3,014 Miles Later

Our family has survived our latest adventure. And we enjoyed it. And we still like each other. Rus and I had been wanting to rise above the forces of family reunions and get-togethers and take our fate in our own hands and plan our own family vacation. He said that since he wanted to go drive the Rubicon (hugely popular 4-wheel drive trail in California) next summer, that I got to pick where we went this year. So we planned for a trip that included visiting my brother James in Peoria, IL, and seeing the sites in Nauvoo, IL. Then we figured out that we could visit his sister Katie in Laramie, WY, and it would only add a couple more hours. So, in an eight day period we went from New Mexico (very snowy, actually) through Colorado (say no to toll roads), spent a night in Laramie, Wyoming (Katie got me loving western quilt fabrics), drove all the way across Nebraska (the longest drive ever, but we broke it up by stopping at two of the three Cabelas in the state), then across Iowa (only better than Nebraska because it didn't take as long), into Illinois (James didn't believe we'd make it there...he wouldn't even make us dinner until we were actually at his house), down to St. Louis, Missouri (we stopped at the coolest museum I have ever been to), then a night in Springfield, Missouri (so we could bask fully in the glow of the 300,000 square foot Bass Pro Shop), continuing right on through Oklahoma (went from lush and green and beautiful to...not so much of any of that) to Amarillo, Texas (flat, brown, and windy) and then back to the wonderful brown-ness of New Mexico (but hey, at least we have mountains!) Phew! Okay, so here were my favorite/most humorous parts of our trip:

(In order of occurance)

1. Rus brought his girlfriend on the trip. What?! Who?! Oh, I mean his mountain bike. He had a great time going riding with his brother-in-law Brooks in Laramie, and with my brother's father-in-law in Peoria.

2. Right before we left Katie's house we gave each of her daughters their own can of silly string and said, "Enjoy!" Hehehe...

3. Jacob said "moo" to every cow he saw the entire trip (and we saw a million of them), and Rus counted every deer he saw in Iowa (or was it Nebraska?) That would have been okay if he only saw a couple, but much to his wonderment and awe (and my annoyance), we saw dozens (Rus knows the exact amount) and he pointed out every single one of them. "There's another one! And another one! And four more!"

4. Visiting my brother James was awesome! He and his wife Carrie have this awesome arts and crafts style house that they have worked a ton on, and they have a really nice backyard with a deck and a jacuzzi and a little fountain that Bekah and Jacob loved. They are both amazingly talented and they own their own business doing custom renovations. James is really talented at designing and making anything out of wood, from custom furniture pieces to whole libraries or kitchens, and Carrie is an artist who does paintings and also custom paints people's homes. As I'm writing this I feel like I'm not describing them good enough or giving them enough credit...they're both just amazing, and it was so fun to spend a couple of days with them. Bekah and Jacob loved/feared their dogs, Belvedere and Lulu and their turtle Buster, and they loved playing in the backyard in the fountain and getting James and Carrie to give them treats.

5. James recommended to us the City Museum in St. Louis, MO. It was so incredibly awesome. The website, http://www.citymuseum.org/ describes it like this: "Housed in the 600,000 square-foot former International Shoe Company, the museum is an eclectic mixture of children's playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects. The brainchild of internationally acclaimed artist Bob Cassilly, a classically trained sculptor and serial entrepreneur, the museum opened for visitors in 1997 to the riotous approval of young and old alike. Cassilly and his longtime crew of 20 artisans have constructed the museum from the very stuff of the city; and, as a result, it has urban roots deeper than any other institutions'. Reaching no farther than municipal borders for its reclaimed building materials, CITY MUSEUM boasts features such as old chimneys, salvaged bridges, construction cranes, miles of tile, and even two abandoned planes!" It was basically a giant playground where kids could touch anything and climb anywhere. Bekah had a blast...she was absolutely fearless. Rus followed her in and out and up and down tunnels and slides over the whole museum. Jacob had fun, too, he just wasn't as adventurous. He would have been happy to spend the whole time sitting in an old fire truck they had suspended on the side of the building. My favorite part of it was the slide they had from the third floor down to the first floor. Very accomodating for a pregnant woman.

So here are some pictures, with the caption for each above the picture:

Here are two happy kids, ready to hit the road on day one of our trip. They were so, so good for as much as we drove. We put 3000 miles on the van and at least 30 hours on our dvd player.

Jacob and Bekah both enjoyed the hot tub. Although strangely they weren't big fans of the jets and the bubbles. I guess it made them nervous. Bekah learned fast what each of the buttons did and loved being in control of it all.
Not only did Bekah and Jacob enjoy the fountain, but Tiger and Ken loved it too. Well, at least Ken did for a few minutes...
This is James pushing Bekah on the swing. Bekah is a swing-aholic and thought James pushed the best out of anyone.
Belvedere loved to hang around the kids because he learned so fast that kids aren't so great at holding on to their food. Here Jacob had a baggie full of lunch meat and Belvedere made sure he got his fair share.
Bekah asked me if she could splash in the puddles in Nauvoo. I said she'd get her pants wet. So she hiked them up as far as they'd go and walked very carefully through every puddle with her cool yellow boots.

Here we are in front of the Nauvoo temple.

Jacob walking on a bridge at the City Museum. We were up at least two stories. So cool!Rus and Jacob in one of the airplanes at the museum. Rus and Keri. See, we were still happy, and this was towards the end of the trip. I'll agree with you though, if you think we look tired. Bekah climbing up from the second floor to the third floor at the City Museum.

Jacob in his fire truck. I'd try to get him to come out so we could meet up with Rus, and he'd get a little ways away and then say "Fire!" and run back to the truck.Where are Rus and Bekah? This crazy view is from the building, looking out at all the different passageways that were built up in front of the building. Bekah and Rus are climbing down the long diagonal bridge.

Okay, so that concludes the world's longest blog...Hope you enjoyed!