On Friday, May 29, we started our four-week-long "road trip of a lifetime"! The children and I drove first to Fort Benning to pick up our dear Daddy who was just returning from Iraq. We picked him up on Sunday, May 31, and we all headed to Orlando for a ten-day vacation. We then drove from Orlando to Seattle with overnights in Illinois, South Dakota, and Montana.
While we were in the Seattle region, Paul reported to Fort Lewis, Washington, where he completed his paperwork to get out of the Army. (He is still in the Reserves.) We were in Seattle for a week, and then we drove to Denver to see my parents. After a few days in Denver, we headed for home and arrived exactly four weeks to the day from when we left.
All in all, we were in 18 different states and drove a total of 8, 134 miles!! The trip was an amazing experience, and we relished the opportunity to be together again. The Lord blessed us with safe travel and great family time. What a gift!
I hope you will enjoy this little photo album!
The first kisses from Daddy at Freedom Hall, Fort Benning, GA!
Daddy with all of his happy kids!
Daddy with a very happy (although teary-eyed) mommy!
Isaac wrapped up in his travel pillow on the way to Florida.
The boys with Buzz Lightyear at Magic Kingdom.
Our princess with a princess!
You can't see it in the background, but Micah's smile comes from his love of the ride "Splash Mountain", which he has now ridden 14 times!
Micah by one of the beautiful aquariums at Sea World. You can see a manta ray behind him in the tank.
Our kids up inside the viewing tube in one of the aquariums at Sea World!
Paul's parents came and spent several days with us in Florida. We had a great time with them, and they were glad to see Paul back safe and sound!
Josiah playing in the splash area at Sea World on a hot, hot day!
We spent two days at Disney's Animal Kingdom and three days at Disney's Magic Kingdom! Our entire family enjoyed it immensely!
Sarah with Grandpa in line at Animal Kingdom.
Isaac squeezin' the stuffin' out of Grandma!
Grandpa bought our whole family matching shirts before leaving Disney! It was fun to wear them together on our last day at the park!
As we drove across the country, we got to see several fun places and sights. Here is the first stop-- the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
At the bottom of the Arch...
...and at the top of the Arch!
We rode on the little tram that is part elevator, part ferris wheel to get to the top. Here is Micah looking out over St. Louis. You can see the Cardinals' stadium in the background of the picture!
On our way through South Dakota, we stopped at Wall Drug for lunch. They had all kinds of activities for kids, so here we are searching for precious stones and gems in the mining area. The kids got to go into some little mines with head lamps on helmets and search in the dark for treasure. Here they are with sluice boxes, separating the dirt from the stones.
You can't drive through the Black Hills without stopping at Mount Rushmore!
I took this picture of the Garmin when we were finally almost to Seattle. It shows only 25 miles to our destination, but it also shows more than 4,000 miles driven and 60 hours of driving time since the kids and I left home on May 29. As for the max speed of 94.2 mph, all I can say is that we had driven through Montana that day. Anyone who has driven through Montana knows that it is easy to go that fast without even realizing it! We realized it rather quickly, but the Garmin still caught it, and now it is preserved for all posterity!
Daddy and Josiah playing chess at the Children's Museum in Seattle.
Beautiful Mount Rainier as seen from Fort Lewis. In the week we were there, it was only clear enough to see it on the one day I took this picture.
We went to the lovely home of Paul's aunt and uncle, Greg and Cheryl White, for dinner while we were in Seattle. Here are pictures of the kids canoeing with Paul's cousin, Sara.
At the top of the Seattle Space Needle with the beautiful city in the background.
We took in a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field while we were there. It was absolutely frigid considering it was the middle of June! Paul is hoping to watch a game at every ball park in America before the boys leave home! Mark off Safeco Field!
A few pictures of our happy travelers. They did so well on such a long trip!
Isaac playing dress-up at Oma and Opa's house in Denver. The kids really enjoyed being out of the car for a few days!
The Denver Museum of Science and Nature.
Putt-putt golfing with Oma and Opa! What a fun time! We also got to visit a candy factory in Denver and eat at The Old Spaghetti Factory! I miss Denver and its blue sky! You can take the girl out of Colorado, but you can't take Colorado out of the girl!
On our final stretch, we were able to meet up with my brother and sister-in law, Erich and Jen, in Omaha. Here are the kids with their sweet cousin Jack!
Isaac and Jack saying good-bye!
After Omaha, we drove home and began settling into our life as a family again! By God's grace we had a wonderful trip, and by God's grace, we travel on from here!
