Tuesday, February 22, 2011

29 Pictures Say A Thousand Miles

Texas:

Yummy big breakfast with my parents at Ham And Eggs. We then say a very tearful goodbye to them and our baby and head out on the road.

Underneath these fashionable sunglasses are some very wet eyes

Texas and Oklahoma become a blur with how flat the land is

A unique site in Oklahoma:

Swung into Kansas for a cache at this site:


And into Missouri to reach our destination for the night. A little more hilly in these parts


Got a kick out of the road signs for miles and miles talking about this gift shop and candy store. No, we didn't stop in, but I would have loved to! I teased Cary that we had to turn back and go back to Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas for souvenirs for Brylee. He told me he'd meet me at our final destination...

Beautiful 50 degree weather in Missouri. Couldn't ask for better!

At treat! We stopped in St. Louis and visited the famous arch. It was a very impressive sight, one I never thought I'd be excited to see!





Lunch at White Castle in Illinois, a treat for all 3 of us! We sat outside because of Chester, and despite the wind, it was a beautiful day!

I never realized how flat Illinois was!

The world's largest cross located in Effingham, IL!


When we stopped to get our stately cache, Cary let Chester off-leash. I have seen the dog so happy in a while. He loved to run through the water puddles, and we even caught him once about to roll in it. Such a goof!

Welcome to Indiana! We stopped at a La Quinta here for the night, only to wake up to rain the next morning!

Here we started to see snow on our 3rd day of driving. Patches here and there, and then it steadily grew heavier and heavier, mixed with plenty of ice!


Went on a side trip to Ohio to grab a 'quick' cache, which was the beginning to the more interesting days on the trip so far!


Here's where we grabbed the cache, and I happened to get my SUV stuck...and thankfully Cary was able to get it out! And of course, I was too worried about staying out of the way of the big vehicle to grab my camera and snap a few pics!

Back on the interstate after we slipped around on the side roads. The interstate was not too bad, thankfully! But I think we may have officially been in a blizzard...


The line to pay the toll to cross the bridge to get into Canada. It took 30 minutes or more to get from here through the border patrol. Let's just say our lady was very nice, but very thorough!


Never seen Celsius like this before! Kilometers are also interesting. Fortunately our speedometer has the mileage as well as kilometers to figure out both speed and distance!


Day 4: the big troubles begin. My car had a light come on "Reduced Engine Performance" along with a "Check Engine" light. Oh boy...should have stayed in bed today! Instead of driving to Niagara Falls and New York for the night, we spent our day praying that the car would stay intact long enough for us to get from a mechanic, to a Volvo dealership in London, and then to another dealership in Waterloo, Ontario.

We are stuck another night in Canada, with no access to our phones due to the roaming charges, but I don't think Chester cares. This is the first time he's had both of his parents to himself this long since little Brylee was born. And he's loving every bit of it!


Dinner and a little walking in Waterloo, Ontario:


Please say lots of prayers for us that all goes well and we can get back to the States tomorrow evening!!!!!

Miles traveled so far: 1300-ish
Miles to go: 674-ish
(More to come)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Can I Just Hold You A Little Longer?

My two favorite people in the whole world. How I am going to miss our weekly visits with you! Weekly lunches, too. Come to think about it, just being able to drive over to your house for dinner or to get a hug will be greatly missed.

I love you guys so incredibly much, and can't wait to give you more hugs again when I visit. Eat yummy turkey steaks. Or just go to Logan's. And game night? I need to know about them so we can have one of our own at the same time...take Spoons and Apples To Apples to a whole different level.

Thank you for being the most incredible parents anyone could ask for. It says a lot that I want you to come with us so bad. You raised me so well, and I could ask for nothing more than to do the same with Brylee.

Speaking of Brylee, I love to see her eyes light up and squeal with delight when she sees you. It's only going to increase tenfold now. She adores you, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.

This new adventure will have you guys with us all the way. I need you and look forward to sharing fun things with you, especially amazing nature, the thing that has attracted all of us and ultimately brought us this new opportunity.

All I want to do is hold you guys a little longer, a little tighter, and enjoy every moment we have together. I love you guys, more than you can ever know.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Pictures From The Goodbye Game Night

It is amazing to see how much we are loved. A wonderful group of people that showed up to my parents house on Saturday afternoon to celebrate our new adventure waiting for us. Words escape me on how blessed I truly feel. I will miss everyone so much, and I can't wait for the next time I come home to see them.

Unfortunately I did not get pictures of Brylee with all of our guests, including my Grandpa Lynn and G-ma Barbara. Also, I wish I got better pictures of Autumn and her family with my little one. Somehow I failed at the one goal I had for the entire day! (Thanks Eric for some of the great photos!)

What a fun, slap-happy (literally) day, and thank you everyone again for all of the love and support. I will take the advice and hugs with me on our new journey.

















































Ninjago With A Special Guest

So we took B to go see Ninjago, The LEGO movie a couple of weeks ago, and by we, I mean Cary, myself, my dad, and...my grandfather. Odd co...