Becca's Fresh Fruit

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Cross Country Road Trip Day 5....

Because we had to bypass

yellowstone due to weather,

we were able to take a fun day

at the Great Wolf Lodge

in Kansas City, Kansas.

I rode shotgun today

(followed by the two yahoos pictures above)

for the short drive from Iowa

to Kansas City,

so I will be your photographer for this leg.

Not much as far as scenery goes

since the drive was so short,

but I did capture a few farms and

people doing farm things.

I wonder how I would do living on a farm?

It seems so ideal and American,

but I'm so not a morning person.

My chickens would starve and

my cows would explode from having

too much milk.

Nope, I don't think a farm would suit me very well.

But I would like a cute little place like this

complete with an American flag

and a weathered barn.

I'd use it

just to relax a little once in a while,

wear a flowy dress with little flowers on it,

use words like darlin' and sugar,

ring one of those triangle things

to let all of my cowboys know that

dinner is ready,

and pretend that I live off the land

and don't care about where the nearest

shopping mall or starbucks is.

And I don't see any cows or chickens here,

so I think I'd be fine for a few days.

Plus who can resist a completely red house?

You could feel the excitement in the car

when we first caught a glimpse of

the Great Wolf Lodge!

I mean look at this place!

It's a kid's wonderland!

All three of them had a blast!!

And David LOVES waterparks,

so he really enjoyed our stay there too.

There are way too many photos to edit from

our stay there,

so here are some highlights....

I know, huh?

Sooooo cute!!

She's a little fish now!

A far cry from last summer when

we couldn't get her off of the steps

of any pool we were in!

Sorry there is not much comentary tonight,

but I think these photos speak for themselves.

Plus I am soooo tired after our

nine hour drive today.

I will share photos from our adventure

through Kansas, Missouri,

Indianna and finally to a hotel

in Kentucky.

(yes we did that all in one day!)

For now,

good night blog friends

and sweet dreams!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Cross Country Road Trip Day 4....

Day 4 takes us from Rapid City, SD

through a bit of Missouri

and into Council Bluffs, Iowa

where we find rest at the Holiday Inn.

Our guest photographer for this leg

is the fabulous Madison!

We had an all girl vehicle today
and we had a blast together.

I just love seeing what each of my guest
photographers choose to shoot.
Even though our landscape has been about the same
for the last three days,
I still see lots of individualality in their shots.

I -90 is a ribbon that weaves and twists
through miles and miles
and miles
of wilderness.
I can't help but think about the days of the
wild, wild west when history book families
made their way through these same hills
and prairies on Laura Ingalls style wagons.

I wonder what that was like?
Did any of those mothers worry about
their young sons driving the wagon
behind them?
Did anyone ask "Are we there yet"
a thousand times?
How many times did a family have to stop
because someone had to pee?

What did they ever do without
happy meals and dvd players?
It's fun to think about what it must have been
like for those hundreds of families
who first blazed the trail west.

It must have been so exciting for them,
traveling unfamiliar roads
through new lands toward a new life
full of hope and uncertainty!

We've felt that way too on many
of our adventures across this
beautiful country of ours.
Setting out together to find a new home,
new friends, new schools,
new everything.
We aren't ever certain of how it will be,
but we are always excited and full of hope.
Adventures like that bond a family.

I've heard it said that if you want to strengthen
family bonds,
go camping.

That sounds like a good plan,
but I say a better way is to
pile everyone in a car or two
load it down with a million suitcases
and a pantry full of snacks.
Just for fun
spread everyone's shoes
and underwear among the suitcases,
hide the phone chargers,
forget the favorite CD's,
bring 40 pairs of socks for one person
and 1 pair for another person,
bring along shampoo that doesn't close tightly
and one deoderant stick to share.
Don't forget to throw in
an hour of tearful good byes to all of your kindred spirits
right before you leave.
Finally....
with tear stained faces and swollen eyes,
start at one coast and point your car toward the other coast
and drive!
Just drive.
Drive through the screaming and yelling,
through the "why did we have to move's"
and the
"she won't stop touching me's".
Drive.
Through the detours and road construction,
through the hail, snow, rain and sunshine.
Drive.
Then when it's quiet,
peek back and see your youngest all snuggled up
against a sibling,
the passing car lights illuminating
the sweetness of family.
Drive.
Towards hope, towards newness,
towards leaning on each other.
Drive.

See, guarenteed family bonding everytime!

We really are enjoying our travels across

America the beautiful.

For this girl who loves history,

it's so fun to see where much of it took place.

Tomorrow...

Kansas City, Kansas!

Cross Country Road Trip Day 3....

Day 3 took us from Billings, MT

through Wyoming to Rapid City, SD.

Our guest photographer for this leg is

David during the drive

and then me at the pit stops.

Bren is really being a trooper!

As boring as the drives have been,

I expected her to complain alot,

but she's been occupied with her coloring books

and has enjoyed singing at the top of her lungs

with us when a fun song comes on the radio.

Usually, we are relegated to a country station

full of static

or a station playing a perpetual tribal rain dance song,

but every once in a while a station with familiar songs

will come in clear enough for us to

sing along with.

We did have some excitement thought when
we had to slow down for a bunch of cowboys
to unload their horses.

The wind was crazy!!
We had to be careful opening our car doors
because the wind would push them open with
so much force I thought they'd come off of their hinges!

I know that just because we were in Wyoming
didn't mean that everyone would be decked out in
chaps and cowboy hats but,
I was hoping to see a real cowboy,
chaps and all,
and I got to see two!

If we had to deal with miles and miles
of desert and prairie,
I'm glad we had these gorgeous blue skies to follow us
for most of this trip.

We bedded down for the night in Rapid City, SD.
We met a waitress at Godfather's Pizza
who had never left Rapid City.
She was amazed at all of our travels
and I was happy to hear my kids
proudly telling her of all of our travels.