Just the Usual Travel Experience

FB status: "Arrived Beale AFB Fam Camp 12:13 a.m." 

No, as a matter of fact, we did NOT plan a 7.5 hour trip to arrive after midnight the day before reporting to duty. ::wink::  

HOW did a short jaunt down the road turn into this?????? 

We started with great hopes for a 3 - 5:00 p.m. arrival......The boys were happy to step into their new roles on Trailer Prep. 

We ran into a bit of a snafu with the Alaska DMV..."No, ma'am, we don't know someone who can just walk it in."  Since this was obviously taking more than the expected amount of time, I headed to the local Arco to fill up the big red van. 

S*T*I*C*K*E*R shock! Whooee.....and gas has only gotten more expensive the further south we've traveled. 

We finally left OR 2.5 hours after we'd planned...but still projected a 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. arrival. 

A word about "Google maps"....it obviously doesn't factor in  "towing vehicles" which  only go 55 mph,  not 70 mph, in CA.....and that towing vehicles really can't go much more than that anyway over those mountains. ::snort:: 

FB Status - "...wouldn't be a Gherkin trip without a blowout. Running late."

Shore nuff....Yuuki was riding at my feet....we heard a loud pop and a bit of swaying and she leaped to Arielle's side and seemed to give us the Gherkin scowl. She's been a GREAT travel dog.

 We were blessed this happen just a mile outside of the last Roseburg, OR exit.....and we were able to drive very, very slowly to the local Les Schwab. Three hours -  four new van tires later -  we headed down the road again.

 I am so thankful for this man. He's unflappable. We simply kept moving.....and at 12:46 a.m. we had a spot at Fam Camp and were setting up..... It was dark, but we think we drove through some pretty land on our way here. We discovered the gates the GPS selected are closed at night - finally happened upon an open gate.  We're hopeful it will be pretty here.

Somewhere in here we called our sponsor to let him know we'd arrived. We knew he'd be worried we were so late. He's already checked off the base. He hadn't been worrying about us up in Tahoe. ::snort:: Poor man. He DID tell Michael not to worry about showing up at 0715 in uniform.....and with that assurance we continued "setting up." 

We cleared a path, unloaded the beds, found the kids sleeping bags and they were set.  (YIKES someone grab that ipad!)

2013 is the year of the great vandal/mice party at the Gherkins trailer. Mom and Dad had overseen the repairs and mom had washed sleeping bags etc. Michael, Izaak and Nolan spent the good part of a day cleaning the trailer out. Last night I realized we needed sheets and the comforter for our bed was missing.... Michael threw out the foam topper for our bed as it was full of mice dooky.

It seemed simple to buy a 3in memory foam topper....and Bre and I picked up a "complete bed set" to throw on. The foam topper was smashed in a box.....and had to be zipped into a liner - which was NOT easy but WAS fun. ::snort::

Finally at 0200 our bed was MADE......and I KNOW it doesn't match the headboard and curtains...maybe I'll  make curtains and a headboard from the bed skirt and pillow shams we don't need....and maybe it simply doesn't bother me enough to warrant the work. ::snort::

I woke full of hope this morning (23 July). I remembered the orchards and fruit stands 20 miles away....surely it would be pretty....... I stepped out to enjoy the early a.m. cool and view before anyone else was up....

 
I believe I found the "Golden Hills of California." Looks a lot like San Angelo to me.   This cheery sign greeted me at the bathhouse....

Stacia and Zander woke up and immediately went for the fridge. I could have warned them....instead I watched. ::snort::

They looked at me, shocked. I couldn't help laughing and asked them, "When do you think food would have been purchased and stored?"

We've got a full day ahead of us..... the immediate challenge is finding the bag or box with clothes which can be worn for the day....and clearing some of this out by tonight.

I'm blogging from the end of this roll of carpet

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Miracles, Packing, Softball and Goodbyes

It was a MIRACLE which began in a rather odd way. 

The girls woke up late...really late. We're ALWAYS up early. 

We woke up - got ready and were out the door for church  in 11 minutes! (No photos available)

The boys left this morning for TX. Bre and Krista had obligations until 1 p.m.

We began packing things over to the trailer. We took a quick break for lunch and then went back to shopping for things needed for the trailer - and packing things out....this took us right up until 5:30 p.m.  I must say I wonder how we'll sleep in the trailer with all the suitcases etc in the trailer. LOL

We  headed over to South Eugene for Krista and Andrew's softball game.

LOVE Krista's expression 

Our family and a few friends and cousins went out for dinner after the game...and then on to DQ for dessert.  We said goodbye to Bre for this time around....she'll drive down to CA in 9 days and drive out to TX with us for the wedding.

It was 9:30 p.m. and we thought we were ready to climb into bed...but Michael needed to add new tags for the trailer and THAT has mushroomed.....he's left to go over to get the license plate numbers off the trailer. ::sigh::

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Family Celebration

I hesitate to post about today's celebration as a photographer took photos and we'll have a CD of photos soon.....but here are a few snapshots..... 

It was a great day. It was fun to reconnect with  people who went to college with Mom and Dad, current friends, past friends, church family, ALL kids and grand kids, uncles, cousins and even  fellow missionaries from Liberia and friends from the Philippines.  It was also fun to watch a plan come to fruition. Sherri was our "officer in charge" and she did a great job of tasking each with manageable tasks and then letting them run with their vision.  The final product was fantastic. 

I think one of my favorite parts of the day was the slide show. Nate (and Heather) did a great job of documenting Mom and Dad's lives and marriage. 

There were a few tables set up with mementos...and Krista and Nadia made this great "family tree" wall hanging.  Mom and Dad and their parents were the foundation and bottom trunk...it branched into three branches for Nate, Will and I and then smaller branches for each of our children. I WANT something like this on a wall in my home....while we are leasing we could do something like this, stretch it around a frame and hang it.....I'll have to think about this a bit.

Bre made a tri-fold of showcasing their ministry. Heather grabbed mementos to display (and did much, much more). Amy made some great "Canvas art" - I'm sure there will be some cool photos coming of all this; as well as the great decorations.

Sherri and her grand Harmony - Mom and Dad's Great Grand

Mom, Dad and Heather 

Nate (Baby brother)

Nolan and Arielle

This is my cheesy dork look. Michael snapped a photo while I was sharing about Mom and Dad - with my granny glasses on....This was the one he took when I took off the glasses. LOL

Josiah (getting married in 2 weeks)

Mikhail (Nate and Heather's Son) 

My Uncle and Cousins with Mom and Dad 

After cleaning up the church some of us went out to Will and Sherri's to relax and enjoy a BBQ for dinner.

The kids played a game called "smash face"....

Zander sits in the middle 

It was fun to find this bus at our hotel as we drove up. Evidently a tour of Japanese teens were sharing the hotel with us.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

ALL the Gherkins Have Landed!

Yes, I DID take the stairs so I could stage a photo! ::snort:: Krista brought Josiah and Jared over this morning. Jamin needed to get some homework and a test done so he and Bre came over later. We enjoyed catching up. It was FUN to see the older boys reactions to the growth and changes in the younger boys. 

We enjoyed the first family circle with all present in over a year. We talked a bit and then headed out to meet Sherri (Sister in law), Matt (her son) and my parents for lunch. Matt flew in today at noon. This will be the first time in over a decade when all of us three kids and all of our kids will be in the same spot WITH Mom and Dad. It's going to be epic! 

After lunch we converged on the church to decorate and such for tomorrow's 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration! It's going to be a lot of fun. During this time Mom Mary and Rebecca called. We made initial plans to meet them later but  couldn't reach them to finalize plans for dinner and dessert (It turns out Rebecca had turned the ringer down on her phone and hadn't seen the messages). 

We needed to get a few things for tomorrow's celebration and headed for Walmart before the photo department closed.....miles and miles of aisles! 

 At 6:30 p.m. we decided to get dinner alone as we couldn't reach Mom Mary and Rebecca. We would drop in at Rebecca's house after dinner if we'd still not been able to get anything but the message on the phone. 

I do not believe this booth is meant to seat twelve people. This perspective makes the table look longer than it is! 

Me, Stacia, Jamin, Krista, Arielle, Josiah, Nadia, Bre
Nolan, Alex, Jared and Michael took the photo

Seriously - how are you going to put PLATES between these napkins....

Not to fear - we scored another table - eventually. I left a hefty tip as the gal who waited on us had to trade tables with the one who didn't want to give us two tables. ::snort:: 

We zipped up the street and around the corner to say hi to Michael's Mom and Sister. 

Time to try to sleep so we can get up and tackle the big day tomorrow. 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Jet Lag Gherkin Style

Six Gherkins working through jet lag makes coming up with a daily plan IMPOSSIBLE! I find it funny we seem to hit "the wall" at different times.  We've only been here 2 days - it will take a bit of time. I always forget how hard jet lag hits traveling THIS way.

Tuesday night, Zander was READY to find his new home - check out his suitcase. Four years ago, when our luggage was stolen, Armeda Dukes gave him this suitcase. He refuses to let us upgrade to lighter model. ::snort:: 

The flip flops are looking as rough as we are. LOL 

The first morning in OR - the girls were up early and the guys couldn't budge. That's not true...they woke up, had breakfast, and went back to bed until noon. We woke up at 1000 ready to explore. We headed to a mall nearby to pick up a few essentials.....

Culture shock - one WHOLE ROLE OF DENTAL OPTIONS!  We only wanted a simple toothbrush. ::snort::

The noise also overwhelmed me. Breanne points out  Japanese malls are MUCH louder with music blaring and lots of activity. I didn't understand all the conversations and announcements in a Japanese mall. Hearing all the conversations around me in restaurants and stores is tiring. LOL

THIS was a pleasant surprise. Produce in Target - and .24 a lb for bananas...we've paid 1.09 - 1.19+ a lb for bananas the past four years. Stacia was thrilled to find peaches too - though they aren't ripe yet. ::sigh:: Just a bit longer, baby girl.

I suppose Arielle's nerves of steel deserve a shout out. Driving a 15 passenger van on WIDE American roads after four years of small cars and small roads is an adjustment. Stacia reports, "Mom drives the van like a roller coaster." Michael hasn't seemed to master the skill to my level of expertise. I was being VERY careful.....I promptly changed gears when I tried to put on my turn signal....and then well....several times Arielle calmly said, "Little to the right, Mom." Yeah.....I found myself carefully driving in the left lane several times....and that is not the thing to do in Oregon. Watch out for the big red van.

Back at Grandma and Grandpa's Arielle is reunited with Yuuki...yes....the sleeping habit made the trip across the date line. Jet lag is a good excuse for a few more days.

We've spent the past couple of days reconnecting with family. We've not seen Nate and Heather for four years.  Heather teaches at International schools. They've been in China and Turkmenistan while we've been in Japan. We have seen Mikhail, their son, a couple of times on trips back to the states. Their daughter, Nadia,  has graduated and is relocating to America. It's been fun to spend some time with her.

Mom and Dad are the hub of family life and are watching Yuuki for us while we are here. We've enjoyed sitting in their shady back yard and watching the fish in their pond - a touch of Japan right here in OR.

We went by and saw Will and Sherri and their son Andrew  (and Harmony) this afternoon. Looking forward to catching up with Amy and Matthew in the next day as well.

We've tried to touch base with Rebecca, Michael's sister, and Mom Mary - but have only succeeded in leaving  messages at this point. Mom Mary is driving up for the anniversary party and should be getting in any day.

There is a lot of activity preparing for Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary Reception/Party - which will be Saturday. Above is a picture of them in front of the barn where they had their first date - a barn dance. Their anniversary was in November and they wanted to wait until this summer to have a party, so  all of us kids and grand kids could be here.....international travel, employment and college schedules made it impossible for us all to be here on 17 November.

Michael and crew got our RV (aka The Caboose) out of the storage. It had been broken into and mice had partied this winter (ugh)...but all is ready now for our trip down to CA.

Will suggested a fun park for us to explore and we spent about an hour relaxing, grabbed dinner and then Michael hit "the wall." The boys will get in tonight but we simply can't drive across town in the state we're in....Michael went to bed. The rest of us watched Stacia and Zander swim in the cool night air. My hope was the pool would help them get to sleep at a more decent hour. We seem to hit a wall at around 8 p.m. and if we don't go to bed (which we mostly don't) we get a second wind and can't sleep until 0300 - 0400.

Michael and Bre

Stacia

Nadia, Zander, spare child, Krista, Arielle, Nolan 

Michael shakes Krista and Nadia

 The three "boys" from TX will arrive tonight

Dad, mom, Bre Arielle, Nolan, Krista, Zander, Michael and Stacia in front

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...