Road Trip..... Again

One would have thought that after I had loved being in a car across the country the first time that I would have been smart enough to not repeat the experience but when our trip to New Hampshire came up, I was the one who suggested we drive. It turned out to be a very good move for us financially and family wise. We planned to drive to Iowa and then drive with Marc's family the rest of the way. The trip went fairly well and was fairly uneventful except for the 3 hours we were lost in Colorado. I am not sure Marc will ever forgive Colorado and has already declared we are NEVER moving there. Colorado was beautiful but our directions were missing step, if you combine this with poor signage and the mileage also being off in our directions one could understand why we were lost the way we were. Luckily I was able to call my best friend and she was able to get me unlost and I was so grateful to have her only a phone call away. My favorite part about Colorado though was that we stopped in a town for directions and the road we wanted was a block away from the gas station we stopped at but they looked at us like we had three heads and couldn't tell us where it was.

We were able to drive to Iowa and spend a few wonderful days with Marc's family and I personally got to experience a lot of firsts. I went boating for the first time in probably 10 years. I went tubing on a lay-down tube, went water skiing, and drove a boat. I also made Pavlova for my in-laws and I loved being able to cook that for them. It also made for a good story on how I break hand mixers. When I lived with Melissa, a hand-mixer was broken when I was using it. I think I broke it and Melissa claims it was on it's last leg anyway and I just happened to be the one holding it. But then she bought a replacement and I only used that one once before it also started making noises. At this point I decided not to use a hand mixer until I actually own it so that I avoid breaking more. So when I went to make Pavlova, I enlisted the help of my Mother-in-law and asked her to use the hand mixer and I would add ingredients. She told me that she wasn't scared of me using the hand mixer and if I broke it that would be fine because it was over 20 years old and could always be replaced. I considered using it but decided it would be better if I didn't touch it. Within 3 minutes of the conversation the mixer was dead and in need of replacement. So my warning to you is.... don't ever let me near your hand mixers. Otherwise you will definitely be in need of a new one.

After a few days in Iowa we left for the East Coast. It was wonderful to go back and see friends, coworkers, and family again. I will be eternally grateful that I had that opportunity to go back. It was such a blessing to be able to mingle and catch up and spend time with loved ones back there. There are still so dear to me and I miss the East Coast. It wouldn't be the same to go back there now and if I went then I would always miss it here but part of me still loves the East Coast and always will.

The baptism and open house went really well and it was a wonderful to feel the love and support that still exists back there. It was fun to get to play with my Dad's camera and take pictures that captured the moments that were important on that trip. These pictures range from baptism pictures to a quiet walk with my Dad. Moments and memories that will forever be caught on film and I am so grateful for that.

We quickly hurried back to Iowa and more than a few tears were shed on the way back. I realized that I had seen Melissa's kids for the last time before their big trip to Jerusalem. I don't have the typical Aunt/Niece/Nephew relationship and so this separation will be really hard on me. I am already saving my pennies to make it so that I can come and visit. We also now have a webcam and I can't wait to be able to use it!

We spent a day in Iowa and then drove back to Arizona. The trip was uneventful minus the insanity that was starting to brew from being stuck in a car for WAY too long. Part of me is glad that those moments weren't caught on film. We were very blessed on our trip back. About Nebraska my car decided to sound like a race car. We found out it was a problem with my exhaust pipe/muffler and were able to continue home. We parked the car and the next day I went to leave for work and was prompted to drive Marc's car instead. I did this and then found out later that my muffler and my exhaust pipe were no longer connected. Luckily it had waited until we were home and safe to disconnect. The car is now fixed again and we were incredibly blessed with safety on our trip.

Our trip went really well. We were able to strengthen bonds, see two more states (at least for me) and see our loved ones again. It was a good, exhausting trip.