I avoid this subject at all costs. However, this is ultimately a blog for my kids to look at someday. The truth is, this election is important in our home. After this weeks debate, I feel the need to put this in my personal blog so my kids will know how I feel about it.

I have been a private business owner since I was 23. Granted, it was a tiny but successful massage business! Still, I know the side of business people. Now we are running SolPowerPeople. I hope to be the 1% someday! Isn’t that the American dream after all? I have voted republican in the past. I think like a republican in my businesses.

However, my life has turned me into quite the humanitarian. My father was denied by his insurance company and was left with a medical mess that we cleaned up for two years because his “illness” of alcohol was “preexisting”.  Richard believes that his mother’s death from cancer was largely due to a complication with her coverage that caused her to lose her insurance for 6 months and she couldn’t get her treatments.  She died shortly after. Richard was laid off soon after Piper was born. We were paying huge amounts of money to COBRA “just in case” something terrible happened to any of us. Towards the end of us paying for COBRA we were completely spent. Richard was getting his new education in solar. I stayed home with Piper instead of paying for daycare. We had next to nothing coming in except for odd construction jobs that Richard was taking. One day my dreaded COBRA bill came in the mail and I learned that due to the help from President Obama’s “Stimulus Package” the insurance payments had been reduced and the amount that I had been paying was going to retroactively be lowered as well. That meant I ended up not having to make this payment for about 2 months! In addition, they extended the amount of time we could stay on COBRA. Thank goodness we didn’t need that but it was wonderful knowing we had the option.  Also, we are obviously a solar company. The idea of any politician who doesn’t understand renewable energy importance or the FACTS of climates change is beyond me.

Those are the hit my home topics. My other important to me, just because they should be, issues are women’s personal healthcare rights and birth control choice. I am pro-choice. I am against voter ID laws. I can’t believe that gay marriage is even still something to be discussed! Who cares who we love in our personal life? I feel very strongly that RAPE is RAPE. As a woman, I don’t want to risk going back in time. We need to move forward.

I am deeply saddened to see race and false religious claims as the basis for why someone doesn’t like President Obama. I understand if you don’t like his policies but my fear is that opinions based on lies are the core reason for some people’s discomfort with this president. But hey, I also see how many people are still judging homosexuals too so I guess this is the kind of world we live in. I choose to not participate in this closed minded behavior and I hope someday everyone will see clearly that everyone has a right to live the truth for their lives. Not yours.

Please, do some back research on Romney’s changing of positions on so many topics during his campaign. I know for me, this is the time during the elections that I would start watching the candidates. If you are one of them, you need to see the changes of Romney’s answers depending on whom he is talking to in the last 12 months.

I believe that in the future I will want to have a Republican as president once again. Now is not that time.

If you have gotten through this entire ramble, thank you. I know I am one of the only liberals in my family. It is the reason I am so silent about my political views. My family knows me, loves me and I know will not be surprised about my views. I have always been the black sheep of my family. So, I appreciate everyone letting me have my moment to state my case, for my blog. Please, don’t try to convert me back to a Republican! LOL

To my extended family: I LOVE YOU!!

We are now in Orlando Florida on VACATION! My body aches from all the Universal Island of Adventure rides I went on yesterday so I know I’m having a great time!

As always, so much has happened lately…Where to begin?

Piper turned 4! We were in Dubuque, IA for her birthday and had a wonderful day. We started by waking Piper up with a bed full of balloons. Then we had a Skype birthday party with my family in Austin. What fun! I have to say, I was very down about not being with the family for her birthday. It helped a lot that we were able to pick a time and see each other for gift opening via Skype. I would not survive this traveling thing without technology!

                 Later that day we went to an inflatable gym and had cake and lots of fun! Piper loved the biggest slide there. She is so brave!

I had taken Piper to the store earlier that week to pick out the cake she wanted. She pointed out 4 different cakes, cookies, cupcakes and said “I just want this one and this one and that. Only those 4. Okay?” So, the night of her birthday we had even more treats!

This is Levi and I in Fairfield, IA having some ice cream and making silly faces at each other. My little baby has turned into a little man!

Going to Florida! We left the RV in Iowa and hopped on a plane to Florida! We had a layover that we were unable to get to due to rain. Had to stop at another city to refuel, then sat for 45 minutes until the storm blew over. Missed our connecting flight. Cathy and Ryan ran ahead while we unloaded kids, strollers and car seats. Got us on the last flight to Orlando. Made it to Orlando hours later than planned with only breakfast and granola bars in our belly and of course, no luggage! Fun!!  But, at least we didn’t have to sleep in the airport! Other than the trip here, we are having a great time! We had to be here for a solar conference and decided to add a work/vacation on to the trip. The conference (Solar Power International) was a huge success for SolPowerPeople. Well worth the difficult trip getting here.

Here are the pictures from Universal Studios. Richard and I went with our kids and Jim and Joanne, Richards aunt and uncle from Louisiana.

Boots!

Dora!

Levi strolling with Jim around the park.

Family picture!

SolPowerPeople

They clean up well! I love this picture. I love these people!

Magic Kingdom! I went with Jim, Joanne and Ryan’s family, Shelley, Jesse and Emmy.

Princess Tiana asked Levi for a kiss.

Then she kissed him!

This is the one moment that I almost got teary eyed. Mary Poppins came by on a float during the parade. She waved at Levi and blew him a kiss. He politely blew one back at her. She caught it and pressed it to her cheek and winked at him! Oh my! I actually felt like a kid again. Remembering how beautiful I thought Mary Poppins was and here she was blowing kisses with my son. Amazing for me! Levi did not understand why I got so excited but someday maybe he will.

We found a restaurant called T-Rex and had to go. It was amazing. Dinosaurs…EVERYWHERE! At the gift shop, Jim and Joanne found this perfect vest for Levi and they just couldn’t resist getting it for him. Too cool!

Universal Island of Adventure!

I loved this park. By far our favorite so far. This park is the reason I am so sore today. The entire crew went together. Richard, me, Piper, Levi, Cathy, Sarah, Ryan, Shelley, Jesse, Emmy, Jim and Joanne. Oh my! What a day! AND it was Emmy’s 8th birthday!

The rides in Seuss Landing were so much fun. The colors just make you happy!

Emmy dressed Piper up in some fancy clothes. Piper, of course, struck a pose for the camera.

My new favorite picture of Levi. The sign, the shirt, his face…priceless!

Another pose from Piper along with Emmy in Seuss Landing.

Emmy’s birthday ice cream cake!

It has been a wonderful time here in Florida. I needed a change from the RV. It seems I always start my blog posts with an apology for not having written in a long time. This time, I wanted to start with all the good stuff because there are so many happy things going on. However, back in Iowa I was going a little crazy. My grandma always told us, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” So, I have been quiet lately. I am feeling much better. Just needed to be out of the RV. Some space from the kids. Having Jesse and Emmy here has helped me get a break from the constant “needing” of whatever it is that they need. Here is a perfect little story that happened the week before we came here to Florida that describes exactly why I needed this break.

One day the kids and I are getting ready to go somewhere and I am running late, as always. Piper goes and sits on the toilet and then says she needs my help to wipe. I ask, “Did you go poop?” She says she did not. I then tell her she can do it herself and that I only need to help her if she poops. She says “But, I just don’t feel like it and I want you to help me.” I think this is crazy and I’m trying to get Levi and myself ready to go and decide I will not help her just because she doesn’t feel like it. I tell her this and she proceeds to sit on the toilet for at least 10 minutes whining and demanding me to stop what I’m doing and help her. I finally told her I’m not her maid and I don’t have to do it for her. “Do you know what a maid is?” She does not. As I’m explaining a maids job…cleaning, doing for others, cooking, work around the house… I see on her face exactly what I’m thinking in my head. She says, “But mom you are my maid! That is what you do all the time!” I say “WELL MAIDS DON’T WIPE BUTTS!” I did not give in to her and she was very unhappy and that is why I’m so happy to have other people around me now breaking up the monotony of living in a tiny space with the kids!

Back to Iowa on the 24th! I’m going to soak up the Florida sun and good times!

Man, what a trip the last few weeks have been for me! To start, this picture describes our wonderful 4th of July trip to Estelline the best:

Tired Kids!

We parked at the City Park in Estelline. It was awesome! Playground, pool and so close to my Grandma’s house. We went to the Jongeling reunion at my cousin Todd Jongeling’s house. I didn’t get to stay as long as I would have liked to. My kids needed a nap and the plan was for Richard to stay with them while sleeping so I could get some packing done at my Grandmas house. Richard was so wonderful! He hung out with the kids and my cousins daughter all day long and my family knocked out so much of the packing that day. Not much of a holiday but it was so much fun to be with my 2 uncles and aunt that came up from Oklahoma and Texas to help.

I did get my much needed firework celebration that night too! Richard, my brother Jeff, the kids and I met up with my old friend Jared at Pelican Lake right at dusk. His friend took us out on his boat and we watched fireworks all around us! I was so blissfully happy….until my “darling” daughter decided she was tired, hungry and didn’t like the noise of the fireworks. Her whining put quite the damper on my good spirits! Levi was great about the fireworks. He had so much fun. I hadn’t seen Jared in about 6 years. We were long time family friends and it has been great to reconnect with him. The joys of Facebook!

Another high-five to Facebook – I was able to meet up with my life long friend and old South Dakota neighbor Naomi too! She and her family came over to our RV spot the day we were heading out. Our girls are only a few months apart in age and they were simply adorable to watch running around the playground together. I enjoyed my visit with them so very much. If Naomi and I lived close to each other, I get the feeling we would be the best of friends. She and I just “get” each other. I wish things were different for us but alas…there is always Facebook!!

We got back to work in Sioux City Iowa right after our mini vacation. Conveniently, we decided to pass out flyers at a music event called Saturday in the Park. When we saw the line up, I was happily surprised to see Gary Clark Jr on the bill! He is an Austin local favorite that I have seen many times. I felt close to Austin that day, I miss my home city a lot.

Saturday at the Park

Richard was going to go market in Council Bluffs for several days so I decided to head back up to South Dakota and help finish out the move. The drive from Sioux City to Estelline is only 2hr and 45min. I just can’t pass up these last few chances of seeing my family there while I am this close! My aunt Linda took off of work one day and brought Grandma over and we really got a good hold on the last of the packing. I spent 2 whole days at the house, by myself with the kids getting it ready for my brother to move his stuff in. My brother works long hours this time of year but we were able to see each other every evening. I picked up his daughter Emma on Thursday and she stayed with us until Saturday. I slept in a room with all 3 kids and we played and laughed for days! I will cherish these moments forever. I wish Emma could live closer to Texas but I do feel I have made the best efforts possible to form solid memories for the kids to look back upon fondly.

Emma, Piper and Levi

My last day in town was quite a big day! It was Saturday and Jeff was off work so we did more work around the house. Then I went to my friend Jared’s house to show my kids his goats! They had a great time there. He had a garden and that inspired me to put my garden back in Texas on my priority list when we get home. After that visit, I met Naomi in Brookings at a playground. She didn’t have her daughter with her but my children played and we talked like time stood still. I had planned on a fairly short visit but the weather was great and our words were flowing and I had no idea how much time flew by! I could have still spent several hours there at the park but Levi’s need for a nap snapped me out of my amazing conversation trance. Next, we stopped at Grandmas new apartment to drop off one of the last loads of stuff. When the Levi climbed into her lap to give her a hug, this is what happened:

Happy Great Grandma!

He never moved! He just curled up on to her and CRASHED! Great Grandma was one happy lady!

Now, home sweet home. That is too long for me to be away from Richard. I really love my life, family, friends and husband!

My how time flies! My latest reason for not writing is again another internet problem. This time, a story to go along with it. There was a thunderstorm here in Newton, IA last Wednesday night. At around 11pm, I thought our RV was struck by lightening. We were almost asleep and Richard and I both jumped awake. I can’t believe the kids slept through this! We both felt like we had been hit in the chest. Our electricity was still on, so we knew we hadn’t actually been hit. I looked outside to see if anyone’s RV was on fire or something. The next day, Ryan said he was awake and on the internet at the time of the strike. He walked outside to see if there was a fire or damage anywhere near. There wasn’t any but when he went back into his RV, the internet didn’t work. The park owner has been working hard to get everything up and running again. Also, this past weekend, the KOA Kampground we are staying at was sold out because of a race at the Iowa Speedway that is right across the highway from us. So I was trying to help Wayne, the park owner, letting him know when the wifi was working and when it wasn’t. But with everyone in the park running off the wifi we couldn’t tell if it was bad signal or just being used by everyone. In the end, the park cleared out and all is well in cyber world again. We could hear the race all weekend. It was very cool. And on Saturday night we watched the firework display from our front window! The fireworks were at 11:30 at night so the kids missed it. I wanted to wake them so badly but of course, my golden rule: NEVER wake a sleeping child!! We figured that after the fireworks, the race was over. NO, they finished just after 12:30am! That was…not very cool. So needless to say, things have been very entertaining here lately!

Richard worked on Father’s Day so we went to Adventureland TOGETHER on Monday! Oh my, it was so much fun to have Daddy there! The water section was open so we were able to enjoy that this time instead of just the rides.

Adventureland!

We are working very hard on Piper’s fear of water. She loves to be in water. She just hates to be splashed by water. I can’t blame her, I’m the same way! There is a pool here at the KOA and we are trying to get her into the water everyday even if for only a short time. It is working too. Last night I had her putting part of her face in the water and blowing bubbles! Levi frankly freaks me out around water. He has no fear. In fact, he was on the edge of the pool and Richard was less than 10 feet away when Levi decided to just jump in! Richard got to him, pulled him up and he was all smiles while coughing up water. It is wonderful that he was fine and was not scared by the incident but that means he will do it again because he enjoyed it!

Ryan and Cathy left us to head back to Austin Sunday night. The Stovalls are now lone rangers out here! I’m so happy they get to go home to their families. I will miss them. The kids will miss them. But this too we shall survive! I am researching drop in day cares around the Iowa area. I think the Council Bluffs day care experience was really great for them and me!

We will be traveling all over Iowa again a good part of July. I don’t know the schedule yet but when we have something concrete, I have bookmarked several summer camp ideas for Piper in the Des Moines area. She has now informed me that she needs to be in a ballet class and maybe gymnastics and yoga too. But for sure, ballet. She doesn’t really walk around the RV anymore, she dances everywhere!

We are still doing the vegetarian thing too. I am doing fine with it and loving the food and recipe research this is allowing me to do. The only hard part of eating healthy is that we are fast food candidates. We are busy, on the road and trying to eat cheap. It is hard to order anything healthy at a fast food joint. The convenience of drive thru food really is a killer to the average American. Such a drag but oh so true!

Hope everyone is loving the summer! The summer temperatures in Iowa are awesome compared to Texas!

We have been living the mobile life to its fullest of late. I have not had solid internet connection for a long time. We left for a real vacation to Lake Poinsett in South Dakota on June 24th and returned to Sioux City to do our first Solar Seminar on June 29th. That’s right! We took several days off, IN A ROW, and hung out at a lake house. I grew up around Lake Poinsett and I have many memories of my grandparents there. I was so happy to have my family with me at my childhood lake. My brother Jeff lives in the area and he had his daughter Emma there all weekend. My mom even flew up from Austin to be with us!

On Saturday morning we all went to the Hamlin Church and put my dads ashes in the ground. He is now in his final resting place. The closure is an emotional relief for me. I am grateful that I could be there with my Grandma and my brother for this final ceremony.

My Dads Burial

Levi dropping off flowers for Memorial Day

We were in town over Memorial Day weekend and that was an amazing experience for us. There is quite a difference between spending Memorial weekend in a big city vs a small All American town. We went to a service at my grandparents cemetery. My Grandfather (my moms dad) was a Veteran and they had a large flag for each Veteran buried at this cemetery running along the perimeter. Each flagpole had a Veterans name on it.

Dempster Cemetery

We had a few meals with my uncle Howie and aunt Cathy while we were in town. So great to have a cook for an Aunt! We didn’t have internet service at the lake (a difficult gift) so we were forced to stop working most of the time. Richard did go to the local bar/restaurant to use the wifi a few times. I thought this was ironic as this is the same bar that my fathers alcoholism was probably established and my very long time sober husband was getting dropped off there for a few hours while I went to the playground with the kids.  Kind of weird! Richard even read part of a book that he had been wanting to read for awhile now called Abundance. It really was a great vacation. Topped off with S’mores by the campfire one night. Can’t get any better! On our way to Sioux City, we were able to meet my aunt Linda for lunch in Sioux Falls. I wish she hadn’t been on her own vacation. Then we would have been able to spend more time together but at least we were able to visit at the end of the trip.

Piper, Emma and Levi

Canoe ride!

Grandma with us by the lake!

Great Grandma and the girls

On to Sioux City for our first Solar Seminar. We stayed across the river, in Nebraska and our RV view was of a Casino Ship. At night it was all lit up and was a sight for the kids to stare at. Very nice stay there. Next, was Council Bluffs. We stayed at a Casino parking lot. The view was…concrete. The great thing about this tour is that we will get to see some great spots and the not so great spots are only for 24 hours! Richard put in a very long work day in Council Bluffs and I was starting to get a little cabin fever. Could it be the lack of internet? I’m useless for work with out it! I Google searched “things to do with kids” and found an hourly daycare at ANOTHER casino. I called the place and found out anyone can use the service and the casino had a coffee shop right upstairs from the daycare and they had free wifi. Yeah for internet! I decided it would be great to try to separate from the kids. The truth is, they have only been with me or family (that includes Cathy and Ryan as family). I have never left them with strangers before. I told the front desk that this was a separation experiment and that I would be right upstairs doing work. I called them at 45 min to check on them. They had put Levi in a separate room for little ones and Piper was to be in the big room with the older kids. The gal told me that Levi was a little upset so they asked Piper if she wanted to come be with Levi because he was having a hard time.  She was apparently very proud of her Big Sister Job and went and hung out with him for awhile. He calmed down right away and she was able to go back out to the bigger area. He calmed down because he found the dinosaur box. It really is his obsession…dinosaurs…all the time. So I told them I was going to let them stay for as long as they could handle it because I thought this was so healthy for all three of us. Then, about 15 minutes later, they call me. A toilet over flowed and for health regulation reasons all kids needed to be picked up. Ain’t that some sh*t! Oh well! Maybe it was a good thing that I picked them up before they missed me and went into meltdown. They were so happy to tell me about all the fun they had and it was such a positive experience. And it got me thinking….

My newest business plan for my someday future: Hourly drop off daycare in the same building as a coffee/bakery shop, massage, mani-pedi salon with free wifi. I would love a place to bring my kids that allows me to stay in the same building (because I’m that kind of control freak) and have any of these services available to me. So that is my someday plan, for now.

On to my here and today drama. Ticks! We went for a hike around our RV park yesterday afternoon and Piper ended up with a tick in her back. Last night while watching a movie I had one crawling down my arm. This morning, Levi had one attached to his arm. I gave them major scrub downs in the bath last night after we found Pipers. So Levi got his in the RV sometime. I have the creepy crawlies to no end and I don’t know what to do about it. I put nail polish on both of them and Piper’s just flaked off. After it was dead I pulled Levi’s off because his was in a spot that he could mess with. This morning I researched it better since clearly this is going to be a problem here and found I should not put anything on it Just pull them straight out! I have an uncontrollable urge to throw a fit and beg for my grandma like we use to as kids in South Dakota when we got ticks. She was a nurse and she would put her cigarette on them to make them back out. Not the approach I want to use on my kids but I do wish she was here so I wouldn’t have to deal with this. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

We will be here at the Newton, IA KOA until Monday night and then we will begin the Iowa tour until June 14th. This work schedule will be a long rough road. But we will survive and have fun doing it too!

Levi is ready to work!

My Dads headstone is complete and in place.  I will be planning another trip to South Dakota very soon to put his ashes in the ground.  We have decided to only have the preacher, Grandma, Jeff and I there.  We don’t feel a ceremony at this time is necessary. Here is his stone:

David Lee Jongeling

The back facing the street

Also, I updated the blog about his final days with a little bit more detail towards the end.  It was too painful to write it all before but I have found that writing this down has helped me heal more than I ever imagined.  Thank you to Rachelle and Jeff for allowing me to put something so personal out here on the web.

I drove almost 5 hours to South Dakota recently. Just me and the kids.  I arrived on Friday and returned late Sunday night. I had such a great time! I had dinner with my Grandma, brother Jeff, Emma and Emma’s mom Jamie on Friday night upon arrival.  On Saturday we went to Falls Park in Sioux Falls.  I had never been.  It was beautiful.

Levi in Falls Park

Anna, Andi, Emma and Piper in Falls Park

My Grandma!

After the park, we went on a Trolley ride around Downtown Sioux Falls.  Then….McDonald’s!

Lunch!

Sunday was a quadruple birthday party.  Cari, Jeremy, Jeff and Andi.  Loved being there for a Sonnenburg family event.  I haven’t been to many of them in the last 25 years! I did cut my trip short however due to the weather.  When everyone went home Sunday after the birthday affair, Piper was so very sleepy because she hadn’t napped in days because of all the excitement.  She was an exhausted mess and a storm was about to come through.  I hastily decided to make the drive that night with sleeping kids rather than the next morning in bad weather with bored kids.  On my way out of town, I stopped at Starbucks and bought the biggest strongest coffee I could.  My kids were asleep immediately and away we went. Um, until the grown up in the car realized why we should not chug down a large coffee at the start of a trip! Here I am, making great time, listening to MY music…and I really need to pee!  My sleeping angels will not wake no matter how loud I turn up the music.  By the time Piper woke and declared her tiny bladder finally needed relief I almost pulled to the side of the highway for the both of us! Luckily for everyone, there was a rest area near by.  We made it home safely and we were all very happy to be home with Daddy again.

I enjoyed getting to know Linda better.  I have a friend in food with her!  We swapped some recipes and I have already made two of them since I’ve been home.

I have to say, sometimes when eating one of these bars, I look down at it and say “DAMN this is SO good!” I am usually really good about pushing my sweet tooth off until late day but with these things…I’m convinced the nuts make this a healthy breakfast alternative!

I also tried Linda’s Chicken and Tortilla Soup…very tasty!

Chicken and Tortilla Soup

Richard and I get some interesting looks when we show people our “Find Friends” app on our iPhone.  It is an app that allows you to invite friends and unless they turn it off, you are then able to track them by the GPS in their phone.  It has been useful for us in situations where he is on a work phone call and I need to see if he is on his way home from work yet, or I’m meeting him in town and he is “watching” for me and comes out to help me unload the kids.  But, this time the app became very useful in a little motel in Altoona.

When my brother was here Easter weekend, he and Emma stayed in a motel one night just so we could have a pool to swim in.  On that Friday night, we were at the indoor pool having a great time.  Richard had put his phone down on a nearby table right when he walked in but Jeff and I unloaded our gear at another table in the opposite corner.  At some point another family came in.  Mom, Dad and two little kids and was met by a third adult lady.  They left before we did.  With Richards phone….

Well, Richard got my phone and started tracking his stolen phone.  He went to the front desk and they called the police.  The first cop came and they could see that is was on the far end of the building but the building was 3 stories high!  The front desk gal took the bottom floor, Richard the second and the cop was on the third.  Richard started to call his phone with my phone and heard it ringing on his floor!  He ran upstairs to tell the cop he knew the room it was in.  Thankfully a second cop had just arrived.  They knocked on the door right as Richard hit “call” on my phone.  It was only the one lady in the room.  She had her phone in her hand.  The cop says “Is that your phone?”  She replies that it is.  Just then, Richards phone starts to ring behind her.  The cop says “Is that also your phone?”  She claimed it was her brothers phone and he and his family had just left.  She knows nothing about this phone!  Richard said “That’s my phone from the pool.  I don’t care how you got it, I don’t want to press charges, just please give it back.”  Turns out this lady works there!  Crazy situation, I’m so happy it all turned out good for us.  Richard lives and works from his phone.

So, yes, it may be strange that we can track each other whenever we want to, but sometimes it is just the greatest app ever!

I have so much to share about my past week, but not tonight! Check back soon. Goodnight.

We made it to Altoona, IA without any problems!  Could it be because we had no dolly….?

Our new RV park in Iowa is very nice.  There is a little playground here so the kids are extra happy about that.  My brother from South Dakota has already come to visit over Easter weekend.

He brought his sweet daughter Emma along.  I love watching my kids play with their cousin.  We got to dye eggs, get pictures with the Easter Bunny and we had a little mini egg hunt here at the RV park.

Sweet Girls!

Oh my how I needed a little family visit!  It was sad to see them go.  However, I will be bringing the kids to Sioux Falls this coming Friday for a weekend visit.  I’m a little torn about leaving because our work here is getting very exciting and busy but the chance to see family is so hard when on the road. I’m happy to get the chance to go be in South Dakota for all the family April birthdays.  Easter Sunday we tried to get back to work but the holiday spirit was still with us and we went out and flew kites!

I am enjoying Iowa’s land and weather.  I thought I was going to miss the mountains in the horizon in Santa Fe and I do, but I am appreciating the true beauty of GREEN GRASS!  Not just the grass, but the rolling hills, crop fields and random ponds dispersed everywhere.  Iowa is gorgeous.

I am very disappointed in the recycling options around here.  I asked several people where I could drop off my stuff and they seriously had NO IDEA!  That means they don’t recycle at all….ever….REALLY!   I wish our company had time for a recycling push across the nation as well as the solar push.  If any of you out there want to start a business for good cause, I have an idea.  Go to major cities and have them pay you to educate the residents about recycling and then educate the businesses how to collect.  In Amarillo they have recycling bins in almost every grocery store and library parking lot.  I know major cities usually have a system for residential neighbors to pick up recycling on trash day, but what about the people who are traveling or don’t live in the city neighborhoods?  We need a relationship between the Waste Management and the commercial businesses.  There is a place here in town that has YOU pay to have them take your recycling from you.  I understand that the other pick up options are being paid through taxes or our city utility bills but with all the traveling I’ve done, this is the first time I have been asked to pay them something on the spot.  I did find my place for drop off after much searching.  I will be driving 20min east out of town to the landfill where they have 4 huge bins of one stream recycling.  So easy, except for the crazy drive out there.  These bins should be everywhere!!

Sarah has been here all week from Austin.  We are taking her to the airport today.  I’m going to miss her.  She is sweet, organized and a healthy addition to our work and friendship team.  We were so busy in Austin from the time she was hired in February until the day we left, I feel I didn’t get to know her very well.  After this week, I’m happy to say that I would choose my new co-worker to be my friend too.  It is really wonderful to work with your friends!

Also, my kids ask for Ryan everyday so I think it is time for him to come back. Piper told me last night that he has been working too much and it is time for him to come eat dinner with us.  She must think that he has been in an office somewhere for days just slaving away!  I told her he will be here next week and she sighed and said “BUT he is Levi and Cathy’s best friend and Levi loves him very, very much.  He needs to come here NOW!”

Off to enjoy spring!  Get out and play!!

Where to begin? Leaving Santa Fe Tuesday morning?  Well, I told everyone I was excited to get to OK City so I wanted to leave around 7am.  I woke up at 7:27am!  So, that didn’t happen!  I guess if I’m planning on leaving earlier than my kids naturally wake up, I better learn how to use an alarm again rather than expecting them to know my plans and think they will wake up according to my wishes!

We got about an 11/2hrs down the road when we decided we should stop and fix our broken windshield wipers.  It was a wet day and the lack of working wipers was going to become a problem.  Cathy and Ryan were following us in the work van pulling the Airstream.  Apparently, when we parked our RV at the gas station, Ryan and Cathy noticed our DAMN DOLLY tire looked crooked!  Oh no, not a flat this time….the wheel axle detached from the wheel.  I don’t know if that is a proper description or not but in Ryan’s words when he came into the RV to tell me about it “Um, your dolly tire is f@ck@d up, I mean REALLY f’ed up.”  GREAT!!  Have I ever expressed how much I HATE this dolly?  We hobbled over across the street to a tire shop.  We had them check our back RV wheels too because the ride felt a little rough.  AND that same tire from the mountains flat coming to Santa Fe from Park City was flat again.  The guy determined it was a bad valve and replaced the valve and we are hoping to not have that problem again.  The dolly was going to cost several hundreds of dollars to fix and we had to wait for parts from Albuquerque.  We opted to leave the piece of junk there for them to have.  Yeah! No more dangerous dolly!  So, Cathy rode ahead of us to Amarillo in our van to hunt down an unavailable part for our wipers.  Ryan drove the work van and us in our now dolly free RV and away we went 2 hours later!  My very kind family hosted Shelley and Sarah at their house (whom they had never met) while we tried to get there before midnight.  We made it at about 10:30 and my aunt still had dinner warming in the oven for us. Man how I love my family!  We were back on the road by 8am the following morning.  Certainly not the visit I was wanting with my family but still happy for the little time I had with them.