We made it! Whew. There are still a few boxes lining the walls and we are still trying to get the world to stop spinning a bit, but we made it. We are in our new home and I have a few minutes to catch up on our epic road trip 2013!
Bryant boy turned 4 during our trip so the day before we left we celebrated with his "dudes." It was a Batman and Superman party thrown by and hosted by Uncle Drew, Aunt Annie, Noah & Levi.
Three of the absolute coolest dudes on the planet. L to R: Bryant, Noah, Jack
Noah & Levi
The party decor
The kids: L to R: Sam, Stuart, Bethany, Aubrey, Jack, Bryant, Beckham, Levi. Noah & Alice are missing.
The birthday boy
Aubrey got to hold Alice, and it was love at first sight. Plus they had coordinating outfits on, courtesy of Aunt Stephanie
Jack Sam
Stuart Bryant
Blake, Drew & I really like to coordinate our outfits, too.
Early Saturday morning our roadtrip began. Our first lunch stop. This is so typical of me trying to get a picture of the four. Stuart is eating a cookie, Bryant is shooting something, Aubrey is posing and Emmett is trying to survive. Me too. :)
We spent the night in a different location every night. The first night was in Parma where Bryant specially requested to ride a tractor. Uncle Warren obliged him. We had a party waiting for us and it was so nice to get to spend the evening with family from the Farwell side.
We didn't enjoy getting out a whole lot as the temperature was in the low 20's most everywhere we went. This was Independence Rock, somewhere in Wyoming. As the pioneers were making their way west they knew if they made it to Independence Rock before the 4th of July they could make it the rest of the way before winter hit. Pretty cool rest stop if you ask me.
We got to make a special stop in Upton, WY, where John's great uncle, Joe and his wife Beverly run the family ranch. They were such gracious hosts during a very busy calving season.
Mt. Rushmore was a fun highlight. Who are the two people on the right? Nana & Papa! We really could not have made the trip (successfully) without them. There are photo-op grandparents and there are in-the-trench grandparents. Those who aren't in a whole lot of pictures because they are too busy manning their stations? Yep, that's Nana & Papa. We made some fun memories along the way, too.
We also got to stop in Sioux Falls, SD, where most of dad's family lives and had such a fun time. Gracious hosts, lots of laughter. We headed to Worthington, MN, as well where Dad was born and most of his family's roots are. Seeing the old homestead and the grave stones of those we've heard stories of was very fun. We also were priveleged to meet my Grandpa Petersen's best friend, Erv & his wife Lois. Since I never was able to meet my Grandpa it was incredibly special to get to talk to a couple who knew him from grade school days.
We then trekked to Omaha, NE, and God gifted us with staying at a hotel right next to a convention center. Mom & I were heading out to get some dinner to bring back while Dad & John went swimming with the kids and I saw a lot of kids walking into the convention center with their parents. Mom inquired as to what was happening and it was Disney on Ice! What a special surprise.
The next day we were off to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. The kids had a blast there, discovering water slides with inner tubes! Aubrey began to get sick here. I thought it was dehydration but later on we will discover that it may have been more than that.
Mt. Vernon, IL, was our next stop and this is where we received word that we had an offer on our house in Warrenton!
West Virginia was next. We don't have a whole lot to say about this state (the saying goes if you don't have anything nice to say...) but it was one stop closer to our destination.
The next day we made it to Raleigh, NC, and had fun playing with Grace, Ella & Molly and looking forward to more regular "play dates," as these next few years progress.
And, finally on the 26th we made it to Suffolk, our new home.
Our household goods were delayed a day so we decided to head over to Colonial Williamsburg for a day. Note to self: a historical colony with a lot of walking may not be an ideal location for travel-weary children. This picture below is the beginning of our day. Ominous sign and yet we forged on. We (the adults) enjoyed seeing what we saw and I think the highlight for me this day was when Emmett pulled a cup of lemonade off the lunch table onto my lap. In my haste to clean up the lemonade I placed my elbow directly into my cup of Brunswick Stew. Yes, I was wearing white. Fun times.
We officially spent the first night in our home with our beds on the 28th. The morning of the 29th Aubrey woke and almost immediately began complaining about her tooth. She said Bryant "bumped into her on purpose" and hit her tooth. She also said she hit her nose when pulling a book off a shelf. I, being the incredibly sensitive mother I am, told her that I had bumped my face lots of times and she didn't see me crying about it. So, please buck up and toughen up. Let's not go and pin any medals on my chest just yet.
The morning of the 30th, after a terrible night of sleep for Aubrey, she woke up and looked like the cutest Who in Whoville. I mean, the absolute cutest. But a Who nonetheless. Her face had swollen just under her nose. I felt a twinge of guilt for how I had responded to her the previous day and asked how she was feeling. She said much better. So we went on with our day. I had gone out to get some groceries (I think, I can't remember what my errand was for) and as soon as I walked in the door Aubrey winced and said, "OW!" I said in a less-than-understanding tone, "Aubrey, I doubt very much that you've been saying that at all until I came home. I know it hurts but we can't take any more medicine for a couple more hours. Buck up." How about that medal?
At about 6pm on Saturday night (yes, the night before Easter Sunday) she came running into the room and said, "Mom! I feel the bump where it hurts on my tooth!" I lifted her lip up, as I had done many times before, and sure enough there was the ugliest looking thing staring back at me. Okay, it wasn't staring but if you know my stomach when looking at icky things, it may as well have been. I calmly said, "Wow! Sure enough! Daddy...would you mind looking at this and letting me know how fast I should call a doctor?" He looked at it and said, "Wow! Well there it is. How about if you call them now?" Problem starts here. We have been in our house for 2 days. I don't know any doctors. I don't know any urgent care clinics in the area. My smart phone was no help. But, the day before my mom had met our neighbor, who mentioned she was a pediatrician. I headed across the street and knocked on the door with my very sick girl. "Hi, my name is Anna and we just moved in across the street. I think you may have met my mom the other day." "Yes! Hi!" "Hi. So, this is a fairly awkward introduction but my daughter, Aubrey, (say, hi, Aubs), is not feeling well and she has a strange bump on her gums above her tooth. I wondered if you could recommend an urgent care around here for me to take her to?" Pediatrician neighbor asks to see what I am talking about and immediately says, "EWW!" Thank you, Dr.
She then proceeded to call the children's hospital and give them the heads up that we would be coming that way. She quietly told me it looked like an abcess on her tooth and that we needed to take care of it right away. After thanking her profusely and plugging in directions into my phone, our neighbor graciously said, "I guess now I know why I told your mom what I did. I never tell people in our first meeting what I do for a living. God knew, I guess." Yes, yes He did.
On our way to the hospital the "ouchie," drained. Almost completely. I know that's gross to even say but that in itself is a miracle because otherwise she would have had to go to the O.R. and have it drained. Much more traumatic of an experience. It's also a miracle that John packed a roll of paper towels in our car so that Aubrey could use it on the way.
The next day was Resurrection Sunday. We managed to dye eggs, hide them, hunt them and eat them while thanking the Lord that He has risen and that He watched over us every step of the way.
One week later our house is not quite home except that our kids are healthy, they are happy, and we can smile and say this is right where God wants us.
On that note, here is an ode to our youngest. The smilingest, sweetest Emmett boy ever.
