Never a Dull Moment

Six kids, 100 degrees, almost half way home, no water, no food, in the middle of nowhere...... this was our great adventure. It is almost humorous today but no so much yesterday. Our 8 hour trip ended up taking us 12.5 hours to get home. We are lucky that no one was hurt. When the tire blew it took out our coolant hose and we lost all of the fluid. We were not prepared. We called the insurance and the closest tow they could send was 70 miles out. And then what would we do with six kids. So we drove as far as we could with the heater on high until the engine would over heat and then we would coast. We finally found this exit that looked like one of those places you see in a horror movie that no one survives. There was an abandoned gas station that had water (it smelled horrible). We filled the van and started off again. However, the van continued to overheat. So once again we were driving as far as we could. The van was not happy and finally would not cool down at all. We pulled over again and Jay finally was able to clear out the pump line and the van started working. We were 17 miles out of Blythe, AZ. We figured we would stop there for the night. However, since we were working we just headed out and drove. Luckily we made it home and not too much worse for the wear.

Disneyland was a blast!! I am going to figure out how to make a slide show for more pictures later. I have always loved Disneyland but there is something about seeing it through the eyes of a little one that just makes it so much better. We could not have had as much fun if Grandma Nese and Grandpa Bruce had not been there with us though. I definitely needed the extra sets of hands. Thanks for coming with us!!!!
The older boys still think the fast rides are the best. And this year the little ones just loved all the rides. We did talk Grandma into riding Big Thunder Mountain. I think she thought she was going to die and we hear Nathan tell her, "I love this ride." We all got a good giggle out of that. Poor Cassie was feeling under the weather with a terrible cough but bless her little heart she did not complain she just kept going with a smile.

We had a great party with Mickey and Minnie Mouse that was really fun. Our Aunt Jeanne and cousin Mykee joined us and everyone thought that was great too.

One the way home we were able to stop and spend the night with our Uncle Bert and Aunt Sue. We also got to see our Debis. The kids love them all. We do miss having them up the street from us. They have promised to come and see us for Thanksgiving and we are hoping that does come to pass.

Each time we take a trip I learn things that will make the next trip easier on all of us. This time I learned to always pack water, don't go to Disneyland on Saturdays, and take more pictures. Thanks again to everyone who helped us have a very fun and great trip. It was great to see everyone and get away even for a short time. :>