The beginning of many tears....when our moving truck pulled up. Thanks soooo much to our friends who helped Brett load up the truck!
A few months back when we were deciding exactly how to make the move I happily suggested us driving cross country (since we were spoiled and hadn't made that drive yet)! "It will be fun to do just once, right?!"
Pretty sure those were my exact words. About Nebraska I was seriously rethinking my decision!
Here is our road-trip in pictures and water towers (and impressions we had of the states)...
1. OHIO: lots of tears. Leaving our house was hard. I watched Emri tell her room goodbye and time slowed down for just a minute as I watched her laugh and run in circles there one last time. We had one stop shortly after we started to re-tie some cartop carrier straps.
2. INDIANA: meh. Nothing really left any impression on my mind.
Our route did take us past the Indy 500 Raceway. I guess that would be a cool place to visit if cars driving in circles intrigues you?! A funny billboard we saw in Indiana "Avoid Hell. Repent. Trust in Jesus."
3. ILLINOIS: B: "That's a hell of a lotta corn!"
J: "Where's Target?" (we pretty much saw FIELDS the whole time since we detoured to Nauvoo...and that will be a post of it's own)
These windmills. I just can't explain my relationship with them. They are sort of extra-terrestrial-like. They scare the crap out of me. It's a weird thing I know. I admit it. I'm also intrigued by them and have to take millions of pictures. But I'm still scared.
4. IOWA: About 4 blocks into Iowa we see a sign that says " DO NOT PICK UP HITCHHIKERS. PRISON AREA." Freaky! Then, get this...pretty much exactly in front of the prison there's a family fun center with mini-golf, bowling, etc. Weird!
In DesMoines we saw this Taj Mahal looking building...is it the capitol? Interesting.
Emri entertaining herself :)
5. NEBRASKA: J: "Awesome. The Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's are basically right next to eachother. I kinda want to go in the Bass Pro Shop just to see what it's like!"
B: "Wow, you really have more of your brothers in you than I thought."
Then...we passed the Cabela's watertower...I didn't know Nebraska was the headquarters.
J: "Is Jet ever going to stop crying?" This is the point where I actually climbed into the back seat and awkwardly nursed Jet while he was buckled in. haha! Mental picture?! TMI?! I don't care....it was totally worth it to have some silence...and I might add, time efficient!!
A sign in Nebraska we saw: "Jesus, I trust you." B: I always love a good Jesus sign!" classic.
We spent the night in an unplanned place in Nebraska. Ogallala, Nebraska to be exact. We had planned to stop in North Platte, but the kids had fallen asleep for the night and we decided to push through while they were quiet (by this time Jet was DONE being strapped in). The western skies were full of lightening and the radio stations were giving some pretty serious caution, with warnings of possible tennis-ball sized hail coming. We only got about 45 minutes further when they announced and we decided to stop asap. Pretty much every hotel was booked but the Super 8. SUPER! We just beat the rush (at 10:30 pm) and luckily got one of the last rooms. And the nice lady gave me a AAA rate even tho we aren't members. Not the cleanest place I've ever stayed, but we were safe...even though the hail never came.
More scary windmills :)
6. WYOMING:....no water towers, just more windmills. I was somewhat excited when we crossed the border into Wyoming, knowing we were just one state away. The mountains gave somewhat of a "home" feeling, but UGH that was a long drive (and the sagebrush isn't all that pretty)! We were all sick of being strapped in. I was getting clostrophobic squishing between 2 carseats in the back every 15 minutes to help Emri or entertain Jet. I'm not gonna lie, a minivan would have been awesome!
7. UTAH!!!!!!!! We felt like horses close to home....just wanted to run/speed :) The scenery changed almost immediately....lots of green! We pushed through and after Emri giving 2 false potty alarms I told her to just do her business in her pull-up because we weren't stopping again (mean, I know)! We just wanted to be DONE!! In all, Emri was a gem! Jet was pretty good for the most part...just a few meltdowns. I had a couple meltdowns myself and Brett reminded me that Emri was behaving better than me :) Brett was a champ and drove the WHOLE way, and kept me somewhat sane!
We are currently staying in Morgan with Brett's parents. They have welcomed us with loving arms! Emri is in heaven with many of her cousins minutes away, though she still asks about her friends from Ohio. We are adjusting.....
I'm soooo behind on blogging, but I think things are calming down a bit and hopefully I'll get caught up soon!
Prior to leaving Ohio I scheduled an appointment with one of my awesome friends, Brooke Bailey (at Panache Hair in South Ogden in case anyone is needing a great stylist), so I didn't have to wait any longer! A 13 inch ponytail + another few inches later and....waaalaaaah!!
It feels soooo good!! I love it! I even took the plunge for the first time and got some highlights! She just did a few, very natural ones. Brett says the haircut is so drastic that most people probably won't notice the highlights. I noticed at first, but I think they've kinda blended in now that I've spent some time in the sun and my hair has lightened a bit on it's own.
I donated my hair to Locks of Love, for the second time! The first time was in 2005. It feels good knowing 2 of us can enjoy my haircut :)
