whipped cream topped with a cherry syrup smile!   She named the joker float and hopes to use it in her cafe someday (I think she call it the "Come As You Are Cafe" as all are welcome in their cosplay creations.)

So...ultimate birthdays complete...much to be thankful for in their lives.  May God bless my two peas...I love them dearly!

Sneaking in a Vacation

In spite of trips to the ER and vehicle accidents (all involved are no worse for the wear!)...We are trying to head off on a vacation before the summer rush of travelers.

This particular trip has been in the works for a LONG time!  We are taking a 3000 mile road trip that will take us through ELEVEN states.  We will be visiting the historic spots of our family history for both sides of my family and Michael's family.  It is probably the most awesome end of year trip EVER!!!

So the last week has been a frenzy of motion for our family as we prepare.  I almost titled this post "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" because it is going to be one of those kind of trips.

Our family will be driving our 15-passenger van with the Reynolds crew.  Then my mom is going to fly to Rapid City, South Dakota to meet us.  She has not been back to Nebraska since she left home at 18 years old!  And then our cousin and aunt are meeting us in West Texas toward the end of our trip to look up some family history.

So with that intro to our vacation, I just wanted to add a little back story before we head out tomorrow.  One of the things my family does not fully understand about my vacation planning.  I like to leave a CLEAN HOUSE behind!  Call me crazy...I am sure many think I have enough to do just getting all eight of us out the door for a long road trip.  But I think it is a good idea to leave a clean house so when I get home exhaust from the miles, I can enjoy falling into a fresh made bed!  I do not have to worry that we are going to trip over the normal strewn out toys and shoes...I can breath fresh air that is not full of dust and I can appreciate my home a little more with it spotless upon our return.  BESIDES...what better motivation to get the job done than the knowledge that once it is done we are out of here!!!!  WOO HOO!!!

So....here is a little tip from this busy mom....one of the best times to come visit our family is right after a vacation.  You are guaranteed a clean spot to sit on our couch...fresh food in the fridge (as we always make a trip to the grocery store as we are pulling back into town!) and a lot to talk about from our adventures.

OF COURSE...there is one drawback to the visit...you will have to sit through the VERY LONG slide show of pictures from our adventure also...I know I will probably have more pictures than even we can view by the time we are all done!

AND...as much as I would love to post along the way...I think I am going to leave the electronics at home this time.  I will take notes along the way and try to give some of the highlights as I can.  Another adventure that we would love to share with you!

God bless!  See you on the other side of June!