Visit to the Midwest

At the end of September and into October, Dan and I made a trip to the good ol' flat lands. First stop was Roanoke to attend Calla and Alex's wedding (Calla is Dan's cousin). Of course we were not at all put out that our sweet little nephew, Graysen Caleb, had graced the world with his arrival a few days before so we got to see him! Unfortunately, the little boogers digestive system decided to not run smoothly and he had to be admitted to the NICU for several days. Praise God things took a turn for the better and we were able to see him come home! Caleb and Erin are fantastic parents...they all make such a great family!!!

Smiles...Graysen gets to go home in the morning! Dan also gets some practice! 

(Sorry for the poor picture quality) 

 Mommy love!

 This picture was taken after Graysen was home for a while...ah...what a sweet little guy!

It was so good to see Grandpa Hodel, U. Gordon & A. Ellie, U. Neil & A. Leila, Calla and Jenna and other friends and family! We also got to ingest some of Grandpa's wonderful pancakes...:)

Second stop: Indiana with my family! We thought that we'd be working most of the time as harvest was in full swing. But, God had other plans and it rained! It was actually a lovely change of events as we went camping down south (where it wasn't rainy) and went to the Creation Museum!

Sorry Mark, I had to add this...cause its funny now! Mom and Dad had a meeting in Bluffton the morning of our departure for camping so us kids were in charge of getting the camper packed. Since the hot water wasn't working on the wash machine Mark graciously hooked up a small hose to the tap in the sink and started filling the washer. He got busy with other more manly preparations that he forgot about the washer...and so did the rest of us. SO, Alisha and I walk in some time later to water and soap EVERYWHERE! There was a nice inch or so flowing over the floor! Oops! Luckily we had plenty of towels on hand! It might not have been funny then, but it is now! :)

 The little boys zonked out in the camper...and making neck aches! 

 Nothing like cooking in the camper/over the fire!

 The Creation Museum!

A hall with the story of Creation exhibited...very cool!

These guys were complaining about Noah's crazy ark building. The wax figures were amazing!

Christ-centered planetarium

 Alisha and Mark checking out Isaiah and other biblical figures

 We have a picture with this dino when Alisha and I were probably around 7 and 2...I think mom was pregnant with Mark! Love my siblings!

 Lunch :)

Yes...we all got burgers!

The gardens outside were beautiful too! Joely is checking out the Koi fish. There was also a petting zoo that was pretty fun too! It was fun to see the little boys discover all the different things at the museum! Thanks Mom and Dad for the experience!

 Family...such a blessing!

 The weather was FIIIINE! Such Fall beauty!

My momma :)

 Joel whittling away...Mom and Dad got him one of those little Swiss army knives when they were in Switzerland and he is quite fond of it!

 Dan trying out the mosquito...and yes, its sound is about as annoying as the real thing!

 Squish and I :)

 Gotta love these guys!

 The boys and their "cool" invention the scooter pulling two bikes while the riders hold on to large sticks...hmm....pretty sure it didn't end perfectly! :)

Shooting practice with whittled spears and Derek's bow and arrow (with dull practice arrows, don't worry!)

Time to go! Even Joel had a job...raising up the jacks!

 The way home proved to be quite eventful! Dan was driving and Dad was in the front seat when Dan mentioned that something smelled hot. Dad told him to pull over and they hopped out to check things out. Smoke was coming from somewhere and oil was splattered back against the camper. Mom got out...and the rest of us, sensing something wasn't kosher got out too...about the time someone spotted the fire under the truck! We rushed away from the vehicle and watched fluid drop down from the truck aflame to a puddle of fire on the road. YIKES! Mark got the fire extinguisher from the camper and Dad put the fire out. Someone driving by called 911 and soon a cop arrived.

 It was freezing out! The weather definitely changed! We ended up hanging out in the camper until the cop kindly gave us rides into town where we went to dinner and walked to Walmart to kill a few hours until help could come. Uncle Roger graciously saved the day! He has a large pickup with a goose neck trailer on which he loaded Uncle Jerry's truck. He then drove in awful traffic and weather to come get us.

They unloaded Uncle Jerry's truck and hooked it up to the camper and then, using the winch loaded/pulled the offending Expedition onto the trailer. Thank you so much Uncle Roger for saving us! And Uncle Jerry for the use of your truck! The story would have been a lot more dragged out if we didn't have this nice set up! (and yes, it was windy, cold, and rainy the whole time/trip home!)

 More family time! Derek wanted to "save" his birthday party until Dan and I could be there...

So we had a wonderful evening with both sides of the family watching Dad and Mom's photo presentation of their time in Europe, eating, of course, and having a little party for Derek.

Joel shows grandma his crazy skills on this map game on the iPad. The game has a blank map of the US and then pops up a state and you're supposed to put the state where it goes...with no lines on the map. The little goober can get all 50 states in their right spot quickly with no errors!

 Ready for some go-cart action!

 Watch out folks...she's for real!

 They set up a (timed) course for the go-cart...but the looks of it, it was pretty intense!

 Mom and Dad got us some lovely gifts from Europe!

 

As always, a wonderful time had by all. Thanks for putting up with us! The next time we see you all, Lord willing there will be a baby! Love you!