Where Are We?

I know I have been really getting behind, but for good reason! We left home about a week & 1/2 ago for a fun little road trip - ok, not really so much fun, or little for that matter, but definitely a road trip! And then once we got here, I could not for the life of me find my camera!! Until 2 days ago - it took 3 times of searching the van, searching all my bags twice or more, calling the hotel we'd stayed at one nite to see if they'd found it (when I knew I had not even taken it into the hotel!), before I FINALLY found it just 2 days ago, buried deep in the pocket behind my seat in the van!A funny little story behind this picture. I did a lot of reading while we were driving - or at least, I ATTEMPTED a lot of reading - but with 3 kids, even with watching movies, they don't keep quiet for too long. And for some reason, it is always "Mom!! Mom! MOM!!!" that they yell - not "Dad!! Dad! DAD!!!" Anyways, so during one of these attempts at reading, after being hollered at for about the millioneth and one time, my mind started wandering. I knew we were getting close to Kansas and I thot it would be fun to get a picture of us at a "Welcome To Kansas" sign. I decided that after I read a few pages, I would tell Rick that we needed to stop when we saw a sign. So of course I got distracted some more, my reading didn't happen and I forgot to tell Rick to stop when we saw the sign. And next thing I know, we passed it! And I hollered at Rick to STOP! I need a picture! So there on the highway, he slams on the brakes and brings us to a bumpy little stop on the side of the road, quite aways past the sign. I figured we'd just get out and walk to it and was about to hop out when he starts backing up!! WHAT?! You can't back up on the highway! Luckily it wasn't busy. The people at the weight station right next to the sign probably thot we were insane, but hey, we got our picture!

A few little tidbits we learned about Kansas:
Kansas has oil! We saw quite a few Oil Derricks pumping for oil!
Kansas is very windy!! We used to always complain about the wind in Idaho, but oh my heck!
Kansas has lots and lots of miles and miles of fields. Far as the eye can see. Not very exciting!

It took us 15 hours of driving, and about a dozen stops (including one on the side of the road, in that horrid wind, and snow, when William insisted he had to go potty - and not just #1, but #2! It was SO funny watching Rick hold him up, waiting and hoping for him to do his thing - it never happened! and then only 1 mile away was a gas station with a real bathroom - and guess who went?!), 1 night at a hotel, way too much $$ in gas, and only minimal whining from the kids before we got to our destination: the Cousins' home in Wichita! And what have we been up to? Not a whole lot: Swimming at the YMCA, Watching lots of movies, Staying up way too late, Playing with the cousins, Tae-Bo (me & the kids), Dance Dance Revolution (I gotta get me a Wii!), and the main reason we came: Baby Colton!!