The last of the road trip....FINALLY

So after picking up the trees on Wednesday we headed from Pennsylvania back thru Ohio, Indiana, and Illionois. We had more trees to pick up in Iowa and we wanted to make it there the next day. So that evening we switched off and I continued to drive all night. There is something about it just to drive when all the kids are asleep and you can turn on a good CD and crank up the radio. In Indiana we got detoured because of an I-80 closure to do a fatal car wreck. It made me think and be grateful that we had been safe through all our miles.

After Illinois we made it to......

......Iowa. We missed the sign the first time. We had a couple hundred of trees to pick up from one nursery and then we were on to the next. We made it across Iowa and to the nursery at 4pm. Only to find out that they had closed at 3pm and hadn't bothered to mention it to us. So much for driving all night. So we found a hotel and actually went to a cheap chinese buffet and got a good night sleep. The next morning we were on to......
......Minnesota and we continued through............South Dakota. We missed Wall Drug by only an hour. I had never heard of Wall Drug before and Jake was shocked. Maybe next time.....just kidding. We spent the night in Cedar Rapids and the next morning we drove down through......Keystone, South Dakota. Where the kids got out and did a little souvenir shopping. Cruz wouldn't get on the horse above but as soon as the girls wanted on, he didn't want off. Now everyone knows that Keystone is the gateway to......
......Mount Rushmore. This was the last of our fun and documented road saga.
Then we went and read about the mountain and some interesting facts about the sculptor (IE the mountain was never finished to the sculptor's description. He died and his son did some finish work and that is how it stands. George Washington was suppose to be finished to his waist.)

This is in real proportion.

We crossed in to Wyoming and into Idaho very late Saturday night. We kept driving because we wanted our own beds.

All in all, we traveled for 10 days, drove just a little more than 5000 miles, and crossed through eighteen different states!?

(KIRSTEN) "Dad, why do we need to have a nursery when the church has a big enough one already?"

(JAKE) "It's not that kind of a nursery. It's a tree nursery."
(KIRSTEN) "Well then let's not call it a tree nursery. Let's call it a tree playgound!"

So after many miles of driving this is was our destination and purpse. TREES, lots and lots of trees. After we left New Jersey we traveled back to Pennsylvania where we picked up our trailer along with 4500 trees.

The Honkers in New York City

Since our destination was so close to New York City, we couldn't help but take a day and enjoy Manhatten. There is no state sign because we took the train in from New Jersey. Although we only saw a "few" things, it is pretty amazing. We walked around for the first few hours until we found somewhere to eat. What a nightmare. Then we found a map and started sight seeing...... Jake commented that we looked like Honkers. I had never heard of this description but he explained it as being a family with four kids, sight seeing and sticking out like a sore thumb. He tried to tell me I stuck out even more because I refused to wear a coat. (It was chilly but nothing like Idaho or Idaho's wind). (The kids' coats were the ones that I got for five and eight dollars!)

We went to the top (86th floor) of the Empire State Building. You wait hours just to see this place. The view is worth it.With a stroller we did get a little special treatment. A few lines were cut and we didn't have to wait the entire time that we should have. Although New York City IS NOT stroller friendly. Although the only other option is I don't want my kids wandering loose on the sidewalks.I love this view. You can see how high up you are.Cruz's favorite part was the subways (or the choo choo's as he said). Many times walking down the street of New York we had several people say, "Four kids? WOW, you must be patient." The funny thing is here in Idaho it's just the opposite. "Four kids, that's all? And your done?"

Although one of my favorites was when Jake and McKay were walking infront of me and the kids in the stroller. Jake was carrying Katanya and a lady stopped him and said, "My what a beautiful family." Then she walked past me and the other two kids and she stopped and said "Four? My goodness. What a big family."

Even the missionaries stopped and talked to us, then they had to ask if we were L.D.S. McKay was really interested in ground zero. We had told her about that day and the people that were lost. She found it all very interesting. Another favorite of hers was the Empire State Building.

That night for dinner, we walked down to Little India after seeing Time Square. We found a delicious Indian "kitchen" called Handori (I think) that was so yummy. You were able to get 2 meat sides, 1 vegetable side, rice, naan, and a salad for 7 dollars. We stuffed ourselves (literally!) Cruz downed it without any complaining. He also downed about 6 glasses of water with it. The two girls complained a little but eventually ate their plates. My only regret is that I didn't buy another meal and take a bunch of dahl and chicken tiki masala with us. In fact, probably two more meals! I am still craving this little restaurant and their dahl. Kirsten's favorite was the statue of liberty. We saved this til last and took the ferry across where you were right infront of it. Then we turned around and took it back so the kids got double the view. Kirsten had spotted the statue on top of the E.S.B. (Empire) and had been talking about it ever since. I tried to take pictures of the statue but they didn't turn out because of the windows.

After this eventful day, we went back to New Jersey and spent the night. The next day was the whole point of the trip. Stay tuned......

A little at a time

We finally made it home very late Saturday night (or very early Sunday morning). It's been a long trip, but I will post a little at a time so it's not so overbearing.



We left Traci's Monday morning and traveled through the rest of Indiana into......

Ohio straight thru into...... Pennsylvania. here we took a quick stop half way and continued through......a tiny portion of West Virginia......and into this mystery state, New Jersey. It wasn't raining even though it looks like it. I was waiting for the sign and all of a sudden it was in the middle of the divider. So this was taken through the windshield. We drove through this small state and spent Monday night here.

More....

Not this post though. We did reach our destination yesterday. Although I am stuck without a downloading cord for my camera. The only thing I forgot this trip. So I will post more when we get home. Sorry!

Road Trip Saga Part Deux

After Easter baskets and saying goodbye to Leslie and her family we are off again. The kids got a chick in there basket that when both circles are touched they chirp. You can imagine what my car sounded like today.... ......we are off from Kansas back to......
......Missouri. As we traveled across the state into......
......Illinois where Jake almost missed the sign again. Thank goodness there were only four of them as you stayed on the correct interstate. He got the third I believe. From here we went across to......
......Indiana. We are staying the night with Traci and her family. It's nice to finally meet them and their family. It's wierd because thru blogging I feel like I have met them before and I know them. I'm grateful for technology, that's for sure. Tomorrow we are off again bright and early. Although we won't reach the destination with a day's driving. Where are we going?

P.S. We still have yet to buy anything but gas!

On the road again, and again, and again

So we have started the LONG journey from Idaho to ?????? (stay tuned to find out)We have our 240 hour supply loaded and ready.We were smart and stocked up with drinks, crackers, cookies, tortillas, sandwiches, lunch meat, treats, cereal, muffins, donuts and whatever else you can think of. We haven't stopped for food yet and we haven't had to eat out. It's been really convienent.

So we dropped off Sarah by the freeway to catch her shuttle and her plane back home. We started in Idaho at 1 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. We made it down to Malad to take some pictures of some ground for Dale and Alice. Jake came up with a clever idea of taking a picture of the road signs to "document" or "blog" or trip.

Utah was the first. From here it went to......

......to here, Wyoming. We had a nifty idea of driving all night and just rotating drivers to make it to ??????on Friday. It started out with good intentions. Jake was tired at about 10p.m. so I started driving......

We hit Nebraska at about 3:15 a.m. I was still driving and I wasn't tired. I think my adrenline had kicked in. Either that or eating Salt and Vinegar chips while drinking Diet Pepsi with Lime was quite the eye opener. About 20 minutes before this border it started snowing and getting a little heavier. It didn't look like it was sticking to the roads so I opted to keep driving. I woke Jake up to take the picture. Not long after this he was telling me his story of driving out with his dad on I-80 in his red pickup truck. He said that they going along and it was snowing just like it was here in this picture. Not long after Dale started sliding and fish-tailing going this way and that way. Miraclously they pulled out and they stopped in Sydney where they spent the night. I didn't think twice about it. About 5 miles after the border the snow was worse and I couldn't see everytime a semi-trailer passed me. We are also pulling a 24' enclosed trailers. So I was going about 35 mph and just inching along. About 35 minutes later Jake woke up to me saying a few surprising words (not bad though) and a high shrill. I was sliding sideways but luckily I quickly thought to turn on the 4WD and we were okay. Now I really wasn't tired. It was another 40 miles til the next rest stop. It took me a little over an hour to go that far. I kept hoping I would go around the corner and the snow storm would dissappear. No such luck. So at 4:30 a.m. we pulled into the rest stop where then my kids woke up and were all excited we were sleeping in the car. After another 30 mintues of getting situated and the kids to calm back down, we fell into what we called "sleep". At 6:30 a.m. we were off again and making our way across the country into this state......

......yes Jake missed his sign. He was trying to take a picture of the Missouri River "border" that he didn't see the sign in time. That and he was "telling" me how to drive. Anyway, a short drive in Iowa led us to......

......Missouri where we were finally seeing an end for a day and a night of sleep with a bed. After a couple hours we traveled into......

......Kansas where we headed to Aunt Leslie's house. We had dinner and a nice comfortale bed where we slept and relaxed. It's sorta a funny that we drop Sarah off at the airport only to see her the next day. We tried to convince her to drive out with us but for some reason she didn't want to. Today we spent the day......

......coloring eggs, going bargain shopping (I thought it would be warmer so I didn't bring coats, only jackets. Needless to say it's freezing! We went to a local mall and luckily we found coats on clearance! They are really nice and cute too! So I bought a size bigger but I have next year coats that I paid between 5 and 8 dollars for. I couldn't even beat that at home! Retail therapy is always nice.) It's been really fun to catch up with Leslie and her family. I wish we could stay longer. Tomorrow we are off too??????

P.S. Bonny, do you still want to travel like the Kerksiek's? Or at least us? I am not sure I do. :)

Horsee (as Cruz would say)

At our house....if you ever are lying on your stomach....be prepared for at least one kids to run over and literally JUMP on your back.

McKay finally took up photography again (she only got her camera in 2005) although it's never too late, and she does take good pictures.
Jake and I on a Sunday evening. (I'm trying to set up my avatar. I guess we will see if it works.)

P.S. I was looking at hotels in Moab. Right now there is a Holiday Inn availabe for $99 during the Moab run next year. This is two queens and non-smoking. Best Western is unavailable, or so they say.

I'm really too young for this?

McKay came home with flowers from a boy! (She's still my baby, she's not even eight!!!!) It was a very sweet gesture. She even told him thank you. She was very shy to tell anyone about it though.
Although, a part of me wasn't sure what to think. What would you do if it was your kid?

More Moab

brightroom event photography

I really like this photo of Jake running. It's probably my favorite of him.


brightroom event photography

Although this is the best picture. Probably because I know we are done!

Moab Marathon

(the rest of our road trip....i couldn't figure out the vidoe spot)

Saturday....marathon day. The time had finally come. Karl had given me great advice and said, "Your only goal is to beat Jacob". Jacob's last word's were, "I'm going to run with Big Harry for a mile and see if I can keep his pace."

We all finished is the good part. I am amazed at how well Hannah T. runs! Wow! I shake my head at how Jake finished with a 1:39. Amazing for someone who doesn't even run once before a race. The only thing that he could even come close to saying was training was his hunting episodes when they hiked mountains for days straight.

I am dissappointed in my knees and my time. I thought walking the pain off in my knee for a little bit would help it and then when I went to run again, it was ten times worse. I swore on Saturday I would never do another one. On Sunday, I was saying the complete opposite. I have to run another to at least redeem myself. I can't end with this one. Each night I keep trying to talk Jake into one.

I'm glad for Hannah K. who drove the first 3 hours after the race and watched all four of my kids while we were running. THANKS A BUNCH! We couldn't have done it at all without you. You went out of your way for us. :)

It made the last mile seem easier when Jake had walked back and ran (hobbled) the last mile with me. I have a great husband!

TOP FIVE THINGS (i've learned) NOT TO DO BEFORE OR DURING A HALF MARATHON

1. Do not engage on an 800 mile road trip three days before a marathon.


2. Do not sleep on the floor for three nights prior to a marathon.


3. Do not nurse a baby while running a marathon (exspecially if you are gone for more than four hours and you're not used to it.)


4. Eat more for breakfast than just one protein bar.


5. Do not drive another 500 miles just after completing 13 miles. Your body will not forgive you!

After all my complaining though, it was a fun memory. I will have to make another one unforetuneately.

So we drove back to SLC that night and stayed with my parents. (Kirsten and grandpa)The next day we left home for Idaho and stopped for a couple hours at Erika's to have dinner. (click)

Jake and I both hobbled a little on Sunday. Although I am sure I looked just as funny, I had to video Jake and post it. (addicted blogger)

Then we finally made the slow and long journey home.

It's nice to have your own bed!

First of Many Road Trips For This Year

.... that's what I am of afraid of. It all started with one looonnnngggggggg road trip ending with one paaaaaainful marathon and another road trip home.

We left Wednesday night and stayed headed to SLC. We stayed with Erika and got the next morning and headed down to Mesquite. Thank goodness for the DVD player and the TV screens in the back. I wouldn't have made it home with my sanity without them. While Katanya enjoyed the playing with pretzels. Although she wouldn't eat them....what a surprise. She did great on the road. It took quite awhile considering we were pulling our 24' enclosed trailer and for some reason the aerodynamics (is that correct?) just makes it awful to drive when you pass semitrailers. We made it to Beaver and we stopped and let the kids enjoy an hour playing on cousin Sam's "playground". McKay and Kirsten on the teeter-totter.........Jake and Cruz on the plane.We made it down to Mesquite that afternoon and loaded up over 4300 five gallon pots. We wanted another 2000 but because Jake and I hadn't eaten since breakfast or had a drink we were exhausted with the 96 degree weather. So we ate and headed on our way back when it's even worse because max speed is between 55 and 60 mph. We ended up in Cedar City where we enjoyed a fun stay with Maddy (her roommates were gone because of Spring Break). Because Cruz was wanting to play, we (not Jake but Maddy and I) stayed up til 2 pm just having fun "girl" talk.

That morning Jake headed up early to Beaver to finish our missing cabinet pieces and Maddy, the kids, and I followed up later. We met up with Karl and Betsy and headed on our way to the infamous Green River and Moab where Hannah K was waiting for us. Not being smart like Karl or Betsy, and following in Big Harry's footsteps, we had too procrastinated and fell at the Rhodeaway Inn. There is a reason they were the only hotels that had vacancies and were dirt cheap............(tune in tomorrow for the saga of the marathon.)

Let's Go Fly A Kite....

Today was SO gorgeous! I decided to take the kids out to play in the backyard while I cleaned the surburban and washed the car seats for the upcoming road trip. (Don't ask me why, it will only get dirty again for all of you who have done road trips.) I started with the rear "trunk". I opened up the hatch and I saw the $1.50 kite I had bought over a month ago for the kids. I quickly decided to throw out the cleaning and to go have fun with the kids. I haven't flown a kite in over 10 years.

Kirsten kept chasing the tail, and then she would trade off with McKay. They flew the kite for over two hours. It's very nice because there are no phone or electric lines close. In the next pic.....they had it all the way out. The wind was just perfect. After awhile I went back and was cleaning the truck. If you notice in the corner, Cruz was having fun dipping Jake's wrench's in a bucket of oil he had left out. I didn't notice until it was too late, for Cruz and Jake's tools. (Maybe he won't leave it out next time.) It was then cut short for him and it was bath time.

High needs

I have always said that Katanya is my "high needs" baby. That's because my other three were really really easy. I look at some of my friends and by far, Katanya falls short of high needs compared to their babies. Anyway back to the point. This sweet angel....
who has a really cute smile and has finally learned to fall asleep on her own....(emphasize on finally)

DESPISES

Food.

I have been feeding her baby cereal for awhile and at first when she didn't eat it, I thought it was because she was a preemie and it would take her longer. She finally took the cereal but now she will ONLY will eat the Oatmeal cereal. Not rice, not mixed, only oatmeal. I have tried to feed her baby foods, starting with the normal Gerber's first....like sweet potatoes or squash. Yeah right. She gags it in her mouth and the one time Jake got her to eat it he was wearing it five minutes later. Her lips are sealed and any particle that is in her mouth gets instantly spit out. So I thought she doesn't like the baby food and, like my others, will eat off the table. So I got the baby grinder out and grinded up some squash the other night. This is her reaction here....It happened again tonight with potatoes. Except the eyes were winced while her face was sealed and she was spitting. We were all laughing.

LOST!

I don't know what to do. Granted she is only 9 months I fear that she will soon be a year and still be nursing completely. Although the weight factor isn't an issue. She is well over 18 pounds.

So I guess I will keep trying and hopefully this will go somewhere, sometime.

P.S. Although here is something I didn't know. When we went in for her monthly "SYNEGIS" shot this week. The nurse gave my kids a lollipop, along with Katanya. I looked at her and said "She can't have that," thinking she would gag herself. Then she gave me this useful piece of knowledge I still have yet to google to see if it is true. "Sugar releases some enzyme that makes it so the pain isn't as bad. They give boys a "sugar pill" when they get circumsized to ease the pain."

So I did let her suck on the lollipop, which no suprise, she liked.

The funny part: Now Kirsten has gone around telling everyone that lollipops are a healthy food, and a nurse has told her so. So when you tell her to get a healthy treat, this is her response.

Smart kid.

Yummy!

Today, I'm officially back on the sauce JAM! After a two month break of Turbo Jam, I started the routine again and boy does it feel good. Although surprisingly I didn't gain any weight over the holidays. I actually lost 3 pounds. Although food just taste SOOOOOO good.

Detail oriented, imaginative, (but)

a slightly embarrassed mother.

McKay brings homes a folder each week that has all of her work that she has completed at school. I was going through it yesterday when I stumbled upon this. I had a good laugh though and then I showed Jake later that night. We noticed that she has a great eye for detail. IE:

• She put the shop in the window as you can see it thru our living room windows.


• The floor vent in the corner doesn't have a cover yet and yes it is a hole.


• The bamboo wood under the TV.


• The doll that Great Grandma Mary gave Katanya is pink with blonde hair.


• The doll that Grandma Alice is on the floor also.


• The toys that Amalia gave Katanya are there. As they are a favorite for all kids.


• And MOST IMPORTANTLY (YES!!!) she did put a blanket over Katanya as she is eating. She says there are flowers on the blanket but she had to hurry and they are just dots.

To defend myself, I really don't play Kirsten's game (anymore). When she first got it for Christmas, I did check it out and I did have to beat it. As I am sure anyone (maybe) would. Although I haven't played it in weeks. :)

I wonder what the teacher thought thought?

P.S. McKay just said she wasn't thru with it when they had to put them away.