Traveling to Chicago!

We left Idaho on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to drive to our new home in Chicago. The kids were full of excitement and they actually did really well, considering the length of the drive and the cramped space in the car. On our journey we traveled through Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. The weather (and the roads) were clear the whole way. Praise the Lord! But we did get to see a little snow in Utah and Wyoming - it made for a beautiful drive. The kids even enjoyed playing in the snow a little when we stopped at the rest areas. A few random stats from our trip:

• Total mileage: 1,714 miles (although since leaving California in early November, we put over 3,200 miles on our car, that took us through 10 states!)

• Days of travel: 4

• Hours of travel: 32.5 hours

• Highest elevation: Over 8,600 feet in eastern Wyoming!

• License plates found: 28 states, 4 Canadian provinces.

• Stops along the way: too many to count!

• Most random sight along the way: A HUGE Cabela's in the middle of nowhere Nebraska. You can't find one anywhere in CA, but you can in little Sidney, NE. (Micah was quick to observe the words on the town water tower that explained it ("Home of Cabela's)

 Ready for our drive from Idaho to Illinois

 Excited to have some fun little presents to open each day of the trip.

The kids were fascinated with the GPS in the car. I think Micah literally watched that thing for the majority of the drive. It was fun to see our progress along the way.

Our first day we traveled to Odgen, Utah to stay the night with our friends, the Ballards. An added bonus: they were in Idaho for Thanksgiving so we met up with them in Idaho and followed them to their home. The kids enjoyed switching up the seating arrangements in the cars to ride with one another.

 Dinner at the Ballard home

 Michael and Micah

 Yay for sleepovers! Thankfully there were all quite tired though so they went to sleep quickly.

 All the girlies... ready for bed.

Lindsay and Barbara

I'm so thankful for my friendship with Lindsay. We first met in the class "Pastor's Home" when I was pregnant with Micah. She has been a blessing to me in so many ways in the years since we first met. She is one of the sweetest women I have ever met and always encouraging. We've missed them since they moved to Utah in June. But it was so good to catch up and hear about the Lord's provision and care for them in a their new ministry. Thanks for your hospitality Ballard family!

 Yay for Sonic! I was impressed that we actually got through the long drive with only 1 stop at McDonalds. It was fun to find other places to eat along the way.

 And we were so thankful for sleeping kids in the car. It sure makes the drive go a little faster for them!

 

 Our second night we stopped at the Stagecoach Inn in Ogallala, Nebraska. The funny thing about this town in the middle of nowhere... I've been there before. The day before we left I was talking to my dad about our family's cross-country road tour when I was in high school and he told me our first stop on that trip was in Ogallala, NE.

  

Enjoying breakfast before we hit the road. The kids had fun the night before swimming in the hotel hot tub. We tried out the pool, but although it was indoors and heated, it was still a little too cool for us.

A new dvd from Nana! Thank you Nana!

 Yay for rest areas! The kids enjoyed many opportunities to get out of the car and run around.

 One of the highlights of our trip was our third night, in Des Moines, Iowa. We surprised the kids with a hotel that has an indoor water park. So cool! As we were standing in the lobby, Micah sensed there was something just through the doors on the other side of the lobby and he was craning his neck to get a peak. So we took them through the doors for a little peak at their surprise. They were so eager to get checked in and suited up!

Micah loves to help Daddy with the luggage. Although it looks like his "help" makes Daddy work a little harder.

 Ashlyn was a bit timid with the slides, but she eventually warmed up and was willing to do this one on her own.

 Daddy and Micah loved the big slides!

 Especially racing each other to the bottom!

 Going down together was lots of fun too!

 Mama and Ashlyn 

Micah loved to torpedo down this slide!

It was so wonderful to have something so fun on the last evening/morning of our trip! What a blessing that we were able to find this place. And we practically had the whole place to ourselves.

 Watching TV while waiting for her shower

Time for a blow dry

Starting the last day of our road trip with a yummy breakfast.

 Welcome to Illinois! We were excited to see this sign, but still had a few hours to go.

Welcome Home!

It was a long journey (physically and emotionally) to get us to this point, but we are so excited to be here! God has been faithful to carry us through each step of the way as we have made the transition from California to Illinois. We are grateful for His grace and mercies which are new every morning. Praise God for our faithful, sovereign Lord! And we are also so thankful for so many friends and family who have encouraged us and prayed for us along the way. Thank you!