back into Missouri...

May 14th.....Get your KICKS on Route 66......we got ours....

shopping at the Trading Post.....

.....drove from Springfield IL through Missouri....stopped at the Mule Trading Post and had fun seeing all of the Route 66 and mule items....we have been driving on the historic "Mother Road" and it was fun picking nostalgic items to remember our little trek on the road when we stopped at the Mule Trading Post...total tourist stop complete with chotcky items...you know keychains, tshirts, magnets, weird funny signs, salt n pepper shaker sets with elvis on them?!{?!...........the big girls had to go potty and they ran to the restrooms only to find that the bathroom had two toilets with no partitions or doors....hmmmm, oh well you go when you gotta go!! We all laughed soooo hard over this one!!

potty break for two??? weird!!

we love Cracker Barrel after visiting them in Nashville... 

We are enjoying all of the signage that we pass on this journey/trek....some are silly, hokey, informational, and some downright inspirational.  I love ALL of the many billboards that we have seen that have bible verses, church information, challenging questions, and powerful messages.  Today I have seen many with anti-abortion messages and great bible verses, WOW, totally AWESOME!!!!!  This is one of my favorites.....do we need anything else???  The answer is NO!!  Wouldn't it be great to see this in Sonoma County or anywhere in California, for that matter????

He is the One, the Only, the Way.....

A few days ago, Tim jokingly said "Tell Fort Leonard Wood hi for me"....my response was, "haha, we aren't going there".  When Tim was in the Army, he trained here at Fort Leonard Wood Army Base....well, today I realized as I looked at our route that we were indeed going to be driving right through Fort Leonard Wood.  So, we veered off the highway for about 3 miles to get a quick pic for Daddy.  We pulled into the Visitor Center parking lot and jumped out to get our token pic.  I left the kids at the sign and ran back to get my phone to take a pic to text to Tim and as I approached the RV on one side, around the other came about 5 Army MPs looking very suspiciously at me.  I offered an innocent explanation for our stop and the one in charge blatantly demanded if I was taking pictures of the front gate....I hadn't even noticed the front gate! All was well when they realized that I was just a goofy tourist aimed only at the sign.  It was a little uncertain for a moment there!! What I won't endure for a picture!!

Saluting you, Daddy....

On to Kansas......we drove to Independence to see the Little House on the Prairie Museum that is on the original site where Ma, Pa, Mary, Laura and Carrie came when they left Wisconsin.  We drove for many hours in the middle of nowhere, it seemed but finally we arrived.  At the site, there is a recreated log house just like the one that Laura lived in here on this property.  The original has long since been destroyed by time, weather and neglect.  There are also two historical buildings that were not present on this actual property but from surrounding areas here.  There is a school building and a post office.  Both buildings are authentic to the time period and have been perfectly maintained and used until the 1900's.  Also, to the rear of the property is the original, hand dug well that Pa painstakingly hewed out of the earth to provide fresh water for his family.  As you gaze out across the street across from the log cabin, you can see the wheat waving in the light breeze, just as Laura did.  This site made the books come to life, they are not just dusty land in Kansas anymore.  Fun stop!! 

The Ingalls family lived in a cabin just like this one...

From there, we drove  12 miles to the south to see a little bit of Oklahoma....we ate dinner at the Sonic drive in there, yummy shakes!!! Christian ate an entire double burger, fries and an orange vanilla cream slush and guess what, he was still hungry!!!  I think he has grown taller on the trip, he is looking me in the eye...

great shakes and burgers....the kids had never eaten at a drivein before...

Hello Oklahoma....

a beautiful sunset in Kansas....no hills so you see the entire setting sun...

Now, we get to the best part of Kansas......my 1/2 sister, Kara, and her family! We drove another 2 1/2 hours to get to Whitewater, KS and arrived to great hugs and kisses! Some of you may know that when I turned 35 I discovered that I had an older 1/2 sister.  This was such an unexpected blessing and she and I have both enjoyed getting to know each other.  Of  course, being separated by 1,790 miles and 3 states doesn't exactly help us to see each other often.   It has been 6 years since our last time together and I have really been looking forward to these few days that we will be spending with them.  Even though we were not raised together, we have a tremendous amount in common and this visit has been highly anticipated by my children and I.  The kids have met Kara 8 years ago, but not the rest of her family, so it was fun to introduce them...they hit it off immediately.  Amanda is the older cousin that Maddie has always wanted!  She is 3 years older and lots of fun.  The two of them have been friends on facebook for awhile, so meeting in person was the icing on the cake.  Kale is a big boy, literally!  He is 16 and shaped like a man, but he has the sense of humor and kid-like antics that are fun for Christian and Gracie, especially.  Again, he and Maddie have been friends on facebook so they were  instant buddies.  He is a sweet young man and I am so glad to be able to finally meet him.  I am sooo happy to be here, I have wanted to meet Amanda and Kale for 9 years now and I am so blessed by it finally happening.  The kids love Uncle Mark and I am glad to see him again, also.  I met Mark when we met up in Las Vegas 6 years ago.  The next few days are going to be great!!!