14 Seconds of Happy from our Vacation

Why You Should Take a Road Trip

Not all families like to do road trips.  I get that.  Road trips are hard to plan for and even harder to execute.  They force people who may not always get along well into close proximity with one another.  They are tiring, potentially expensive, and often tedious.  But they are also a great way to take advantage of family togetherness, and to learn things that cannot be learned from taking an airplane to your destination.

Here are a few reasons why you should consider a road trip with your family:

1. Time together.  Lots of time!  Time to talk, to sing, to read together, to listen to audio books, to notice the landscape, to draw, to do sticker books, to talk some more, to look for license plates from other states (we found 45!  including Hawaii and Alaska! and to my friend Emma, the children want you to know that we found Rhode Island!), to share what we appreciate about each other, to resolve conflict.  The car shrinks your world down to a manageable size, taking you away from the routine, the responsibility, and the “clutter” of home, so that what is left are the people most important to you.  What an incredible gift!

2. Time away.  As already mentioned, road trips take much more time than flying.  So you have a great opportunity to decompress from the stress of everyday life and just breathe.  I was particularly thankful for that this time.  I didn’t even realize how tired my brain and ears were from the responsibility and noise of extra children this year, until I had been away from that responsibility for about ten days.  It took that long for me to feel somewhat normal, and not like I was constantly supposed to be doing something.  Again, such a gift!

3. Time to see the country.  Up close and personal.  We learned that each state defies a one word description.  Arizona is not just “hot.”  It has mountains!  And rain!  And temps in the 40’s!  Colorado is not all “rocky mountains.”  It is also flat and brown and kindof boring.  Kansas is not just “flat.”  It is also hilly, green, and has rocky ridges.  Just as people are not all one thing, states are not all one thing either.  And each state has a unique flavor that can be noticed along their highways.  Billboards, rest stops, grocery stores, and the people in them all display the subtle (or not so subtle) differences among states.

4. The opportunity to understand commerce better.  The goods we buy have to be produced or grown somewhere.  We spent time in the rich fruit growing San Joaquin Valley of California.  Chances are high that if you buy fruit grown in the U.S., it was grown there.  We drove through Kansas, the Sunflower State, and bought sunflower seeds to munch on in the car.  We saw mineral mining equipment in the Mojave Desert.  We also saw how goods are transported from where they are grown/produced to where they are sold.  Long, long trains clacking along beside the highway.  Semi truck after semi truck.  It takes time, fuel, and money to move goods.  Our country is really big!  Seeing this gave us a fresh appreciation for all that goes on behind the scenes in our daily life.

Musical 50th Birthday card.  This was not staged!

New friends

Dear friends

5. The opportunity to interact with lots of different people, and to reflect on how big God is.  Each person has their own story, and their own circle of influence, and their own loved ones.  And God is big enough to know and love each one intimately, to understand the depths of their pain and the heights of their joy.  He is enough.

One of my aunts ~ I love this lady!

My sweet "cousin in law" with her beautiful. daughters!

Second cousins

Me with my two CA cousins!

 Uncle C, showing his homemade bullets and gun powder

Campfire time

Cousin time ~ playing hearts

Cousin time ~ playing Blokus

My dad with his three sons in law!

My mom with her three daughters!

6. The chance to see new and unfamiliar sights.  My first glimpse of Grand Canyon actually scared my family a little bit.  They thought I was hyperventilating!  It is just that vast and spectacular.  Almost overwhelmed my senses.  Pictures cannot adequately represent it, so I was just not prepared for how incredible it was in person.  We also visited the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest while in Arizona.  Actually went through those on the way to Grand Canyon.  The beauty there was like a warm up!  We don’t have anything remotely similar where we live, so it was all new and amazing terrain for us.  Grand Canyon made us all reflect on the awesome power of God ~ that the geologic forces capable of creating such a canyon obey and answer to HIM…Wow!  What a God!

Obviously there are occasions when time is of the essence, and a plane trip is the way to go.  But there are other occasions when a road trip is exactly what is needed.  And I am thankful this summer was one such occasion for us!

HOME

We are H.O.M.E.!!

In our own beds.  No more living out of duffel bags, and buying ice for the cooler every day.  Three weeks is a long time to be gone....

But it was worth it!

We had a FABULOUS time.  Truly, truly refreshing.  Our bodies are a bit weary from the long drive home, but our minds and spirits had such a complete rest from our normal routine.  And we had so much fun as a family and made so many great memories.  I am extremely grateful that we were able to take this trip.

I went "big" grocery shopping this morning while the rest of the family slept, and am on my second load of laundry.  Hubby and the boys are emptying the car topper as I type, and putting away the camping gear.  Tomorrow we jump into school full steam ahead.

So thankful for the change of pace that a vacation brings.

And so thankful for the predictability of routine that being home brings!

Our niece is a married woman!

The last big "event" of our vacation was to attend our niece's wedding.  What a beautiful, God-honoring wedding ceremony it was!  Two people who love the Lord and are crazy in love with each other... it is a unique kind of holiness to catch a glimpse of their heart for God and for each other.

My hubby taught the bride to walk! Yes, he did.  When she was one year old, in the dining room of my parents' house, with a hair brush in each of her hands..... he worked and worked with her until she had it down!  He therefore took a bit of credit for her being able to walk down the aisle...!  Almost dreamlike to have known this beautiful woman all of her life, and to be there to help launch her into marriage with her beloved.  Son G and daughter G posed with this picture of the wedding couple.

Our son L swing dancing with his cousin!

Our boys had a blast dancing all evening long and later declared it the "funnest wedding ever!"  (it is the first wedding Little Man has been to, but still...)

We are now just three days from HOME!

Family Time!

We are still in California, soaking up time with our relatives!  We head for home tomorrow, but here are some shots from the last week.  My sweet and vivacious Aunt G!  (daughter G on the left, and our second cousin P on the right, who is also sweet and vivacious just like her grandma!)

 In her cute little kitchen at the senior/assisted living facility where she lives.

Pool time at my cousin's house!

Playing footsies.

Me and my cousin J.  We were pretty tight growing up.

My wonderful Aunt D, who was like a second mom to me when I was young.

Me, my mom, and my sisters!  LOVE.

Our beautiful niece and the man who has captured her heart.  We are off to their wedding in just a couple of hours!