OK... up to this point Cindi gets all the credit for this incredible blog.  But with her out of town this past weekend I had to plan the social calendar and now report the day's events.  The highlight of the weekend was the INDIANAPOLIS 500!  But before I get to Sunday I have to give a brief recap of Friday and Saturday.  Friday we (me and 3 sleepers) dropped Cindi at the airport at 5 am then back to get some more shut-eye at, this time, a Sam Club (can't always stay just at WalMarts).  I hate to say it but the remainder of the day was pretty much boring.  We did a bunch homeschool then errands including the bank, BlockBuster, Home Depot, the grocery store then ended up at an RV Park in Indianapolis called Lake Haven Retreat.  Sounded good but, not so good especially because it had rained and the gounds were "muddy."  Incredibly this was the first real day it had rained on us since we started this adventure a month ago.

With me at the helm again planning the social calendar Saturday was well... not too exciting.  I did find a $1.25 movie theater.  So we took in a double feature like when I was a kid.  We saw "Horton Hears a Who" and "College Road Trip" (I know what some of you are thinking, College Road Trip??  No it is not an R-rated fraternity flick.  It is actually a G-rated Disney movie for the whole family).  The day ended with a good night sleep at the W Hotel.  Oops,  I mean the WM.

RACE DAY!  I have to admit I'm not the biggest track fan but I definitely could not pass up the opportunity to take my boys to the INDY 500, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."  I did grow up watching it on TV and remember names like A.J.Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears (all 4 time winners).  This event is HUGE.  My point of reference is the Rose Bowl where over 100,000 people attend.  The 500 has between 300,000 and 400,000 at the track!  Tanner, Sterling, Peyton and I all purchased general admission tickets so we were free to roam the inside of the 2.5 mile track.  We planted it in a great spot near turn 1 where we watched the military unraveled a gigantic USA flag right in front of us.  Then 4 jets came screaming by right above us.  It's times like these when you feel proud to be an American!  We moved around over the next 3 hours to get different views of the race and cars.  The kids all picked there favorite cars including WiiFIT, Indiana Jones (Marco Andretti), McDonalds and Target.  The buzz during the race was mostly about Danica Patrick, who started 5th and was doing well in her GoDaddy car until another top 10 driver ran into her in the pit area.  She was not happy about the altercation which got a lot of press the next day.  For those of you who are "Dancing with the Stars" fans, Helio Castroneves in the Team Penske car eventually finished 4th.  Did I mention these rocket cars are LOUD, jetting by at over 220mph?  Now I know why every booth sells ear plugs and headsets.  The eventual winner of the 92nd Indy race was Scott Dixon, a New Zealander in a Target car, who actually started in the poll position.  With the win he pocketed a record $2.98 million.  The kids including me had a great day which was ultimately finished off by picking up mommy at the airport then driving to Fort Wayne for a get motivated show.  ...Nights at the Hyatt are oh so appreciated. 

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Hey everyone, sorry about the long delay in posts.  Over the weekend I was in DC for my cousin's weeding and Dave was in Indianapolis with the kids at the Indy 500.  He is going to write a blog on his weekend and post it sometime today.  I'm going to fill you in on my weekend and the last few days as well.   First, I have to tell you that if you have been trying to reach me on my cell I'm not trying to ignore you.  My cell is still in DC...long story!  I will have it back in about a week.  

Last Friday morning. I got in to Washington National Airport at 7:40 am and caught a shuttle to the hotel.  I stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn in Virginia.  It was a really nice hotel.  The free breakfast was the best free breakfast I have had.  I hung out with my Aunt Annette, Uncle Steve, cousin Dina , her husband Daniel and their adorable son Brandon for a while before heading over to see the groom (my cousin Alan).  It was so great seeing everyone!  I absolutely adore the whole Springer Family and am so blessed to be so close with them all.  I was also so excited to hang with Brandon. I hadn't seen him since his 1st birthday (he is 2 and a half now) and I so enjoyed getting to see him and his so sweet personality.  He is soooo cute....I would post a picture but the only pictures I have are stuck in my phone which is with my aunt in DC.  Well after breakfast I got to go visit with my cousin Alan as he was working on a video for the rehearsal dinner.  Alan and I have very similar personalities and we have always been really close.  We are both very sarcastic so we constantly give each other a hard time.  I really enjoyed visiting with him and hanging out with him and his friends over the weekend.  

Well, to make a long weekend short...The rehearsal dinner was fabulous!  The video my cousin made was outstanding...the best pre wedding video I have ever watched.  He is a 2 time Emmy nominated producer for a sports show so I guess I knew it would be awesome.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  Lauren (the bride) looked amazing and Alan made quite the groom.  The wedding was in the Ritz Carlton so you can imagine how nice it was.  I would tell you about the reception, but I had to leave after the ceremony and catch a plane to Indianapolis so I missed it.  My flight was at 9:10 and I really didn't want to leave the wedding so I didn't get into a cab till 8:30!  That's when I lost my phone...I was in such a hurry getting out of the cab and into the terminal that I dropped my phone in the cab.  Surprisingly, I made my flight and after a lot of phone calls to cab company my phone was located.  I had the cab driver bring it to my Aunt at the Ritz and she is going to ship it to me...Yeah!  

The reason I had to rush away from the wedding was I had to work in Fort Wayne, Indiana at 7 am Monday and the only flight that would get me there before that time was the 9:10 pm flight which was right at the start of the reception!  Dave and the boys and the RV picked me up at the airport and we all drove to Fort Wayne.  We have spent the last 2 days at the Hyatt Place.  I have worked and they have had a chance to catch up on home school, and relax and swim.  I forgot to mention, Dave and I also were blessed with a golf game while in Fort Wayne.  It was really nice to hang with my friends and have a break from the kids.

Indianapolis, Indiana

Good evening race fans!  Yes that is right!  We are in Indianapolis during the Indy 500 weekend!  What a lucky coincidence.  Dave is going to see if he can get tickets.  I am flying to Washington DC tomorrow to be a witness to my cousin Alan's wedding.  

I guess I need to start from the beginning of the day.  We drove from Illinois to Indianapolis this morning.  We stopped at a rest stop so the kids could burn off some steam.  We arrived in Indianapolis around 1:00 p.m and went to the Apple/Mac store to see if we could get one of my old Macs fixed.  We found out we could but it will cost us an arm and a leg! So we are back to one computer :( We then went to the Homegoods store in search of some new towels and a vinyl table clothe (we had a gift certificate).  We then really wanted Italian food but didn't want to spend any money.  Thank goodness for Pop and Dee Dee and a great Macaroni Grill Gift Certificate they gave us for Christmas.  Yum, Yum....thanks Pop and Dee Dee!  After a great dinner we went decided to drive to our favorite place to sleep the night....Walmart!  

I'll post pics when I have a chance to download.

Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois

This morn Dave and I took a jog around the campground.  I have a love hate relationship with running.  I love the wind caressing my face as I swiftly glide by serene nature surrounding me in every direction.  I love the quiet, yet its not at all quiet, it is filled with the sounds of life.  The birds and squirrels enjoying their daily routines.  The trees swaying in the breeze.  The water rushing in the distance.  I love looking at the oddities of nature, for instance we noticed these weird roots that would come up from the ground and then curve and twist their way back up the trunk of the tree's as if they were desperate for one glimpse of sunlight.  I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when my run is over and I know I did something healthy for my body.  I think I could be quite passionate about running if I didn't feel as if I was carrying a pregnant elephant on my shoulders the whole run.  Also, when I mentioned the quiet, peaceful sounds of nature I forgot to mention that I can hardly hear them because of the overpowering sound of my lungs sucking in and out as I try to get one ounce of air. Not to mention that the birds and the squirrels are probably not enjoying their daily routines with the sounds and sight of a wheezing, stumbling, giant thundering through their once peaceful homes.  They are most likely collecting their valuables and running for their lives.  Oh well, at least I went for a jog!

After that lovely run we did a bunch of home school, had lunch and all enjoyed a hot shower at the campground showers.  We finally hit the road around 3 pm.  We drove thru tennessee, Missouri and are now in Illinois (10 pm).  We drove so much because we have to be in Indianapolis by 5 am Friday.  I have to catch a plane to Washington DC to watch my 'cous' Alan get married.  we did stop for 2 hours at a rest stop so that we could watch the Americ

an Idol Finale.  The whole time I prayed that our RV battery wouldn't die until I saw the results.  Congrats David (if you didn't see it I didn't give it away since both finalists are named David).  

Thought of the day:  The hardest part about being away is not being able to take everyone you love with you.  We really do miss you all and  are so glad that you are following along with us on this journey through our blog.  

Meeman-Shelby State Park Millington, Tennessee

Dave's house he lived in when he was 4

Memphis, Tennessee

Sorry I didn't post again yesterday but once again the campground we stayed at was in the middle of nowhere and we did not get Internet.  So this post is for Tuesday.

We drove into Tennessee and immediately went to the Memphis Visitor center.  You can always find a bunch of info at the visitor center.  We decided to walk through town and go to the Peabody hotel and watch the ducks march from the roof, though the elevator to the fountain.  We were not alone in this idea of viewing the ducks.  About 200 of our not so close friends were blocking our view of the cute little waddle the ducks make on their way to the fountain.

We did find a little space behind the fountain in which we got a somewhat blocked view.  The ducks were cute but I don't think they are worth the hype.  Did you know how this tradition started?  Well back in the 30's the general manager at that time Frank Schutt and his hunting buddies were quite drunk and thought it would be funny to leave their hunting decoys (live ducks) in the fountain.  Well to their surprise the ducks were still in the fountain in the morning.  Not only were the ducks enjoying themselves so was a crowd of people that had formed to watch the ducks.

 This gave Frank an idea about how to attract guests and from that day on the ducks became a Peabody tradition.  

After the Peabody we walked to Beale st.  It was pretty quiet since it was the middle of the day, but it was still cool to see.  We walked back to the RV and then drove by Medronic head quarters to see where Dave use to work.  After that drive by tour we ate lunch at the famous Interstate BBQ.  It as quite yummy, but way to filling.  We then drove by Graceland (you couldn't see much since we did not go in) but we did see two of Elvis's private planes.  We also took another drive by tour of the house that Dave lived in when he was 4.  It was very quaint in a very green, peaceful neighborhood.  Finally, we decided to stay at Meeman-Shelby State Park in Millington, Tennessee.  This was another beautiful state park with lots of tree's and wildlife.  I really like staying at state p

arks because they are usually a lot more spacious and relaxing.  The only downfall is that you usually don't get Internet or phone reception.  We also did not get cable so I missed American Idol!!  I'll watch tonight.  

Bob Sandlin State Park

I tried to post last night but when we switched campsites the new site did not get Internet.  So here it is now!  First, thanks again for your comments we love to read them.  Teri, I did not realize that your  boot camp was in San Antonio.  That must have been hell!  It is very hot and sticky in Texas.  Plus you get frizzy hair :)  

Bob Sandlin State park is beautiful.  It is overgrown with thick, full green tree's and sits on a fairly large lake.  The campsites are spacious and shady!  It reminded me a lot of Lake Almanor.  I have had a lot of good memories there and this campground brought those back.  I really enjoyed running in the morning through the trees.  It is very peaceful and gives you a lot of time to think and pray.  Dave managed to get a run in too! (Dave made me put that)

  We drove over to a swimming and fishing area.  The kids tried to fish, but didn't catch anything (probably because we were using lures while everyone else was using live bate).  Dave and the kids went swimming (actually I sat on the shore and took pics).  The kids had a blast playing king of the dock and throwing each other off.  We liked this campground so much we decided to stay another night.  So we switched sites to a lake front site.  The kids lo

ved this because they could fish right from our site.  They did not catch any fish

 but they did find a turtle.  We made a campfire and had smores. 

Tip of the Day:

We go through tons of drinks!  We have been buying Snapple's, Gatorade's, Water, Capresun and juices.  Well, that gets pricey on a budget (Snapple is $15 a case).  So I decided to buy a few big things of different flavored (lemonade. raspberry tea, apple juice concentrate, etc) powder drink mix and a 2 gallon dispenser and I make a huge thing of lemonade (or whatever).  I then fill all the empty water bottles, Gatorade bottles and Snapple bottles with the mix and put them in the fridge and freezer (comes in handy when we go on hikes...stays cold).  I have determined it costs me about $3 a case to do it that way, and the kids like it just as much.

Dallas, Texas

This morning Dave ran (yes literally ran) to Home Depot and got supplies to hang the new flat screen TV.  After his return we worked on it till 2 p.m. and finally got it hung.  Good Job Dave!  After we left the camp ground we drove through Dallas.  We went by the by spot where President JFK was assassinated.  We saw the window on the 6Th floor where Lee Harvey Oswald sat and fired that fatal shot.  We also saw the 2 X's on the ground which mark the 2 spots where JFK was hit.  JFK was shot 7 years before I was born, but I could still feel a swell in my throat when I drove on the same road that ended the life of  our 35 Th President.  It was such a devastating thing to happen to such a great man.

We are now staying at Lake Bob Sandlin State Park

.  We drove in at night so could not see the whole campground, but it looks really great.  

Thought of the day:  Patience is definitely a gift from God, but you have to ask for it 

to get it.   It's much harder to use than to lose, and once it is lost it is hard to find. Patience is also easier to use if you have practiced it.  You would think that in a small space things would be easier to find but patience is much harder!  I guess what I am trying to say is that I have asked for God to grant me the gift of Patience because I keep seeming to lose mine. 

Six Flags over Texas, Arlington

We went to Six Flags and had a great day!  We are getting full use of our season passes.  The whole day only cost $8 (one funnel cake and one ice cream in honor of Sterling's birthday last week) we ate lunch in the RV and brought in our own drinks and snacks. This Six Flags was a lot fun.  There are a lot of big coasters.   The only downfall was that it was very busy due to a lot of graduating kids celebrating the end of the school year.  We decided to stay in Dallas another night. 

Tip of the Day:  If you take your kids clothes and roll them up in outfits (shirt, shorts, underwear and socks) they take up a lot less space and the kids outfits will actually match!  

Austin, Texas

Today we decided to go downtown Austin.  First we visited the Austin Children's Discovery Museum (which was free due to our family membership to the Exploratorium)  I love Children's museums because it's the one museum I don't have to keep saying, "don't touch that!  Quiet!  No running!  Keep away from the exhibits."  At this museum the kids are encouraged to touch and play with everything!  The kids loved it!  The funny thing was I think Dave had more fun then the boys.  Every time I turned the corner he was at another exhibit building, solving and playing.  After the museum we went to the University of Texas and bought Sterling a football (he is collecting them).  We then decided we had to find a cheap place to get diesel.  Everywhere we had driven by was between $4.25 to $4.49  a gallon.  So I looked on gasbuddy.com and found a place for $3.99!  We thought it must be a mistake (we had found other mis-prices in the past),  so we called and to our surprise they confirmed the price.  Well, when we arrived we realized that our RV was too tall to fit.  We don't give up that easily!  I guided Dave forward and the workers weren't too happy with us, but we were determined to save money on gas (see pic).  After gas we headed to Dallas!  Everyone may be surprised, but I drove the Big Rig from Austin to Dallas.  I was pretty freaked out at first going through town, but relaxed a little on the freeway (until the construction wall was directly on my right and a huge truck was pressing on my left...AUGH!).  You probably don't think I have any experience driving a big rig but I have actually driven one of our big moving trucks before and had a very good experience doing so :).   Even with my little experience driving the big RV it is definitely intimidating.  Well, we made it to Dallas alive and we are staying in Treetops RV Village in Arlington.

New Braunfels and Gruene, Texas

Last night their was a huge thunder and lightning storm.  I love storms and it was even louder in the RV.  This morning we bought some rafts (at Walmart) and headed to Landa Park to float down the Comal River.  This is the thing to do in this little German town.  On the river there are chutes for your intertube to go through.  It's kinda like water slides along the river.  It was a lot of fun.  We floated for an hour and a half and then walked back up to the part with the chute and did it 4 or 5 more times.  I took pictures but with a waterproof non-digital camera so I can't post them.  After we finished being drowned rats we got back in the RV and headed to Gruene.  This was such a quaint European looking town.  We really liked it!  We went to the famous Gristmill River Restaurant which is located in the ruins of the 129 year old cotton gin on the banks of the Guadalupe River.  It is a very unique and beautiful restaurant with it's many decks nestled in the trees overlooking the river.   We sat outside on one of the decks and we were really enjoying the view, but unfortunately some other wildlife was enjoying it too.  First, Peyton let me know of a lurking cat nearby.  Everyone that knows me well knows that I am afraid of cats, kittens or anything that resembles a cat or kitten (My biggest nightmare would be stuck in a room, house or country alone with multiple cats).  The sad thing is the kids know how bad my fear is and are always on the lookout for the vicious, four legged beasts.  Well, that's not what made us move from the deck, it was another little pest "the bee."  It is funny how such a small little insect can cause so much fear in my normally tough children.  The bee liked their soda and decided to take a seat on the lid.  The bee would sit and the boys would get up and flee.  After a few times of this repeated, commotion we decided to move inside.  The view from the huge wood shutters was just as impressive.   After dinner we were leaving the restaurant and saw the biggest truck ever.  The question is why?  But this is Texas and they say everything is BIG in TEXAS.  We left Gruene and drove to Austin and are in a campground.  There is a huge tornado watch in the neighboring communities.  We will let you know if we see any effects of the tornado in the morn.