we boarded our overnight train to find our coach cots.

We couldn't afford a private car and never stopped to think how this sleeping thing was going to work. Our usual thought process to just go with it always works out, I thought.

As we walked down the tight aisle with all of the couchettes to our right and seeing how full they were made us a bit nervous. Was there going to be any space for us together? Most of them were smoke filled which gave me visions of having a massive migraine because of my high sensitivity to cigarette smoke. At each car we quickly turned our heads to look in and continued to walk. When I looked behind me I realized that we were the only ones still looking for a room so there was no pressure to hurry anymore. We decided to keep walking the length of the train and came upon an empty sleeping car.

We settled in on that one and I closed the sliding door behind me to keep out the smoke that was now wafting into the hall. I heard the click of the door and turned to Jon who, standing, held out a bottle of water and was waiting for me to sit. Always the gentleman.

I still had my baguette tucked safely under my arm.

Because of the small paper wrapped around it, giving just enough space to hold onto, there was no place to set it down without it touching the table.

Smiling, Jon asked, "Are you going to hang on to that all night?"

Pointing the baguette into the air I said, "Yep, it took me two days to figure out where to buy this. The kids are going to say, 'My parents went to France and all I got was a piece of bread.' How sad. But oh, so good" and I took a bite of the best tasting bread ever.

We sat down and waited to see who would join us and began talking about all we did and saw. I was still smitten by the petit dejeuner we had earlier that day in a textbook charming cafe. It was just like in a movie, sitting in those famous French bistro chairs, having breakfast served to us on individual silver platters donned with a fresh flower and pretty carafes filled with fresh orange juice. In a corner, aged club chairs begged you to sit and read the paper. Needing some protein for the long day, we made it an American breakfast and ordered eggs. Even they tasted better there somehow.

"I don't care what people say, the French know how to do things right." I said

"They don't know how to do everything right." quipped Jon. We both laughed knowing what he meant.

"True. But I'm talking about the pretty things. Some other stuff, yeah, they could use a little help with but that's ok."

"How about that guy who gave us a ride to the metro in the pouring rain?"

"I know. I can't believe we did that. Remember how we all laughed when he finally deciphered our poor French and took us to the right station? That was funny. He was the nicest French person."

"What's funny is that he wasn't even French." Jon said.

"What about the horrified looks on people's faces on the bus when we missed our stop at midnight and jumped off at the wrong place? It's a good thing we can run fast."

"Or how about the girl who threw a firecracker at me? Good times... I can't wait to go back! Next time we'll know better what to do and where to go and where not to."

Just then the door rattled. We looked up to see who would be joining us. It rattled again and we heard someone talking to another person. Looking puzzled, Jon asked if I had locked the door but I knew I hadn't. Jon got up to go to the door and I tiptoed behind him. He tried to open it but it didn't move. Giving the door a firm tug, it finally gave. He leaned his head into the hall and saw that no one was there. He closed the door and tried it again but it was jammed. "The door's stuck! They probably thought the car was full with the door locked and kept going."

We heard a voice from the hall yell something every so often. It was official sounding, announcing something as they walked down the aisle. We assumed it was an attendant checking off all the rooms. A minute later the train began to slowly pull away from the station. We did a happy dance as we realized we had a private car after all and high fived each other.

Taking our water bottles, we toasted to our little, albeit unplanned, coup as the train began to gently sway. It gained speed as I rested my head on Jon's shoulder and watched Paris fade into the distance.

Ten hours to Rome and the adventure would begin again.

It's good to be home

I'm home!
It was a good vacation despite everyone being sick. We all have colds, strep throat or pink eye. Take your pick.

But my kids are not big complainers so they continued on with the fun. Thank heavens for a pediatrician who will call in a prescription cross country for you and a walk-in clinic who accepts your insurance!

I was hoping to keep the illness at bay for myself and Jon but it finally caught up to us. We drove all night to make it home on Friday but a string of bad weather and not feeling well forced us to stop early. We arrived home around 5 pm on Saturday and I found out that I was scheduled to work so I was able to get in a quick nap before I headed in at 10 pm. It made for a long night so I was thankful to meet my nice, warm fluffy bed this morning.

We had many memorable moments, side-splitting laughter and all-around thankfulness for family. Of course, no vacation is complete without a little shopping so I have some treasures to share this week.

I also saw the cutest thing ever that I will be sharing with you. If you have a pet, ever had a pet, are an animal lover or just like seeing something clever, cute and original - it's a MUST see. Stay tuned.

Now I am going to take two aspirin and will call you in the morning.

Have a great Sunday!
************************************

Driving in the Smoky Mtns

Took the back roads and missed the traffic jam. Jon recalculated his "internal GPS."

(A joke between us.)

The cabin

Trae and I at the Aquarium while everyone else skied.

(a large fish had just swam by and he was shocked!)

At the trail ride where we all got free hats.

The only evidence I was on the ride.
My horse was the second from the right. Trae rode with me.

Welcome to Texas - entering the Hill country





Got a new necklace


Kids' waffles at the hotel



Funny sign in Johnson city - nearly 3 dozen sold.
(Johnson city is also the home of Lyndon B.)


Saying good-bye to grandpa in Kerrville, TX

Rest stop crazy


pictures sooc - straight out of the camera

Tales from the road

We're enjoying the sunny weather here in the Lone Star State.

We arrived just in time to be on the fringe of that bad band of weather in Arkansas. At one point our visibility was just about 2 feet and the wind was blowing the rain sideways. It was like those storms in movies that you think are a little unrealistic. The kind where the person goes out in the storm to check on something they heard and you are thinking, why do they do that?? Like that, only we were driving.

A little scary for 3 am on the interstate in the middle of no where. All was well though.

We've been visiting with Jon's dad and he's taken us out to all kinds of good food including real Mexican food just the way my grandma made. I have not done P90 X all week and I can feel it. I was doing so well too!
But it has been great to see him and we get to see Jon's mom for a few minutes each day. She tires easily so our moments with her are precious. That has been emotional but sweet at the same time.

I'll expound on that as soon as I formulate my thoughts. It needs its own post.

We nixed driving up to Austin to visit other family because 3 kids are sick so we are resting tonight. Tomorrow I'll stop by Comfort, TX which is the greatest antiquing town and see what I find. We did bring a trailer after all! While in Tennessee, I stopped by a flea market and bought a couple of things - a vintage pyrex bowl in sunny yellow, a shop trouble light that I am going to test my rewiring skills on - that should be interesting.

I was stopped about 6 times by men wondering what it was since part of it was visible in my tote bag. They all liked it and said the same thing - I should rewire it and sell it to a garage. One even showed me how easy it would be to fix. Their approval reconfirmed that I knew it was cool. Not that I need anyone's approval but sometimes when people question your taste, you begin to question it -human nature I guess.

That's all for now...I'll be home soon but am still enjoying this 78 degree weather!

Better for it

When I was little my mom took me to see the King Tutankhamun exhibit in Seattle. I didn't really know much about it except that we were taking a 3 hour drive to see an ancient Egyptian and if there were time, I'd get to go up the Space Needle. I was just excited for a road trip.

I remember meandering around the glass cases and seeing the famous golden slippers,
mummies, a tomb and a hundred other various artifacts. I also remember being in awe of how everything seemed to be made of shiny gold. I asked my mom how much it was all worth. She replied, "Well, it's priceless. But that's not the most important thing."

I was saddened over the weekend when I heard that looters repelled into a museum in Cairo and damaged artifacts of King Tut. Luckily the items can all be repaired in some way. There were many Egyptian citizens who were frustrated by the looting and the sheer disregard for a precious history.

Some may wonder what that has to do with us as Americans or why we should care. I know some don't and that's OK I guess. But for me, it's a teaching moment for my kids.

That most "important thing" my mom was talking about to me that day was to learn to have an appreciation for art because it will help me learn about people of the world, all God's people. Not so one can be boastful about all they know; no one likes that. But to learn about others so this big world doesn't seem so big. Those artifacts humanize a history and culture.

When we go on vacation, Jon and I believe in doing or showing the kids something that is historically pertinent to where we are driving through or visiting. My dad used to do that. We'd moan when he'd pull over to show us a historical sight. Not another stop in the Badlands, please! No more reading the roadside signs! We've already seen Old Faithful, when can you find us a waterpark??

That was until he took us to a real ghost town and we wandered through old buildings. He kept telling us to watch out for nails because we were in the middle of nowhere and there wouldn't be anyone to give us tetanus shots. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

Last summer we were able to take my niece and nephew to Washington DC and tour the many exhibits at the Smithsonian. It was interesting to me to see what items they photographed: The Hope Diamond, First lady ball gowns, Lincoln's top hat, dinosaur bones, Dorothy's ruby slippers, World War II memorabilia, The Berlin Wall and much more.

So you can probably understand too, the Egyptians' frustration with their museum cases in ruins. I would be sad too if the Smithsonian fell to such fate.

So, enjoy your surroundings, find something new to learn about the area with a fresh perspective and even though the kids may groan at what they don't yet understand, they will see its importance someday and be better for it.

Oh, and the views from the Space Needle - spectacular!

All this talk of King Tut reminds me of Steve Martin...does it you too?

Winding down

What better way to wind down my niece and nephew's visit than to spend the day riding roller coasters? A trip to Hershey wouldn't be a trip if we didn't go to the park so we spent the full day there with an intermission of grabbing a bite at home. We're not paying $6.50 for a piddly pizza slice and $4.25 for a Gatorade. So we went home where I made a homemade meat sauce, angel hair pasta and dinner rolls.

The evening proved to be a great time for rides since the cooler weather cleared out the park a bit. Blair and I didn't have to wait in line for rides. I was even able to meet up with the older kids and take Reese on two coasters at the end of the night.

Memories are made of this.

Reflection

I always thought that I would live close to my brothers and sister and that their kids would hang out with mine. I envisioned them just walking in my house, not worrying about knocking, just as comfortably as if they lived here. I thought they would sit at the kitchen table and eat and tell me about school, the same one that I attended when I was their age. And I would tell them funny stories of their fathers and mother when we were young.

Jon and I think it's interesting that we grew up in the same town, attended high school together but never lived as a married couple there. We moved a few days after we wed and have only been back a handful of times. Sometimes you just have to go where the job takes you.

For my mom it was the same way and I understand now, her excitement when one of her nieces or nephews would come visit us from Texas. Just as you can see yourself in your child, you see your sibling in theirs and it's comforting to know you are all connected.
Connected not only by bloodline but by the whole family experience with its good and bad times; a lifetime of memories.

This week all of my envisioning has come true and it has been delightful. I wish it could stay this way but I'll take what I can have and be thankful for it always. We are loving it.

A sightseeing trip in pictures

My niece, Blaise, at The Washington Monument.

My nephew, Bryson, on the steps of The Lincoln Memorial

Jon and Belen at the Smithsonian - Museum of American History

Cousins on the monument steps

Identifying

One of my favorite sights in DC - The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial

Blaise's reflection on the wall

Reese pointing out the Washington Monument just in case you missed it.

Visiting the Amish

With my niece and nephew visiting from Washington state, it gives us the opportunity to be "tourists in our own town." Yesterday we drove a bit farther into Amish country to take a buggy ride.

The kids were able to pose with a buggy driver.

Trae was too busy chasing animals to get in the group shot.

I love seeing the roadside signs for the Amish. This was a buggy repair shop and a place to give your horse a drink.

Blair enjoyed the view from sitting up front.






Taking hay to the animals.

Belen said she would love to mow the lawn this way and would do it all the time.

Reese enjoyed being up front too.


Traffic jam PA style.

A one room school house, K-8th grade. The Amish only go up to the 8th grade. When the driver, Aaron, told my nephew Bryson that, he asked if he could convert! The gentleman said yes, they need another stable boy on his farm.

We drove through miles of beautiful pasture and between corn fields. The corn is mainly used for the animals while tobacco is their cash crop. They also have other businesses and have proven to be quite business savvy. While on the ride, our driver yelled over to two of his grandkids, speaking Pennsylvania Dutch.
The kids whined back, "Oh all right!" in English.

We all laughed. I guess kids are the same everywhere.

Along the way home we bought some homemade peanut butter cookies - yum

and some homemade root beer - not so yum.

My mom's was really good. I may have to find her recipe and try it myself.

If you have a good one, let me know.

Up next for our town tourism:

Knoebels amusement park - the largest free-admission park in the United States.

It's also our favorite.

The scenic hour or so drive makes for a great time to talk with my husband.

The kids excitedly talk with each other in the back of the car and decide their plan of attack for the rides...and when they'll have an ice cream cone and a potato pierogi.

You gotta love summer

and Pennsylvania.

Have a great day.

Hugs,

Laura