More about our vacation to Indiana

May 27-We started out by visiting former members at the nursing home. It was a sad visit because many didn't remember us especially because Ram was not dressed like a pastor. We were able to visit the man that gave the Lambs a ride on tractor because he was in the hospital.
Because we went to the nursing home we got a later start than we would have liked. We stopped at Walmart to buy sauerkraut and a grocery store to buy meade. The meade is made with MN honey and we can't find Frank's sauerkraut here in ID. We are stocked up now!
On the way there the Lambs discussed how much we have in common with our friends, the Palm family, that we were going to visit. We arrived in time to eat dessert before their Midweek church service. After church we ate supper with them and stayed and talked until 10:30p.m. The adults were too busy looking at their library and talking and the Lambs were too busy playing outside with their boys to take pictures!
Then we went to a different Looper family, the Mumme family, to spend the night. We were there late so everyone besides Glenda was already in bed when we arrived.

May 28-This was a long day of traveling. Before we left MN we stopped and bought the Lambs a few new pairs of shoes because MN doesn't have sales tax on clothing or shoes. We arrived at my parents house in Fort Wayne, IN after midnight. We unloaded the car and went to bed.

May 29-This was a very busy day trying to get errands done before Ram went home to ID. Grandpa and Grandma watched the Lambs most of the day while Ram and Ewe ran around town. We had written our Will when I was pregnant with Lamb 1 so we thought it was time for an update. We met with our lawyer that wrote our first Will and he gave us a church worker discount again. It is great to have that task checked off our to do list.
Ram bought a few books in the Seminary bookstore.
We brought 6 boxes of books to trade in at used bookstores in Fort Wayne. We got $160 credit at Hyde Brothers and spent all of that plus little more. Ewe was the most excited about getting a few more Gene Stratton-Porter books.
We made a Costco run for food and items we would use while we were in Fort Wayne. We also bought some moving supplies such as boxes and packing tape.
Ram and Ewe had a lunch date while we were out doing errands.
In the evening Ram, Grandpa, and the Lambs went to a Tincaps baseball game. Ewe and Grandma stayed home and tried to make some headway on our sorting jobs. My sister had left a pile in her old bedroom of stuff that she wanted me to look at that I was to either pack to go home or get rid of it. That pile was much bigger than I anticipated and I spent most of my time in IN in the evenings going through that! The game ended up being 12 innings or something like that and Ram had an early morning flight and the younger Lambs were grouchy and tired after our drive out there. Lamb 1 was very upset that they didn't stay until the end of the game, but it was late.

To be continued...

What happened Mama?

When we were getting ready to leave the hotel in Fargo I was in a hurry to load the car and get on the road. We were only going to have one day with our former members in MN so I wanted to make the most of it. While I was loading the car Lamb 2 asked, "Mama, what happened to the front of the car?" I panicked, thinking someone had hit our car in the parking lot the night before. I was relieved to check out the front of the car and see this:

Don't worry, Lambs, those are BUGS on the license plate and windshield and hood of our minivan. I know you don't see a car like this in ID, but that is what happens when you drive through the Midwest. We had our minivan serviced when we got home and they gave us a free car wash. Now the minivan looks normal to you again.

Beginning of our summer vacation

Sunday, May 24-Ram did not have Bible Study so we could leave right away after church. We left before 1pm. There was some rain and we saw some rainbows on our drive. We only made necessary stops-once for gas, once for supper, and breaks for the boys when necessary. We arrived at our hotel in Bozeman about 10pm.

May 25-Today was Lamb 2's birthday so we attempted to make it a little more fun day although we had lots of driving to do. We let the Lambs play games on the iPad and get their own drinks at Starbucks. There was over a one hour wait at Cracker Barrel in Billings, probably due to the Memorial Day holiday so we did not eat lunch there. We did eat supper at Cracker Barrel in Bismarck. We were unable to connect with our friends that live in Bismarck, I had not notified them early enough. Lamb 3 fell asleep in the afternoon and when we crossed the border into North Dakota he needed a change of clothes. It seemed like we were driving forever, but we arrived at our hotel in Fargo about midnight.

May 26-Even though we had a late night before, I made everyone get up and we left the hotel about 9am. The Lambs wanted to play on the playground in Ortonville, MN. They miss merry-go-rounds like this one.

We then went to our friend's house for haircuts. Here is one final picture before my haircut.

All 5 of us had haircuts, with Ewe shedding 12 inches for Wigs for Kids. We stayed for a little lunch with our friends. Then we went for chiropractor adjustments for all 5 of us with our favorite chiropractor.
We drove past our old home and were shocked that almost all the trees are gone except for one volunteer that we let begin when we first moved there. That tree seems huge now. It is sad that the parsonage was sold.
The old tri-parish that Ram served has been recombined and is now served by two pastors each serving three churches, but not the same combination that Ram served. We are thankful that all three small churches are still open and being served by wonderful pastors. The old tri-parish hosted a potluck for us at the middle church that evening. We were able to see everyone at once and tell them about ID. Some of our former members are now in heaven and the others are a little older, but we loved seeing everyone.
Then we stopped by to see one family that was not able to attend the potluck and stayed way too late talking to them. We arrived late that night at one of the pastor's homes to spend the night. It was wonderful to catch up with them a little bit that night and at breakfast.

To be continued...

*I'm finding I took very few pictures, I was too caught up in talking to people. I'm trying to recreate our trip a month later so we have the memories written down here.

Home Again

We just spent almost a month in Indiana helping my parents downsize from a 4 bedroom, two level, huge yard home. They don't know when or where they are moving, but we helped them pack up what they want to keep and get rid of what they don't. I am excited for them having less stuff in an easier to care for home.

While we were there Lamb 1 and 2 attended a basketball camp-it doesn't get much better than going to basketball camp in Indiana. We were able to see several friends on the drive out there and the drive back. A few friends and family came to visit us while we were there too.

We arrived home just in time for VBS this week at our church. When I get control of the laundry and unpacking all the treasures we brought home from my parents, I have lots of pictures and things to blog about that happened during last month.

We feel as if we are just beginning our summer vacation-we haven't signed up for swim lessons or summer reading program at the library yet.