catching up....

the last time i blogged was saturday, and we had just spent a wonderful day at hershey.

sunday wasn't as exciting.  we went to a small church in elizabethtown, pennsylvania.  everyone there was super friendly and welcoming.  the worship service was very relaxed and joyful {as it should be}.  after worship we had lunch and drove through amish country.  

since it was sunday, the amish people weren't doing anything.  we saw a few walking on the side of the road and some others in their carriages.  their farms and houses were something to see, though.  lush green fields and white houses with barns and silos dotted the land.

photo of the day #157

amish country

of course the boys were not thrilled with taking a sunday drive, so after a while we just went back to the hotel.  daryl took the boys down to the pool, and i took a much-needed nap!  then we had dinner and took the boys to see night at the museum.

monday morning we got up, had one last holiday inn express breakfast, and started the long journey back to oklahoma!  martha {our gps device} took us home by the northern route, and it was a lot less scenic.  it wasn't ugly or anything, but there weren't near as many mountains or valleys as the southern route through kentucky and west virginia.

the coolest part about this part of the trip was actually driving THROUGH the mountains!  that's right!  tunnels were built right through the mountains, and you had to drive in them.  you knew a tunnel was coming up because you would see road signs that read "remove sunglasses" or "stay in lane".

photo of the day #158

through the mountains

we stopped late that night somewhere in illinois to spend the night.

the next morning we were up again determined to drive the rest of the way home, even if it killed us!  

daryl had promised us we would stop at the arch in st. louis, and he stayed true to that promise. the closer we got to the arch, the more colby protested about going inside it!  he just kept saying, "i don't want to go. i don't want to go."

photo of the day #159

st. louis arch

as we were walking through the park to actually get up to the arch {you can't park close to it!} colby just kept stopping and saying, "i'm staying right here."  and we just kept walking, leaving him behind.  he'd run to catch up and then say again, "i'm staying right here."  we finally got up to the arch, and he leaned up against it and started knocking on it to make sure it was safe!!! and again he said, "i'm staying right here!"

of course he changed his mind and joined us on the journey to the top of the arch.

he was not thrilled about the ride though. he held on for dear life!  i was not so sure about the safety of our little capsule, either!  it was a bit claustrophobic in there.  imagine crawling into the drum of an over-sized dryer, and that's what it was like!  even i had to duck while we were riding in the capsule because it was so small!

once we got to the top, colby was just fine!  it was hard to believe we were 630 feet in the air!  the view from up there was incredible! i think spencer took more pictures than i did!

after the arch it was time for lunch and the last leg of our drive.  by that point we were all ready to be home.

that is why i was only allowed ONE stop at an antique store, so daryl said to make sure it was one i really wanted!  {how was i supposed to know if it was a good one until i went in?}  so i just looked for a big store!!!!  

as soon as we walked in, i heard that annoying alert from the emergency broadcast system coming from the store's radio.  my heart started pounding......."the national weather service in springfield, missouri has just issued a tornado warning for pulaski and lebanon counties until....."  i had no idea where in missouri we were, so i just marched up to the counter, butted in line and asked what county we were in!  the ladies in line and at the register asked what was announced on the radio, so i told them that pulaski and lebaNON counties were under a tornado warning.  can you believe that they actually had the nerve to correct my pronunciation of lebaNON to lebaNUN???? our lives were possibly on the line, and i could care less how to say the name of the county!!!  i just wanted to know if i was about to get blown away by a tornado!!!!!!!!!!!!

so as it turned out, the store was not in one of those counties, but they were the next counties on I-44.  we were headed straight for the storms.........so from springfield to the missouri/oklahoma border, i was armed with the missouri map and was actually tracking the tornadoes!  {i also had daryl's phone playing bookworm to distract me between tornado warnings!}

we drove through nearly every county that was under a tornado warning while the warning was still in effect!  needless to say, i was a tad bit uneasy during all of this, but i couldn't let the boys know that.  we would have had some major problems if they really knew how nervous i was!

after a long day in the car, we got home around 6:30 last night.  we got squirt and joey back from the howes, and then i just sat on the couch.  it was so nice to be home.

this morning daryl and spencer got rocky from the kennel.  he was more than happy to be home!!!  he wiggled and ran and jumped for several minutes after he came in the house!  when i picked him up, i noticed that i couldn't feel his ribs sticking out on the sides like i normally could.  then when i was rubbing his belly, i noticed he didn't feel as bony there either.  he had actually gained weight while we were gone! 

so i asked spencer what they'd fed rocky at the kennel, and he said we took his food.  oh my gosh!  have we been starving our poor little dog?  

another little change occurred while we were away.  the birds came back to the grill and built another nest!  only this time they were able to lay their eggs since daryl wasn't here to destroy their home!  maybe he'll be nice enough to let these eggs hatch before he demolishes the nest. {doubt it.}

photo of the day #160

the birds are back!

quote of the day:  "There's no place like home." ~Dorothy, Wizard of Oz