Finally a post!

It took a little over a week for me to recover from our 8,346 mile journey.  To feel like I was at home again.

I don't have time for many words, so I'll post many pictures and few words.  Hopefully that will work for now.

(For some reason they did not upload in order.  Apologies.) 

The one spot the boys *had* to see, on the drive out west. 

So, we saw it. 

How the trunk was packed the day we left.
I ROCK at packing.  

In Danville, Illinois - "Where's Perry?" 

It stormed during dinner in Rapid City - this was the view out of our Hotel when we returned. 

We made it!

We saw Crater Lake, another *must see*.  

Iron Castle, at Crater Lake.

Hiked to Paulina Falls.

Hiked the Big Obsidian Flow at Newberry Crater

"WE LOVE HIKING!"

And rocks.  They love rocks.  We came home with about 50lbs.

(See, out of order.)  More Crater Lake. 

Night time light up of the balloons at Balloons over Bend. 

Mi Madre! 

Chocolate on the face, and a fishin' pole.  Life is good. 

My brother and I out for a paddle. 

Poppy spent this whole day fishing, untangling lines... 

My turnout could use some work... 

Beer and a Fire pokin' stick.  

Cleaning, on the last day of camping. 

Then we visited Mt. Bachelor - rode the chairlifts to the top.
(That's Jefferson in the background) 

"I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!!!!!" 

Billy Goat Kenny. 

Spent a fair amount of time in Poppy and Grammy's Saltwater pool.  

Of course we visited!  

I really miss this place. 

While we were camping - my parents' neighborhood was evacuated because a fire swept through.
Thankfully - no one lost their house, but things were pretty dicey for a bit. 

My gramma. 

Chairlift. 

My other Grandma.  

After four weeks on the road, we "turned around" and headed east.
Well, first we went south.  

Two places at once!
Hoover Dam! 

Canyon of Grandness.
One of my favorite places on earth.  

Dried strawberries are possibly not the best road trip snack.
Unless you want to glance in the mirror after hearing maniacal cackling and see this. 

Power plant tour at Hoover. 

"Mom - get away from that ledge or you will fall and become death!" 

Puerca Pueblo Ruins in the Painted Desert National Park

Petroglyphs in Petrified National Forest
This particular one is the Summer Solstice Calendar Marker.  It's pretty nifty how it works. 

On the Historic Rt. 66

Smashing Geodes in ABQ. 

At the very tippy-top of Sandia Peak.
(Explanation for B-rox's face:
He threw a tizzy about climbing onto the roof  [everyone else there was]. I wasn't
so sure in the beginning [this cabin is on the very edge of a 10,000 foot peak].  But then decided we'd climb
the non-ledge side and scoot to the ledge for a photo op.
Halfway into the little scuttle up, he got scared.
I couldn't let him chicken out, so I helped him up.
The ledge was just too much.  Hence the face.)   

Digging out fossils. 

The big Texan in Amarillo. 

Yes. 

Fire museum in Charleston, SC. 

And, the 23rd and final state of our journey.  

That's it in pictures, folks.

We had an awesome time and learned a ton - about a lot of things.  My main goal for the trip was to instill a love of adventure into the boys.  I think I succeeded - and that's what matters most to me.

I plan to (we'll see if it happens) write up a post about how we did it.  What tricks I used (especially on the days where we exceeded 600 miles of driving), what didn't work, where we stayed, etc.

Until then, enjoy our journey with that rather long picture journal!

We're home.

8,346 miles later, we're home.  Posts to come once I decompress.

There will be radio silence commencing in 8, 7, 6...

So - I have a pretty amazing husband.  He works hard and provides well.

When his particular Navular program reached the fifth year of the "5 and out", he went reserves.  So, for the last 18 months he's held down TWO jobs.
This year, big talks were happening regarding "sequestration" and "furloughs".  To be proactive, in case furloughs came to fruition, Hubband lined up several weeks of reserve work.  Mostly in the month of July.
It was then decided that the boys and I would head to Oregon, because - why not?

After several weeks of trying to plan, and budget - I decided to take on a family road trip.


Yes. Your brain is working right.

I'm taking the three boys on a cross-country road trip.  By myself.

No, I'm not expecting Kumbaya the whole trip across.  Nor am I expecting Hell the whole way across.

My kids really like to travel, and they've done a fair amount of it in their short little lives.  So while quite the undertaking, they've done long days in the car and done it well.
We (the boys and I) decided on a Northerly route for the trip there, and a Southerly route back.
I let them pick one major attraction that we would spend a day or two at.
Their choices were Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon.  I have never been to Mount Rushmore - so it will be immensely exciting for me, too.
And the Grand Canyon.  Holy crap, it's so beautiful and... Grand - I can't wait to show it to the boys.  Seriously.  It's going to be AWESOME.

We've bought special organizers, plenty of kindle books, a children's audio book series on Mythology by one of their favorite authors, a cooler (I'm determined not to eat crap at every turn), travel journals and dry-erase activity pages.

We leave in less than 10 days.  SQUEEEE!!!!  and OMG!!!!!!!!

Wish us luck.

I love summer!

I'm not the mom that dreads dealing with her kids during summer.  I love it (mostly).

Here's our summer thus far:


Movies.

Walk-in Saturday night movies, in the center across the street.
Viewing that night was Top Gun. 

 A race.

Random funny seen at a race expo.

Traditional Last day of school ice cream dinner.

Yummo! 

Kenny had his end of year performance with his Drama crew.

If anything, this evening proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that this boy is FILLED
to the brim with drama. 

 Holden waited patiently during a dental checkup for his brothers.

We went to a baseball game.

It's a big deal when you let a lady wear your hat... 

 Hubband and I celebrated 8 years of marriage.

S'mores creme brûlée.  With homemade marshmallows.
Holy crap. 

Sneak attack picture.
And sangria. 

 The boys try to convince me they really ARE twins.

Highlights Top Secret Adventures has proven to be a brilliant move on "Santa's" part. 

We saw a movie and had the theater (mostly) to ourselves.

Bonus of privately schooling your kids?
They get out two-three weeks before the county.  YES! 

Spent several days at the pool.

The big boys spent a weekend camping with daddy for Father's Day.

So, Holdeezy and I spent the weekend doing what HE wanted.

"I want to jump!"

Then he wanted to "Buy a shirt, eat a mammich, and ride my bike". 

So we ate a mammich.

Rode his bike.
(The shirt he is wearing is the one he bought.)

Then, we spent more time at the pool.

Enjoying food fresh off the grill.

Tragedy struck:

Strep.  Pink eye. Ear infections.
Boom.  One week of summer disappears. 

 I've been working on DIY projects.

Pottery Barn version of this cost $280
Yeah... I've spent $40

Pink! Girly! Yay!  Testosterone, stay away! 

Pet the pig.

Taking a few minutes outside to eat some frozen Kefir before a T-storm rolls through.

General shenanigans.

More master bath DIY.

I'm SO close to being finished - I'll post pics when completed.  

It's only been 26 days, but it's been AWESOME so far.

8 Years Ago....

... This happened:

I still think he's handsome, smart, and funny.   Also, this makes year TWO that we're actually together on our anniversary.  It's AMAZING!

7.5

He is seven and a half. 

 He currently smells like his daddy's shower gel.  It's a little unsettling for this mommy, to smell such manliness on her "baby" boy. 

He plays with action figures, hot wheels and pretend swords.  Soon, though, they'll be in boxes and he'll be driving. 

He's smart.  Too smart.  

Thankfully, he has the work ethic to go with those brains. 
He figures the faster he learns everything, the faster he can KNOW everything. 

He's kind, sweet, and generous with a little lot of sass on the side.  

He's the kind of son dreams are made of.  All 37 pounds and 41.5 inches of him.