June 19, 2011

Another day, another storm.  This one reared its ugly head at 3 am.  Wet and tired, we slept until 9 am.  This may be a blessing in disguise – we are already on EDT but still in the Central Time Zone.  Woo Hoo!

Billy and I started the morning with an hour-long bike ride down the country roads. [Insert appropriate John Denver song here.]  We got a first-hand look at why the price of corn will be high this summer.

PARTY!  Trudy made ribs, chicken-on-a-stick (for the kids, but let’s face it, no adult complained), mac-n-cheese, deviled eggs, and a mandarin orange/jello/cottage cheese concoction that doesn’t sound great, but was delicious.  Many of the Bleish cousins joined us, as well as Uncle Charlie, Gerry Sr., and the usual suspects from yesterday.
  

Gerry Sr. and Geralyn

Gerry's sister, Julia, and her daughter, Geralyn

"Do we really need that many vegetables?"
- thought bubble over Kenny's head

Rabans!
Gerry, Charlie, Robert, Alan, Gary, Julia, Gerry Sr., Nathan

Fun with the 50 cal gun
Richard (G's brother), Tim (G's BFF), Nathan (G's brother)

The kids spent most of the day in the lake. 

Billy:  Can we go in the pool?

Lindsay:  Did you see me dive in the ditch? 

You can take the kids out of New Mexico, but you…  Well, you know.  

Cousins + Lake + Watermelon = Fun!

June 18, 2011

We arrived at Grandma Trudy’s (Gerry’s mom) and Grandpa Kenny’s home in Lenzburg, IL last night and were all thrilled to be here.  Everyone is looking forward to lots of fishing, visiting family and generally being spoiled. 

The day started with a bang at approximately 5:50 am.  Daisy was the first to get in bed with us, followed shortly by Lindsay.  We are staying in the camper and thus were able to enjoy the storm en force.   Shortly thereafter, the tornado sirens started and we were summoned to the storm bunker.  The excitement lasted about 10 minutes.  And then boredom set in.  The kids played hangman on the Blackberry.  We just got rain here and I don’t think there was storm damage anywhere else. 

Only Gerry could be this chipper at 6 am while expecting a tornado

Tim & Gerry

Most of the day was spent prepping for the WELCOME HOME, GERRY! party happening tomorrow.  We figured out that it has been 5 years since we’ve all been here.  The weather cleared and Gerry’s sister, Julia, and brothers, Nathan and Richard, as well as his BFF, Tim, came by with their kids and spent the afternoon here.  Everyone had great fun at the lake – fishing, swimming and canoeing.  Only one kid nearly had their eye torn out by a renegade hook. 

Maddie (Tim's daughter), Lindsay, and Karl
The Raban kids never waited to get on their suits

Lindsay

I’m certain there will be other fishing statistics to follow, but here is a start:  Lindsay is the best at throwing out her line, but Karl has the most patience to watch his bobbin.  I think they caught about 10 fish, although it may have been the same one over and over.  Billy drags his along the dock and, against all odds, is the most successful.  

Karl with the first fish of the day

 Billy won the award for the first tick of the trip.  His new BFF is his cousin, Aubrey.  

June 17, 2011

More driving and it is getting greener and a little less windy.  At the hotel, I filled all the water bottles with ice before we left.  Yesterday’s temperature topped at 102 degrees and I knew today would be hot as well.  All three kids noted individually that their water bottles are leaking.  Not having experienced condensation since last summer, none could recognize it. 

Billy:  Look!  It’s leaking!

Lindsay:  Mom, can I have a napkin?  I don’t like it dripping on my blanket.

Karl:  Someone dropped this on the pavement.  After explanation…  Where does the water on the outside come from?

We drove through Joplin, MO - mostly be accident.  We needed fruit and a toothbrush and were looking for a grocery store.  The tornado damage from a few weeks ago was amazing and scary.  A nearly visible line divides the tornado-hit area and the not-touched area.  The Wal-Mart that showed on the Google map on my Blackberry was leveled.  I mean, gone.  Less than a mile away, Target was completely untouched.  My heart and prayers go out to those in Joplin.

Gerry could smell jean shorts all the way in Rolla, MO but we are now in Freeburg, IL and haven’t seen a pair.  When I find some, we’ll be sure to post them.  


I have to admit that I had a few moments of doubt today, that we would make it.  I’m beginning to understand the “You’re Crazy” look. My prayer for today:  Thank you, God, for the DVD player in my car.  You are indeed awesome.  Movies watched in the backseat so far:  Shrek 4, Coraline, Tom & Jerry’s Greatest Chases (twice), Princess Bride, Schoolhouse Rock, Monsters Inc., Adventures in Babysitting.

Hear that?  I didn't think so.  That is the sound of 3 sleeping children.

We rolled across the swollen Mississippi River today.

June 16, 2011

The odometer on the way out of Albuquerque

Billy, Karl & Lindsay

We left ABQ at 8:20 am, headed toward Tulsa.  While many would describe New Mexico as ‘brown’, I’ve never seen it quite as brown as it is now.   There were several fires on the way to Amarillo.  We couldn’t really determine if they were controlled burns or not. 

We passed 15,565 cholla cactus on the way out of New Mexico

Did I mention that Daisy is with us for the first trip?  She’s the best traveler of the bunch so far.  She gets in the car when asked, never complains, and sleeps the entire time.

Smile, Daisy!

The kids did remarkably well during the drive.  Lindsay started the when-will-we-get-theres at about 5 pm and did not relent until we stopped at 7 or so.  We intended to get all the way to Tulsa but made it to ~40 miles south of there.  Not bad. 

Lindsay:  When will we be at the hotel?

Me:  See this clock?  8 pm.

Gerry:  When it is dark.  [Covering the odds, here.]

Billy:  So, are we there yet?

Me:  No.

Billy:  I’m mad at you.

Me:  Why?

Billy:  Because we aren’t there yet.

Oklahoma had a very nice sunset.

About

Gerry is on his second sabbatical from Intel.  Every 7 years or so, Intel employees receive an 8 week hiatus from work.  Isn’t that wonderful?

Since we trek yearly to NC for a few weeks at the beach – usually by airplane – we decided that this year we would drive since we had the time.  And we are able to visit southern Illinois (Gerry’s birthing pond) along the way.  So we are spending ~4 weeks on a big loop from Albuquerque to Lenzburg to Winston Salem to Emerald Ilse and all points between.   Then we will drive back along I40.

We’ll be home for about 5 days until we leave again for our National Park tour.  We are camping for 4 weeks, hitting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Dinosaur NP, Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier.  We’ll end up at Lake Chelan in Washington.  From there, the kids will go home with my father who is flying with them to ABQ just in time for school to start.  Gerry and I will drive back to ABQ in the meantime.

When we tell anyone about this they give us the “You Are Crazy” look.  Might be.