Saturday night the kids and I got into Council Bluffs about 11.  As everyone settled into bed I realized that I had asked my kids to jump and they did.  I've always wanted my kids to trust me in a manner that if I asked them to jump out of a burning window that they would just do it, knowing I was asking them to do what I knew was best.  Well there's no fire, but Phil and I did tell the kids that as a family we would be taking a leap into the unknown for what we hoped would be a great family adventure.  

And they have done a great job in the leap!

The week leading up to our departure was a very tough one.  

Thank you to all of you who stepped in and helped in so many ways!  I would not have been able to make it through without my great group of supporters!!!

The kids and I awoke, ate our first meal of hotel reconstituted eggs, and we were off to Denver.

The drive went very well and we made it to the airport 30 minutes before Phil's flight was to arrive.  We parked on the top level of the parking ramp and enjoyed watching the show of continuous landings and take offs.  

Phil AND his bag arrived on time and we were on our way to our hotel for the evening. 
The kids were able to spend some much needed time with dad and enjoy the pool.  

Monday we continued up to Rocky Mountain National Park.  We took in the beautiful sites, climbed a few mountains, and acquired a new appreciation for oxygen.

The view from up top.

We got quite high!

We drove on the about 5 more hours Monday evening.

Tuesday was a day of driving.  A whole day of driving.  We were in 5 different states that day!

We made several potty stops, a few eating stops, a few gas stops, and a couple stops to take in the beautiful views.

The kids enjoy throwing some rocks

Somewhere in Utah

Our last night on the road was in Ridgecrest, CA. It wasn't our best hotel experience, but by this time no one cared too much. 

We were at least in California and Wednesday evening we would be 'home'.

Wednesday we drove into Sequoia National Park and Sequoia National Monument.   We did the walk of a 100 giants.

We made it to our house about 6pm. The kids and I had never seen the inside of the house, so everyone was quite excited to get in and check it out.

Now it is Thursday and the challenge is what to do with 4 home-schooled kids while we wait for our moving truck to arrive. I'm not sure when it will be here, but I'm guessing it won't be until Monday.   I'm thinking I should have mailed our homeschool stuff out here instead of putting it in the truck.

I spent about an hour in our 'back yard' this morning cleaning up garbage and pulling weeds. The patio is in no way quiet, but it is still nice to have.

Thanks for reading and we've love to hear from you!!!

Our new address:
3043 Golden Poppy Lane
Stockton, CA 95209

Our new phone:
209-227-5402

Skype:
jsoash