DAY FOUR Rain, Rain Go Away

Here are some extra pictures of the last few days! We took zero pics today as it was pouring and cold.

Great one of Mt. Rushmore

Kids playing at the park

Little Cowgirl

In a tree... climbing is natural for these three

The kids posing with Minnesota Maps

Evelyn being wild and crazy on her horse.

Nehemiah ...taming his bronco

Family shot

Our renewal of vows in Minnesota

Day Four

The morning began at 5:00 a.m. with a quick stop for breakfast burritos and coffee from McDonalds. Then we set off for a very long day of driving.

The monotony of sitting in the cab of a pick up for four days has begun to erode away at everyone's nerves. Lilyan is constantly putting her feet over the side of her car seat to kick one of the older two because they are getting to close to her. In fact, I had one of those bite my cheek while I was scolding moments today. Lilyan kicked Evelyn in the head because, "You are getting in my bubble!!!" Sometimes it is difficult to get them in trouble when all you want to do is laugh about their precocious nature. The older two are finding subtle ways to annoy the other. "Mom he is looking at me again," and "She won't let me have my toys/game," were repeated statements all day long.

We drove through dreary rain and clouds all day. However, the rain was not a problem it was hitting rush hour in Calgary and getting lost in Edmonton.

We hit morning rush hour in Calgary, and were taking the road under construction too. The other drivers were courteous and besides the hour delay we got out of there relatively unscathed. Then the next big town was Edmonton.

We came into the city completely blindsided because the Rand McNally map really failed this city. It blew up only the inner roads and cut out the interstate. Therefore, we did not know we had missed the bypass until it was too late. Then it was like a nightmare on Elm street. Only the streets of Edmonton were trying to lure us to our doom. I am sure the pretty little side streets littered with flowers, trees, and quaint little shops were great to look at if you were not almost 40 ft long and 8.5 feet wide. Our truck and trailer were not made to skip along the teeny streets singing; " oh what a beautiful morning." Gavin was definitely not singing, but he was using colorful language. On the bright side, it was tense enough in the truck we had a reprieve from the kids fighting.

Once my expert navigation skills got us through the cluster ( yeah okay so I shouldn't quit my day job, but I did get us through the streets using the map) we had lost yet another precious hour of drive time. Plus, we had missed anywhere we could safely navigate for lunch, and we had run out of stocked goods this morning.

Nevertheless, we pressed on and we were able to get back on the road that leads to the Alaskan Highway. We stopped at the next town which consisted of an all in one gas- grocery- convenience store- and tire shop. We stocked up on sandwiches from a cooler and a drink for everyone. This was the most expensive meal we have purchased yet! A whopping $49.49, ouch! However, Gavin pointed out that we were headed for the 49th state, and being the weirdly superstitious person I am I took it as a good sign.

We drove for hours after eating our overly priced lunch, and stopped to fuel up in the next town. In this area you stop when you see fuel stations whether you need to or not because it may be awhile before you get to another.

The bathroom stalls are entertaining in the Canadian Provinces because in some stations you can read grafitti on the walls. Only it is not nasty like the things scrawled on stalls in the U.S. Instead threre are nice little anecdotes about being respectful to others or metaphors about life. Yes, it is still grafitti, but reading a cheery message when you are peeing is much nicer than reading about some crude child's version of love and a good time.

Gavin noticed, while fueling, that the hitch was sagging from all the fatigue and pressure. Therefore, it would be best to buy a new one pretty soon. We ended up finding a farm supply store a ways down the road and a nice but strange young gentleman helped Gavin get everything put together with the new hitch. The owner of the shop asked if we had enough room in our toolbox to take the young man with us. I take it his queer personality rubs some people the wrong way.

After completing the book I started earlier in the morning the kids and I crashed for awhile. I believe boredom set in early today and we made an observation that was not intended to be cruel or unkind. We realized we had yet to see an obese person in Canada. There were people walking, biking, jogging, and skateboarding in the townships. We started paying more attention and have spotted one overweight individual in the past two days while in Canada. There are fast food restaurants and such, but this does not seem to be adding to the girth of the Canadian people. Plus, when I went to Walmart I was under dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans. I felt like a slob. The faces of Walmart would not be too exciting here.

Something else we noticed was that the rest stops have trash bins and recycle boxes. There are even recycle boxes in the hotel rooms we have stayed in. These people seem to live extremely healthy, respectful and clean lifestyles. Outside of the rioters in Vancouver, which we heard all about on the radio throughout the day.

We rolled into Grand Prairie at 7:30 and the kids were going bonkers. We decided it would be best to go to Walmart and restock the cooler, eat dinner, and then get a hotel. The kids we were ready, and to be honest our bodies are pretty sore. The trip meter reads 2093 miles and it is time for some rest after 600 miles today alone.

After a quick dinner of microwavable meals the kids were tucked in bed as we all were tired and ready for bed. We watched the news and Gavin and I decided it will be a long day tomorrow; therefore, it was time for bed.

We hope you all had a fabulous day. We pray the Lord continues to watch over us as we head closer to our destination.

Peace n Prayers