Random Brain Cell Firings

Today was an incredibly busy day at work.  I felt like the longer I stayed, the farther behind I got!!!  That said I am still thankful for my job.  It can be frustrating and I think part of my issue has been that in 3 weeks, I will be there for one year and I feel like I have just barely touched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to learning what I need to know!!!  In the past by this point in a job I have felt really comfortable.  Sure I learned new things, but didn't feel like I had miles to go!  Working for a large company has been quite interesting also.  All this said, I am SO thankful the Lord gave me this job.  I really enjoy going to work, may want to go home after I see what the day brings, but that is pretty rare.  :o)  I am sure that at some point I will stop feeling like my brain is going to come out of my ears.  :)

The above is a big part of why my poor blog has been so neglected.  I don't have the time or brain power to think of a post. 

From the mouth of babes

Today we went out and were placing fliers on doors for a new website our church has created.  We were in a rather wealthy section of town with HUGE houses.  My girls were pretty amazed at the houses.  They kept asking "does one family live in this house."  I would say yes, and then we would go to an even bigger one and once again, they'd ask and I'd say "yes."  You could tell they were trying to wrap their brains around living in a house as big as these.  I said, "I guess you are thinking you were born into the wrong family."  "K" said, "they probably don't get to go to church."  "E" said "and it is often hard for rich people to get saved because they don't think they need God."  Needless to say, I was pretty happy with the way they handled this.  We also saw 3 deer crossing the road while we were out.  We also met our goal of 50+ houses.  :)

Wednesday-Sunday, October 6-10, 2010

We left the hotel and drove by hubby's old house and neighborhood.  We then ate breakfast at Fritz's restaurant where Mike ate as a kid.  It has a train that runs on a track and brings your food to your table.  The kids really enjoyed that!  We then drove to my Aunt and Uncle's in Missouri.

We spent the next several day there.  They live on a farm, so the kids enjoyed riding paddle boats on their pond, driving their gater, and catching bull frogs in the pond.   We also had a big family get together and we got to see cousins and aunts we haven't seen in some time.  It was great to catch up with them.  The kids were also able to ride in a combine and tractor and see all the machinery.  We also went to a homecoming parade.  It was great to just relax for awhile with family. 

We drove to Minneapolis on Saturday, ate dinner with some friends while the kids and my sister swam.  We dropped my sister off at the airport on Sunday and headed home. 
Overall, a wonderful vacation, but still nice to be home!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

We ate breakfast at the hotel which had better waffles than the waffle house and they were even shaped like Texas!  We drove through Oklahoma and up to Kansas.  We spent the night in Kansas City at a hotel with a water park!!!  The kids and adults really enjoyed the slides.

Monday, October 4, 2010

We packed up our rather wet tent and headed out across New Mexico.  We went through Albuquerque and saw the Rio Grande.  We stayed the night in Amarillo Texas.  We ate dinner at a Waffle House, which really didn't make very good waffles.  However, hubby enjoyed the bacon cheese burger--ironic, huh!

This day was mainly driving. 

Sunday, October 3, 2010

We started off the day at the Grand Canyon Baptist Church that meets in one of the buildings at the Grand Canyon.  There were several Mule deer that walked across our path right in front of us.  We then went out to the west again and stopped at several stops along the way.  Again, it was amazing to see the beauty of each spot and the ways the canyon is so different from each spot.

We went to Flagstaff for church and we went to a church that is just starting.  We found kindred spirits at this church and really enjoyed meeting the people and the service was great.  On our way to and from Flagstaff, we drove through the Coconino national forest and through some mountains. 

There was quite a thunder storm in the middle of the night.  We also heard coyotes and elk calls.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

 Hubby, "Z," and my sister hiked down about 1.5 miles into the canyon on the "Bright Angel Trail."  They had a nice time.  The rest of us took a shuttle out west.  I didn't think "E" would be up to serious hiking after her bout with the stomach flu.  We hiked along the rim and got some great pictures.

We met up after lunch and took the shuttle out to the West and stopped at several points along the way.  It is amazing to see all the different ways the canyon can look. 

We also had a huge elk herd come through our campground, literally across the road from our campsite.  There were probably 30+ elk, including one huge buck with a huge rack.  We also saw a stellar jay, dessert spiny lizard.  We also got to watch the sunset.