Month: September 2015

Letting Go

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September 29, 2015

Yesterday, we woke up in Illinois and drove to Ohio.  It was a nice drive and we stopped in Indiana at the Sand Dunes and walked to a beach on Lake Michigan.  It was windy and the locals said that it was the best waves they had ever seen on the lake.  We have seen so many amazing things on this trip.  Our creator God is totally amazing.  There really are not any words or pictures that could describe the beauty that this county holds.  Yesterday were able to see Chicago from a new perspective.  From a distance.  It looked much different than it did as compared to being in the heart of the city.

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And that is where my heart is today.  Perspective give so much to a situation.  I didn’t know what to expect as we set out on this adventure.  I wasn’t sure how my kids would do.  I wasn’t sure how Ryan would do.  I wasn’t sure how I would do.  But, I knew this was a journey that we were to embrace and embark upon.

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As the seven of us live together in an RV we are learning to love well.  I see my own faults come out.  I see when I get frustrated with situations and lean toward taking the frustration out on one of the kids or Ryan.  Maybe it’s because no-one can really escape.  At home we can run to our rooms with hurt hearts.  Here, our hearts are more exposed when they are hurt.

I’m learning to let go of some things.  I like things tidy and neat.  That is hard to accomplish that to my standard while living in an RV with seven people.   And there are so many things I miss.   I miss my college kids who are working hard at school in MN.  I miss family.  I miss friends.  I miss doing church and the fellowship that we have at our church.  I miss my bed and my bathroom.  I miss my washing machine.  I miss my friend who cuts and colors my hair.

Letting go.  Ryan told me to sit on his shoulders while we were in the beach yesterday.  If you know me, you might know that my first response was “No… I can’t do that; you can’t hold me…” Excuses.  He gently encouraged me.  I did it.  Grace snapped a picture.  Letting go is a good thing to do.  Living in community is a good thing to do.

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I am so thankful for this time with my family.  I am thankful for this opportunity to grow in my marriage with Ryan and in relationship with my kiddos.  I am thankful to do life from a different perspective and am learning so much doing it.  I have a pretty amazing group of people to do life with.

Rachael

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15

 

Chicago, Illinois

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September 28, 2015

We woke up in Union, Illinois. We got ready then drove into Chicago. We first drove under the L. It was really cool driving around Chicago. I loved looking up at all the tall buildings. We saw a building that for the roof it was a steep slant. It’s very dangerous that it’s at a slant because in the winter snow piles up on it and then big ice sheets fall on the intersection. After driving around a little bit we found a parking spot. We had to go up 12 floors to find a parking spot.

The first activity we did was the Willis tower. We went up the elevator which was really fast! When we got to the top we went in the cubes that hang over the road 108 floors down. My dad was freaking out. It was a little scary at first. It was so cool! We got some pictures then went to go look at the gift shop. We went down the elevator to go look at more things.

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After looking at the amazing Willis tower, we went to go eat at Giordano’s which is a super good pizza place. We wanted to get the bus tour so we went to go get tickets. We started talking to someone to get the tickets but then the other people who work at the other company tried to get us to get their tickets so then they kept changing the prices back and forth. We finally decided one of them.

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When we got on the bus we stopped at the bean and got off. It was really cool. I got some pictures of the bean then I walked under it. It looked so confusing. It gave me a headache. We got back on the bus and the bus went to the lakeside off Chicago. It was really windy on the lakeside but we got to see Lake Michigan. It was amazing!

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Then we drove up to Wisconsin. To get a keychain and to get a picture by the Wisconsin sign.

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My favorite part about the whole day was the Willis tower because I thought it was really cool going into the cubes. A cool fact I learned was that the Willis tower was first called the Sears Tower but then Sears sold it and the new owners named it the Willis tower.

-Greta

Dubuque-Iowa’s Oldest City

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Yesterday we drove to Dubuque, Iowa. When we got there we went to Fenelon Place Elevator Company. It was super cool. It is a trolley that a man built because it took him an hour and a half to get home from work. The trolley goes up a large hill. What we didn’t know is that your supposed to ride the trolley up then back down. So we walked up the hill until we got to the top. When we got there we then realized that we had to go over one block from our RV to get onto the trolley. So we rode the trolley down. When we got to the bottom we went out to get some ice cream and then went to a cute little store. We then rode back up and walked back down the hill. The way down was much better.

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After that adventure we went to “Matter”. It was in the same town. It was really fun. It is a place that has pottery and giant legos and lots of cool things to play with. Us girls did pottery while the boys played. Hannah, Greta and I made some mugs and my mom made a super cool bowl.

My favorite part was playing with the cars because I like racing – Buche

My favorite part was racing the cars too. We smashed them and it was super fun. – Burka

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-grace

Out of sorts in Omaha

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September 26, 2015

We started our day yesterday in Emporia, Kansas. We had plans to get to Nebraska and spend the afternoon in Omaha.   We had spent a couple long days on the road so we thought a couple afternoon activities would be fun as we go across the “flat” states.   We looked online at the things to do in Omaha and there seems to be a zoo, a flower garden, a large flea market and some parks along the river. After discussing those options with the kids we decided to go to the large flea market, as they like to look at all the shops filled with treasures. We drove to the western side of Omaha with anticipation as our treasure search was about to begin and I heard the girls referring to the show “Flea Market Flip” where people find something on a flea market and repurpose it and bring it back to sell. It’s actually a pretty cool show. Upon arriving at the flea market we quickly realized it was indoors and not outdoors. We thought, “okay, it’s Omaha … hot and mosquito filled in the summer and cool and rainy in the spring and fall… just like Minnesota.”   After about 5 minutes in the place we realized that it was smaller than the annual Lake Community Rummage Sale and although the vendors were nice, we only found one treasure – a used movie for $1.50.

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After leaving the Flea Market (called the Omaha Mega Market) we thought we’d go down by the river and have lunch. I saw a place called “Freedom Park” on the Internet that had military ships and airplanes and was located along the banks of the Missouri River. Unfortunately, GPS lead us astray as we ended up on a very narrow, somewhat muddy and soft, one-way, dead-end closed road with a 35 ft RV. This took us some time to maneuver and escape.   After successfully getting turned around and pointed in the right direction and our day in Omaha doing not as planned we decided to stop and make lunch. After lunch we decided that we didn’t want to pursue finding the park anymore and we went on a quest for key chains (the girls as collecting one in every state). As we left on our quest, we realized while having lunch we were sitting 100 ft from the “Welcome to Iowa” sign the whole time. So with the day going the way it had gone, we decided we had to find a way to get a picture by the sign. We put on our flashers and parked where we were clearly not supposed to park amidst two lanes of traffic and a bike trail. We jumped out and got our Iowa Sign picture!

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We thought getting key chains would be 20 minutes and we would head out of town, however this proved to be more difficult as people in Nebraska either don’t have a need for key chains or don’t want their states name on them. After trying four convenience store/truck stops and calling a few stores to see if they carried a collection of souvenirs, we ended up driving 20 miles east of Omaha to a Flying J to finally have success.

So in a nutshell, we spent 5 hours in Omaha to get 3 key chains, a used movie and a bit frustrated as I guess not every day on the road is full of success.   Today we are in Iowa and we hope it goes better.   Life is an adventure.

Ryan

There’s no place like home…

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There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home… with three clicks of ruby slippers. If I could go home from the road trip today, I wouldn’t. It’s a once in a lifetime experience and I’m having a lot of fun going to all the states. But I do miss home too.

We started the day in Trinidad, Colorado. We first headed to Liberal, Kansas to go to Dorothy’s house from the movie the Wizard of Oz. We walked through the welcome center for half an hour while we were waiting for Dorothy to give us a tour. First we saw Dorothy’s house. We saw her bedroom, the living room, Aunty Em and Uncle Henry’s room, her kitchen and the laundry room.

We next went in a different building where she told the story of the movie. It started in her house when the storm came. Then we were in the Land of Oz.  We walked by the  scarecrow that wanted a brain. Then we found the tin man that wanted a heart, and last but not least we found the lion, who wanted courage. We saw the wicked witch and the good witch. Then we went to Emerald City.

We learned so much about the movie! Here’s a couple things that we learned. The good witch was 56 when they filmed the movie. There is still one munchkin from the movie that’s alive. The movie took one year and a couple months to film.  And, the reason is was called “Oz” is because the author, Frank Baum liked the O-Z drawer on his file cabinet. That’s just a few things we learned!

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We’ve missed adding a few “state” photos on the last posts so I’ll add them on this one.

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After Dorothy’s house we went to Sonic because that was on our “bucket list” on this trip. It was delicious!

-Greta

The Great Sand Dunes and The Royal Gorge

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September 24, 2015

Today our first stop was at The Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. It took 2 hours to climb up and down them. Although the temperature was nice it was windy. And windy in Minnesota is different than windy on the sand dunes. The wind would blow and it would feel as if a million little needles were constantly stabbing you. And if that doesn’t sound pleasant enough the uphill seemed as if it was vertical. 10 steps of walking felt like you ran 10 miles. But despite all that we made it to the top… Or close enough. And, it was so beautiful!

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The second stop of the day was the Royal Gorge Bridge. It is a suspension bridge that is 1,053 feet tall. Although that may not seem like much, for someone who’s afraid of hight, like my dad, it was quite the experience. Not only are people allowed to walk on it but cars are allowed to drive across. And when the cars would drive on it, it would cause the bridge to shake a little, which made my dad very nervous. He would either try to run off the bridge or hang onto one of the two posts that were planted to the ground, just incase today was the day that the bridge would break.

Hannah

 

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Colorful Colorado

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September 23, 2015

We woke up in Flagstaff, Arizona and headed to the four corners. While we were waiting to get there we worked on school. When we arrived we walked around a lot looking at all the little gift shops. My sisters and I all got a super cool dreamcatcher. Then we took a picture. I thought it was really cool how we could all be in different states at the same time! The four different states are Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.  In the pictures below we are standing in all four states at once.

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After the four corners we got back on the road and headed to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. We again worked on some school but it was only about a forty-five minute drive. We drive up the mountain to see the cliff dwellings.  It reminded me off the town on the movie Aladdin. We took some pictures of that and moved on to a different spot to see more cliff dwellings.

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When we were just about to leave we saw a amazing cloud! It was breath-taking, and the sun was setting so that made it even better. Then we drove to Durango, Colorado to see my moms friend Bobbi. She let us stay at her house for the night and made us root beer floats! Thank you Bobbi.

-Greta

Friendship is a beautiful thing

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A few months ago, my mom and I went to Ethiopia together with group of 6 people from across the country.  We didn’t know each other before we left other than a few conference calls we had together, but it was an amazing trip and God surely knit together that group of people for the purpose of that trip.

Yesterday, we drove from Las Vegas, Nevada to Flagstaff, Arizona.  We were greeted in Flagstaff by my friends Carlos and Natalie and their family.  Carlos and Natalie were both on the trip to Ethiopia.  Yesterday, they drove hours to meet us for dinner and our families got to play together and we were able to enjoy a meal together and visit.  I think it’s amazing how God knits relationships together and am so thankful for friendships.   He sees no borders and distance is not a barrier.

Here are a few pictures of the time we spent together.  We were surrounded by quite a beautiful group of kiddos.  Carlos, Natalie and family… you are a blessing.  Thank you for taking time to hang out with us!  We love you all!

Rachael

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Grace and Abby

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We spent the weekend in Minnesota with some awesome family and friends watching Gracie and Abby at the State 4H horse show.    It was a weekend of learning and growing.   It was a weekend loaded with fun!  It is amazing to watch my girl and her horse!  Here are some things that Grace had to say about the weekend…

It was so fun to be able to ride in the colosseum and meet new people. I can’t wait to have more practice and hopefully get another trip next year. Abby did so good and I am excited to work with her more when we get back. I miss her already. Thanks to everyone who came down to watch us.  Special thanks to Jackie, Jamie, and Janelle for getting Abby ready and helping me with my patterns. Also a huge thanks to Grandpa Dennis and Grandma Linda for bringing abby down and to Grandpa Dennis for hanging out and helping me in the barn.   Another thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Pete and Virginia for coming down to watch. One last one to all of my siblings for coming and supporting me.  – Grace

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Nevada

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September 17, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!  We can’t wait to see you and celebrate with you tomorrow!

As for today.  We entered Nevada and took another classic “sign” photo.

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We drove into Las Vegas.  And we did what McCleary’s do when you go to Vegas…  we went to our banner shop.  We hung out with these awesome employees fulfilling orders for our west coast banners.com customers.

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Then we did some school work and laundry.

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We enjoyed a yummy snack at Carlo’s Bakery and  took in some sites of the Vegas strip before we drove to the airport.  We get to spend the weekend in MN watching Grace at the 4H horse show.  And we say “THANK YOU” to our friends and family who helped get us and Abby to the show.  We could not have done it without you.

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