Oh deer!

Sydney, the kids, and I left our house at 3:30 yesterday morning to begin our drive to Arizona. We had been counting down the days until our 2 week visit with Grannie, Pops, and our aunts and uncles. We were so excited!!

It was all going so well until the deer jumped out in front of our car while we were driving 75mph down I-20 just outside of Big Spring, TX. It was kinda slow motion for me. I saw the deer bounding across the median toward us. I hit the brakes, but I knew we would probably hit it. It's a weird feeling, see something like that coming and not being able to do a thing about it. Immediately after, Sydney yelled "Did that really just happen?!" "Yes! That really just happened!"

We were all safe. No one was hurt, except the deer and the van. Looking back, I wondered "Could I have avoided it? What if I had swerved?" But I also thought, "What if I had swerved and rolled the car?!" I would rather hit a deer than roll my car full of kids!

That was only the beginning of the blessings that would come. The hand of the Lord was present in so many ways yesterday. 

We were only a short distance from the next exit in Big Spring. We weren't in the middle of nowhere. The body shop was literally three minutes away. Not only that, but the people there went above and beyond to make sure my day was as good as it could be! My van was not safe to drive, we couldn't tow it five hours back to Dallas, the rental car situation in that part of the world was pretty poor and didn't fit the budget my insurance company gave me. More blessings kept coming...the public library was .4 miles away and Grandpa had the ability to come and get us!

Speaking of the library. I'm grateful it was .4 miles away...perfect for walking to and from to get out some wiggles. The kids were able to read stories, play the computer, and make a pleasant experience out of an unpleasant one. 

We scared the poop out of that deer (there was literally poop on our bumper). I was a little shaken, but I never got angry. Somehow I was able to see things and discern that much of it was out of my control. I saw the humor in the day and hopefully passed that on to my family. We have a wild memory to add to our books. 

So, for now, we are home. As soon as our van is fixed, we hope to go pick it up and continue on our way to Arizona. 

Date with Grandma

Dad didn't have the day off today... He's been busy with shut down and other big changes at the temple. We decided we would t let that stop us from going on a date with Grandma.

She took us to get lunch at Keller's and then we went to the arboretum. I love that place! The kids loved it too! (Notice Hyrum's double thumbs up below.)

Little Miss Ellie just went along for the ride. She is such a sweetheart!

The bigs got to participate in a science lab. They learned about pH. They used cabbage juice to identify acids, bases, and neutral liquids based on color change.  It was so much fun!  Plus, it ended with a big, bubbly chemical reaction.

Plus, goggle marks...that's a successful experiment right there.

We ended the day in the splash pads, clothes and all, because I didn't plan ahead and bring water gear.  It was a hit, regardless. (P.S. Look at that big kid standing up all on her own!!)

We ended the day with Blastball and pizza.  Thanks, Grandma!!

Ellie's Kentucky Derby Hat

We went shopping at Hobby Lobby for some Personal Progress supplies today. I couldn't resist the extra large daisies that were larger than Ellie's head. I think it would make a great Kentucky Derby hat, don't you?