Home!

 We made it home in one piece. Hallelujah! It took us a day longer than normal because we had to do a southerly route through Wyoming, Utah and Idaho instead of our northern route through Montana. I think we would have still been stuck in Montana had we gone that way.  It was about 29 1/2 hours of driving for our trip home.   We did have snow. 

 But not a horrible amount. 

 We found a fun place to stop for about 20 minutes on Sunday just to take a short break near Twin Falls, Idaho. It was the Snake River Canyon. 

 The bridge was gorgeous. 

 Here we are! 

 I won a prize on Dee’s blog, “ Little Stone Schoolhouse” over on my side bar.  She was very sweet and sent it to Mandy‘s house.   The tea looks delicious and I’m really looking forward to making some of these ornaments before Christmas. Thank you so much Dee! I love it all.

My sister Melanie surprised me with a gift too. Look at that beautiful yarn on the front!   I have been using it nonstop.  It is a stainless steel insulated drinking cup with a lid and a straw. I love it. 

Gracie sent me a package that was in our mailbox when we arrived home last night. Her knitting group made 10 burial buntings for the hospital. Gracie! Please tell the lovely ladies thank you from the bottom of my heart for thinking of these families here in Spokane who are grieving. This will give them a wonderful memory of something beautiful that wrapped their baby in during some of the hardest times of their lives. 

 I finished mittens while on the trip. I also made another pair last night that isn’t in this picture  Plus a pair that I left in Omaha for a friend of Pipers.  Not quite my goal of 20 pair but some are better than none. 

 I also finished Piper’s socks while we were there and I made 12 crocheted hair ties for the goody bags at her birthday party. I forgot to take a picture of the hair ties, but here are my girls modeling their socks. 

 And a selfie of us all by Piper! 

 I have more pictures from our trip, but I will close today with the view that met us last night when we got home. It is looking off of our back deck. Mt. Spokane is covered in snow and there’s a dusting in all of the lower elevations. I’ve never seen this happen in September before. It is gorgeous though. 

I will be back soon. I hope to catch up on everyone’s blogs tonight. Wishing you a wonderful evening my friends. 

“Therefore, as God‘s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, close yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”  Colossians 3:12 

Blessings,

Betsy

Heading Home!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks and we’re on our way home.  We had to leave a day early because of blizzard conditions in Montana and we’re taking a more southerly route home which adds a day onto the drive.  And guess what.  It’s snowing as I write this as we drive through northern Utah but hopefully not as bad as Montana and Idaho.  We’ve been told it’s snowing at home too.  Uh-oh.  Our sprinklers are still going off.  Hopefully they haven’t frozen.

Heading up Rattlesnake Pass about 10 minutes ago.

Snowville, Utah this morning.

The southern Idaho border a few minutes ago.

I’ll catch you up with just some of what we’ve been up to.  Mostly playing with this little girl.  This is Dennis’s Mom too.  Can you tell Piper is Papa’s girl?

Papa bought her this dress for her birthday.  Mandy sent us this picture this morning after getting ready for church.  The streamers are from her party yesterday that we missed because of having to leave early.

I spent a day with my sister Melanie last Monday and we went to Lauritzen Gardens.  She has a memorial stone there for Mike along with his sister and Mom. I’ll post more garden pictures soon.

We visited my parents and Dennis’s Dad’s gravesites.

Dad

My parents graves.  Their sites are very close to each other.  Most of our family on both sides are buried at Forest Lawn.  In fact, Dennis and I have had our headstone placed there for almost 40 years now.  Pre-planning makes it so much easier on family.

We had dinner with my brothers, Roger, Lynn and Melanie along with their spouses and a lot of the nieces and nephews.  This is an awful picture of me but it is what it is! :-). Can you tell I’m the baby of the family?  Roger is 14 years older than me, then Lynn, then Melanie.

I’ve been trying to keep up with all of you and your blogs.  We should be home tomorrow sometime and a more normal schedule will begin.  My best friend had hip replacement surgery on Friday and is home now.  Please keep her in prayer for a quick recovery.  She worries about missing work.  They are talking about doing the other hip next year.  She’s only 61 and frustrated with the whole thing.

Have a wonderful day my friends.  I’ll be back soon with more trip photos.

Here is a verse appropriate for our drive today.

“He spreads the snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes.” Psalms 147:16

Blessings,

Betsy

Almost there!

We’re about 2 hours from Mandy, Brad  and Piper’s house,  Last night we stayed in Kearney, NE and we just left the Archway Museum.  It is built over I-80 and contains the history of the United States of America’s immigration westward.  It was really great and I encourage you to visit if you have the opportunity.  The inside photos are very dark. I apologize for that.  The tour is self-guided with headsets, so you can take your time and absorb everything.

There are windows in the archway that allow you to see the traffic below.  There is even a radar gun set up so you can see how fast people are going!.

The outside is beautiful with stonework and timbers.

This big boy is life size.  There are also gardens of native prairie grasses.  When we got out of the car Dennis said he’s missed the smell of those grasses.  We don’t have them in Washington.

A display of some of the original “modern” car campers that traveled the Lincoln Highway that intersected the U.S.A.



A 50’s style diner that dotted the roads of the country.

Well hello!  I’ll take each of those baked goodies. :-). There was SO much to this museum.  I barely scratched the surface. My blog friend Teresa’s husband Dayle would love the displays about the Union Pacific railroad and the golden spike.  It told all about the building of the railways.

Across the street was this museum.  My nephew Brian’s name is on a plaque inside and I wanted to get a picture for my brother but it wasn’t open today.  When we went yesterday we had arrived in town 10 minutes after closing.

Behind the building is this memorial garden for volunteer firefighters who have passed.

This was our welcome to Kearney last night when we arrived.  Severe thunderstorms and corn fields.  Welcome home to Nebraska!!!

We’ll see our girls soon.  We’re very excited about that.  Mandy has to work 12 hour shifts Saturday and Sunday but I think we’re going to steal Piper and go see Great-Grandma tomorrow.  Lots of fun ahead.

Chloe is having a good time with our house sitter.  Sheila has sent pictures and she looks happy.  It’s good to know everything is well at home too.

As we walked through the museum, seeing the hardships of the pioneers and those who came before us, Dennis and I were both reminded of this verse from the Bible.  I’m sure it sustained many of those people as they struggled against what must have seemed to be overwhelming obstacles.

“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” Psalms 59:16

Blessings,

Betsy