Hello Friends!

This trip is over and what a wonderful time we had! Since this is our third trip out west, we have now thoroughly covered the lower half of the United States. We have, in fact, travelled 17,000 miles since June of 2007! In April we travel to Chicago, stopping in Kentucky to visit the Creation Museum. May is spent travelling to Georgia's coast. In June we can't wait to go back to Peru to visit our new brother's and sisters in Christ and hopefully introduce even more to the Lord. The summer will be spent on short, local trips (travelling with everyone else is no fun!). September brings a trip to Orlando and our next big trip is in October when we travel to Toronto, Canada - with a few stops there and back.

If you want to check out our last trip to Tucson and up the California coast, scroll all the way down to the bottom. That way you will see it all in order.

Blessing to you all from the King Family,

Ted, Kris, Connor, Lacy and Evan

Home or Bust

We decided to have two hard days of driving and arrive home on Sunday instead of Monday. Ted needs to work and my best friend Lori and her family will be coming for the week on Monday. We drove 11 hours straight with only a gas stop today. I know, I know...you don't need to get out your violins. 11 hours in a motor coach is not the same as a car. It is not a bad thing at all. Ted and I drive in shifts and the kids can cook, eat, watch TV (thanks to in-motion satellite), or play games. We are in a great RV park tonight with the St. Louis arch in view from our bus. It is bittersweet going home. It has been a great trip, but we miss our family and friends. We will see you soon!

Back to one of our favorite campgrounds

Last time we came through this part of the country, we discovered a neat little KOA campground that the kids loved. They still consider it their favorite campground. They have beautifully manicured grounds, a putt-putt course, and some neat playground equipment that is similar to the equipment my Granddad used to have at the school where he was Principal. We were sad to see that it opens tomorrow for the season and we needed to be here today. When we contacted the owners, Richard and Alicja, they graciously offered to let us come on in. They rolled out the red carpet and we are staying at a campground in which we are the only occupants! Lacy is pretending that we rented the whole place to keep the Paparazzi away (-: ! Tomorrow we are off to somewhere in Missouri. We are not sure how far we will make it. More snow is predicted we hear. Goodnight!

Snowstorm on the Colorado Prairie

Broomfield is a beautiful town because they are on the edge of the mountain. Snow-capped mountains can be seen all around, but you are not out of Broomfield long before the land turns flat and mostly agricultural. It amazes us that you think of Colorado as mountainous. It is not true! You drive a good 3 hours in Colorado where it does not look any different than neighboring Kansas. It was along these Colorado prairies that we saw firsthand how a snow storm blows across the road. We travelled much of the way in close to white-out conditions. Fortunately, we were on flat land, and we could go as slow as we needed. We pretty much watched the truckers and did what they did. Once again, Ted demonstrated his superior driving skills and got us through. Here, the kids watch TV while we travel through the storm. Ignorance is bliss!

A Meeting with LANX

LANX is a company we do a great deal of our business with and today Ted had a meeting scheduled at their headquarters in Broomfield, CO at noon. We parked the bus right down the street in a Wal-Mart parking lot (Wal-Mart is very RV friendly) and played while Ted worked. Here, the kids are pictured where we crossed a beautiful pedestrian bridge that goes from the Wal-Mart shopping center to an AMC Theater where we went to see "Collage Road Trip". It was a cute movie and I think Ted would have cried. It is a movie about a dad taking his daughter to visit colleges. She wants to go to a school that happens to be far from home and he wants her to be a one close to home. It is hard to believe that in 5, 7 and 9 years...that will be us!

Washing Lacy's Hair

As promised, we washed Lacy's hair in the sink tonight. It worked better than I thought it would! She is doing better today. She loves to answer the question "what happened to your arm?” She is thankful she can answer "I broke it snowboarding in Park City", rather than something like falling down the stairs.

Storm on the Horizon

You can see in the sky the approaching snow. This park we are staying in is out in the country. It is advertised as a "rural setting" in a cowboy town. There is a pasture in the park for those passing through with their horses. The only problem is the SMELL! We think there must be a chicken coop up wind! Every time we arrive at a new location, Lacy and Evan head to the general store. Evan is now renting space in Connor's cubby. Frugal Connor has not bought a thing besides marshmallows and Reeses, except a book for Evan.

Pit Stop in the Snow

We wanted to top off the tank, just in case we got stuck for the night. Because we left early, and really did not lose too much time because of the snow, we ended up driving across southern Wyoming and into Colorado. We thought we had seen every terrain the west has to offer, but Wyoming was different from the rest. It was really beautiful with small, rounded mountains and sweeping plains. It was neat...even in the snow storm! We are staying in Ft. Collins, Colorado tonight. Tomorrow, Ted has his final two meetings for this trip near Denver. This location brings us within an hour of where we are going in case the snow is an issue in the morning.

Driving in the Snow!

Our plans were to leave Salt Lake City around noon to head to Laramie, Wyoming. When word came in of a snow storm on the way, we headed out earlier. The major highways that we stay on are kept clear, and we watch the truckers and do what they do. The snow was beautiful and it was interesting to see the different techniques areas use to deal with the snow.

STOP! Read below before you move on.

Today has been an eventful day and you will want to see the events in order. Please scroll down to the beginning of this day titled "bad news for Evan". It has been interesting to hear the comments about our journey. Our lives look much more dramatic in this blog format than when we just live it and move on to the next day. What you are doing is peeking into the lives of a typical family with three children. Drama is very normal in an active family like ours. We love life and love to live it to the fullest. When we hit bumps in the road, we have a good laugh and move on. No worries mon..right? Tomorrow, we are off to Laramie, Wyoming. I hear it is snowing there right now!

Aesculap Snowbird Course

We did manage to sneak away tonight long enough to go by the Aesculap Snowbird Course reception and dinner. Pictured here from the left are Jeff Cole, Dale Liebert and Ted. The lodge at Snowbird was beautiful and the evening (although short) was very nice. Ted will head out for the course early tomorrow morning.

Poor Little Lacy Girl

Everyone is trying hard to help Lacy. Fortunately, she broke her left arm, but it is still difficult. Right now she is in a lot of pain so we are keeping her well medicated and comfortable. We have figured out a way for me to wash her hair in the kitchen sink so we will try that tomorrow. The shower does have a hand sprayer so that will make getting clean easier. The cast will stay on 6 - 8 weeks, so this is going to be a long haul. Good thing it is not pool season!

Now They Have to Tell Mom

I should have known something was up when Ted entered the bus with a camera pointed at me. Then Evan and Connor file in with funny grin's on their faces. Finally, my baby girl enters with a cast up beyond her elbow! This picture was taken the moment I discovered what had happened. Funny Ted...

You Guessed It...Broken Arm!

It is always the last run of the day, isn't it? She took a fall and suffered a distal radius fracture (broken arm). Fortunately, there is an excellent medical clinic right at the base of the mountain (imagine that?). The staff was extremely friendly, she is pictured here with her doctor, and they were in and out, x-rays and all, in 45 minutes. You would think they have done this a few times before!

Pleaassee Dad...Just one more run!

When ski school was over, they still had about an hour left on their lift tickets so they begged Ted to let them continue to ski. They went up, and down, and up, and down. Finally, it was the last run of the day before they were going to close down the lifts... [See next entry for the rest of the story]

Lacy Loves Snowboarding!

Lacy was the only snowboarding student today, so she had the instructor to herself all day. He said she was the quickest of any first-time student he has ever had (all that ripstick action at home helps!). She can't wait to come back again!

Connor is Hooked!

Connor had a wonderful day. There were only two other kids in his class and he was the 2nd oldest. He has skiied before in North Carolina, but he quickly learned that we don't have anything in the East that compares to skiing out West. He did blue slopes, took many different kinds of lifts and even did a run from the top of the mountain! He loved his day!

Only Child for the Day

While Connor and Lacy were skiing, Evan and I got caught up on some of the rest we missed the night before and Ted got caught up on some of his work. Evan got catered to and was able to have Ted and I to himself. I think he enjoyed that a lot. He struggled with dissappointment and anger about not being able to ski, but he maintained a positive attitude. We are blessed to see how he handled all of this.

Bad News for Evan

Unfortunately, although Evan came to see his brother and sister off, he was unable to ski today. Three other times in the last four years he has experienced severe stomach pain. His abdomen gets hard and distended and is painful to touch. He was up the whole night in pain and was unable to even put his ski bibs on, let alone spend six hours on the slopes. His daddy did make things a little better when they went bowling before going to pick up Connor and Lacy.

Gearig Up to Ski!

Well, the deed is done. I put away the bathing suites, goggles, towels and flip-flops we used in Palm Springs, and got out the hats, gloves, coats and ski goggles! Each of the kids was allowed their choice of what to do and, not surprisingly, the boys both chose skiing, and Lacy chose to snowboard. We are now on Mountain time so it is 12:30 a.m. our time. Bright and early the group will be up and the kids will be headed to school...ski school that is! Thy hit the slopes at 9:00 a.m. and will be in school until 3:30 p.m. Ted will head over to a course that Aesculap is offering over at Snowbird while the kids are in school. Me? Well I will just have to think of something to do in the peace and quiet of an empty bus tomorrow before Ted comes to pick me up. :-) Goodnight!

And the winner is...Park City, Utah!

We are staying right around the corner from the Mormon Temple, which we went to see tonight. Our timing was perfect getting in, so we headed up to Snowbird. As we ascended up the mountain, we noticed it was still 68 degrees! That is going to be slush. We start pondering getting back on the bus and heading on to Colorado. Then, Ted recommended I check conditions on the other side of the mountain at Park City. Would you believe it is over 20 degrees colder in Park City? So down the mountain we went and up the mountain to Park City where we staked our claim and bought our tickets!

Lacy-Bell

The plan last night was to leave early so we could get our ski gear and lift tickets ready for an early start the next morning. When we leave really early, the boys sleep in our bed, Lacy is on the cot, and Ted and I are on the fold-out bed. In the morning, we move Lacy to the couch, and off we go. Here, Lacy has gone back to sleep and she, her blankets, her animals and Pepe are enjoying their commute!

Wal-Mart Run!

Yesterday was one of those days where we left Yosemite and had no real idea where we were going to end up. We knew we were headed to ski, but not sure exactly where. We stopped to see interesting things along the way, and here we stocked up on more goodies. It was interesting to us how we left the wonder of Yosemite and snowy Northern California and went across the desert end of California and Nevada. Here, we had just started into the snowy part of Nevada where you can kind of see the meeting of the desert and wet mountains. It was neat.

Snow, snow and more snow!

We drove from Yosemite to Winnemucca, Nevada yesterday. The kids saw their first snow plow (I think it is mine too!) so the roads were nice and dry for us. We passed through many snow drifts that were taller than our 13 ft bus! We also went through many canyon passes where they warned against noise and stopping because of avalanche risk. We saw that this time of year when the snow is beginning to melt is a particularly risky time. The constant pressure changes going up and down the mountains caused everything in the bus that was sealed to "blow up" like this chip bag that Connor is holding! All our bottles and bags had a little poof when we opened them. We drove through Lake Tahoe and learned it is both in California and Nevada. Ted told us about all the places he had been skiing in the area. It was one of the most fascinating rides I may have ever been on.

Ted's Office Break

On the drive yesterday from Yosemite, Ted needed to take a break to concentrate on a business matter he had. We stopped at a great Vista Point in the valley below Yosemite. The kids and I had a great time walking the railing!

Goodbye Yosemite!

In this picture, you can see El Capitan over Kris' head! Many movies and commercials are filmed here. The latest was the one with the lady rock-climbing when her cell phone rings. Her bank is letting her know she is almost overdrawn. That is here at El Capitan. I can't imagine any climbing these cliffs. They are sheer walls.

What an adventure these last few days have been. We grew and learned from this experience; and it turned out to be a very good one indeed. Tonight we are in Winnemucca, Nevada and the drive here was breathtaking. So much Snow! It was unbelievable. Many of the snow drifts were taller than our bus. Tomorrow we leave very early (7:00 a.m.) to drive to Snowbird, UT. Aesculap has a meeting there that Ted was encouraged to attend when we were at AAOS. That is fine with us because we plan to put the kids in Ski School and ski for a couple of days.

Victory! And it was worth the walk.

These trees were amazing. The ranger said their roots can grow 50 feet out from the tree. Never have I imagined something so amazing. These are the very big trees, but all around this area are exceptionally tall and wide trees. On the LONG walk back, we entertained ourselves by pretending we were in Narnia. This is what it seemed like!

Ever-ready bunny to the rescue!

We were prepared. We had waterproof hiking boots on and layers of cloths (which we quickly shed off), sunglasses, and determination. But before we were even TO the grove, the kids started to poop out. Poor Evan was just on a heap on the ground. So sweet Ted scooped him up and carried him much of the way up. The walk down was much easier.

Put this in the "what were we thinking" category!

OK, here is what happened. We wanted to see the giant redwoods in Yosemite and learned it was about a 45 minute drive. We drove out there through curvy, slow roads only to find that the road to the grove of trees was snowed in and closed. If we wanted to see them, we would need to walk the 2 1/2 miles there and 2 1/2 miles back, up hill...in the deep snow. We were up for a challenge and all saw the most snow we have ever seen! (notice I am standing at the top of this standard street sign!)