Have a few pics to share today. Yesterday, we took my Mom and Dad down to Hot Springs to visit the Mammoth Site. It was pretty interesting, though Zac did not share any enthusiasm for it whatsoever. However, we still enjoyed it and it was a beautiful day. It was 70 degrees down in Hot Springs while only 57 up in Custer (about 35 minutes away). Google Map it if you are uncertain of the geography, but the altitudes are a bit different.
At any rate, today, the day before we are set to leave, it was a bit chillier, mostly in the 40s and edging up into the 50s a bit until this evening, when it decided to begin snowing again. Yes, more snow. On April 30th. I know, I know. We've seen this before, just last year at this time, right? But still, it does throw you when it happens because we don't live in an area where this is a fairly common occurrence.
So tonight we took a drive, going up part of Needles Highway and then back down into Custer State Park and finally back to our motel. We took a few pics along the way and wanted to share them with everyone. Headed back to Omaha in the morning and then it's time to unpack! So excited...
We have successfully made it to Custer to return Dan and Stacy and are now enjoying a few days of rest before worrying about heading back down to Omaha. As you can see by the first picture I've attached today, we had a bit of a repeat of last May's trip to Custer. Yes, that means snow. Our trip up on Saturday was uneventful until just before Hot Springs when we hit rain. By the time we were north of Hot Springs, and going through Wind Cave National Park, the snow was strong enough to where we could see maybe 500 feet in front of us. We had several lines of buffalo cross in front of us, forcing a wait three times.
We also didn't get to enjoy church Sunday morning as Dan had to cancel due to the heavy snow. This next picture gives you a pretty good indication of just how much we received. This was outside our motel room. We're staying at The Bavarian Inn this week.
Hopefully, by the end of the week, Zac will have caught up on sleep enough to not be tired all the time and falling asleep on Katy, as he did yesterday.
Just a quick note and then hopefully some new pics in the next few days. We are back in Omaha and so, so happy to have the trip done. It was quite an adventure this week getting everything packed up in time and out of the apartment we had in Midland. Dan and Stacy arrived a few minutes early on their flight Tuesday night and that's the only thing that happened even close to on time!
We planned to get out of town by 9 Tuesday night, but instead were out a bit before 10, then it turns out moving trucks are not made for speed, so a 90-minute trip took 2 hours over to Sweetwater. The motel cost considerably more than we'd been told it would be, but that's just how it goes sometimes. We got to sleep late, got up early, but still didn't get out until around 9:30 or 9:45. Then, we managed to take what is normally a 12 to 14-hour drive and turn it into almost 18 hours, arriving in town well after 2 a.m. Dan and I then had to take the truck to the house, unload my Jeep, then drive back to Gary & Nell's in Bellevue. This meant getting to bed around 3:30 in the morning and then, just to make it fun, I had to get up at 8:15 so I could be back at our house by 9 for the movers to unload! What fun!
Needless to say, I crashed last night before 10:30 and slept until 7:30 this morning. Tomorrow (Saturday) morning, we're off to return Dan and Stacy to Custer and that's another 9-hour drive. What fun! At least we only have 1 vehicle instead of 3 for this trip, meaning we have a better shot of sticking closer to that 9-hour window. I hope to update soon with pics and or video this week! Take care everyone!
Well, I wanted to get an entry in here before we have to shut things down Tuesday morning and I don't have a good shot at doing anything for at least several days. We picked up the rental truck today and the movers are coming first thing in the morning to load it up. Of course, since Dan & Stacy don't arrive until about 8 p.m., we'll have a long day of not much to do while we wait for them. Originally, the movers were to be here around 3:30 in the afternoon, which would've left us plenty of time during the day to pack the last few things up. With the change in plans they gave us today, Katy and I have been furiously packing everything so the movers can get at least 98% of it loaded in the 2 hours or so they'll be assisting.
We do have a few things we can get out of the house to do, fortunately. We have a number of items we'll be donating to Goodwill, and we need to run by the cable company to drop off the cable box and modem. Plus, then I need to bubble wrap the big TV and get it ready to load into the Jeep. Meals will be a bit of a challenge, and I know tomorrow night we'll head over to Odessa to hopefully eat at Chik-Fil-A one last time and then head to the mall for a bit to use some time before we have to head to the airport.
Once Dan & Stacy arrive, we're on the road, planning to stop about 1-1/2 to 2 hours east of here in Sweetwater for the night. This will give us a little bit of a leg up on the trip and keep us from hitting Oklahoma City during any part of the rush hour on Wednesday. We may hit it in Tulsa, but Tulsa is considerably smaller so it shouldn't be a big deal.
Please pray for us as we make this 1000-mile trek. It's not an intimidating trip at all, but it's time consuming and any time you are driving a larger moving truck, it adds a different element and slows you down a bit as well. Take care, everyone, and I'll update soon!
Thought I'd quickly pop this video up today. Zac was watching Sesame Street a little while ago this morning and I don't know if the section on drums gained his attention or if he saw a monkey and decided to do this, but suddenly he began pounding his chest, so to speak, to his music table. I'm assuming drums, but you can see a bit of it here.
Well this is Easter number two for Zac and this year we got him a little basket full of some goodies. These pics are of him checking out his new things and I should note he has become especially pleased with the little stuffed chicken in a half egg shell we bought him. Note also he has a firm grip on his pink pig, which he received his first Sunday at our church down here. He loves that thing and it's like his security blanket, but in pig form.
Another new item today is a video that should be showing on the right, or again as always you can click on the Family Videos link below that to catch it. What we have noticed is that Zac definitely favors his left hand and his favorite color at the moment appears to be red. When we placed 3 Pez candies in front of him Sunday, he initially went for the one on the left, but then quickly grabbed the red one. Not the pink one, mind you, but the red one. We tried to capture this on video and he does go for the red one eventually on the first try, but aims for the left one on the second try.
So, we may have a crazy southpaw son, but at least his favorite color is right. Go Big Red!
Well, of this we are VERY excited. It's been a challenging almost 9 months here in west Texas and we are more than ready to return home. Neither Katy nor I had any idea we'd be here for such a short time when God asked us to move last summer. I don't think anybody ever expects to leave so quickly after a move, especially one that was 1000 miles in distance.
We now begin the process of wrapping things up here, making necessary arrangements for a moving truck, flying Dan & Stacy down so he can drive the truck (because I will not), ending utilities and cable and all that fun stuff. If there is any benefit to having moved often, especially across country, it's that the process of doing all this is not unfamiliar. We have our list and just have to accomplish those things there and will be in good shape. Probably the toughest thing is timing, as the truck will be loaded up on the 21st in the late afternoon/early evening. Then we have to shampoo the carpets lest the complex steal the $600 refundable portion of our $1100 pet deposit. You read that right. Don't get me started.
For those of you wondering how this came about, let's agree that God does indeed move in mysterious ways. How else could we explain dozens of visits to our house without a single offer with interest rates extremely low and an $8000 credit from the government for first-time buyers on the table? It makes no logical sense, but it was a means for God to show us we needed to move back to Omaha. We don't have definite income yet, so please pray with us that we will have income soon after moving back.
Have a few pics to share today. Yesterday, we took my Mom and Dad down to Hot Springs to visit the Mammoth Site. It was pretty interesting, though Zac did not share any enthusiasm for it whatsoever. However, we still enjoyed it and it was a beautiful day. It was 70 degrees down in Hot Springs while only 57 up in Custer (about 35 minutes away). Google Map it if you are uncertain of the geography, but the altitudes are a bit different.
At any rate, today, the day before we are set to leave, it was a bit chillier, mostly in the 40s and edging up into the 50s a bit until this evening, when it decided to begin snowing again. Yes, more snow. On April 30th. I know, I know. We've seen this before, just last year at this time, right? But still, it does throw you when it happens because we don't live in an area where this is a fairly common occurrence.
So tonight we took a drive, going up part of Needles Highway and then back down into Custer State Park and finally back to our motel. We took a few pics along the way and wanted to share them with everyone. Headed back to Omaha in the morning and then it's time to unpack! So excited...
