The Family that Travels

I thought I'd blog about my family. They are becoming more precious to me every day- as we have been apart for over two weeks now.

My husband is wonderful. He has endured so much during their travels. Right now, they are in Bellingham, Washington, and on Saturday, they leave from Bellingham on the ferry. It will be a 6 day trip (the ferry loads up Saturday evening). Then, on June 10, we will all be reunited.

They began the trip with our travel trailer, a little Scamp, that is small enough to tow behind the mini-van. And, they took a couple days to head to DH's grandparents. They threw my son a birthday party. They gave the kids a "mystery box" for the trip. Everyday, the kids open one present each. They have opened hand sanitizer, bandaids, tissues, a pin that says, "thou shalt not whine", and other little trinkets. They wake my husband at 5 AM each day, begging for their present. Yesterday, he made them open everything- he said the mess in the car and 5 AM pleads were making him crazy. But, they also each have a book of activities. Each day there is a question of some sort- they can answer by drawing a picture or writing something. This is a real hit- evidently everyone (husband included) loves this daily activity.


In Missouri, my daughter found her favorite restaurant "Hardees" She ate there at least three times before leaving the midwest. She cried when I told her there was no Hardees in Kodiak. She just loves this place. I don't know why. DH did not share her joy about this restaurant, but the grandparents in Kansas indulged her.

So, in Kansas, they saw the grandparents (DH's family). There 13 pound dog spent 4 days trying to hump my 60 pound golden retriever. Scotty (golden retriever) took to peeing on the floor whenever someone gave him attention, and chewed through his gentle leader collar and leash. He was very nervous there (my poor dog ) Although, the humping part is kinda amusing, I have to admit. My daughter got very upset leaving her grandparents. She became attached, as if it was her "new" home. But, also cried after church, because she missed her church so much. This might have something to do with the lack of Kool-aid and cake after the service, but she was very homesick. She was a wreck leaving her grandparents too.

In Nebraska, DH visited his brother. I have a picture of my son kissing and hugging a statue of Abraham Lincoln, in Lincoln, NE. He has been doing very well on this trip. Although, my husband caught him lying to him about a couple things. One of them, was about chewing gum. I am not sure why he even lied about that.

Back to Nebraska. BIL has cats, and DH is highly allergic, so the family camped. The travel trailer was left behind in Kansas (for the next 2 years) and they tent camping has begun. The first two nights of camping, involved baseball games at the same park, and kids filling the park/playgrounds to 10 PM each night. Scotty chewed through his tie-up and another leash. The next night, they camped behind BIL's house, and there were thunderstorms. The tent leaked badly, ending with everyone inside the house, and the kids sleeping on a naked mattress- um, naked, cause their pajamas were very wet. This occurred at about 3 AM. Poor DH, could not even put his head down to rest, because of the cat dander.

They went to a hotel, and had a good - last night in Nebraska. They saw baby E, our 7 month old niece there. She is beautiful. My daughter loved her. My son reconfirmed his fear of babies. He is truly afraid of babies. That will become interesting in a couple months when baby Pinky arrives!

They drove like crazy people to Montana, and stayed in a Best Western, due to the rain. Montana has received more rain in May, than they usually get in a whole year.

Then, in Washington State, they had a night at a crowded KOA campgrounds. My daughter's homesickness came back. She cried on the phone about wanting to go back to Michigan. She was consoled later in the day with ice cream.

Now, they are in Bellingham, Washington. The campground sounds nice, quiet and relaxing. There is a pool and a playground. The dog has a new leash. The pet smart asked if he was there to be groomed I can only imagine what he looks like! DH mentioned that the kids clothing isn't fitting right- that they have grown or something. My guess is their clothing has shrunk in the laundry? And, my daughter's feet smelled bad enough to wake the dead.

The ferry arrives in Kodiak twice a month, so they cannot arrive any faster. But, soon they will board and be through with the tent. There is rain in the forecast for the rest of the week. I am hoping that the new tent holds up better.

My mother told me last night to have DH drug the kids - that they will all be puking on the boat for 6 days. I don't think this will be the case. But, evidently, I am a bad mother for not preparing for this. He might buy dramamine, but I don't know what they sell for kids? I also don't know that my kids will get seasick. I get sea sick. DH does not.

DH washed laundry yesterday, and while fishing out quarters from a ziplock bag filled with hundreds of pennies and various coins - managed to dump all of them into the washer with the soap. He fished out all the coins. And, was able to laugh while telling the story to me.

I am so proud of him. He is an awesome dad and amazes me. I miss my family so much. Just 10 more days.