We're On A Road To No Where

Sing along ... You know you want to!

Here's the story of our Lemony Snickets series of Unfortunate events, journey back to Nevada. 

I'm not even sure I know where to begin, but let's start with what that Sunday was supposed to look like. 

We (meaning mostly Dan and Moses) loaded up the Uhaul and by around noon we( again, Dan and Moses) were mostly done. The plan was to then go over to Dave's house and finish a tattoo on said friend Daves arm and eat more of Dan's no sauce pulled pork, and then get on the road.

Mmm Mmm... Dan that pork is still making my mouth water!

Wait ... where was I?

Oh yea, back to our Lemony Snickets Story.

Ahem... well the plans at Dave's house  got the ka bosh when Mo realized he had forgotten a very important item. Note to all tattooist,  when setting out to tattoo don't forget the needles. Not like you can just go down to AmPm and pick one of those puppies up. Course....maybe you could in some parts of the city... but Ew yucka! Needless to say, we found ourselves with some extra time, and thought why not get an early start on our very long, very slow, 14 hour car ride.

All packed up and feeling sad, but ready to get back to our kiddos we hit the Seattle freeway and got 50 miles down the road before we hit major traffic, and our first breakdown on the trailer.

We were on a very busy 5 lane freeway and slowing down for accident traffic up ahead when Mo realized the trailer tire was smoking so the safest place we could get to was a median by the on coming traffic ramp. Now, here is where I tell you I was for the first time in my life grateful for the traffic because had it not slowed us down a bit, who knows what might have happened. 

Here's also where I tell you that our reaction to this first break down was calm, cool, and collected. 

For realz, it really was. 

My Giant called the road side assistance number for Uhaul and we sat and waited.

And waited.

And sat.

And waited some more.

It was about 2 hours in when I realized I really had to go pee.

So my calm was starting to leave. 

I felt a bit trapped being that there were cars flying by now on both sides of us, as the accident traffic  had cleared the cars got faster and faster. I thought, it would have been a bit like the game frogger to get off to the road side and go pee.

So I waited.

By about almost 3 hours in I really, really had to pee.

So my cool was starting to leave.

And well my collected.... Was this thought... Hell, if Sandra Bullock in the movie 2 and Half Weeks Notice can find relief on a freeway... so can I. 

My relief was a bit less dramatic than hers, and all I'm going to say about that is thank God for dixie cups, hand sanitizer, and Kegel exercises. 

Ok moving on... that was really the only action besides the freeway traffic that kept whizzing by and rocking our truck every 5 seconds. 

It was around almost the 4th hour when Mo decided to move the truck to a safer spot.

He talked at length with Uhaul about this, but apparently all  they really cared about was their truck and NOT OUR VERY LIVES!!

So we very slowly found our break in the traffic to get off the road and we took our chance.

Limping along we made it first off on the side of the road and then he decided the next exit was where we needed to get off. 

WHEW!!

4 very LONG hours later we were at a 76 station I was relieving myself further, and Mo was getting a sandwich.

We were stinky.

We were tired.

WE WERE NOT CALM,COOL, OR COLLECTED anymore.

But we were safe and

We were ready to get out of that damn truck, but we couldn't just call a cab and move on we had to wait for Uhaul to the rescue. 

So we waited, again only this time in a some what safer spot.

I mean somewhat safe, it was Kent WA after all ;)

The rescue truck pulled up about 5 hours later and the ONLY solace was a motel room of our choosing, that they still had to approve for us to be checked into.

So we waited again.

Are you catching that waiting on Uhaul was the theme for the day?

There we waited in a Best Western lobby for about 45 minutes just so that someone from Uhaul could verify that we were the people we said we were.

Umm.... like anyone would lie about going through what we just went through so they could a free Best Western room.. psh Doh Doh heads Uhaul!!

The wait would have taken longer until the hotel clerk said to the guy from Uhaul  "I'm going to check these two in for the night I think they have been through enough for one day"

Wow, finally some customer service!!

A very tired, sleepy MoNoSco hit the sack around 10:30 p that night.

We didn't make it far, but we were glad that day was behind us and happy to be safe and sound in our BW bed for the night.

We were awoken by a 9a phone call that said our trailer was ready and we could get back on the road again by 10:30.

(To BE continued)

Be it ever so Humble...

There truly is no place like home.

I have been living out of bags for a month, with 4 kids, 2 dogs, and 1 hubby(who for the most part took care of his own bag, THANK GOD!!).
Needless to say, I am happy SO HAPPY to be home.

We hit the ground running on June 1st with our big trip to NV. We arrived June 2nd wiped out from driving all night and then June 3rd it all began. The first celebration and order of business/pleasure... to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary.
It was great to be in Carson City for this day. 16 years later there we sat, me and my Giant across from one another at The Cracker Box(a lil breakfast joint in CC that holds so many memories and really great omelets) and I thought to my self, "Self... you are one fortunate girl" Still thanking God for the beautiful man that sat across the table from me, and still so very much in love.

Then June 4th lil brother Jeremy's graduation celebration. Hard to believe that my lil bro is not only graduated, 19 years old, a hard working responsible adult, and planning to move in a year to my neck of the woods. Yippee!! I am so proud of him. He is an amazing person, truly. It was also the graduation day for some very close friends of ours only son, Ashton who is another amazing person. Come to think of it 2011 graduated 3 amazing graduates and the world is fortunate to get to have them all in our class now... Jeremy, Ashton, Maria congratulations!!

The next day we did some more after celebrating with friends and family and on June 6th Mo had to fly back to WA for two more weeks of work.

Meanwhile, the kids and myself stayed behind for a whole lotta busy.

Bullet Points-

Jeremy's 19th b-day
Visit with the fabulous Gardners
Maria's graduation
Jessica's Baby shower
Jenny's wedding shower
Wedding errands
Savanah's b-day
Savanah's b-day party
Visit to Brother Greg at Fire academy
Wedding errands
Izzy's b-day
Father's day
Natalie's b-day party
Wedding errands :)
Week at Wallies
Mo comes home(celebrate Father's Day again)
Mo and boys go camping-pack for boys
Sleep over with Marie
Jenny's Bachelorette Party
More Wedding errands
Boys come home from camping, clean boys and pack them for the big event
Wedding Rehearsal
WEDDING OF THE CENTURY :)))))))
Visits with the fabulous Munnerlyn family
Visit with the Harder/Johnson family
Sleep over with Vanhoose's
Visit with the Gore family

Sigh...... Post traumatic stress from an overload of busy!!

Kidding of course, but I am truly glad to be home.
Clean house.
Laundry going.
Kids relaxing.
And most importantly sleeping in my OWN bed tonight!

The saying is never more true for me than today;

"Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home!"

P.S. to any NV peeps that I didn't get to squeeze this time around please read the above note and know that I love you and that is was just NOT physically possible for a squeeze THIS TIME.

Some Places that Victoria Traveled this summer

I have yet to find anything blog worthy these days so I am reduced to posting more summertime pics.

ENJOY!

Camping Highlights

Camping this week with the family has now come and gone. We were with my mom and her brother my Uncle Gene and Aunt Linda, my cousin Cheri and her husband Chris, their two boys Noah and Samuel and my brother Greg and his girlfriend Tanya. We tried another campsite this time and it was really nice. We were right outside of Quincy CA at Bucks Lake. It was truly beautiful. So far this summer we have camped three times and have yet to luck out with a site that has shower facilities. That is a bummer but then when you get home you sure do have a whole new appreciation for all the comforts of home.

 One all time highlight from this trip that we all will never forget is when Isaiah when flying down the hill on three wheeler and ran smack dab into a very large tree. We thought for sure we would be making a trip to the Quincy Emergency room when we saw his little 4 year old body going flying but miracle of all miracles that boy walked away without a scratch. He has some very big guardian angels is all I have to say about that.

 Another highlight would be when my brother the fireman almost set the campsite on fire by putting a half a dead tree stump(with the help of Moses) in the fire pit. We had fire hose in hand and thought for sure it was going to get ugly but all it did is burn ALL night until the wee hours in the morning.

Also our neighbors this time were very interesting. Right next to our campsite was a group of young people married and with kids, babies and dogs. All of which was very normal what was ab-normal was that when asked everyday how they were doing the response from all of them and not in a sarcastic manner was,  "Oh you know, just living the dream". Who says that and really means it? Seriously, who says that without being totally full of crap.

Anyway, we are glad to be home and what we have ahead of us this week is some serious job hunting.

The Moses and I have several interviews lined up for this week. Life will soon be looking very different for our family and although part of me is sad and nervous about this there is another huge part that is very excited. I didn't realize until I just typed that last sentence that I lived my life so compartmentalized :) 

Vienna Austria

I think my favorite rooftops in Europe are in Vienna Austria. These are just a few of the several rooftops that caught my eye.

Vienna Austria

My thoughts on this day are mixed. I was so completely exhausted at this point in my travels and emotions were kinda raw and I really did not want to go when we got up that morning. Still, I went and I am glad that I did get to see Vienna. I had forgotten that it is the city of music and all things Mozart and Renaissance. It is absolutely beautiful and our day there was COLD, but still very memorable. I sang outside the opera house and thought to myself, " Mr. Peebles would be proud." Mr. Peebles was my music instructor all through elementary, Jr. High, and High School. In my eighth grade year I started taking private lessons from him and continued all through High School. He had the privilege of studying music in Vienna and had always hoped that some of his students would make it there as well. He had connections to get you there if you wanted and were good enough, I was neither, wanting nor good enough. He did send one of his students there on scholarship, (Mo's ex girlfriend Heather, but that's a blog for another day) but I never had ambitions of being an Opera singer. My voice is much too quiet for that. Anyhew, going there brought back all these emotions about music back to me some of which I am still not so sure I have sorted out yet. Music has always brought joy to my soul. It is an incredible gift given to be able to express yourself in anyway musically and I do not take that for granted. Still, I often wonder how much of this gift has been buried deep, deep down in the sands of life. Will there be a time to rediscover this treasure box ? Do I want to find it again? The emotions and questions it brings to the surface sometimes scare me. I am working through all of that and I am thankful for family, and friends who are along side me for this journey. I thankful for my mom who paid for all those expensive music lessons along the years (even if she does compare me to Trisha Yearwood). I am thankful to have been given the chance to see this spot on the planet.

More of Budapest

Easter morning, and The First Subway Ever made, in the world!!!

We woke up Easter morning in Budapest and the sun was shining the birds were chirping and we were off to Jen's church over there. This particular morning they were meeting at her friends/pastors house Jeff and Anna's. Her whole team was there and had brought lots of yummy food for me to enjoy :) and enjoy did I ever!! On the way to the gathering Jen took us on the first subway ever made in the whole world which just happens to be in Budapest. I did not know this. Sister did know this, and I was like a kid at Disneyland. Truly , I thought how cool and what an insight to the people of Hungary who have proved to be very intelligent people. Hungary is one of the only countries in Europe who somehow managed to survive the World Wars pretty much intact or least better than surrounding neighbors. Many of the buildings there are original buildings and that is something that is rare in Europe because of all the brutal hits of war that had completely demolished many countries. So this lil' subway trip was pretty fun. There was an old man on there that looked so much like my dad's side of the family (who have Hungarian blood lines) it was crazy. He kept staring at me and my sister and finally we asked if he would take a pic of us. That is the one at top of the page. It was awesome to see sister interact with him speaking his language. I was so proud of her. I am so proud of her.

More Budapest, right outside Jen's door!!

Arriving at Jen's place in Budapest

When we finally arrived to Jen's beautiful home we were all so tired that we took a nap in the middle of the day. I just have to brag a bit about her place. After seeing a few homes in Germany and just the hostel in Italy I was so happy to see that my sister's home is exactly what I wanted to see. It was white and crisp and clean and spacious for a European home. She has a huge living room that still had projector screen in it when we arrived from a previous girls slumber party that she had a week earlier. Her kitchen has beautiful cupboards that are white of course with glass fronts. Her bed is in a loft like area and her bathroom was pretty large again for a home in Europe. Her neighbors were quiet(at least while we were there) and most mornings I woke to hearing the birds chirping and the sun coming in her living room window. When we woke from our nap Jenny made us a pesto pasta dinner and we just relaxed, did laundry, checked internet, and basically felt like we were home only we weren't.

Thanks again Jen.

Arriving in BUDAPEST

This is inside and outside the train station that brought us from Venice to Budapest. It was an interesting train trip to say the least, and my passport got stamped 4 times as we passed through 4 other countries in route, but we arrived safely and we were very ready for a place to call home. Jen's place was like a retreat from all the busy European travels we had experienced. When I stepped outside the train station, even though it was raining , I was overcome with how beautiful Budapest is. I really didn't think that anything could surpass Venice but somehow I was pleasantly surprised by this city in Hungary.

My morning in Italy

We started out our day at the market. The sun was shining and the weather was the warmest we had felt in a long time. It was so great to see all the locals getting thier groceries at the Fish market and outdoor produce section. This was a slice of real life that I had prayed I would get to see. I really didn't want to be in the touristy part of town. We were not at all on the main strip and our hostile was located really in the back of town away from the water somewhat. To hear the people speak Italian and to see thier faces was so part of the experience of Italy for me. I literally secretly stocked some the faces to get them on camera because they looked like some of my relatives. This was too much fun for me. I enjoyed every aspect of Venice. We decided to get lost on purpose while we were there and boy did it ever pay off. I am still so thankful, grateful, and in awe that I got to see these sights with my own eyes.

Arriving in Italy

The night we arrived in Italy there was a beautiful full moon. Can you guess what song we sung alot that night? "When the moon hits your eye like a pizza pie, that's amore" At this point in my life I now need to dream bigger because this was a very big dream come true for me and I feel so blessed to have been given this gift at such a young age. My all time favorite picture is of the sun going down in Italy but I couldn't get it to be placed the right way on here so I will have to have my hubby help me with that later. There are so many pictures forever lodged in my brain as well as in my camera of the day I prayed would be the longest day of my life, in a good way. It was one very long day the next day, and I feel as though I spent a week there even though I was only given 24 hours.

I will be back, Lord willing.

Some more Germany pics

The picture of the tower is one of my favorites from the whole trip because Aris explained the signaficant meaning behind this tower ,that it is one of seven others. If I remember correctly they were built as defense towers or look out towers to keep enemies out of Germany and now they are surrounded by the modern German world but still have purpose in that there is a new vision for these towers now. I would like to hear more about that vision because I think it's really cool. Again, Aris was a wonderful tour guide in more ways than one. We went on from here to try some German snacks and what not, one of which I still can't believe I actually ate. A hot dog with ketchup and curry spice. Me no likey!! But I ate it and have a picture to prove it but I can't make it go straight on this stinking blog, arrghhh!! The German Opera house at the top , in the light of day really is beautiful. Lots of construction going on when we were there probably cause it's the off season? Dunno. Anyway, the clear blue skies and crisp cold air reminded me of home.

Germany in the light of day

Our first morning in Germany Franzi took us to see two of the colleges in Frankfurt and the Museum that had the big scary dinosaurs outside. After her shift was up she passed on the torch of "tour guide" to Dudi and Aris. We were in such good hands. The picture of my friend Andre and I outside the wooden box was an elevator that rotated around like a big clock and you just had to jump in when a box was open and jump out when your floor had arrived. THAT was so much fun!

Germany the First Night

I am so thankful for the family we have in Christ and especially their incredible talents/gifts. One of those wonderful gifts- they were awesome tour guides with the time given. Another one of those gifts they are the "hostesses with the mostest" Aris and Franzi made Germany much more beautiful than it ever would have been if they weren't in it.