Day 273: This is NOT Fun

We arrived at Molly and Nate's house about 6:30am, and promptly went to sleep. An hour later Molly popped in and said she was leaving for her 5k race.  This meant I was getting up to watch the boys and get them ready to watch Mommy cross the finish line.  -yawn-

Nate drove us all there and we were all unprepared for how cold it was.  Declan was pretty intrigued by all of the runners and Cash did a great job yelling "Run Mommy Run!"  We watched Molly's wave start but didn't see her in the crowd, then took a shortcut to the finish line.  The boys were sad and we were running out of steam when Molly crossed the finish line with a time of 34:28.  Nate's sister, Kristyn finished about 7 minutes before that.  Then getting back to the car took us another 15 minutes, brrrr!

By the time we got home, my throat pain was getting much worse.  I helped Molly with some cake decisions and decorated the cake board, and Nate took Eric to the golf course for some driving. Eventually I took a nap and ended up sleeping for the rest of the night. I had a fever that spiked at 103.2, and medicine wasn't bringing it below 102.

Molly, Nate, and Eric went to a benefit dinner for people going to Africa to teach people how to use computers.  They tried some beer and wine from around the world, ate some somewhat Americanized versions of African meals, saw traditional dancers, and a play about the way of life of Kenyans.  After they got home I woke up long enough to eat a popsicle and ask them how it was, then everyone headed to bed.

Cash was alternating between cheering for Mommy and crying because he was cold or bored. 

There goes Molly! 

Molly said she felt like she was really going to throw up when she crossed the finish line, because when she saw us she sprinted the last leg of it. 

She was really excited about the sign, which I made in the car (in the dark) at about 2am last night.  We were the only people with a sign! 

Dec and Eric chilling. 

I was sleeping like Andrew, with my hands behind my head.  So sick that I wasn't even concerned with exposed armpits! 

The guy on the right looks like Eric!  Hmmm, have you been to Kenya before? 

The fruit display at the benefit dinner. 

Goat leg - Molly, Nate, and Eric all liked it.

Day 272: 13+ Hours of Driving

Today was pretty eventful!  Eric's front brakes have been squeaking occasionally for a few weeks, and we knew it would be best to get them checked before we went on vacation.  He took the car in at about 9am and it took them until after 1pm to get finished.  Luckily the repair place is close to my work, so he was able to walk to my work and borrow my car for his pre-Michigan errands.

After work, he picked me up and we went to pick up our "hitchhiker", Justin.  We found him through an ad on craigslist, and planned to save a little on gas money by giving him a ride to St. Louis.  We had to stop to pick Eric's car up from the shop, and then in Eudora to say goodbye to the kitties and pack up Eric's car.  Next we stopped at Mom and Alan's house to pick up some gifts for Declan, and to leave a house key with cat-sitter-Ashley.  Our last stop before really starting the trip was at Papa's, to pick up a book for Molly.  Then we were on the highway!

We made good time and I slept most of the way to St. Louis.  One of the best parts of that stretch was the KU game.  We lost reception for the last 10 minutes of the game, but Justin got a text from one of his friends confirming our win.  I texted Alan anyway asking for the final score because we missed it.  This is what the rest of the conversation looked like:

Alan:Ku 75 Bu 76  ten seconds left

Me: Yikes!

Mom: I can't believe it

Mom: I thought you were smarter than that

Mom: 72 53

Me: OF COURSE I'm smarter than that!  Our hitchhiker got the score on his phone and I wanted to see what Alan would say :)

Mom: Lol

Alan: You suck

Alan: And so does your hitchhiker

Deb: I wondered why you didn't ask us.

Alan: Eric is ok

Me: He says "YES!"

Our parents were out to dinner at D'Bronx, so this was entertainment for everyone!  It was quick and easy dropping Justin off at Union Station in St. Louis, and then Eric and I took a walking break to visit the arch.  It very pretty at night, especially with a cloudy moon.  The worst part of the trip would have been the sudden sore throat that attacked me.  We had to stop at a Walgreens for medicine, a drink, and cough drops.  Bleh!

Eric kept driving after St. Louis...until 2am!  He drove for 10 straight hours, madness!!!  I barely made it the last three and a half hours, but we made it to Michigan around 6:30am - hooray!

What an awesome sight!

While searching for parking, the GPS told us to turn right on "road".  This ended up being the 42 stairs up to the arch from the riverfront road, ha!

You can't tell, but the Arch is behind us!

Another cool picture of the Arch.

Day 271: Preparing the House

Tomorrow we'll be leaving for Michigan, which means tonight we clean the house!  Eric took his car to get an oil change and air in his tires today, then cleaned out his car during work.  Tomorrow morning Eric is getting his brakes checked at going to the car wash to clean up his baby.  Tonight we made sure the house and litter box are clean - dishes, vacuuming, and general clean up.  As well as getting all of the laundry cleaned, folded, hung up, and put away, and packing our clothes for the trip.

This time tomorrow we'll be passing through St. Louis!  Yea!

Oh yea, and today is St. Patrick's Day!  My students and I watched the Lawrence parade on our "Cable in the Classroom" program on my computer.

Day 270: Starving Cats

Oh man, you would think we never feed the cats!  They eat 1/3 cup of cat food in the morning and at night - but as soon as Addy's bowl is empty it looks like she is going to die of hunger.  Addy has a habit of cuddling with her bowl.  She lays down and rolls around her bowl, touching it with her paw repeatedly to "check" if there is food in it yet, lays her head in the bowl, and rubs her face all over the food box.  Poor kitties...

Where's the food?!

So...weak...from...hunger...

Day 269: Stir Fry!

Since we bought our 25 pound bag of jasmine rice, we've been trying to cook more rice dishes.  We are still working to figure out the right proportion of water to rice, but we'll get it soon!  Mom sent me a Spark People recipe for Sesame Chicken a few weeks ago, and we finally made it tonight.  My favorite!  We added scallions to the Sesame Chicken, and also made stir fry veggies with onions, broccoli, carrots, and red peppers.

Netflix got us in trouble tonight - we stayed up until nearly 1am and I have an early IEP meeting at school tomorrow...oops! 

The flavors weren't really complimentary, but it was still delicious!

Day 268: Winter Attempts To Linger

UGH!  It has been in the 60's and 70's this weekend, and last night we dropped back down below zero and got 2-4 inches of snow before I left for school!  By the afternoon, spring was fighting back and raised the temperature to 45 degrees and melted almost all of the snow.  Hooray!

As the snow melted, it slid down the handrail and zig-zagged!

Day 267: Spring Is On The Way!

After church - Eric, Ashley, and I went out to find the very first buds making an appearance on Grammy's tree!  She made it through the winter and I can't wait to see the willow tree in bloom.  I can't believe it has been six months since Grammy left us.  I'm not deluded into believing that she is still alive, but still feel as though I expect to see her when I go to Papa's house or family events.  For the most part I've accepted it - but as Eric and I talk more about having kids, I get really mad. 

Anyhow, it was a beautiful day and we had a nice lunch at China Star before heading back to Eudora for the rest of the evening.

Here comes the buds!