Goodbye Pittsburgh, Hello road

Life has changed a LOT in the past few weeks!  We said goodbye to Pittsburgh, PA school friends, and zoo friends alike during our last week, while simultaneously trying to pack up for 5 months and clean the house.

The girls had a blast running around and bossing around some of Tyler's great PA school friends at the Zoo on friday.  Saturday we packed and sorted and packed and went to soccer, ran errands and went to a baptism.

Sunday was church and friends for dinner and different friends for dessert!  Unfortunatly for Alex, during the dessert get together it seems her and a few friends found a vine of poison Ivy!  

One of the neighbor’s littles girl kept getting it really badly on her face and a day or two after we left, she posted a picture of the little sweetheart with her eyes swollen shut!  Alex had been complaining about bug bites for days and I noticed that they seemed to be multiplying even though we had been spending almost all day in the car everyday since we left. 

Poisen Ivy.  She isn’t very happy about it, or the fact that it’s still spreading all over her body- but we’ve got some creme that should help and hopefully stop it!  10 months in Pennsylvania and we find Poisen Ivy the last week there!

Quinn is starting to walk a bit more.  Still not very willingly or on her own, but it's exciting.

In the end, soccer ended up being a good thing.  By the last few days she was running around and kicking the ball and having a good time of it.  She seems to have allergies which would kick in after about an hour, and when she found a worm or cool bug them all bets were off for getting her back into the game.

Here is Heidi's 'before' hair shot.  She was due for a trim anyway, but Alex taking scissors to her hair sort of put a nail in that coffin.

I'm a bit nervous about containing Quinn over the next 5 months.  This was the constant state of my kitchen floor the last month.  I'm just glad she left the glass things alone.

Tyler and Heidi picked up a gnome for us to take with us on our trip.  The girls love it, and it's been a blast to have along!  I've been posting Nomee's adventures on Instagram and it's been fun for me and the kids.  Monday Morning we got off at noon, after Tyler played tetris with the car and I buttoned up inside.  It was sad to leave the green and trees and bridges, knowing it would all be dead again when we returned and we would have to survive the winter before we got to enjoy the lovely part again.

Our first stop was Kirtland Ohio to see some historic sites for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We got the quick tour and it was fun seeing all those places.  

 Heidi insisted on a picture with the barrels.

We got the quick tour of the Kirtland Temple with another LDS family and a Samoan tour guide who seems perturbed that we asked for the short version (due to the kids.)

 I tried to sew all the girls bonnets when they were babies and never got a version I liked.  So when we visited the gift shop and I saw these, I had to get one for Quinn.  The big girls liked them as well and so we started our Pioneer summer with some awesome props.

 She even keeps it on!
We drove on to Toledo and spent the night with Aunt Brianna which the girls were ecstatic about.  We ate mac and cheese and watched the Little Mermaid and then crashed that night.  I was sad the we had gotten off so late and didn’t get to spend more time with her and the kids were mad that she was gone when they woke up.

Tuesday we drove to Lake Michigan and it was wonderful!  The girls ran and splashed and dug and had the most carefree wonderful time ever.

Quinn was obsessed with the water and kept walking Daddy back into it!  She loved it!

 We had a sandy picnic on the beach and enjoyed the sun and sand.

Nomee got a bath.

I'm pretty sure these two would have stayed forever.  

The water was pretty cold.  She didn't care, and it took almost and hour before she tried to eat the sand.

Jumping off sand dunes and running over the hills was a hit

These pictures are awesome.  I know I look like a terrible parent, but....  

There was a 3 or 4 foot ledge about 2 feet down, but when posed just right, it made it look like my children were falling into the water.  We need to work on their looks of desperation for the camera.

We spent a good hour walking to the lighthouse and back.  It took so long because ever 5 steps the girls had to jump off the walk into the sand and then climb back up.

I saw this sign the last few minutes, and was pretty happy it was green after my children had no doubt ingested it.

The beach was probably the best part of the week.  It was carefree, perfect weather and the children got the stretch their legs and be free.

The girls love playing with the Gnome, and I love how still he stands for pictures.

The kids had sand in every nook and cranny and of course despite our best efforts, got it all over the inside of the car.

We are fans of the great lakes.

 Wednesday we made it to Nauvoo around noon and got the enjoy the afternoon there.

 It was a warm day and we could have spent another 3 doing everything there was to offer.  It fit in perfectly with our pioneer theme and everything was free!  The girls loved wearing their bonnets and being pioneers in a real pioneer town.

 Quinn still refuses to walk and hates missing her nap.  Poor knees.

 We enjoyed a few tours, but Heidi just wanted to pick dandelions.

  We made it before tourist season and got to enjoy the place nearly to ourselves.

If your are ever in Illinois, make Nauvoo a must stop on your way!

We walked away with a tiny horseshoe, prairie diamonds, homemade bread and a couple of jump ropes.

 I wish we would have had the change to visit the Temple, but our time was too short.

We ended the day at Carthage and the girls wandered the grounds while Tyler took the tour and Quinn slept in the car.  There was a wonderful spirit there.

 Here is my 'before' haircut picture.  I've decided I hate hair, and I made ever effort to keep it out of my face and off my neck on the road trip.  The girls moaned and cried every time I put it up, but I just couldn't handle it.  Mississippi in the background.

We were a sight to behold on the road! Tyler is a master of packing.

 We got stopped on a bridge over the Mississippi while this barge crossed.  While we were sitting there a guy came up and knocked on our window, freaking us out.  It was a LDS bishop who had noticed our BYU sticker on the car and came to chat us up while we waited.  Fun experience.

 Thursday the goal was Kearny Nebraska and the amazing watermark hotel there.  There isn't a lot to see or do in Nebraska, and Tyler and I decided we would stop at Walnut for lunch.  Walnut sounds a lot like Walmart, and we were both disappointed for different reasons when Walnut really had nothing to offer in the means of shopping or food.
  Kearny's Holiday Inn did not disappoint though!  We made it in decent time and spent the rest of the night swimming in kiddy land and going downy he slides.  Buying the girls floaties was the best purchase i've ever made!  There was a restaurant attached to the hotel and it claimed that kids ate for free, with 3 kids this had become a draw for us.  Turns out it was like a 5 start place and the food was amazing!  I was in foodie heaven with my beautiful short ribs while Tyler juggled the kids.  For breakfast we made off by Tyler and I sharing a single pancake, and fed our entire family a $30 meal for $7.  The pancake was the size of our car's steering wheel and the best i've ever eaten.

 Friday we made it to Cheyenne!  We dropped by Brady Nebraska for a photo op, and had lunch at the worst gas station ever.  The girls were happy to see Grandma Sanderson and have enjoyed all the extra attention and spoiling!