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Showing posts from January, 2012

Arkansas

Continuing east toward Florida, we stopped in Little Rock, Arkansas. What? AR isn't on the way to FL?? It is if Shannan, Paul, and "the girls" live there! We had a wonderful time reconnecting with friends we haven't seen in WAY too long. "The girls" are growing up, prettier than ever, and just amazing young ladies. Adding Paul and Caleb to that family is just the perfect mix too! We were so glad to meet them and see what great things God's done with and for the Harris family. Besides all the catching up, we had a lot of fun. We got to see their beautiful horse and enjoy a country paradise. Beautiful lake, trees, swing. The dogs (& kids) got to run wild. The kids got to pet & help groom the horse. Somehow it ended with everyone spinning around a stick until we were crazy dizzy and trying to run. Then, randomly, a dance party broke out. I hear " we're making a dance video, find some crazy clothes to wear " and for some reason I

Bungy

Someone's loss was our gain on the highway today. We pulled into a gas station and found this stowaway. Score! :)

Emma's driveway, Kyle TX

On our way through Texas, we stopped in my friend Emma 's driveway. I think my kids were on her trampoline before they even met the entire family. A TRAMPOLINE! Yeah, they were excited. That's the only thing they miss from home. Emma and Troy graciously let us invade their yard & house despite their crazy week, work travel, their house being under construction, and rain (that we probably brought with us). Elizabeth and her daughter traveled to us again and spent the evening with us too! We had a campfire (that you could see from space - seriously, we had to use a heat shield!) and made dogs, burgers, corn, beans, cobbler, & s'mores. The kids got to play with their 5, plus chickens & kittens! They also got to do a little decorating to an unfinished wall. Their remodeling is well underway and it'll be fun to see the finished house one day. It'll also be nice to see our friends again and meet their newest daughter once she arrives! More pics: Vide

Skydive

Clever marketing we saw passing through Texas! We love skydiving for fun, but this is a good reason too! :)

Hillshade RV Park, Gonzales TX

After 2 years, we finally made it to Hillshade RV Park in Gonzales TX! Why did I want to go so bad? What's in Gonzales anyway? (I don't know, I never left the park!) Why Hillshade?? Because Christine is there! She's a weird caring strange helpful quirky awesome beautiful trauma mama and friend (and RV park owner) who's helped us (and approximately a gazillion other families) with our adoption insanity challenges. I got to meet Christine at a moms retreat last year and it was so nice to meet her whole beautiful family! The kids had a blast together and seemed to find much common ground, especially with 6 of the 8 being adopted. Allen & I got to sit and chat with Christine (which is like a shot of therapy & caffeine), so now he understands why I begged to come to Middleofnowhere, TX. (It's actually close to San Antonio & Austin, so not really out of the way. He exaggerates.) Only Christine could grow clovers with hearts! I think she paints them

Allen

My favorite time of day. Even when he sings A Boy Named Sue. :) He still can't sing that without laughing. No idea how Johnny Cash did it! But I love his music in the background. Jack curls up and goes to sleep too. :)

White Sands

On our way east, we stopped at White Sands National Monument , which is 275 square miles of yep, white sand! According to them, it's the world's largest gypsum dunefield. According to our kids, it's a winter paradise without winter! Sledding without the cold. The sand is fine, more sugar than your typical beach sand, though it looks (and is slippery) like snow. The best part of this place is you get to TOUCH it! So many of the National Parks are look, but don't touch . This one is hey, the sand moves every day, so get in there and enjoy it ! And boy did we! We took the RV with us and spent the day. It was great to have to take naps, make lunch, and clean up. Not so great to have white sand everywhere though, but at least it was easy to sweep out. The kids did the Junior Ranger program and got their badges on our way out. They had a good movie about how the gypsum was formed. There was a laugh out loud moment as the NPS (as always) pushed evolution but describe

New Mexico

On our way east finally! Southern New Mexico was intriguing from the start.

Family fun

We were sad to miss the FOTR rally in Florida this year, but very happy to get to spend time with 6 families in our campground in Arizona. And when a few families sadly pulled out, more pulled in! So we've had lots of time to chat, play, eat, fix things, compare notes and just enjoy each other. We also learned that when Kimberly Travaglino says "Hey, you wanna have a pizza & game night?" she has something up her sleeve! We had one heckuva game night with 4 families and both kids and adults had a ball! Balloons, bananas, toilet paper, pretzels, candy, straws, popsicle sticks, cups, dice, prizes - she had it all - and it all had a purpose - and it all was hilarious! It's so fun to have all these families around us! Whether it's a loaf of bread, curtains, a screen door, dog walking, or a fuel filter, there's someone to help, watch, advise, or laugh at. And the kids have so many options! When they walk outside, they have a hard time choosing what to p

Breakfast with 5 RVing families

We had a small RVing families gathering for breakfast at the campground lodge. If you consider 5 families and 22 kids small anyway. :) The Northams and my brother Ryan were leaving, and the Garrisons and Ticknors just arrived, so it was a great time to say hi, bye, and eat up! The Travaglinos and Lundys seem to not feel like moving lately. :) We took electric griddles and the kids made pancakes, eggs, and bacon for us! My brother got to experience a week in the life of a traveling Lundy and commented a few times on the camaraderie of RVing families. We tend to take it for granted, but it's been so great having other families close by. Borrowing eggs, extra playmates, communal meals, maintenance helpers, manual labor, adult conversation... it really is nice having neighbors!

Sedona hike, Cathedral Rock again

Because we're insane stupid adventurous, we took Ryan to climb back up Cathedral Rock in Sedona. We really wanted him to experience a great hike and view, and I have a feeling Allen wanted to kill him just a little. Some of the Ticknor men came with us this time and again it was excruciating fun! We're always representing. Go Bucks! We, fine, okay, they spent some time searching for a geocache, which we're pretty sure is gone, or invisible. I'm not sure about that, but I am pretty sure Dana wouldn't have enjoyed watching her boys searching for it on this mountain! Rocking my camera fanny pack. Yeah, you can't really rock one of these things, they're ugly! But I sure love it for hiking. Especially when we climb and I need both hands. Avoiding death by falling trumps pretty camera bag in this case. Cactus eating survival lesson. We also had a honeycomb lesson. At one point, we were resting, and well, maybe feeling a little proud of our private spot, o