Pauls Family Trip ~ Day 3

Once again we were up in the morning at 6:00 a.m. getting ready to hit the road and shopping for groceries (the beauty of staying at a 24hr Wal-mart supercenter overnight....)

And we were on our way before 8:00.

I had not realized the beauty that we had driven into the night before until we were back on the interstate. (pictures cannot begin to do justice!)

Greens, yellows, oranges and reds are the colors of the trees that grew on the beautiful Missouri/Kentucky countryside.

Every so often there is a break in the trees and I see lakes, ponds and rivers all surrounded by and lined with the same beautiful trees.

The eye beholds little treasures in the things that it momentarily sees.

• A windmill standing on a tiny island in the middle of a pond
• Trees growing on a ledge in the rocky hillside
• A home nestled in the bush close to the highway
• Cows grazing in amongst the trees
• A train track that can be seen winding it's own path through the trees

It was all hard to to look away from, even for a moment as it is often this unexplainable beauty that shows me God's incomprehensible love.

And so it was as we drove on....

We stopped to get some gas... somewhere (I don't have my journal with me at the moment, or I could tell you where :) and as we stepped out.... we felt the hot sun! (YEAH!)

And we continued on!

Soon we were in Tennessee... and beholding the beautiful Smokey Mountains. 

(once again.... no picture could do justice!!)

We arrived at our first destination, which is in Cleveland, Tennessee.

We are at KOA Kampground.

We got all set up and then EXCITEDLY awaited the arrival of our DEAR and AMAZING friends the Muncks! They brought us pizza for supper and we visited awhile before they had to head home. 

I was not able to take any pictures as it was dark (our camera is scared of the dark :), but just imagine 26 people excitedly talking to each other (we've got almost 2 years of catching up to do people!), and (the little kiddoes) running around playing together and you'll have it just about right!

We LOVE our Tennessee family and are SUPER excited to be spending more time with them today! 

I'm not sure when I will have access to Wifi next.... but I'll do my best to take lots of pictures and keep you updated.

I'll leave you with a picture (a blurry picture non-the-less) of some of the crazyness that happens as bedtime approaches....

Oh, AND I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my lil' nephew Andy!

I hope that you had a good day yesterday buddy! 

Always remember that Auntie Jenny loves you!!

Pauls Family Trip ~ Day 2

6:30 this morning saw us bustling around our RV getting beds put back together and blankets put away. 

We were driving the Iowa interstate at 7:00.

High winds made driving challenging, but with many a silent prayer, we kept rolling along.

Trying to move around in the RV while it is moving is hilariously difficult. It is not unusual to see people fall over as we move about trying to get stuff done. It brings needed laughter and added entertainment to our long traveling day.

And I should add that non-blurry picture taking is next to impossible while we are rolling... so please forgive all of the blurriness!

 We stopped for gasoline along the interstate in the morning. 

Dad and Mom did laps around the RV, you get exercise when you can while traveling!! 

(yes, I have the cutest parents EVEER)

The changing scenery is breathtaking. 

In the early morning we watched the sun rise over the Iowa hills.... the morning mist still lingering.

The grass continues to get greener the farther south we travel, and the leaves begin to appear on the trees. 

We continued driving until we got near to St. Louis Missouri. 

We then stopped to get more gas (yes... we’ve got a guzzler :) and shop for food once again. 

We happened to be parked right next to a lil’ Ceaser’s so we picked some pizza up for supper. 

(let me just say that lil’ Ceaser’s pizza is WAY yummier out here then it is at home!) 

We are currently stopped at a Wal-mart somewhere in-between St. Louis and Louisville where we are spending the night.

Right now Ker and I are playing a game of phase 10... and speaking of which, it is my turn....

Until tomorrow!

Pauls family trip ~ Day 1

Hello everyone from the United States of America!

We are currently parked at a rest stop somewhere just past Souix City.

The first part of our journey was slow going as we had to make several stops for the border crossing, to buy food, gas, and to get cell phone service... but when we were on our way.... we were on our way!

So far traveling in an RV as apposed to a 15 passenger has been much more... shall we say pleasant :) 

We have only had to take ONE bathroom break so far... and that was only for the driver of this monstrous vehicle! 

We don’t have to stop for meals either.... we eat on the go.

AND we can let the kids move around a bit more then usual. 

Ker and I have looked at each other multipule times so far and have shared the smile that says “this is SO much fun... WAY better then the van”!

I was just informed (by my lil bro) that we have 18 hours left to go till we reach our destination.

I'll leave you with pictures that were taken this day....

Checklist

These days our life had been like a huge checklist.
The countdown was not in days left, but rather.... projects left.
One by one we tackled each task... working together as a family. And today we were finally able to check off the list!

Harvest - Check!
Fall field work - Check!
Siding Henry and Megan's house - Check!
Shingling Pastor's house - Check!
Bringing cows home - Check!
Buy an RV - Check!
Cut, split and stack wood for the winter - Check!
Get yard/house winterized - Check!
And finally....
Get packed for a 2 week trip - Check!

And so it is as of this morning that we are off on what is promising to be a FUN filled family vacation!

Internet connection permitting, I will be blogging updates/pictures as often as possible... until then!