I'll bet I don't post much this week

because we are at Disney World! And we managed to get here a day early, so we will get to take full advantage of our cheap tickets! Now, we must sleep. Epcot Center awaits tomorrow.

Nashville, TN

One More Tragedy, and On to..Illinois?

We find ourselves in Illinois tonight. I didn't realize we would travel through part of that state; it seems kind of north of where we should be. Bur, our path crosses the tip of it, and we are traveling south at last.

Yesterday, we took a quick detour through Fort Riley to visit the U.S. Cavalry museum. It was worth the two hours we spent there. That base is huge, and the center of it looks so much like it once did back when it was a frontier post. I am glad, though, that we are Navy. I felt a tad marooned in the middle of the country while there. I will spam you all with pictures at some point, I promise.

While at Fort Riley, we became aware we'd left yet another essential item behind in the hotel we'd stayed at the night before. This time, it was the DVD case with all our kid's movies. Yeah, not a smart move. Thankfully, they had it and we are having it sent on, but that doesn't help us out much right now. So, to Target we went today, and the boys are thrilled to have a bunch of new movies to watch. So, it was kind of a blessing in disguise in some ways.

We are now double checking every place we leave, plus doing an inventory when we repack the car. Obviously, we are are not quite equal to the task of juggling two kids plus a pile of luggage every time we stop for the night. I did know it was inevitable that something would get left behind, I was just hoping it would be things that weren't so expensive or important. I do, however, still have hold of our passports. Losing those would have required a five hour drive backwards.

Thunderstorms in Kansas

We're in Kansas tonight. We're going to hit up an indoor waterpark tomorrow evening. It will undoubtedly be our most expensive night, including Disney World, but we think it will be worth it. We really need a night of fun.

This driving thing is really going pretty well, despite our need for a break. The boys are starting to adapt to it, and are a lot more willing to sit and watch DVDs or play with video games instead of moaning and groaning about having to be in the car. I bought Wyatt a place mat that has a map of the U.S. on it. Andros island is even on the map, too, which is nice. Each state is a different color, with major cities marked off. Whenever we are consulting maps, we pull out his, too, and point out where we are, where we are going, and where we've been. 

Because of this map, Wyatt has come up with his own brand of "Are we there yet?" comments. He will ask us, "Are we in the yellow, yet?" or comment, "It's taking forever in the pink!". And every day there is also, "Are we going to be at Disneyworld soon?"

To give the boys something to do, I handed Wyatt our new, indescrtuctable camera this afternoon. They were quite amused taking pictures of the car, Wyatt's feet, various fingers, and unflattering photos of yours truly. I was planning on posting some of them, and maybe I still will later, but the card reader on the laptop seems to be out of commission. I really don't know what we did with the USB cable, so, yeah, it's gonna have to wait.

We did get to witness some fun weather in Kansas today. Thunderstorms, a rainbow or two, and some very cool cloud formations. Oliver kept saying he hoped a funnel would form, but I was happy one didn't.

We'll be in Kansas City tomorrow night, and only a few days away from Disney World. I'll really have to find the darn cable by then.

On to Wyoming, and A Bit of a Tragedy

We\re sleeping in Evanston, Wyoming tonight. We spent the last day and a half in Utah. I wish we'd had more time because I was only able to go see half of the people I wanted to. I know a lot more people in that state than I thought I did. So, for all of you I didn't get a chance to see, it wasn't for lack of wanting to.

While we were in Utah, I made the terrible discovery that I'd left my camera behind in the hotel room in Elko. I called them and they said they would send it on to our new home. Hopefully, it gets there just fine. I've heard far too many stories of people swiping electronics out of overseas packages. I'll be upset if I lose the pictures on it. I can't ever replace the ones of my grandfather and his great-grandchildren.

Because we still need a camera for this trip, we stopped and picked out a new one in Provo. We bought a pretty nice one that will enable us to take it underwater up to 33'. It doesn't have some of the features of my old one, but it will be perfect for beach trips and water fights, of which I expect to see much of in Andros Island.

We should be in Denver tomorrow night, hopefully with no more mishaps!

Sleeping in Elko, Nevada

We've made it to Elko, NV. We're trying to make the money stretch, so we're sleeping in a Motel 6. It does have cheap WiFi, though. I was going to add some pics, but the laptop doesn't want to read my card right now and I have no idea where the cord is in the mess that is our car.

We've been to San Jose to see my grandfather. It was a hard visit in some ways because I know I may never see him again, but I'm so glad we went. My grandparents were a touchstone of stability in my college years, and it pains me to say good-bye. My grandmother died a few years ago, and I'm sad she never met my kids. It was incredibly sweet to see my grandfather with them. I wish Oscar had let him pick him up, though.


It's onward to Utah tomorrow. We had to stop about 100 miles short of our goal today, so I don't know how tomorrow is going to shake out. We shall see. We should get to see my brother, though, and Oliver's sister. (Who, if you are reading this, should know we don't have any cell service here or I would have called you by now!)

Well

Since we now possess this for everyone that needs one:

 

 And also have a lot of this from the Navy to get us there:

 

We are actually leaving this Saturday.

I have never felt so relieved in my life.

One Step Ahead

I feel like I've been through a bit of a wringer the last couple of days. I went in to the passport office to see what was up with my missing passport. They didn't send the whole packet back, just a request for the updated photos. My tourist passport is still sitting in Washington D.C.

The woman in there was covering for the person who staffs the office normally, as she is out on leave. I was stressed out and frustrated, and I know it was coming through in behavior as I spoke to here.I apologized at one point, as I was well aware it wasn't her fault and I didn't want her thinking I was angry at her. She was actually amazingly helpful, and I appreciate her efforts at wading through this mess for me.

After I left, I dropped the boys off at a friend's house, then headed back to our house to meet the movers. I had some time alone, as they were late, and I spent it reflecting on our situation, worrying about how it was going to play out. I was a heartbeat from crying, and I think I did break down at one point.

While I was sitting there, feeling so helpless, the words from "Lead, Kindly Light" began running through my head. That hymn is special to Oliver and I. We sang it together the night he proposed, and it has since become "our" song. The first verse goes:

Lead, kindly Light, amid th'encircling gloom,

lead thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home;

lead thou me on!

Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see

the distant scene; one step enough for me.

It was that last phrase that struck me. I realized that all I really had to do was focus on the next step, not the entire issue. At that time, it meant getting updated photos, digging out my birth certificate, typing out a new passport application, and bringing it all back to the office that afternoon.

As I ran around taking care of those things that afternoon, I felt a measure of peace replace my anxiety. I even found myself laughing at the absurdity of everything. I have no idea how this is going to turn out, but I know it will all be well in the end.