Our Big Ol' Honkin' Lil' Trip

It's Been Two Years

2008-03-15T21:22:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, at this time, we were on the road and (mostly) lovin' it.

We're getting the itch to do it again.

We'll keep you posted.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

We're Home!!!

2006-04-17T18:56:00.000-07:00

We made it home!

We dropped by my parents' house (since they are only a couple of blocks away) for a little while. Then we got home.

What a surprise to see what our dear friends did to welcome us home! (I'll try to post the pictures of it later - we've got to scrounge up some food.) Our dear friends decorated our door, "broke" into our house to place "Welcome Home" balloons and streamers as well as milk, eggs, and bananas! Thanks Dings!

My goal is set up a link to another blahg site where some of our pics will be posted (I just never got around to it during the trip) of our trip.

Thanks so much for following us along our trip... we might just do it again.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

On Our Last Leg

2006-04-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

NOTE: We AGAIN did not have internet access last night so here's the post from this morning... finally.

Written Monday, April 17, 2006 @ 8:27am

If things go as planned we should be home by this evening! We have mixed emotions. On one hand we are excited to be getting home. On the other hand we are sad that our Big Ol’ Honkin’ Lil Trip is coming to an end. We’ve, for the most part, have really enjoyed our time travelling. We’ve also enjoyed all of us being in the same room. We’re actually sad that we’ll all be in separate bedrooms (well actually the big kids will be in their own rooms the babies will still be in our room).

Maybe we’ll get to go on a Lil’ Honkin’ Trip (coming soon to a blahg near you) sometime... we’ll see. Big Daddy really wants to get up to Oregon and Washington. We just haven’t gotten to look into elevation and see if that’s even an option. He he. Here we are not even finished with this trip and we’re scheming about our next trip.

Oh that’s right I didn’t do a blahg entry for yesterday. We were about an hour away from Sun Valley, CA when we stopped on Saturday night. Since we were so close to Grace Community Church (comparatively speaking) we decided to celebrate Resurrection Sunday under the preaching of John MacArthur. I personally did not get to hear much of his teaching (not surprising since Lil’ Sis needed her nap) but Big Daddy enjoyed it. “The Death Conquerer” was the title of his sermon. One main point that Pastor MacArthur brought up several times was that “the truth are in the details...” Christ was in control even to His death. His life was not taken from Him, He laid it down.

It’s been a very long time since we’ve been in a larger church setting so to hear the choir sing and congregation sing was, what I think to be, just a taste of what it will be like to be in heaven (with all of the singing - that’s one thing I miss about not being in a larger church setting - the majestic sounding singing). Afterwards we went up to quickly say “hi” to the MacMan (our term of endearment that I’m not sure he would like or not) and have the kids see the man they listen to on the radio (“Grace To You”). Another thing Big Daddy HAD to do was to visit BOTH bookstores (we’re good-book-buying-addicts).

We made it Gorman, CA and stayed at Pyramid Lake RV Resort. We settled in around 4:30pm which allowed Big Daddy and the rest of the kids (he he) to go play on the playground while I took a little snooze before preparing dinner. It was VERY cold last night! Since we’ve been back in CA it’s been chilly. Mentally, I’m much more prepared for that rather than the heat in Texas (the humidity and heat were getting to me probably only because I just wasn’t mentally prepared for it, I think if I’d been mentally “there” for the heat it wouldn’t have been so bad to me). It’s almost 9am and it’s still VERY cold in here (of course not as cold as other parts of the country...). We’re hoping to be heading out in a little while.

This is going to be interesting once we get home to see if we get sick with “colds” again. Lil’ Sis has not been sick with a “cold” since we left (and she’d been sick pretty much all the time - as well as me). The bizarre thing is that Big Sis, Lil’ Sis and I started coughing and getting “cold- like” symptoms as soon as got back into CA... are we allergic to our “homeland” or is it just the temperature changes? We’ll see.

Thanks for checking in.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

California Here We Are!

2006-04-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

Written Saturday, April 15, 2006 @ 9:43pm (Pacific Daylight Time)

California here we come... right back where we started from... almost! Yeha! We’re back in CA again. Today was a really long day. We left the beautiful campground in Casa Grande (we had considered staying an extra night there so that we could just sit back and enjoy the sunshine and hang out and play but we need to be back home in a few days and we don’t want to not give us enough time in case something comes up).

We went to Phoenix to drop off some belongings to our friends who live there. We stopped by each of their places of employment for a few minutes and headed out. They invited us to stick around and to celebrate Resurrection Sunday with them tomorrow but we really need to get back home. We really appreciated their offer.

We made it into Pamona tonight. We’re so glad to finally make it to “camp”. We had another windy day to contest with but thankfully it died down after awhile. As we were headed towards LA we saw the sun beaming through the clouds. I got a really good picture of it that we’ll post at some point. We are so tired. The babies only had short naps late this morning so that in itself made today a little difficult. Everyone was finally in bed by 9:30pm tonight.

I am so wiped out that I can’t even think of what else to right.

We’re hoping to make it home by Monday night.

PS. We’re supposed to have internet access tonight but the front office failed to give us the special code and they are closed for Easter Sunday so I’m not sure when I’ll get to post this.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Here Comes thaaah Dust!

2006-04-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Written Saturday, April 15, 2006 @ 6:32 am

The babies have been awake since a little after 6am. It’s very bright outside (as if it should be 9 am instead of 6 am) and their bodies are still on “Texas Time” so they think it’s time to wake up. It’s almost comical to hear Lil’ Sis whining only to have Lil’ Bro “yell” at her (I think he wants her to quiet down). Almost comical, not quite though because I’d rather be sleeping! Big Daddy & I stayed up later than we had wanted to last night but we were enjoying sitting out in the almost vacant campground talking beneath the moonlight.

We are staying at “Buena Tierra Campground” in Casa Grande, AZ. It’s the same one we stayed at on our way back east. We are amazed at how few people are here. When were here last time there were a whole heap of people. I don’t remember seeing any sites available in the section we’re in right now from the last time we were here. Many of the sites looked pretty permanent. I suppose the “snowbirds” headed back home.

When we were looking for places to stay last night, before Tucson, we found that rates are lower in April than when we were coming through in early March. I guess it’s getting to be too hot for tourists?

We almost stayed on the east side of Tucson so that we could go to the Pima Air and Space Musuem” today. We almost had reservations made when we remembered that it’s too hot to leave our dog in the RV all day. We were disappointed but we’ll be alright.

Las Cruces has an amazing jagged mountain range. I’m not sure why they call them the “Organ Mountains” (apparently it’s supposed to be self explanitory - they look like the lines on a heart monitor going crazy but I don’t think that’s why it’s called that). It’s a disappointment to leave scenary like that to only have to see miles and miles and miles of dessert. There were plateaus and big ol’ honkin’ “piles of dirt” scattered throughout they way to keep things interesting. Though there was a section in AZ that had interesting looking boulders. It looked as though some piles of rocks (BIG OL’ HONKIN’ rocks) dumped on eachother while others looked as if they had been artistically and carefully place with big ones balancing on small ones. I don’t remember seeing those on the way out... where was I then?

Big Daddy and I had an extra hard time staying awake yesterday. Maybe that’s why we had to travel for miles in gusty winds. They certainly helped to keep us awake! Big Daddy got to the point where he had to grip the steering wheel really hard and keep it turned into the wind so we wouldn’t get blown off of the road! Numerous signs warned of dust storms and gusty winds for the miles ahead. After eating dinner at “Texas Roadhouse” (where you can throw peanut shells on the floor - but not food... talk about confusing for a toddler!) the winds got worse. We even saw a small tornado going away from us. It looked like a “dust devil” on steroids. I tried to get a picture of it but my camera wouldn’t work. What a disappointment.

We made it safely to our campground (Big Daddy was relieved! He counted down the miles until we were to our destination). After checking in we went over to the outlet mall nearby. I was able to get three pairs of overalls and two pairs of jeans (for the kids of course) for $46 at the OshGosh outlet. I check at the Liz Claiborne store and found some possibities for skirts for me but wasn’t satisifed with the “deals” they were offering. Also, I had a hard time mentally being in there. It was the Liz Claiborne store in San Marcos, TX at the outlets that I first started feeling VERY ill with the stomach flu and being at the one here in Casa Grande made me flash back to some extremely unpleasant memories.

We’re hoping to see our friends in Phoenix today (though only briefly since they have to work today) and then continue to head west. We’ve been talking about going through Joshua Tree National Park again but haven’t decided whether or not we’ll do it. Stay tuned to see what we decided to do!

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Driving driving driving in thaaahhh heat

2006-04-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

Written Thursday, April 13, 2006 @ 8:18pm (Mountain Daylight Time)

Here's a big ol' honkin' blahg post:

Yesterday we made it down to Fort Stockton and stayed at a KOA Kampround. They didn’t have internet connestion so we couldn’t blahg last night. We had some down home southern cookin’ for dinner at the “Road Runner Cafe” (at the campground) which looked more like a converted community rather than a restaurant. There was a young lady (I’m figuring late teens to very early twenties) running the whole show. There were about four tables full of people she was serving and cooking for (and doing dishes). The food wasn’t too bad. We left her a very big tip since she did such a great job doing everything by herself. We braved the elements after dinner and had the kids play at the play ground after dinner (the elements of: “it’s hot and that means critters are out... what lives in that hole...”).
The babies had a hard time sleeping last night. It took until almost 10pm for them to finally settle down. They had gotten used to Big Daddy & I leaving the RV to go in the house (we have a monitor with a camera we would have out in the RV with the kids - plus “Kujo” was always out in it with them, too - just in case you were wondering) so it wasn’t as dark or quiet as they were used to.

The Texas Branch called us today to let us know that one of our nieces completely came unglued after we left yesterday. She was sad to see us go. Today their 1 1/2 year old was grumpy and finally put on his shoes to go outside. He went running around the corner and grunted when he saw our RV was not there. He missed us (or maybe he missed Lil’ Bro)! So sweet. I guess they got kind of used to us RVin’ folks to be there in the mornings. The call made me want to just turn around and head on back to their house.

We gained an hour today since we’re now on Mountain Time. We’re glad for that. It gave us time to visit a wonderful museum in Las Cruces, NM. New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum had displays of old carriages and buggies as well as chuck wagons. We saw a two seater buggie that we called the “sports car”, a much bigger wagon that we called the “mini van”, the chuck wagon was called the “RV”. Given that they also cater to families with small children there was a little play room that had a big ol’ honkin’ fake cow, a teeter totter with saddles, swings, etc. We didn’t have time for such frivolity since we had already had the personalized golf cart tour of the ranch. There were different breeds of cattle. One being the Texas Longhorn... I can’t remember the other ones. Adorable calfs only a couple of weeks old were hanging out with the longhorned types. A big ol’ honkin’ black bull weiging in at about 3,000 pounds was neighbors with “Yankee Doodle Dandee” (born on the fourth of July 14 years ago) and “Big Red”. The name “Big Red” put a smile on our faces since it makes us think of our dear friends in New Jersey. When we visit them both families pile into a big red 15 passenger van to toodle around in.

We missed out on seeing the real live blacksmith shop and the dairy farm since our tour inside with “Slim Austin Green” went pretty long. This man who is almost 90 years old started talking to us. At first we didn’t realize this man was going to give us a tour of the exhibit on saddle making. We just thought the cane wieldin’ walker pushin’ gentlemen was just being friendly. We soon found out that the exhibit on saddle making displayed items from HIS workshop. He had donated items to the museum. He spent 62 years making saddles for the average citizen to movie stars (Robert Redford, John Wayne, etc) to US presidents (Franklin D. Roosevelt). He talked fondly of the time he was about the enter the army when a man approached him (I can’t remember the name but apparently we should have known who he was... someone big in rodeo type of stuff) to have a saddle made. The man waited five years for Mr. Slim to get out of the service. Mr. Slim made the saddle and the man won three big ol’ honkin’ prizes for his riding. Apparently, saddles made by this now elderly man are in other museums and have been auctioned (one recently was sold for $75,000). It’s always a pleasure to talk to folks who are in their 80’s because you can just see “history” in their eyes. It was a treat to listen to this man talk. He came from a time when there really were cowboys! Oh! Embarrassing moment must be reported here. As mentioned earlier this man carries a can (and has those cool walkers that can also be sat in)... our two old slammed his cane while pushing a stroller around wildly! Thankfully the man didn’t lose his balance! That would have been horrible.

Our adventure didn’t stop after we left the museum. We stopped to fill up on gas only to find that one of our gas caps (we have two gas tanks) was either left at our last gas stop way far back in TX or someone stole it. Now I know some people are also into some sort of conspiracy theory type of thinking... I think the cap just never got put back on. So now we can our own version of “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”... “We Left Our Gas Cap Somewhere in Big Ol’ Honkin’ Texas”. After the discovery we went on a hunt for a new gas cap. We located one (a nice shiny silver colored one) as well as some much needed light bulbs (our “porch light” works again! Yeah! Oh the little things in life.).

We had some more down home cooking tonight at “Cracker Barrell”. We’re trying to go to as many of them as we can before getting home since there aren’t any in CA. For those who have never been, it’s a country store type of restaurant that is very accomodating to families. We had an interesting experience there tonight. First off, our server was quite amused by our lil’ family’s eating abilities. Her eyes grew wide when I asked for a side salad to go along with the meal which already had vegetables. She then got a good chuckle when she came back about 10 minutes after serving us our meal only to find that our 10 1/2 year old had cleaned his man sized plate of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn (Big Sis had a tiny bit of his portion) and was ready to have it cleared from the table. Secondly, I noticed more people than usual staring at us tonight. Thankfully the kids behaved themselves (until after dinner while we were walking through the store in which case the two middle kids were completely out of control running and touching and squeeling... Big Daddy got them out of there pretty fast... we don’t have the money to take care of the “you brake it you buy it” motto!). We were just finishing up dinner when one of our family watchers came up to the table. She leaned over to me asking, “ Are ALL of these children yours?” “Yes they are!” I answered emphatically. “Did you adopt them?” she asked. “Some of them.” I replied. She then slipped me a twenty dollar bill and said “Bless you!” I looked down in shock. I thanked her bewildered. It was one of those situations where you know it would be rude not to accept. I thanked her again and waved “goodnight” as we got up to leave. Was a surprise.

We’ve settle in for the night. It’s hotter in the RV than outside but it’s bedtime so I guess we’ll deal with it. The AC worked for thet ime we ran it tonight (it’s not hot enough to tax it) and that helped to cool us off. Today got pretty hot in here while driving but we managed. I’m glad we’re travelling at this time of year rather than in a month or two, that would be unbearable.

I think that covers it for this chapter (that’s what seems like doesn’t it? You’ve read a big ol’ honkin’ blahg entry. If you read this all of it, without skipping anything, pat yourself on the back and leave a comment... maybe you’ll get a postcard! he he).

I’m going to head to bed soon and let Big Daddy use the computer.

Thanks for checking in!

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Ready for Take Off

2006-04-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

We'll be out of here within a half an hour. Only 45 minutes later than we had anticipated. Not too bad for people who are always late!

Blahg you later.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

Headed West - On the Road Again Part 2

2006-04-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Written Wednesday, April 12, 2006 @8:25am (Central Daylight Time)

Today we plan to head west. We’re hoping to depart by 10:30am (in about an hour and a half). I’m not sure we’ll make it by then given that half of the crew in here is still asleep. Big Bro’s big bro is leaving for a meeting in about a half an hour so we need to get out there to say “ta ta”.

Last night we stayed up really late trying to savor the last bit of time with them. We had a wonderful time of prayer just before going to bed.

I’m glad they are coming out to California next month so we don’t have to be too sad to leave. I can’t believe we’ve been here for 3 1/2 weeks. We’ve been through all sorts of weather (very cold, very hot, very humid, thunderstorms, and winds), dealt with a week of illness, went to church gatherings and different fellowship times, celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary (and 12 year anniversary of engagement), a nieces’ birthday, went on a lil’ road trip to Houston... a lot happened in the past 3 1/2 weeks. The Texas Branch has been so gracious in letting us stay so long. I’m grateful we were able to get an extension of our time away since we were sick and banned for a week. The kids all really enjoyed their time as well. We’re thankful for the memories made.

Though we are sad to be leaving (since we’re not sure when we’ll be back this way) we are excited about our next adventure as we head west.

On the road again!

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

What eez it mahn?

2006-04-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

It was the oil filter!

No we did not need to be towed (though up until this morning when Big Daddy proved his manhood by locating the problem we thought we might very well have to be towed back to the Texas Branch's home - so we could stay in a house rather than a motel with dog and kids)! Thank you, Lord!

After putting on his "allowed to get greasy and dirty" clothes Big Daddy found that the thingy-majig that holds the oil filter on came loose causing the oil filter to hit another thingy-majigger-thing causing a hole in the oil filter. Big Daddy tightened the oil filters holder-thingy-majig and used some funky silver tape stuff to try to cover the whole up enough for us to get to a Quick Lube type of place. He da man! What relief that it wasn't his fault that the engine ran out of oil!

We finished up our continental breakfast (and an episode of "Little House on the Prairie", that just happened to be playing - the one where Laura is all grown up and a teacher, the Olsens adopt a little stinker of a girl just like Nelly...) at the club house and went on a wild goose chase to try to find somewhere to get the oil filter changed. We finally found a place that charged us only $9.71 to change the filter, put two quarts of oil in, and waited around to make sure it didn't leak anymore.

We ate lunch at the same restaurant we ate dinner at last night (Cracker Barrel) before driving back the Texas Branch home today. We made it home by 6:30p, ate dinner, and had all the kids in bed by 9 something (better than last night).

We'll be heading out either tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday morning.

Oh! One other really cute and funny story. Our 3 year old niece excitedly stated, as we parked our RV in the driveway, "The cousins are here!" and asked when we got here. We were caravanning and had also stopped about 20 minutes prior for gas together (where she said hi to me) but I guess she didn't realize we come back here or something... it was just so cute.

Thanks for following us... "he's looking at me!"

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

Mission Accomplished

2006-04-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

Written Monday, April 10, 2006 @ 2:47p (Central Daylight Time)

Yesterday was the twelve year anniversary of when Big Daddy asked me to marry him. I remembered it a few days ago and then at the end of the day yesterday. We were too busy wandering around “Space Center Houston” with our kiddos and the Texas Branch.

I almost did not go with them all since Lil’ Sis needed a nap by the time we were going to leave and I was exhausted. I had some time to rest a bit before the “shuttle” (ie: my brother-in-law) came back for the second group of people so we all ended up going after alll. I’m really glad I did. For one thing it was fun to make some special memories plus it was very interesting. I had no idea what to expect

The first thing we did was the 75 minute tram tour. Did you know that Space Center Houston is pretty much it’s own little town (like they have their own fire department)? We saw mission control. The very room that was used when the US sent our first missions. The very same room where people sat in shock as “Challenger” crew said “Houston we have a problem” followed by the devestating explosion. We sat in the observation room where family of crew members could come at anytime during a mission (this was also considered the “V.I.P. room” where our country’s presidents, and other diginitaries would sit to observe as well. One fun tidbit of trivia was that the woman sitting in the front row third seat in from the left was sitting in the same seat Queen Elizabeth sat in while visiting). Lil’ Bro was really enjoying the extra long hallway that had an extra long window allowing us to peek into the training room. Different parts of the space shuttle were replicated so they could practice in each different chamber. As part of the tour we saw a grow of oak trees in a small park-like setting. Each tree was planted for astronauts we have lost. It was a somber few minutes where within my little 15 month old decided it was finally time for a complete meltdown. So much for a moment of silence. Though, maybe it was her way of mourning the fallen. Somehow I don’t think anyone would have seen it that way. It was terribly embarrassing but I guess that what we get for taking a baby who hadn’t eaten lunch and didn’t get her nap on a 75 minute tour.

After the tour we walked through the “tourist trap exit” where pictures (mandatory to be taken but optional to be purchased) were waiting for us to say “Hey, it’s a souvenior, sure we’ll give you our first born”. We, thankfully, were able to negotiate with them and used a credit card instead of handing over Big Bro (he was very relieved).

We fed our brood before we explored anythiing else. There is plenty to do and see the problem is not having enough time. While Lil Sis napped in her stroller (and I got over my minor asthma attack) the rest of the clan watched a movie about the history of the major missions. A whole heep of us touched the moon, dude. Well, a rock from the moon anyhow. I thought about never washing my right index finger again, but then that would be gross so never mind. They had a mighty fine play structure that was about five stories high (it even had an elevator). We played with flight simulator games, walked through a sample of a space shuttle, saw capsules that astronauts came back to earth in (on loan from the Smithsonian Institute), etc.

The weather ended up actually being cool enough in Houston that we were able to leave our dog all day in the RV with windows open and a fan running. (Though not cool enough weather to keep away some pesky little bug that ate my ankles up and Big Sis’ sweet face!)

We ate a VERY late dinner last night, so late that our 3 year old niece fell asleep during dinner! The kids did amazingly well since we had such a long day and were eating dinner at 9 something at night. All the kids were finally in bed by a little after 10:30p.

Quick side note: The Texas Branch says “hi to everyone!”

Read our next blahg entry to find out if our RV needed to be towed to the nearest service station...

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Houston...We’re ready for take off

2006-04-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

Written Saturday, April 8, 2006 @ 11:58pm (Central Daylight Time)

Note:We don’t have internet access at this RV Park so you’ll probably be reading this a couple of days after I write this.

Today we all hopped into our vehicles (yeah road trip with the Texas Branch) and headed down to Houston in hopes of going to the Space Center tomorrow. We weren’t able to get our air conditioning to work (even after Big Daddy replaced some capacitors). We think the compressor is going bad. The cost to replace it is not too far off of the cost of replacing the AC unit (by the time you pay for labor). We really need AC if we are going to leave our dog in the RV while we go to the Space Center, but we decided that if it’s too hot to leave her in here tomorrow I’ll just stay here while they go to the Space Center.

We’re really glad we didn’t pay the $600 (or more) to replace the AC since we might have another huge expense coming up. Just as we hit the toll road not too far from Houston our engine started making a rattling sound which got worse and worse. Finally we pulled over and Big Daddy checked the oil only to find that it had no oil. He had to put four quarts of oil in! Our lil’ home away from home has sprung an oil leak (a big ol’ honkin’ one). We’re hoping that if we stop every hour (or less) to add oil it will get us back to the Texas Branch’s house so that we can figure out what to do from there. If it needs to be worked on then we at least will have a place to stay. I’m glad this happened while we aren’t too far from their house instead of being stranded out in the middle of nowhere.

We haven’t done much this week except Big Daddy trying to figure out what’s wrong with AC and hanging out with the fam. Last night we had the opportunity to participate in the Friday Night Fellowship they have once a month (though Lil’’ Sis and I spent most of the time in the car - the gathering started at 7:30... I should have just stayed home with the babies so they could go to sleep instead of sitting in the car with crying miserable baby for a couple of hours).

If all goes well with getting our RV fixed we plan to head home by mid-week this coming week. We’ve got some appointments coming up that we need to keep... I just hope we don’t have to do a blazing fast trip back so that we can enjoy our road trip back. We’ll see.

Over and Out- Lil’ Mama

Can't Think of a Title...

2006-04-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

The last two evenings have been much cooler than a couple of days ago. The Lord has been merciful in giving us not blazing hot days (and not terribly humid) over the last two days since our air conditioning started conking out on us. Big Daddy finally got some parts today that we are hoping will fix the problem. The only time we've needed the AC is during nap time. Today we put the babies down while it was still cool enough while Big Daddy went down into San Antonio to get the parts. We had to "dump" and fill up today plus other errands (including a DQ stop) so we'll check the AC tomorrow when it's hot.

We are hoping to get to Houston and the space center before we have to leave next week. We can't go if the AC doesn't work since our dog couldn't be in the RV while we're away. Forgive me if I'm repeating things I've written before.

Last night I had the opportunity to be apart of the ladies' group that my sister-in-law is involved with (I missed the one a couple of weeks ago since we were dealing with the stomach flu). It was an encouraging and challenging time in way of how we ought be loving our children. Big Daddy got to attend the men's group on Sunday night with his brother. It's been neat to get to meet the friends the Texas Branch has and get an indepth peak into their life.

Lil Bro had a fever yesterday. He acted totally fine (he gets these random fevers from time to time) but had some, um, how do I say this so it's not gross... yucky diapers (there that wasn't too bad, now was it?). This morning the kid was dehydrated and lethargic but no fever. I tried a variety of ways to rehydrate him... finally using the "straw method" (giving him a straw in a cup)which worked well. Within a few minutes he was squealing and cheerfully jumping up and down. Later in the morning one of our nieces got sick to her stomach... but she seems fine now. We stayed out of the house just in case (not wanting to go there again!).

Other than that not terribly exciting, but I don't mind lack of excitement.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

No Foolin' - We’re Still Here

2006-04-03T07:21:00.000-07:00

Written Monday, April 3,2006 @8:55am (Central Daylight Time)

When we made our plans and left for this trip we never once dreamed we’d still be away from home. We had intended on spending a week, maybe two, here. Given that we spent a week sick, were three days late leaving for the trip, and the Texas Branch having their busy work weeks (we want to get in as much time with them as possible since were not sure when we’ll be seeing them again) we decided to get an extension on our time away. I can’t remember if I blahged about speaking with Lil Bro’s new social worker a little over a week ago. If I did please excuse the repeat. I asked for permission to extend our trip and she said it shouldn’t be a problem. So instead of getting home this Wednesday (our original “longest expected” date of our arrival) we have some more time.

This weekend was hot and humid. Critters are already coming out. Big Daddy and all of the kids found a scorpion hiding beneath a rock on Friday. It was probably about an inch and a half in length. They caught it in a jar, observed it, then disposed of it. I wasn’t too comfortable about walking to and from the RV in the dark anymore without a flashlight. On Saturday we found out about a family down near San Antonio who found a coral snake in their backyard. This family has only been here for three months and are from Oregon so imagine their surprise when they realized that the husband walked by, in flip flops, this deadly snake! Apparently, this is the second of this kind to be seen in fourteen years. All I can say is “yuck yuck yuck!!!!” Blech! I don’t care much for bugs as it is and I’m definitely not fond of critters who can kill.

We were all well enough to get meet with the Texas Branch’s church family. After the weekly potluck we went to Costco to get the tire with the nail in it replaced. We walked around Costco for nearly two long hours waiting for the the tires on the vehicles to rotated, etc. (Costco isn’t very close to here so we had to do it while closer to town).

Yesterday afternoon our air conditioning stopped working in the RV (while Lil Sis was taking a nap so she was drenched when we got her up) so Big Daddy has to figure out what’s wrong with it. It kept tripping the circut breaker. We hope he can get that figured out because it is really hot here these last few days. If it continues to be hot for our journey home I’m not sure what we’ll do because it’s like a green house in here which would be bad for the health of the kids and dog. Also, we won’t be able to go down to Houston if we can’t figure out the AC because we won’t be able to leave our dog in the RV while we see the Space Center (the humidity is even worse down there than it is here).

Well the natives are getting restless. I hope I caught you all up.

Over and Out- Lil' Mama

How Plans Change...

2006-03-30T22:46:00.000-08:00

... just in a matter of an hour.

Tonight I was talking with my parents and told them we were planning to go down to Corpus Christi tomorrow and figured we'd probably head home by the end of next week. About an hour, or so, later we started talking about going to Houston Space Center next weekend with the Texas Branch (they actually have some free time next weekend so we figured why leave when they can actually get out and play?). Though I am definitely starting to get homesick, we don't want to leave if there is an opportunity to spend some quantitiy time with our dear family (they've been very busy and with our being sick for a week while here we've not had as much time as we'd have liked to spend with them). So, we'll see.

We're hoping to get to go to "Inner Space Caverns" sometime next week. The caverns are below I-35 and pre-historic animals had been found there sometime back. Maybe we'll see Canyon Lake and the Guadalupe River park while we're here, too.

It's late so I'll check out for now. Let us know how you all are doing as well (we still have a hard time emailing but we'd love to here from you).

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

Ban Lifted

2006-03-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

Our ban from being "inside" the house has been lifted.

The reasons are two-fold. Firstly, we managed to make it past the 72 hour mark of someone getting sick to the stomach. Secondly, our sister-in-law, dressed in her "power color" is currently at a debate and we are helping to watch their kids.
We are hoping that everyone will be still well tomorrow (the "inside" people have been struggling but haven't succumbed yet) and maybe go on an adventure.

Yesterday, us "RV people" went for a drive to Freidericksburg. The Hill Country out here is pretty. We drove through a state park that had bison, sheep, and a living history museum. For the most part we enjoyed our little trip. It was nice to see something other than driveway and the side of a house. The little town we visited was quaint. I always enjoy visiting old towns.

So not much exciting happening, which I will gladly accept. We'll let you know how "The Housewife Dressed in Fuchia" did at the debate. "Gooooo Housewife!"

Thanks for checking in.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

“The Plague”

2006-03-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

Written Monday, 3/27 @ 11:45am (Central Time)

So which episode of “Little House on the Prairie” do we watch? “The Plague”! How ironic. Here we are isolating ourselves so as to hopefully help the Texas Branch not get the stomach flu and we watched an episode where people we were isolating hoping to not pass on the plague. We just thought that was funny.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Who’s Next?

2006-03-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Written Monday, 3/27 @ 10:08am (Central Time)

I feel much better today. I think it will be awhile before I want to eat again, but at least I am not in pain anymore. I’m praying that no one else gets it. It was horrible. But if it keeps on track someone will get it either tonight or tomorrow night. We’ll just sit and wait.

Today is chilly so Big Daddy told the chillens’ that we’ll be watching an episode of “Little House on the Prairie” while it warms up outside. We’re also waiting to find out if the Texas Branch has one of those cool solar showers so we can try to get cleaned up (it’s been a few days since we all bathed and we’d like to get clean - our water heater doesn’t really work in here).

Not much excitement to share with y’all.

We’ll let you know if anything exciting happens.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Lil Mama’s Turn

2006-03-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

Written Sunday, 3/26 @ 5:12pm (Central Time)

It’s my turn with this stomach bug. It’s officially deemed a “bug”. We found out this morning that several families within the Texas Branch’s church family are having the stomach flu. The thing that is weird about is that it takes about 48-72 hours for the next person to get it. I hope no one else gets this. I've never recalled such a painful bout witht the stomach flu. I actually started wondering if I was having a heart attack last night because the pain was just under my rib cage and up the middle of my chest. If others hadn't of had the stomach flu I would have considered looking into it further.

Big Daddy just left to take the kids to Walmart to buy Lil Sis a new portacrib (we’ve tried cleaning it out but can’t get rid of the smell so it’s just gotta go) and some lemonade or something with electrolytes for me. I’m hoping to be able to keep that down because I haven’t been able to thus far. Mine hit last night as we were close shopping at an outlet mall an hour away. We were trying to find my sister-in-law a “power suit” for the big debate she has this Wednesday. She’s helping to lead a tax payer revolt here in Texas against toll roads (roads that have already been paid for hence they should not have to pay for them again). We’re praying she doesn’t get this stomach bug, at least, until after the debate. Until then we are just going to “camp” here at their house. We won’t go inside or have the kids play together.

We’ve talked about when to call it “when”. If this keeps up after this Wednesday we need to just head back home. We’ve spent more than half our time here with one of us being sick. I did talk with Lil Bro's new social worker a couple of days ago and requested an extension of our trip, since we've not gotten to spend much time here not sick. It doesn't sound like that will be a problem. We'll see. We wish they lived closer. It would be easier to go home and just come back when everyone is well. Anyway, I need to rest, just typing this little bit has completely worn me out.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Happy 11th Anniversary!

2006-03-25T08:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Friday, March 24, 2006 Big Daddy and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. The Texas Branch watched our kids for us last night while we went to the River Walk for dinner. While we were celebrating our anniversary the Texas Branch celebrated our nieces 8th birthday.

This week has been really hard. Hence we have not blahged much. Big Daddy finally got well. We had a day of cleaning and then the next day Lil Sis got sick to her stomach. We stayed outside in the frigidness of the day to help keep us celebrated from the house dwellers (in hopes that no one else would get sick - our 2nd eldest niece here got a little sick as well).

Thursday night we had errands to run and we were wild and crazy taking all nine kids and four adults to "Krispy Kreme" donuts as 9:15 at night. Yikes. We all survived the sugar rush (Big Sis and Lil Bro enjoyed their "fruit leathers" while Lil Sis looked enjoying her milk).

We were all well enough yesterday to go down to San Antonio to visit "Vision Forum" retail store. After which Big Sis and I joined the birthday girl and her mama to a tea house.

I think that is it for now.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

So Far So Good

2006-03-22T06:50:00.000-08:00

Written Tuesday, March 22nd @ 8:39am (Central Time)

We made it through the night without incident! Thank You God! Everyone slept through the night (yes even I did - well, okay I woke up a few times but went back to sleep quic kly, therefore I slept through the night).

Big Daddy is sitting up reading a biography on Jonathan Edwards (by Iain Murray) looking “beat up” but feeling much better (nothing a taking a shower can’t fix). He’s even hungry. Big Bro is reading while Big Sis is staring down at me. I love the sounds of Lil Bro and Lil Sis playing in their beds. Even though I got a lot of sleep last night I’m already ready for a nap!

I’m not sure what we are all going to be doing today. We haven’t gone up to the house yet, but we are hopeful that everyone in their is doing well.

Over and Out - Lill Mama

We Be Illen'

2006-03-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

Written Tuesday, 3/21@ 9:10pm (Central Time)

Today was a really hard day. Big Daddy got sick to his stomach in the middle of the night. He had to get up several times (I eventually got where I couldn't even get up with him anymore due to exhaustion and starting to feel sick to my stomach). I did several loads of laundry today and bathed the dog (yeah, it was that bad - poor Big Daddy).

Thankfully today warmed up nicely so the kids were able to be outside while I cleaned up in here. We kept our family separated from Big Daddy’s Big Bro’s family to try to keep this from going around to everyone. It got to the point where it was nearly torture for the kids to not play together so we had cleaning wipes being constantly used as kids exchanged bikes and play things and made the rule that they just couldn’t get too near anyone. Our sister-in-law was sweet enough to make dinner to be eaten outside tonight so complete isolation wasn’t necessary. We are very hopeful that no one else gets sick, especially our second oldest niece here, since she can have very serious medical complications if she were to get the stomach flu.

We were hopeful that it was something Big Daddy ate last night. Unfortunately, he has a fever tonight. With our lil family all living in this small room I fear it is inevitable the rest of us get this. I do pray heartily that the Lord will spare us from that. I really don’t want a repeat of last night or today. I have been struggling with nausea all day but I’m hoping it’s merely “sympathy” pains or just plain ol’ being grossed out over what transpired in here last night.

The babies and Big Daddy are asleep while Big Bro and Big Sis are settling down to take off to dream land. I’m hoping I can get into bed soon and get a good solid night’s sleep.

On Sunday, Norm Wakefield (and elder for the church family Big Daddy’s Big Bro’s family is apart of) had taught about what our perspective ought to be in the midst of trials. Given what our lil family has been through in the last six years we have had many opportunities to reflect on and practice living out perserverence in the midst of trials (though many many times we have failed to live out the right perspective), my ears perked up as I heard his topic of choice. I really appreciated Mr. Wakefield’s perspective in that when we are faced with trials are we focusing on Christ? This is His storm (not just mine). I’m sorry I know I’m thrashing the gist of it, I hope to have clearer thoughts in a future blahg. I was encouraged and challenged to keep working through trials the right way.

Today I failed many times in serving my family with a cheerfu heart. Today I struggled to keep my voice from growing shrill when the children did not do as I had expected and or asked them to in order to try to make today run smoothly. The only area I feel I had victory in the midst of this trial is that I didn’t beg for it to be over. I just begged the Lord to get me through it. I didn’t ask Him to take it away, just to press on. I can’t say how I will respond tonight if someone else gets sick. I cannot say how I will respond tomorrow if I have serveral loads of laundry to do and children to keep away from an ailing relative. I just pray that I honor the Lord by having a cheerful heart in serving my family, being patient with the children, and pressing forward knowing that my character will be proven and that Lord is gracious and kind regardless the circumstances.

Being the person I am who has no endurance I do admit I hope this all goes away by tomorrow and that we all wake up refreshed and ready continue our thus far fun trip. Alas, I am a trying to hang on tight to the handle bars in case this wild ride keeps on going.

Over and Out - One tired Lil’ Mama

Let it Storm!

2006-03-20T21:35:00.000-08:00

Written Monday, March 20th @ 9:00pm (Central Time)

It’s blahg catch up time. Gather around for tales from this part of Texas.

Yesterday, Sunday, March 19th, we got together with Big Daddy’s Big Bro & family’s church family. After which we enjoyed a potluck lunch and the opportunity to meet more of their friends. Since it had stopped raining we headed on down to San Antonio’s zoo. The kids really enjoyed their time there seeing all sorts of different snakes, a couple of grizzly bears, playing in the toddler friendly zone of the park and just plain old having fun with this set of their cousins.

After getting back to the house to eat a yummy taco dinner the kids enjoyed roasting “doughboys” (or as Big Sis called them “those boy things”) before heading to bed (the adults had theirs after the kids went to bed).

A couple of hours after the kids were all snug in their beds a big ol’ honkin’ storm rolled in. We had seen the flickering ligt show during our roasting session and figured it was inevitable. Big Daddy I got back into the RV just after it started down pouring. I was drenched just from leaving the umbrella to hop into the RV. After getting dry we watched and listened in awe to the powerful storm. We LOVE thunderstorms (Big Bro woke up only once and Big Sis was awake for awhile through it but loved it - thankfully) so this was a joy especially since we were safely sheltered from any potential harm. We woke up pretty late this morning since we didn’t get much sleep due to the storm last night (ok and from staying up late chatting, too).

Late this afternoon after the babies had their naps we headed down to “the Alamo” and the “Riverwalk”. There isn’t much left of the Alamo so though we got there just about 45 minutes before they closed we saw most of it. Have you ever been to San Antonio’s River Walk? If not I would highlly recommend this as a place to visit if you are ever in San Antonio. It’s one of those places that seem almost magical. Actually, it reminded in some spots of the “Pirates of the Caribean” ride at Disneyland at the spot where the ride takes one past the restaurant. We enjoyed meandering down the winding walkway and eating at “Casa Rio” (the oldest restaurant at the Riverwalk). Afterwards some had candy (I behaved myself and chose not to have any). Our little family met up with Lil Bro’s former social worker for just a few minutes. He bought Lil Bro a coonskin cap. That was very kind of him. He said he’d wanted one as a kid and saw it and just had to buy it for our lil’ guy.

We tried getting a picture taken of the adults so our eldest niece, here, tried taking the picture as some inebreiated-acting guy from the restaurant we were in front of came up to get his picture taken with us. When she refused to take his picture he proceeded to try to take off (jokingly we think) with our youngest nephew. Big Bro saved the day and rescued Lil Buddy (if the guy had gone one step further he would have to two big guys beat him up). All ended well, no bruises or broken noses.

As I write the kids and Big Daddy are in bed. Poor Big Daddy was feeling sick to his stomach tonight so hopefully a good night sleep will help.

I suppose I ought to sign off for now. Thaks for checking.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

We’re in TX

2006-03-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

Written Saturday, March 18th @ 5:40pm (Central Time)

I tried writing last night but we kept getting knocked off the computer (after I wrote my entry) and we didn’t have internet access on Thursday.

We left my aunt and uncle’s house on Thursday the 16th by noon. We arrived in North Waco KOA Kampground in Texas to stay for the night. It was a nice campground. With the plentfiul trees it was relaxing for Big Daddy to sit while the kids played at the playground (and I made dinner).

We arrived to our final destination (for this leg of the trip) yesterday (the 17th) by 2pm. After the babies had their naps I got them up (I napped as well - so I didn’t get to see everyone until afterward) and we went out to see “the cousins” and Big Daddy’s Bro & Sis-in-law.

We of course stayed up late last night catching up.

We weren’t here 24 hours and it was already a schedule filling up. Big Sis, Lil Sis, and I joined “the girls” for a baby shower. I consider it a privilege to meet the guest of honor, the mother of ten children (and she certainly doesn’t look like she just gave birth to her 10th child only a month ago!). I enjoyed getting to meet and chat with some of the people our Bro & Sis-in-law call friends.

We’re trying to get dinner ready right now and then bathe the kiddos up so we can all be clean and fresh for meeting with the church family tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in!

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Oooonnn the Road Again...

2006-03-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

Within a half an hour we should be on the road again. We've got some pictures to take and have to say goodbye. We've sure appreciated the hospitality my aunt and uncle afforded to us.

We're starting much later than we wanted to, but then, what's new?

Not much else to say except were sad to leave. It was eight years ago that Big Daddy & I were here last (and 12 years prior to that for me)... so we're not sure when we'll be out this way again.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

Stories from OKC

2006-03-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

One of cousins used to do foster care a few years back. One night they brought home 3 children to care for. My cousin had a bear skin rug, from a bear he'd shot, lying on the floor. The oldest of the three children was looking at it funny for awhile. He finally proclaimed calmly, "Your dawg's dead."

Next story...
My uncle told a story about how he had a problem with having some of his horse tack stolen out of his trailer when he was at a rope'n jackpot. So he decided that next time he would bring along Blue Toes his German shepherd. He carefully tied the dog so that he couldn't quite reach his tack box or the door, but he could freely move around the trailer. When my uncle returned to his trailer after the event he found two boys sitting on the tack box who were scared spit-less with Blue Toes on his hind legs reaching as far as he could trying to get him. Needless to say he never had any problem with things being stolen out of his trailer again.

Next story...
Many years ago when my uncle and aunt moved to the house they are in now they couldn't find their large black cat to bring with them. It wasn't a problem because they had their horse at the old property for a couple of weeks while they made a barn at their new property. On one of the return visits back to the old property my uncle found Black Sambo, their cat. The cat had never been in a vehicle. My uncle put him in his truck and started home. Black Sambo was fine... for a while. As my uncle was driving 60mph the cat suddenly flipped out and began bouncing off all the windows while it clawed and pooped everywhere. My uncle rolled down the window and poor old Black Sambo bounced right out the window. The truck just kept on going. He didn't tell the kids what had happened to their cat until they were much older.

Over and out- Lil Mama (and Big Daddy too)

Rootin' Tootin' & Shootin'

2006-03-15T21:05:00.000-08:00

It's 11:15p here and I'm plumb tuckered out. Our last load of laundry is in the warsh as Big Daddy showers up after a haircut. The kiddos are all snug as a bug in a rug. They had a big day today.

As my aunt, Lil Sis and I went to town to try to find some cowboy boots for Big Bro (ok we went to lunch at "El Chico", too) the rest of the gang went shootin'.

Lil Bro didn't care much for the 22 rifles going off. Big Sis didn't want to take her turn at shooting at the targets. So they played in a pile of roof shingles for awhile as Big Daddy, Big Bro, and my uncle shot at the targets. According to my uncle Big Bro started to get pretty good at shooting the gun. Big Daddy said that he had to remind Big Bro occasionally to not point the gun at other people. It's probably a good thing I wasn't around at that time, though I would have liked a chance to shoot as well. What targets did they have you ask? Well, they had bottles, trash, an old stove... pretty fun.

Some of my uncles steers had broken horns so some friends came by to put casts on them. Since they were here when feeding time came around the horses weren't let out (apparently they like to vandalize cars - scratch the paint, take of windshield wipers, etc). It wasn't until about an hour ago when I was cutting Big Daddy's Big Ol' Hair that they realized the horses were still in the stable. Is that at all like when we send the kids to their rooms and they are so quiet we forget they are there? He he.

Before bed tonight the kids got to watch a rodeo on TV that Junior Highers were doing. Wild Stuff! Could you imagination your junior high aged child riding a bucking bull and falling off only to have his hand stuck in the rope while it's still bucking? Or your little girl riding a horse as fast as she can around a barrel obstacle course (not nearly as scary or dramatic as the first scenario)?

Fun "facts":
Lil Sis actually tried to say "horse" today! Lil Bro says "horses!" every morning as we open the curtains in our lil' home on wheels. Big Sis informs us excitedly each morning that the cows are coming up to be fed. The other day Big Sis told one of my cousins that she'd been out "working in the field" that day (everyone has gotten a kick out of that one). Big Bro... well, he's quite proficient with his vocabulary that I don't think any new things have popped out his mouth... except his amazement that the ladder up to the overcab bed can hold my weight (he said this at the beginning of our trip... but it still resonates in my head often).

Sometime tomorrow morning we plan to start heading down to TX to see Big Daddy's Bro and fam. We're sad to leave here. We've enjoyed the hospitality.

Over and Out - Lil Mama

Yeha! Tuesday, 3/14

2006-03-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

Today is my aunt and uncle's 54th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary!

Big Daddy, Big Bro, Big Sis, and Lil Bro helped my uncle care for his animals (and practiced roping, of course) while my aunt, Lil Sis, and I went to town to get some groceries.

After a pizza lunch the babies (and I) went down for a nap. Big Daddy, Big Bro, and Big Sis hung out in the house for awhile. After I got up from my lil nap I came in to see my uncle and aunt out here for another visit with us. They brought over fixin's for sandwiches for dinner.

It was time for roping again tonight. It was very cold again tonight. By the end of the evening Big Bro couldn't take the cold any longer and was so tired he needed to get back up to the house (it was pretty serious because he didn't have the umph to help take a horse back up to the barn!). Lil Bro finally got on a horse tonight! Pepaw took him with him. It was fun to see "Pony Boy" up on the horse.

"Pony Boy"? Yep, another nickname. It comes from a song my aunt and uncle sing to the kids (a song that got Lil Bro to actually sit on my uncle's lap).

"Pony Boy, Pony Boy, won't you be my Pony Boy? Don't say 'no' here we go... across the plains... giddiup giddiup..." okay I probably thrashed it, but it went something like that.

Big Sis rode again as well as Big Daddy and Big Bro. I just watched while Lil Sis stayed in the house with my aunts and uncle.

My cousin "Bubber" came by (I had to say his nickname because it's so cool) so I was glad to see him (we were in town when he came by earlier in the day).

The kids went to be really late (it was after 10pm by the time they were in bed) due to the roping tonight. Hopefully they'll sleep well. They haven't been getting much sleep with all of us in one room (the box on wheels) on the nights Lil Sis cries... like last night off and on. They are having fun, though.

We celebrated my aunt and uncle's anniversary by bringing in some microwave popcorn, chocolate covered raisins, and chocolate almond clusters. Wheeeeewwwy! We're a wild bunch.

Well, I think I'm kind of up to date.

We plan to leave here on Thursday to head to TX. We'll be sad to go. We've enjoyed our stay and seeing the different relatives (sorry to those of you I haven't mentioned yet... It's meant a lot to us that you all have made time out of your busy schedules to come see us!!!).

Big Daddy is still up waiting for me. I don't think he minds too much, he's enjoying talking with my aunt and uncle.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

Giddiup! Monday 3/13...

2006-03-14T22:27:00.000-08:00

Brrrrrrr! It was mighty cold by morning. We'd had nearly 90 degree weather on Sunday afternoon and it was expected to be 42 degrees by Monday morning.

There wasn't as much to do on Monday morning in regards to the animals. Only the horses needed to be fed. Big Bro and Big Sis have been helping my uncle feed and care for the animals.

Big Daddy, Big Bro and Big Sis spent a good portion of the day out at the barn practicing to rope the dummy and other related rompings.

By late afternoon we went for a walk to the back forty. We were hunting for rose rock. It was interesting trying to get stroller up and down the hills and through some deep dirt. Big Daddy managed to get us across one of the creeks. After the dawg got stickers in her paws, Lil Bro got a sticker in his rear end area, and Big Sis got stuck we decided it was time to head back. We made it back across the creek. After playing near it for awhile Lil Bro finally fell in the creek (you haven't really lived if you haven't fallen into their creek). Big Bro and Lil Bro definitely needed a bath after that since the dirt is red out here and they had red mud on their faces and clothes. The little guy had water in boots and we didn't realize it until we got him undressed (no wonder he was crying and whining the whole way back).

Just as the kids were getting to bed some more relatives came by to visit with us.

It's cool that people who don't really know us are willing to come by to say "hi".

Big Daddy went to bed early last night to help police the kiddos (so they'd actually go to sleep).

I'm sure I'm forgetting something about what happened this day... maybe I'll remember more later.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

What Happened on Sunday 3/12?

2006-03-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

On Sunday morning Big Bro rushed through breakfast to get out and help Pepaw feed the cows and horses. He got to drive on a tractor and "let down" the hay for the cows (each roll weighs in at 1000 pounds - the cows eat about 200 pounds a day). Him and Pepaw rushed around as fast as they could so we could make it to the "Golden Corral" for lunch before we were too late.

At the "Golden Corral" we had a mini family reunion (they all came to see lil' ol us!). We got to see some family I haven't seen since I was 12 years old (others we saw 8 years ago, but it was a quick visit).

After lunch we rushed back "home" so that the guys waiting to rope could be let onto the property (the gate was locked). Poor Lil Sis was trying to go to sleep on the way back from town but Memaw, Big Bro & I were able to manage to keep her awake so she could try to take a proper nap).

While the babies napped Big Daddy, Big Bro, & Big Sis went down to the roping pen. Big Bro was a bit disappointed that he didn't get to ride "Muffin" all by himself. Muffin was too spirited to let an inexperienced youngin' take off on him. This horse was "giving Big Daddy a time" and decided to try to take off even though he was supposed to be stopping. It just wouldn't have been safe for Big Bro to ride by himself. Big Sis got to ride with Pepaw (she rode the horse that she stated as we first pulled onto the property "Oh Mommy, I'm going to HAVE to touch THAT horse!" I asked why. She responded emphatically and almost breathlessly, "Because he's so pretty!"). She enjoyed riding "Peanut". No one rode "Lark" the beautiful black horse with the star on his forehead. These horses are only ridden by my uncle so anybody else they might like to tease by giving them a hard time. The stallion hasn't been out of his stall. He'd hurt the other horses if he was roaming around.

Yeeehaaaa! Lil Mama even got on a horse and rode around for a bit (and I didn't have my panic attack until the end).

My dad's brother and his wife came by after lunch as well to hang out with us.

My uncle gave Big Bro and Big Daddy their own ropes to take home, and they've been practicing on the dummy, the kids were also given some horseshoes.
It was HOT HOT HOT all day! Whewy! We were sweaty and stinky! By the time the kids were bathed and in bed it started cooling down. By the time Big Daddy & I went to bed it was really cold (contrast to Saturday night).

What happened on Monday?

Whatcha Doin'?

2006-03-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Sorry, that we haven't been keeping up with blahging. We've been too busy ropin', feeding, horse back riding, visiting, and running around.

Well, Lil Mama hasn't done too much of this. I've done mostly visiting and keeping an eye on the babies so that Big Daddy, Big Bro, and Big Sis can be freed up to do the rest.

What a blast the kids have been having (I think Big Daddy is enjoying himself, too.).
I'm going to give you a "quick" low down as to what we've done since we've been here (over a few entries so you can skip around easier).

Giddiup!

Lil' Mama

We're Here!

2006-03-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

We've arrived! We missed the driveway so we had to go down a ways before we could turn around. By the time we got back to the driveway my dad's brother was waiting down the driveway for us as my dad's sister drove an ATV with my other aunt hanging on to meet us. Once we got up their hill the horses greeted us by following us as we backed in.

Big Bro got to help feed the horses after dinner. The kids were given horseshoes to take home! Big Bro even got to practice roping! It'll be fun to see the cows and horses greet us in the morning.

My dad's brother and his wife ("Granddad" and "Granny") were here when we arrived (we're staying with my dad's sister and her husband ["Memaw" and "Pepaw"). Mema and Pepa's daughter and granddaughter came out to see us, too.
Tomorrow we'll be eating at the "Golden Corral" tomorrow with any extended family who wants to see us. In the afternoon the kids will get to see some real live roping!

Well, I'm getting a big ol' honkin' headache so I'm going to sign off.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

Are We There Yet?

2006-03-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

Written Saturday, 3/11/06 @ 3:17 pm (Central Time)
We're driving as I write this post. Are we there yet? Man alive this seems to be taking FOREVER today. I'm sure it doesn't help that we sat in one lane of traffic for quite sometime back as we were entering OK state.

There is some beautiful country out here. We drove through some rocky hill area that had evergreens abounding.

I think we are about 30 minutes from our turn off and then we should hopefully be to my uncle and aunt's house within about 45 minutes to an hour.

I'm not sure how often we'll get to blahg while out here. By the time we get this one posted it may be a few days from now.

Over and Out- Lil' Mama

Editors note: Clearly we didn't have to wait a few days.

Waiting to leave

2006-03-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

Laundry is done and folded. Kids are eating Puffins. Dog is loaded in the RV. We are just waiting for Big Daddy to finish filling up our water tank. Yeah! It's filled. We're almost ready to go.

My aunt called this morning to find out where we were at and what our ETA was. She was also confused as to why in the world we took such a long route to get to there house.

Why didn't we take Route 66 one may ask instead of going the southern route? Well, Lil Bro has respiratory problems which make it to where he would need supplemental O2 if we went over 5000 feet (actually one huge reason we were so late leaving home to get on the road was because we were waiting on Apria to get us monitoring supplies we needed - they didn't get them to us until the day after we wanted to leave and that was with me fighting with them on the phone for several hours over a few days -- the topic of another blahg over at "it's blahg!" - Apria stinks... don't ever use them if you or someone you love needs respiratory supplies). Taking the long road is one reason it's taking so long to get from the Bay Area in CA to Ooooooooooklahoma.

Big Daddy is doing the walk around the RV before "take off". Yeeeeehhhaaaaa!!!

On the road again!

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

We're up . . .

2006-03-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

But not out yet. We've still got a couple of loads of laundry to do before heading out to OK. We didn't want to show up and say "Hey! Great to see... mind if we use your washer & dryer?"
Hopefully we'll be out of here in a couple of hours at the latest.
Last night it was so hot and humid. We had the windows open until we went to bed last night. At one point I needed a sheet to cover up with but not for long. What a contrast to just a few nights ago when I was cuddling with Lil Sis to keep her warm.
We just HAD to stay at "Cowtown RV Park" in Aledo. Who wouldn't want to? Don't you just love the name? It's a nice park. 'Tis a shame we won't be needing it on the way back out.
We're excited to git on outta here and go see my side of the family (some people I've only seen a couple of times in life).

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

Pictures we took on 3/7 & 3/8

2006-03-10T20:51:00.000-08:00

More Pictures from 3/5/06 Joshua Tree National Park

2006-03-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Pictures we took on 3/5/06

2006-03-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

What A Difference A Day Makes

2006-03-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

Written Friday, 3/10/06 @ 9:30 pm

Wow I am tired! I haven’t been this tired this whole trip thus far. For some reason the driving today seemed longer even though we only drove for about 7 hours (including all stops, so probably around 5 hours of driving). I’m sure running around playing tag at the rest stop after lunch and playing sword fighting with the light-sabers at the RV park where we landed didn’t help any; but hey, isn’t that part of what dads are for? I think it is worth it and so does Big Bro who is reading over my shoulder as I type. He put his head on my shoulder and said, “but it made me happy”.

Over and out- Big Daddy

Not Too Far Now

2006-03-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

Written Friday, 3/10/06 @ 9:15 pm

We’re staying deep in the heart of Texas tonight, we’re just outside of Fort Worth. We’ll be near Norman, OK tomorrow by early afternoon if all goes well.

It was HOT HOT HOT today. We’ve still got the windows open. We almost had to turn the AC on while driving today because we didn’t want the kids or dog to overheat. Thankfullly there was a little breeze through the cracked windows so no one got heat stroke.

We saw a horrible accident while driving this afternoon. The Texas Rangers diverted traffic onto a frontage road to clear about a mile of the highway. A white pickup truck slammed into the back of a semi-truck trailer. The semi must not have been moving very fast or the pickup truck must have been flying because it was lodged under the trailer all the way up to the extended cab portion of the truck. I’m afraid that the driver (as well as anyone else who may have been in the front seat) probably didn’t survive the accident. May God have mercy on their souls.

Lil Momma is off to the showers. Big Daddy and Big Bro are working on laundry and then they will be off to the showers. All the rest of the gang are in their respective beds “sleeping”. The three youngest Halls enjoyed semi-cold baths this evening. We couldn’t get the water heater to stay on. They were better than cold showers. Until later...

Over and out- Lil Momma and Big Daddy

Howdy Y’all!

2006-03-10T20:20:00.000-08:00

Written Friday, 3/10/06 @ 10:20 am

I had to write that with an accent (though you’l have to use your imagination to hear one) since i haven’t yet heard one. Here we are in podonkville and not single accent yet. Where are the accents? I’m bummed because I absolutely LOVE a drawl. I’m wondering if it’s because we’re on such a heavily traveled route. I suppose we’ll come across someone at some point with one. At least when we get to my Aunts’ and Uncles’ I’ll get to hear it. In the scheme of things and as far as eternity is concerned it doesn’t really matter.

Now we’re on the road again... after we head back over to MacAllister’s Deli to post these.

Okay, never mind. They aren’t open! We’ll try again later.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Big Daddy Checking In.

2006-03-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Written Friday, 3/10/06 @ 9:34 am

Well we survived the night at Wal Mart! Actually we didn’t have any problems.

So far I am really enjoying this RVing. I am just a bit annoyed at how long it takes, both morning and evening, to convert from the RV driving configuration to the sleeping configuration. By the time we stop driving for the day, get checked in and set up in the RV park of choice and get the beds setup and jammies on it is time for bed. We are getting a bit faster at it, but one can do the change over only so fast. It has been great being able to us the restroom (the passengers that is, not the driver ;-} ), eat meals and the kids change locations all while driving. Besides a couple of small issues, the RV has been doing its job.

On the road again...

Over and out- Big Daddy

Wal Mart It Is!

2006-03-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Written Thursday, 3/9/06 @ 10:13 pm Central Time

Well we’re doing it. We decided to stay at the most luxurious RV resort here in Midland Texas... “The Wal Mart Parking Lot”. Here the accommodations aren’t quite at the standard with which we are accustom. But where ever we park... there’s home! Thanks to the wonderfully bright lighting here in the parking lot we are able to conserve energy by keeping our lights out and using the parking lot lights to see in here. Plus at what RV park can you get a pair of shoes for five bucks, get your tires rotated, get the house plant you needed for the bathroom, the material for your next sewing project, and get a Subway sandwich all in one stop? What a deal. It’s great. Since we had such a late start today and we’ve already changed our arrival date to my relatives in OK (plus our family in TX) two times we really need to get there by Saturday. We decided we’d drive until as late as we could tonight. By the time we’d get to an RV park and paid $25 - $40 to sleep... why bother when the Wal Mart parking lot is free? There are a few others parked here as well. If we didn’t have our big ol’ honkin’ dawg who sounds like Kujo I don’t know if we’d be so quick to stay here.

Nighty-night rabbits! Meep meep!

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

What a bummer. We haven’t had internet access as often as I thought we would.

2006-03-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is first opportunity I've had to get on to blahg. Thanks McAlister's Deli! In Big Ol' Honkin' Texas!
I'm doing this as Big Daddy gets the beds ready and then we'll head over to our destination for the night. We'll keep you in suspense as to where we are staying tonight.
Following are the blahgs I've been writing and now finally have the chance to post.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

“God Answered Our Prayer” All The Time

2006-03-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

Written 3/9/06 @ 8:36pm (Texas Time!)

Well today did not go quite as we expected. Actually it didn’t go at all like we’d expected. Some may have thought our adventure began a few days ago. Indeed it did. But today it got a little more exciting. We decided to try to head out a little earlier than we have been (we’ve got more bed wetting laundry that needs to get done and wanted to get to the next place sooner). We’re glad we did since after we “dumped” Big Daddy couldn’t get the engine started again. He tried a little while (before we dumped as Big Daddy turned off the engine it back fired) to no avail. He went to the front desk of the RV Park we were at and asked for a recommendation for a mechanic. When he got back he tried again. The Lord saw fit to have the engine start again. Lil Sis said “God answered our prayer.” We reminded her that God ALWAYS answers our prayers. Sometimes He says “yes” and sometimes He says “No”. Today He decided to say “yes”. We are grateful. The idea of having to be stuck at a mehcanic’s shop all day or for a few days wasn’t appealing.

We decided to take it the recommended mechanic just to get it looked at even thought it hard finally started. An hour later we were on the road again (yes, we played that song as well). The mechanic didn’t see anything wrong a figured then just got flooded. We're grateful he didn't try to make stuff up to keep us there. We made it past Odessa, TX tonight and are going to sleep at ... (you’ll have to wait for the next blahg to find out where we ended up staying).

We drove along the Mexican border. We even got to go through a Border Patrol check point. It looked as though they were deciding whether to have us pull over. They finally decided to let us through. Those guys looked mean (and rightly so, that’s the kind of guys we want there). Big Daddy jokingly said he almost soiled his pants when the guy started to put up his hand to stop us. We had a good laugh at that.

Actually, a quick note about how the temperature was last night. IT WAS COLD! Lil Sis woke up around 4am needing some snuggling to keep warm. As I was sitting with her I couldn’t stop shivering! The wind was very strong throughout the night causing our RV to sway.

Well that’s part of the adventure. We’re still hoping to be in OK to visit my side of the family by mid-Saturday. Those plans may get delayed or changed since I received a call from my aunt, who we’re planning on staying with, today. Her daughter is in the hospital in TX and they were going down to see her tomorrow. I told her not to worry about us. We’ll figure out something to do until they get back.

* Quick note: we seem to be able to get emails (once were able to internet connection) but can’t seem to send emails. Bummer.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Camp at Walmart? Not tonight.

2006-03-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

Written 3/8/06 @ 9:23pm

Before leaving Tombstone, AZ today we went on a stagecoach ride. I thought it was pretty funny that we stop in awe as we see these things ride down the street and even pay to be passengers. I wonder if in 100 years or so people will oooh and awe at the site of a 2000 Honda Odyessy be willing to pay to driven around in our neighborhood. “And folks. if you look over to your left you will see the house that Big Daddy, Lil Mama, Big Bro, Big Sis, Lil Bro, Lil Sis, and their dawg lived in. It’s been kept in the same condition as it was when they lived here... notice the weeds and how it needs a good painting?” Not that we’d ever be famous enough for anyone to ever want to see where we lived.

So tonight we are at “Siesta RV Park” in Las Cruces, NM. If we hadn’t c hecked in before dinner I think we might have seriously considered parking in the Walmart parking lot. When we went to Walmart there had to have been at least 15 RV’s parked there. By the time we were done shopping and getting dinner we pulled into our site just in time to put the babies to bed. Why pay for an RV site when Walmart is free? Granted we’ve got electricity and running water here but we could have made it to the next RV park.

Driving here today was kind of unnerving a few times. The winds were amazingly strong. They actually had signs up along the interstate stating that we were in high wind areas and that “zero visiblity was possible”! Yikes! We actually drove through a section of a huge dust cloud. According to the manager in the office here at the RV park it’s very common for winds to be this strong at this time of year.

Another bizarre thing is being so close the Mexican border and seeing border patrol vehicles out and about as well as billboards trying to entice one to come on over.

If things go as planned we’ll be in TX tomorrow and OK by Saturday morning.

Over and Out - Lil' Mama

Interesting

2006-03-09T18:48:00.001-08:00

Written 3/7/06 @ 9:55pm

Lil Sis has been sick since the first Saturday of January, this year. With the exception of three days in late January she hasn’t been well... until our trip. Big Daddy wondered, before we left if Lil Sis would do better being away from our house (we’ve suspected allergies). Granted we are only a few days into our trip but we cannot recall having to wipe her nose or hear her stuffed up since we left. If she stays well throughout this trip I think we’ll have some serious cleaning to do when we get home.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Providence

2006-03-09T18:48:00.000-08:00

Written 3/7/06 @ 9:45pm

I have failed to share the name of our RV. After thinking up silly names and receiving creative names Big Daddy chose “Providence” (though Lil Bro calls it “Bus” with a high pitched voice from time to time). Why “Providence”? It is a reminder that we are in God’s hands. Man can make his own plans but ultilmately it is God who is in control.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Tombstone

2006-03-09T18:45:00.000-08:00

Written Tuesday 3/7/06 @ 9:06 (mountain time)

Currently the babies are asleep (or at least trying to - we’re backed up to a busy street with semi-trucks and motorcylces whizzing by). Big Daddy, Big Bro and Big Sis are outside playing “War”. I hung out there for a bit but decided to come in and try to get some pictures uploaded and write some notes for this blahg entry. We don’t have internet access here so I’ll be posting this when the next opportunity arises.

We’re in Tombstone, AZ staying at “Wells Fargo RV Park” just a short walk from the O.K. Corral. We got settled in here around 4pm. After walking around “downtown” for a bit we came back to eat some chili beans and cornbread. It was fun to see a stage coach drive by as we walked past all of the old store fronts (1880’s original buildings). We plan to stick around for a little bit tomorrow before heading east. We might even get to see a reenactment of the shoot out at the O.K. Corral (not sure the babies will like that so I might stay behind with them during that).

Here’s your history lesson for the day:

Tombstone is“The Town Too Tough to Die”. According to AAA’s 2006 edition of “Arizona & New Mexico Tourbook”:
“Tombstone was perhaps the most renowned of Arizona’s old mining camps. When Ed Schieffelin came to Camp Huachuca with a party of soldiers and left the fort to prospect, his comrades told him that he would find his tombstone rather than silver. Thus, in 1877 Schieffelin named his first claim Tombstone, and rumors of rich strikes made a boomtown of the settlement that adopted this name.
Over the course of 7 years the mines produced millions of dollars in silver and gold before rising underground waters forced suspension of operations.
Days of lawlessness and violence in Tombstone climaxed with the infamous battle between Wyatt Earp and his brothers against the Clanton brothers, fought at the rear of the O.K. Corral.”

The gun fight lasted about 28 seconds leaving 3 dead.

It's also called "The Town Too Tought to Die" because it survived major earthquakes and a couple of major fires.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

On the Road Again...

2006-03-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

Big Bro has declared this to be his favorite song (by the time we get back Willie Nelson will have some competition - watch out Willie here comes the “da family singas”).

We stayed in Joshua Tree National Park on Sunday night (3/5). It wasn’t as cold as the previous night, but still very cold. Lil Sis slept much better. Lil Bro whined all night. Joshua Tree’s dessert is pretty in its own right. The Lord’s creation of all those plants and wildlife that thrive in that dessert is amazing.

Yesterday (3/6) we drove through Blythe (postcards will be coming soon - yes they actually had postcards from Blythe, Big Daddy drove around for a little bit to hunt them down) and ate lunch there. How excitiing.

For dinner we met up with Greg and Jeanette (long time friends of our family) in Phoenix, AZ. After that we drove to Casa Grande to stay the night. We stayed next to the lovely Casa Grande mountains (which should have been named the “Casa Grande Molehills”). We all slept much better last night. Granted it was warm and we actually had to have a window open to keep it cool enough for us. What a contrast to the last two nights. The campground is huge. The kids were excited to see that horses were staying here, too. The really exciting thing that happened over the last 12 hours is that Big Daddy & Big Bro got showers last night and Lil Mama and Big Sis got showers this morning. No more stinkin’ (at least for a few days).
Well we’re off the next adventure. Keep checking back to see where we go next!

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Pictures we took on 3/4/06

2006-03-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

1. Along I-5 - we've never seen I-5 look pretty like this.

2. Running around during a break while Lil Mama prepared lunch (Did someone say we were on vacation? How come no one is telling Lil Mama?)

3. National Forest that is shorter than Lil Sis.

Rough Night

2006-03-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

Written @ 10:36 am

Last night was rough. None of us got much sleep. The only one who got to sleep before 10:30 last night was Lil’ Sis. Probably because she was resting up for her 2:45 am wake up call to the rest of us. It was VERY cold last night. We covered the babies’ cribs with some blankets but that just wasn’t enough. Thankfully we brought a little snow suit for Lil’ Sis. She slept much better after we put that on her (and a full belly of milk probably helped, too). Though most of us woke up early we waited until later in the morning to try to get things organized so that Lil’ Sis could catch up on sleep. It’s quite a chore to get the RV organized. The babies sleep in the “dining” area so we have to clear out their beds before the table can be set up to eat breakfast. Then we’ve got the carseats (3) to contend with while we arrange things, etc etc etc (not complaining just sharing our living arrangements currently). We’ll have to find a laundry mat to wash sheets that didn’t make it without getting “leaked on” last night. There is a laundry mat here but we wanted to get out of here (though we’ve been here long enough this morning it turns out there was time after all). So here we are at after 10:30 am. We still have to dump and fill up our water supply. While I blahg Big Daddy has the kids and dawg at the playground to get some energy out. We’ve still got a couple of hours (I think) before we reach our next destination.
Thanks for following us. We’ll try to write soon.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Restin’

2006-03-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

Written 3/4/06 @ 10:43pm

Well we safely made it to Banning, CA tonight. We hit traffic once we were in LA (surprise, surprise, surprise) but Big Daddy did well navigating through it. We got “lost” for a bit since our AAA Triptik failed to clue us in to an interchange needed to get on I-10. Big Daddy figured out that we were only a few miles past where another opportunity to get us there was so we back tracked just a bit. We didn’t make it as far as we’d hoped tonight (thanks to the traffic in LA and our late start) but we are a whole lot further than we thought we’d be.

We got to the RV park at about 8:45 pm. The office was closed so we drove around trying to find a spot where we would be the least disturbance to our fellow RVers (we’ll pay in the morning). I guess we were making someone nervous by our driving around a bit since the maintenance guy chased us down (OK a little bit over dramatic explanation but it sounds a whole lot more exciting than “this guys all of sudden appeared on the driver side in his little golf cart...” maybe that does sound exciting. How about this be kind of like “choose your own adventure”? You decide which scenario you prefer and put it in the story.). The maintenance guy pointed us in the direction of where the permanent residents are since it’s darker over here. It took some work to try to get the beds set up for the the night but we managed. The babies went down better than expected (Lil’ Sis only screamed and cried for a few minutes while Lil’ Bro joined in the chorus just for fun). All is quiet in the RV right now.

Big Bro has written in his travel journal a couple of times today. It’s very “blahgish” with him even signing it “Over and Out - Big Bro”. Maybe we’ll add some of entries in during our trip.

One thing that has been neat and rather bizarre is riding in the RV after all these years. I was just about a year older than Big Bro when my parents got this RV. Many memories are in here. Pretty fun.

I ought to get to bed to get some sleep. Morning comes extra fast in places like these. We’ll see how everyone does when Billy Bob Joe or George a few sites down starts up his diesel truck to go get himself some fish before the rooster crows.

Also, we’ll try to get pictures up from time to time.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

Let's Get This Party Started!

2006-03-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

Written 3/4/06 @ 10:10 am

Well we actually left the house at 9 “AM”! We ate our first breakfast in RV (the kids were excited). As we were cleaning (ok when Big Daddy was cleaning) the windshield I turned on our computer to get the music going & our computer showed that the car wash we were at had wireless capability. We’re currently enjoying (@ 10:14am) the beautiful green hills on highway 52 in gilroy. The mist coming over the hills is beautiful! We’re soaking it in now because in just a bit of time we’ll be out in the desert. Oh! One quick fun note: Big Daddy got the kids some little animal figures (mostly horses) and we just gave it to them. They LOVED them.

Over and Out - Lil’ Mama

"Let's git on outa here!"

2006-03-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

First stop... McDonald's -(ewwww, gross, but tradition... and, well, fun)!
Yes, it's three days and a few hours past our original estimated time of departure. And, actually, we haven't even left yet, but we do plan to leave while there is still an "A-M" after a number today. We hope to be in awe of God's beautiful creation in Joshua Tree National Park tomorrow (... or the next day). I was looking at the "amenities" of some of the few RV parks between here and there and we may not have internet access for a few days. You never know, we might just be wild and crazy and find a Starbucks and get a hot chocolate (we don't do coffee - yech) and some internet access to go. So check on back, ya here? Let's git this party started!

Over and out - Lil' Mama

We're still here...

2006-03-03T00:25:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let both of you know (if you were checking in) that we haven't been able to get out of here. We'll hopefully blahg before we go to let you know of all the fun (not) we've been having trying to get out of here. We're thinking it might be Saturday that we'll take off, eh.

Over and out - Lil' Mama

Another Entry

2006-02-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Trista Z, for this creative name idea:

T.H.E.L.M.A.

The Hall's Extra Long Month Away

Y'all are doing great!

Over and out - Lil' Mama

Probably not Wednesday

2006-02-27T08:03:00.000-08:00

I would be surprised if we got out of here on Wednesday. That's alright, though, we're flexible. We have plenty to do before we go. We got the RV yesterday (we're coming closer to picking a name) so that's exciting. Sleeping arrangements are going to be interesting. We have a total of three beds (the portacribs will have to sit on one since there isn't any floor space for them). We'll have to be creative. We'll make it work though.

Packing is going to be fun! NOT! That's the part I dislike the most. That's the part that used to cause some of the biggest fights for Big Daddy & I the first few years of marriage. We are totally mature now. We never fight. We just look lovingly into each other's eyes with hearts shooting back and forth saying "No, please dear love of my life, please have it your way!" Huh? What? Why are you waking me up? I was having such a wonderful dream...

I suppose I shouldn't sit here blahg blahg blahging since there is so much to do.

Over and out - Lil' Mama

More names and a touch of nostalgia...

2006-02-21T18:57:00.000-08:00

My dad (and former owner of the rig) suggested:
"Giddy-up" and "On the Road Again"
The latter suggestion is a family joke. As I was growing up I detested country western music. My dad, on the other hand enjoyed playing Willie Nelson, nearly driving me mad. It became a joke for him to play "On the Road Again" whenever we went on road trips. I did finally grow fond of the song and made sure it was played for the beginning of road trips with friends and later my hubby. Our little family has it's own "road trip" song we play once we hit the freeway ("Get The Party Started" by Toby Mac a tad bit different of genre) while wildly thrashing around in our seats. We'll have to search for the old copy of "On the Road Again" as we head out in the RV that I have many fond memories in with me now being the mom.

Over and out - Lil' Mama

Here it is!

2006-02-19T00:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of our RV. This box on wheels will be our home away from home for the duration of our trip. Hopefully this will help you continue to think up creative names for this beauty. Another great suggestion, from Lois, is "U-Hall". We love the ideas coming in!

Over and out - Lil' Mama

Name ideas for the RV

2006-02-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of those who have shared ideas (all three of you!) to name our box on wheels. There is still time for more ideas. We've really enjoyed your entries - keep them coming! You are more than welcome to offer as many suggestions as you'd like. Here are the entries so far:

From Evers:
Lightning BOHLT (BOHLT stands for "Big Ol' Honkin' Lil' Trip")
HALLO-Mobile

From: Kathy
Halls Ark

From: Gary and family
Haulin' Halls

A Contest

2006-02-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

Name that beast! See the fun has already begun! We'd like to name our RV. We figured that we'd have a name contest, open to all of our readers. So both of you try to come up with a name. If we use the name you suggest or if your name inspires the name we choose then you will get a personalized postcard from the one, the only Blythe, CA (the city whose name can never be pronounced without a pirate sounding rhasp - Blyyyyyyythe)! Just to get your brainstorming juices flowing, here's what we have come up with thus far: Shadowfax I (before we leave and Ol' Bes by the time we get back), Big Bro came up with "Bag-End" (Tolkien who?), Big Sis came up with the "USS Nellie Oleson". What do you think?

Over and out - Big Daddy, Lil' Mama, Big Bro, Big Sis, Lil' Bro, Lil' Sis, and da dawg

Screech!

2006-02-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

Why are we calling this "Our Big Ol' Honkin' Lil' Trip"? Well, for our lil' family, though we aren't really going very far (in comparison to the more experienced and sophisticated world travelers we know - all four of them), this is a big ol' honkin' trip! A few months back when we were considering doing this we kept getting slammed with reality that it was just plain ol' crazy to even think about a trip like this. What's changed? I'm not to sure but now we feel like can handle it!

Where are we headed? Why to OK and TX, of course! We'll keep you posted on a "need to know basis" as to our where abouts whilst on the road. That adds to the adventure of it ya know? More than likely we won't know exactly where we are going or where we are to end up each night, just a general idea (we're headed thataway). That's part of the fun we expect to have on our big ol' honkin' lil' trip.

Have you got your seat belt on?

Over and out - Lil' Mama

Wanna come with us?

2006-02-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

We're hoping to head out onto to the big ol' open road on Our Big' Ol' Honkin' Lil' Trip on or around March 1, 2006. Just the six of us and our dog in a box on wheels. Oh doesn't it sound like fun? I mean come on it'll be easy, right? Four kids: two of whom are babies and do not sleep well, two of whom are majorly impulsive. A mama who gets sick if she doesn't get enough sleep (which is pretty much always!). And my greek god the kids affectionately call "Daddy".
Yep, we think it might actually be fun. If nothing else we're hoping for fond memories.
I'm hoping to blahg our trip along the way. A lot of the RV/Campgrounds have internet access so I figure that though we are inferior when it comes to techy shtuff we might actually be able to pull this off. So please join us via this blahg. Join in on the adventures, laughs, and hopefully not too many tears and please pray for us.

Over and out - Lil' Mama