home! & vacation part 1

Enid may not be the city we want to come home to, but it sure is wonderful to be home.
Especially after 2 very long days in the car.  

After exploring northern Idaho, nearly non-stop, for a week, it's nice to fall back into our regular routine and sleep in our own bed.  You know that feeling when you step into your own house after being away for a good chunk of time?  The feeling of comfort and security, and relief.  You kind of look around with loving eyes and realize there really is no place like home.

We thoroughly enjoyed (and needed) the time away, and spending the week with our closest friends was icing on the cake.

So, I have LOTS of pictures to share, but instead of bombarding you with dozens and dozens (and dozens) of pictures in one fell swoop, I'm going to break it up into several posts.
Let's start with the 2 day drive from Enid, OK to Post Falls, ID.  

We left our place around 8:45pm on June 30th.
Travis left work early, got home just after 8pm, we packed the car super fast, did a quick sweep of the house, and were on our way.

Heading out!

We drove through the night and watched the sun come up somewhere in Nebraska, I think.
It's all a blur, really.

We stopped for breakfast at McDonald's along the way.

Sugar free vanilla iced coffees were definitely needed.

And I couldn't not take a picture of the llama loaded pick-up in the parking lot.

It's not every day that you see llamas hitching a ride.

We got out to stretch our legs (and fill up on gas) every couple hundred miles.  Targets are definitely a favorite stop for us - we can grab snacks, hit the bathroom, (and shop the end caps) before we get back in the car.

Callan enjoyed some of his first M&M's on this road trip.  He's hooked.

Our hotel in Bozeman, Montana.

We had a heck of a view.  And were upgraded to a suite, for free.

Back on the road, day 2.

Key to our home away from home, for the week!

The kids enjoyed exploring the yard.

Our first meal out, was dinner at The Beach House, the night that we arrived in Coeur d'Alene.  It was, seriously, delicious.

Sunset over The Beach House.

We were all quite worn out that first night.  And we had a full week ahead of us.

Lots of fun, lots of exploring.

bags are packed

You know when you've planned a trip and you look forward to it for months and months (and months) and then it finally comes time to pack up the car and you're a little bit sad (but incredibly excited at the same time!) because this vacation can only last for so long and then it will be time to turn around and go home?  That's where I'm at right now.  We leave tonight for a bound-to-be-wonderful vacation with the greatest of friends.  I'm having difficulty containing my excitement.  I cannot wait to savor each and every moment that we have away together, making memories that will last us into old age.  

We've already experienced moments of this vacation in our minds, so hopefully we can live up to them. 

(I have no doubt that we will exceed them.)

Ready...

Set...

(source)

road trip for family, no. 2

May 13-22

While my parents were here visiting a few weeks ago (read about their visit here), we got word that Travis' grandmother was in the hospital.  A few days later, she was called home.  How glorious it is that she is now with her Savior.  She'll never have to worry about losing her teeth again...the thought of that makes me smile.  

Her earthly, gummy smile will be missed.

A trip back to Fresno (for the funeral) was in order.

Our roadtrip began around 9 am on Friday, May 13 (about an hour and a half after my parents left for the airport).  The first leg of the drive was from Enid to Kingman, AZ where we spent the night at a hotel.  We left the hotel around 9 am the following day (Saturday) and arrived in Fresno 4 pm-ish.   

Here's a look at our route.

Just looking at it makes me tired.

Here are a few shots from on our way to Fresno.  We made pretty good time, considering all the stops to fill up on gas, to feed and change Callan, and to walk Ellie.

 

The drive really is a beautiful one, although veeeeery long.  Spending two days in the car with a 6 month old and a little mutt is exhausting.

 Since the little town of Fowler is on our way into Fresno, we made a quick stop at our friends' house.  I love the fact that they, literally, ran out of the house to greet us and to meet Callan for the first time.  We miss the Dunshees!  The girls had so much fun holding Callan, and so did Sean (but he won't admit to it).  ;)

 On Sunday morning, we were so excited to visit our home church in Fresno, Copper Springs.  We miss our church family immensely!  We had Callan dedicated that morning.  Very special.  We saw lots of friends that morning and got oodles of hugs.  We even got to witness the baptism of one of our friend's mothers.  Praise God!

We spent lots of time with our dear friends, the Koppers.  We miss them TONS.  I loved watching them meet Callan for the first time.  Their little girl is very special and an absolute doll, and we are so excited that they have a baby boy due to arrive in October!  { SO EXCITED }

Callan got his first "big boy bath" while visiting with the Koppers one evening.  You should have seen the 6.5 of us crowded into the bathroom.  :) 

(Thanks for capturing the moment, Tiffany!)

{LOVE this picture}

The reason for our spur of the moment trip to Fresno was bittersweet.  We joined with Travis' family in celebrating the life of a beloved woman, his grandmother.  The cemetery where she was buried is one of the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever seen, full of trees and roses.  

It's a very special place.

Sadly, Callan didn't get to meet his great-grandmother before she passed, but was his great-grandfather ever excited to meet our little man.  He couldn't get enough.  I think Callan was a happy distraction from the sadness of his loss.

 We had a few firsts on this trip, aside from the big boy bath.  Callan visited his first casino.  Yes, casino.  But not for the gambling, because, well, that would be illegal, but for the BUFFET.  Chuckchansi Gold Casino has THE best buffet.  We all lost our will power, just a smidge, that night.

Callan also sat in a shopping cart for the first time.  He was so proud.  He's getting so big!

Oh, and that picture of Travis holding Callan was just too funny to not include.  Ha!

 So after our 6 day visit to the "NO", we began our long trek home to Enid on Saturday, May 21, .  The first day, we drove from Fresno to Albuquerque, and then traveled the rest of the way on Sunday. 

 

Home never felt so good.  We've decided that we need at least 6 months between such long roadtrips.   For the sake of our sanity.

It's been a slow process of unpacking, getting laundry done, and putting everything back in their places because nature had me on edge earlier this week.  But I'll save that for tomorrow.  

{read about our last roadtrip for family here}