Bauer Tales from the RV Trails

Family Ministry

2012-02-08T22:30:00.000-08:00

Last night we ministered at Calvary Chapel Westside as apart of their Wednesday evening service. Despite still adjusting to the 3-hour time change we decided to go as a family to this church service. I must say, God gave me a vision tonight of what our family will become in the years ahead as a ministry team. Avalynn always loves to call out to her daddy as soon as he is introduced and of course she did this tonight. When Jon called the children up she stood center stage and followed along (lagging but trying as she might to move her arms and legs as fast as she could) to the actions and sang the words so loudly.

She has such a passion for worshipping on stage it was incredible to watch as her beautiful personality shine through. During Jon's time of singing 'Life of Worship', Avalynn sang along loudly from the crowd, which actually encouraged others to sing along as well. As Jon introduced the song 'Come and Save Us' Avalynn began clapping loudly (off beat slightly) which also encouraged the congregation to begin clapping along. Throughout the service Avalynn asked several times if she could go up with Daddy but I had to hold her off (through a service that ended up being 1.5 hours long) and she patiently waited.

Following the service the couple behind me came up and said Avalynn had been the highlight of their evening and had impacted their lives through her passion for worshipping God. I had been worried she was distracting them, but God reminded me He is always at work and His ways are much greater than mine.

Hawaiibound

2012-02-07T00:05:00.001-08:00

We have returned for our third year in a row (yes, we count it a blessing!) to tour on the beautiful island of Maui. My parents have a timeshare here and they graciously invite us which allows for free accommodation and a chance to tour this beautiful piece of paradise! After a long flight over and a 4am wake up call from Emerson we arrived, shedding our snow boats and down-filled coats for flip-flops and sunblock. Jon ministered, once again, at Hope Chapel on Sunday morning and had an amazing time (as always) back with their church family.

On Monday morning we returned to our favourite breakfast spot on the Island, The Gazebo. There was a 45-minute line up but definitely worth it to bite into their macadamian-nut and pineapple filled pancakes. The kids enjoyed watching the whales, which are prevalent this time of year as they have come down from Alaska with their babies, and running in the grass.

Tuesday was a rain-day so we drove out to Pai'a and ate at Flatbread Pizza Company . Not only does it have the most amazing pizza ever but they are very child friendly and even bring out balls of pizza dough for the kids to play with while you are waiting.

Jon hard at work

Playtime at the pool

Emerson loves the slide this year

Best friends

The Difference is Jesus

2012-01-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today was such a full day I know I will forget details. We had an early start this morning of 7:45amdeparture off to the Compassion headquarters for the DR. Here, a staff of 50 coordinates the work of43,000 sponsor children, the Child Survival Program, and the CommunityIntervention Program. The mostinteresting part of the tour was to see all of the sponsor letters come in andhear the process of translating and sending it to the child. The director of Compassion DR, Jose, has anincredible vision and such a humble heart. It was moving to see how respected he is and quietly works so hard inthe background in each project.

Our afternoon was spent at a Compassion school in the cityof Santo Domingo. We enjoyed a time ofworship with about 100 kids aged 4-12 who had waited for 2 hours as we wererunning behind schedule. All the kidsjoined in the action song ‘Peace Like a River’ that Jon led.

Following the time of singing a 14 year old stood up tospeak, Dani. What happened next movedall of us to tears. This young girlbegan preaching to these sponsor children and through a translator we wereastounded with the challenge she gave to the kids. She spoke with such authority and passion andconviction, giving her life testimony of finding God – what a humblingexperience to see a glimpse of a gift in someone that we all felt God will useas a significant tool to build up His kingdom in the coming days. Jon stood up and spoke words of encouragementto Dani that brought us all to tears.

We had the opportunity to close out the day with anotherhome visit. A Compassion translator camewith us and we followed 4 year old Kimberly (a sponsor child that attends theCompassion school) along with her 9 year old sister and 1 year old baby sisteron her hip through a maze of poverty. Aswe left the crumbled concrete paths and they turned to garbage filled dirtcorridors filled with garbage I wondered when we would arrive to what they callhome. Once again I was broken inside aswe came upon a small home built into the hillside with piled up garbage astheir fence and a small wood fire to cook on outside. The walls and roof were built of rusted outcorrugated steel pieces and only a dirt floor. Inside we met the mother, 8 months pregnant herself with her 4^thchild. She came out wrapped in a dirty toweland we all crowded into her dark family room.

The electricity, consisting of one light bulb, works foronly an hour or two if that per day. They do not have a bathroom and have to travel to the neighbours houseto use one. Their source of water isoutside the home beside their wood fire to cook their food on. The bedroom had a double mattress and singlemattress with only one blanket on one bed for all 4 of them to sleep. The mother has lived in this home for 19years and it was passed down to her from her mother who has now moved to adifferent area of the city.

Her husband rarely shows up and she has no source of incometo support their family. Kimberly wasjust accepted into the Compassion program this week and today had been herfirst time at the school. Kimberly’stutor explained to us that Compassion was working hard to enroll her other 2children into the program as well as this family obviously needs all the helpthey can get. All of the family attendschurch and we had a time of prayer over the girls and their mother. I encouraged cuddling with her little babyand reminding myself to just once again embrace this moment.

Following our visit the tutor expressed how deeply gratefulthe mother was for our visit and the box of food we had donated on behalf ofthe local church for her family. Compassion has been praying for this family living in extreme povertyfor several months and she called it a God-appointed moment that today wasKimberly’s visit day in the program and we visited their home on the sameday. She believes this will bringrenewal and restored joy to a seemingly desolate situation.

Just when I thought I could not process any more experiencesin one day we travelled back to the hotel to prepare for our dinner withseveral LDP students. Prior to this tripI was not aware of the LDP program but now have captured the vision and thisseems to complete the full circle of the Child Sponroship program in my eyes ofwhat Compassion offers.

The LDP program, Leadership Development Program, takes inapproximately 300 students at a time and essentially pays for the universityexpenses to allow a formerly sponsored child to become a professional. This application process is incredibly hardand only the most dedicated can actually be accepted into the program.

We heard the testimony of four current LDP students and nota dry eye remained in the room. Eachstudent told a story of coming from extreme poverty and one young man, Tony,even told of wanting to take his own life in order to remove some of the burdenoff of his family to put food on the table. They each told of endless blessings coming from being sponsored throughtheir childhood and letters from their sponsors changing their life foreternity. Tony spoke of receiving aletter from his sponsor in the US saying ‘how proud they are of him’. He explained how difficult this was for him toprocess and even understand but as their letters kept coming he began to fullyunderstand the love of Jesus through their words of encouragement in hislife. I asked Adam, another LDP student,what his hopes and aspirations are in life. He replied to finish school so he can make enough money to build a homefor his mother.

Each student continually expressed gratitude and gave all the glory back to God. It was evident of their strong faith they now have because of Compassion and the Godly character they now possess. This powerful evening of testimony and worship conclude our brief trip with Compassion. Tomorrow we fly home back to our children (I miss them dearly!) and “comfortable” life in Canada. I thank God for giving me these moments over the past three days that I have fully embraced. May we use them and keep them in the forefront of our minds as we come back home to be the hands and the feet of these children who have no voice in this world. I know we cannot change this entire world but we can change the world for one child, one child at a time.

Opening the mail filled with Sponsor letters

A time of worship with the students

Dani - a girl who will be used by God in a mighty way!

Kimberly, Kaley, and Kani

Giving the food hamper to someone in great need

A beautiful family!

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. ~1 John 3:18

A Divine Appointment

2012-01-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

Our journey today was a special one. Jon and I have recently begun sponsoring our 9th child and one specifically from the Dominican Republic so we could have the opportunity to meet during our visit here. Since this sponsorship is so new we have not been able to correspond as of yet but we have been studying his picture and cute 8 year old face in anticipation of meeting him today. It so happens to be his 8th birthday on Wednesday so we picked up a birthday cake, more of a pastry style dessert as apparently Dominicans do not do birthday cakes in the same fashion as us in North America, to surprise little Yordy.

Off we headed about one hour outside of Santo Domingo to a Batay, known as a sugar cane field. These communities, built primarily by the sugar companies, are home to some of the poorest communities in the DR. With employment only available for 6 months out of the year, it leaves the people without work for the other half of the year and barely enough income to put food on the table. Batay Angelina is where Yordy lives and where Compassion has built a Project Center complete with a school where the children take bible classes in addition to their regular schooling provided by the government, a computer lab, a beauty salon setup to provide expectant mothers with skills they would not otherwise have the opportunity to gain, and a network of private tutors available to each sponsored child in the community.

Upon arriving at the Project Center, we received a welcome I will treasure in my heart for life. Jon and I were waiting anxiously outside the school gates while the staff found Yordy and brought him to us but before they even could walk through the gates Yordy broke out in a run straight into Jon’s arms! What an incredible moment to meet a little child who seems so far away and only a picture on the fridge door; to be reminded how much our small monthly sacrifice means to this little person that God loves so deeply.After our warm greeting Yordy seemed to become overwhelmed with what was happening and became shy for our questioning but his sweet personality and loving eyes shone through. We found out he is the youngest of 5 boys and lives with his mother and father in a small home. He shares a double bed with his parents and appeared to be quite independent, being the youngest of the family. Yordy accompanied us on the tour throughout the Project Center and we witnessed his first time using a computer. Since the computer lab is reserved for older students we took the opportunity to let him type and draw a picture in Microsoft Paint. He had a permanent smile on his face and was proud where he typed out what seemed to be endless names of his brothers and family.

A lunch of rice and beans was enjoyed as a group and we then visited Yordy’s home accompanied by his tutor or spiritual mentor through Compassion.Durnig the home visit we found out that Yordy is the only person in his family that knows Jesus personally. He asked Jesus in his heart shortly after joining the Compassion program through the local church. Yordy is the only person to attend church in his family right now but I believe God has a divine appointment on this little boys’ life to be a light to his family – it was incredible to see the faith of such a young boy. Through the relationship with his tutor he has grown in his faith and his parents are pleased he attends church.

We showered the family with gifts and the family clapped when Yordy opened up his new white dress shirt and dress pants complete with a black tie to wear to church. Living in conditions with a dirt floor and corrugated steel roof this is more than likely the first formal outfit to enter the wardrobe of this family. His mother was so grateful that Yordy was chosen to be apart of the Compassion program and she told us he seems changed already in his attitude and excitement for life. We had a special moment of singing happy birthday and blowing out pretend candles (could not find any at the supermarket) and then Jon shared a song with the family to close off our time together.

As our parting gift, we presented Yordy with a soccer ball and had so fun much the last hour kicking the ball around the school yardm closing off with a prayer time to speak blessings into his life and encourage him to continue to be a light to his community. I feel honored to have gone through this experience today, knowing only a select few are actually able to meet with their sponsor children face to face.We were once again reminded that our sacrifice is nothing compared to how God is using this link between sponsor and child to further His Kingdom! Gloria Dios!

Yordy's first time on a computer

Meeting Yordy's classmates

I couldn't resist stopping in the nursery to play with the little ones!

Happy 8th Birthday Yordy!

Yordy's family (one brother and dad is missing from the picture)

He was speechless when he opened the soccer ball

The road from Yordy's house

Compassion Artist Trip - "EMBRACE"

2012-01-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

Jon and I have the opportunity to travel to DominicanRepublic to view the work of Compassion. IN the past we have solely worked with World Vision but have sponsored 2little children with Compassion now for a while. When we received the invitation we felt Goddirecting us to become more involved with this ministry as well. Leaving the kids with Grandma & GrandpaBauer we packed up our bags and 4 plane rides later arrived in this beautifulcountry, which happens to be our third time now.

This morning our team leader encouraged each participant onthis trip with the word EMBRACE. Thisword was the perfect word for what I had been praying for. He encouraged us to just embrace each momentas it comes – embrace the poverty, embrace the communities, embrace thechildren that we meet. What a greatmessage and reminder – instead of becoming overwhelmed with the great need outthere - to take in each opportunity wehave this week and continually ask God what He wants to show us through it.

Our team consists of various Artists from across Canadatogether with a couple of Compassion staff from Alberta and Ontario. Our day started off with a breakfast togetherand we all headed off to a local church here in Santo Domingo that Compassionhas partnered with. We enjoyed a greatservice and the sermon was even translated which we do not always come acrosson these types of trips. After thechurch service we had a lunch on the rooftop with about 50 sponsored childrenfrom that area of Santo Domingo. We satacross from two adorable boys and an 11 year old girl – even though my limitedSpanish ran out after about 4 questions we still had fun just smiling at eachother from across the table. Followinglunch we toured the small school where the sponsored children attend throughoutthe week as part of their biblical studies. We had the opportunity to hand out gifts from stuffed animals to smallcandies to each of the children and watch the pure joy on their faces throughthis small act of kindness.

Our next visit took us to one of the poorest parts withinthe city of Santo Domingo, about a 15 minute walk from the church. It was an interesting perspective, having thepastor join our group and observe how the community embraced him as we walkedto our home visit. When we finallyarrived I think it was the smallest home, if you can call it that, that we hadcome across throughout our walk through the slums. We stepped over garbage and pools of dirtywater in a small dirt floor courtyard and into a small room barely larger than myback entry way where four sets of small eyes peered out at us and a young momobviously pregnant with her sixth child stood.

We gathered five of us just inside the doorway as we heardpieces of this amazing mom of only 28 and her hardships she endures eachday. Compassion and the local church hashelped with putting a divider wall up between the bathroom and small one roomof the house barely large enough to hold the double mattress. The mattress was grey and stained with nosight of a blanket or pillow anywhere. She sleeps there with her 5 children and her husband rarely showsup. Her one son is a sponsor childthrough compassion and her 2 year old daughter and unborn baby (due this month)are apart of the Child Survival Program which provides expectant mothers withprenatal and postnatal care and education.

This woman who had us all captivated, Wendy, showed us the bible books her son has received through the sponsorship program and was thankful for the box of groceries we came bearing and her meager home that has been fixed up since she moved in a short while ago. What a humbling experience to see living conditions like this and I think I have experienced this in a whole new way now having children of my own to relate to. A great start to the week and we are looking forward to learning more about this ministry – tomorrow is our meeting with little Yordy, one of our sponsor children!

The girl we sat with at lunch after church

Jon with our 2 new friends

Passing out the 'Stuffies' - Emerson sent over 5 of his own for the little children

The courtyard of Wendy's house

Two of Wendy's children on the bed they all share

Wendy's 2 year old daughter

Wendy - a brave young woman and mother!

Key Largo, montego, baby why don't we go...

2011-11-30T19:46:00.000-08:00

Jon had an amazing time back with the CR group last night inStuart and has his last concert tonight with the CR group in FortLauderdale. Today was our last day todrive down to the Florida Keys, something I have been wanting to do for quiteawhile now. We are just over an hourfrom the Upper Keys (Key Largo) so we decided to pick up a Florida Sunpass tolland drive down to see what it really is like.

The drive was really nice, although it was through marsh and swamp landon the bridges over to Key Largo. Itmust move more into ocean the further down you go. We stopped in at a restaurant with glassbottom floors and the kids enjoyed feeding oatmeal to the fish while Jon gothis fill of clam chowder soup.

I couldnot find the park I had researched online so instead we stopped at the CoralReef State Park which turned out to be a little piece of paradise. It had a man made beach with shallow waterthat we all dipped our feet in and played in the sand. We then took the boardwalk path through theMangrove Forest (Emerson kept looking for Diego but we told him he must be offrescuing an animal) - so peaceful and a perfect end to our 2-week tour downhere in Florida! Tomorrow we must packup and head back home to snowy Edmonton.

Playing at the beach in Coral Reef State Park

All dressed up in the special handmade dress from Great-Grandma Klemke

Searching for Diego in the Mangrove forest - Emerson was not happy to stop for a photoshoot as he was deep into his search!

It's never a complete day until we find a playground

A stop at a glass-bottom floor restaurant

Hugh Birch State Park

2011-11-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

We have now been in Fort Lauderdale for our second week ofthe tour. My mom flew down for theweekend since my dad is travelling overseas and I never say no to an extra setof hands on tour! The kids were soexcited to see her. On Thursday night westayed right on the beach in downtown Fort Lauderdale but unfortunately it wastoo windy on Friday morning to enjoy our perfect location so we ventured to theScience Center for a couple of hours and learnt about Florida’s natural terrainand even took a simulated airboat ride. I am glad Avalynn stayed outside with Grandma for that ride as it wasquite bumpy and I’m pretty sure she would not have stayed in her seat.

On Saturday Jon and Emerson went out with a friend of hisfrom college and his 4-year old son so the girls hit the mall, after all it isBlack Friday weekend! I think this wasthe largest mall we have ever seen, Sawgrass Mills. We were exhausted just looking at it and thecrowds were too overwhelming for us – I think I accidentally hit a few too manyshins with the double stroller.

On Sunday Jon played at a church of God in Cooper City. The kids, mom, and I went to the secondservice and it was such a lively worship service complete with the Young Adultschoir to backup Jon during his worship time. The service was 2 hours long, a bit on the long side which most of it wespent in the nursery. We enjoyed a lunchwith the worship pastor and his family and then back to the hotel for a napbefore dinner.

The weekend ended too quickly and today we dropped off momat the airport in the morning and spent a few hours exploring Hugh Birch StatePark. I read about this state parkonline and it was a lot of fun. We onlyran into one other couple (Canadians from Halifax) which was a nice change fromthe busy Thanksgiving Long weekend traffic we experienced over the past 4 daysprevious. We took a tunnel to get to thebeach and then spent some time at both playgrounds and had a nice picnic lunchoverlooking the canal and very large houses complete each with their own yachts. It was back to the hotel as Jon had a 2-hourdrive to his Celebrate Recovery concert in Stuart for the evening.

Building lego creations at Fort Lauderdale Science Center

Avalynn improvised!

Exploring the tunnel to the beach in Hugh Birch State Park

Collecting seashells in the Atlantic ocean

Picnic by the mansions with yachts

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T19:39:00.000-08:00

Today we drove 4-hours from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale andstopped in at our friends house, Brett & Kathleen Carnali to join them fortheir Thanksgiving dinner. They hadabout 20 people over from their church and it was such a nice afternoon tocatch up and meet new friends. Theyspent time in worship and had everyone write down on a piece of paper what theyare thankful for. I asked Emerson whathe wanted to write down and he said “I am thankful for Jesus”. Then Avalynn piped up and said “I’m thankfulfor God”. So cute!

Magic Kindgom

2011-11-24T19:15:00.001-08:00

Today we visited the happiest place on earth, or at least Walt Disney wants us to believe it. I must say, after our day, I would agree! This is actually Emerson's 3rd time to DisneyWorld but this year we could actually go on quite a few more rides as Avalynn was older. We started off our day a little later (arrived at the park at 10:30am) as we knew we were in it for the long haul, or the fireworks show at 10pm. After handing over way too much money at the gate admission, all cares were thrown away as we first entered main street. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas which made it seem even more magical. The kids were in awe and took in all of the sights.

Our first stop was the Tea Cup ride, mainly because it posted only a 10 minute wait line and an hour and a half had already elapsed since we actually left our hotel room and parked and loaded on a tram to get to the monorail and through security... exhausting! By the end of the Tea Cup ride Emerson got the hang of turning the handle and I was glad when it stopped as us adults were a bit dizzy.

Next we headed to It's a Small World which I think was Avalynn's favourite ride of the day. I had told her there were many dolls singing and dancing and that had her hooked. When we went through the last good-bye sign room she kept saying 'again, again!'.

Emerson's favourite ride of the day was the Magic Carpet ride which we went on twice. The boys sat in the front and Emerson would control the button to fly us higher in the sky - tons of fun! We watched the afternoon parade where Emerson was happy he could identify some of the characters and Avalynn was enthralled with all the 'princesses'. I had forgot the scary parts of Winnie the Pooh and Avalynn was not happy on that ride so she got lots of cuddles and I pulled out her soother because I felt bad we took her on that one.

The evening Electric Parade was really neat - one Jon and I enjoyed probably more than the kids. The fun day finished off with an incredible light projection show on the castle and amazing fireworks. When do we ever get to watch fireworks where its not absolutely freezing outside? What a fun day and memories I hope we will all treasure for a lifetime!

She's trying to figure out if she can reach the spinner that Emerson was turning

It's a Small World

Avalynn was peaking behind stage to see Minnie & Mickey

Magic Carpet Ride

Cuddles on Winnie the Pooh, I think Avalynn's eyes tell it all...

Emerson loved the Mickey's Philharmonic 3D movie (his first one ever)

Lazy day in the sun

2011-11-22T19:31:00.001-08:00

Today was the second day for Jon's ACSI conference and since we have a big day planned tomorrow at DisneyWorld for our day off as a family, I decided to stay at our home resort and explore. It was a beautiful day out - sunny and 28C - so we couldn't ask for anything else (except maybe daddy to hang out with too). The kids enjoyed time in the kiddie pool and digging and making sand castles at the make-shift beach in the beautiful Florida-famous sugar sand. I tired the kids out playing at the indoor play maze we found at the kids club so much so that we all had an afternoon nap before heading out to pick up Jon after his busy day.

Avalynn loved running along this boardwalk in her squeeker shoes!

For the life of me, I could not get anyone to look up for a picture, the sand was too enticing.

She took a nose-dive yesterday in the water, so she was a bit more cautious today...

Emerson all decked out in his Linderhof Castle t-shirt from Grandma & Papa Bauer

Orlando Science Center

2011-11-21T18:57:00.001-08:00

Jon was at the ACSI Convention all day today so I decided to make use of our annual science center pass and we headed out to the Orlando Science Center. I was a bit concerned the museum would be a bit too old for the kids (and perhaps intellectually challenging for myself looking back on old science classes, even though I am an engineer!) but we had a great time and spent about 4 hours exploring this 4-story center. There were several exhibits suitable for young children - we took in a music class and watched the Sting Ray feeding. Emerson's favourite was the water station where you can learn how water currents work and make difference courses for the boats - or just get as wet as you possibly can before your mom tells you to stop splahing. Avalynn's favourite was the All Aboard room where she loved climbing in the airplane and the trains.

We finished off our night with a meal out at Bahama Breeze restaurant and early to bed for all! Jon has another busy day tomorrow at the convention.

Emerson at the entrance to the Bug exhibit (note Simba in his hand from last night's visit to Downtown Disney)

Avalynn intent on standing on the "low" side of the waterway exhibit, even though I kept showing her the stool she could stand up on... my little independent spirit!

Emerson making a waterfall

At first I though these were ornamental statues they were so still, but I realized they were real when they started moving!

Prepare for take-off!

Florida Tour!

2011-11-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

We have arrived in Orlando to begin our 15-day tour in Florida. I must say we couldn't have planned the timing better as the temperatures dropped to -20 at home and snow falling endlessly. I did forget how far it was to fly here though and we did not get to our beds until 2:30am after a delayed flight from Toronto, unusually long line-up for the car rental at the airport, and Jon's lost bag. Thursday was spent driving out to St. Petersburg to pick up our CDs. Unfortunately we shipped them to the ACSI office 2 hours away, forgetting about the church Jon is playing at prior to the ACSI convention that starts on Monday. It was a nice drive though and the ocean is beautiful on the West side of Florida state so we didn't mind. After picking up the CDs we stopped off at the Children's Museum in St. Petersburg to give the kids a break and then headed out to the Pier for a quick fresh-seafood dinner before the long drive back.

We are blessed with 2 weeks of timeshare this tour which makes it so much nicer to travel (when we don't have our motorhome). We can sort of setup camp and the kids have their own room and we can eat most meals in which is not only cheaper but much easier with 2 little ones who don't quite see how much fun eating out can actually be!

Friday was spent shopping most of the day as found out Jon's bag was nowhere to be found and finally we discovered it was flown back to Edmonton. He needed clothes for the church services and conference and we needed merchandise supplies.

The church services were great - it was nice to be back with the congregation of Westwood Alliance Church and see some familiar faces and meet some new ones. Kathy, one of the church staff, graciously opened her home to us for lunch after the Sunday service - they have such a warm family and we enjoyed the fellowship with them. I think she had over 10 grandchildren in the house for lunch plus her own 2 daughters and other people from the church.

Today was also Avalynn's birthday so after a long morning at church and then a long night for Jon setting up at the convention center, we headed out to Downtown Disney for a late-night Ice Cream treat to celebrate her turning 2!

Avalnn playing at the St. Petersburg Children's Museum

Here's the Birthday Girl!

We were waiting for our Ice Cream treat at Downtown Disney - Avalynn was not in the mood for pictures.

She found her favourite!

Calvary Chapel Pacific Pallisades

2011-10-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

We ended off this 3-week tour down the California Coast spending some time out in Palm Springs visiting a couple of Christian schools and then out to CC Pacific Pallisades to join a worship night with a friend of Jon's that he met in Africa on his recent World Vision trip. It was a fun worship night and of course beautiful scenery right along our now-favourite route US-101! The kids enjoyed the playground the most I think during the practice time.

A piece of heaven...

2011-10-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

This morning we walked over to a farm across the street fromour campground where you could buy a bag of veggie scraps for 25 cents to feedthe animals setup in cages around the barn and country store. Jon had fun teasing the donkey and doing adental check at the same time (see picture below). We then set off for the beach 3 miles from ourcampground and it was an incredible view. The whole coastline was set in with fog and although the temperature wastoo cool for an actual swim, the kids enjoyed playing in the sand and runningthe empty shorelines. We even saw sealsjust off the coast.

The afternoon drive was the most beautiful I have been onthrough Highway 101 and Scenic Route 1 passing endless vineyards and ranchesfull of history and lush vegetation (yes, my wording might be slightlyinfluenced from my tour book). Tonightwe are camped at the Camperantia State Beach Park just south of Santa Barbara forour one-night off and we are literally a stone’s throw from the beach. I can hear the waves now as I write and Godcouldn’t have placed us at a better spot. The kids played for over an hour just running on the sand and splashingin the waves before supper and we enjoyed a family camp fire beforebedtime. A much needed renewal day forall...

Feeding the animals at the petting zoo

Jon was teasing the poor donkey!

Playing at the foggy Pismo Beach

Outside our motorhome front door - in Ventura Beach

Avalynn decided she would rather eat the bread instead of giving it to the birds

Jon called out "the BIG one is coming!" and Emerson ran for higher ground

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-10-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great time worshipping with the people of FirstBaptist Elk Grove and it was a nice change for Jon to do only 1 song in 2 oftheir services so we had lots of time to spend as a family together. For the 9am service we went to the 12-24month nursery and the 11:15am service I took the kids to the 3 year old Sundayschool. When we visit mega churches ourkids always get double or triple dose of Sunday schools which they like. Following the service Joel and his wife Jennhad invited us over for a turkey dinner – they are also fellow Canadians nowliving in Sacramento where Joel is the worship pastor. They have 3 beautiful girls and our kids gotalong so well with them that they only appeared when it was time to eat theturkey and then the pumpkin pie! After awonderful and filling turkey dinner we bid farwell to our friends and hit theroad once again – this time to the ocean.

My hope was to drive to Santa Barbara which GPS had a drivetime of 6.5 hours but I think the tryptophan set in and we decided to head toPismo which was about 5 hours instead. Idrove for about an hour and a half and was quite proud of myself since I havenot actually driven the motorhome for over a year now – Jon enjoyed the sleepbut when the kids woke up he wanted to trade! We stopped at In-and-Out burger for take out and bath time for the kids(who had been sleeping from 4-7pm straight) and then headed off the I-5 intowhat would be the greatest driving adventure of our lives. I had assumed the road would be your standardhighway to the coast but we kept seeing signs warning of narrow and then morenarrow and no truck route, etc. Thescariest part of the drive was on the one-land two-way windy road through themountains. Jon was having fun but Ithink I lost 2 years off my life and was drenched in sweat! Mid way through the drive Emerson pipped upfrom his silence in the back – “I think this is a bad idea guys”. We had thought he was asleep. Thankfully (I think) we didn’t run intoanyone on the 30 miles of one-way highway stretch except a lonely little skunkwho we followed for a few hundred meters and refused to get off the road untilhe jumped in the ditch and attempted to spray us. Finally we made it to Pismo Beach KOA safeand sound after 11pm and vow never to take that Ocean highway again.

Headed to Elk Grove First Baptist Church

A new hideaway found in an empty CD box!

Old Town Sacramento

2011-10-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

Today is our first actual real day off where we don’t haveto drive anywhere or setup or sound check. I wanted to tour Old Town Sacramento which was on the way to the KOA inWest Sacramento (our accommodation for the night) so off we headed. I wanted to stop in at Whole Foods (I’mtrying to find a Pumpkin Pie for our Turkey Dinner on Sunday) but unfortunatelyJon couldn’t fit in the parking lot. Oneof the hard things of living in an RV – if you can’t fit, you can’t stop! Old Town was quite neat, originally built inthe late 1800s they had about 4 museums all in the area and the streets werecobblestone and the sidewalks were built from wooden planks. We wandered through the stores and stopped inat the Old Schoolhouse where the kids sat in the little preschool desks andtried their hand at the old chalkboards.

We checked in to our campground and they had a rocket launchplanned – ones that went 1000ft in the air. It was a great campground with a playground and a river with a smalldock for fishing – one that Emerson and Jon spent quite a bit of time on. Emerson, Avalynn, and I walked over to theStarbucks (kids didn’t want to nap but Jon needed to). We had a nice relaxing night as a family!

Historic Old Town built in the late 1800s

A boat made into a hotel (Emerson was disappointed we couldn't take a cruise)

The old schoolhouse

Trying out some Mexican fare

The boys actually caught a catfish in this river by our campground!

A Visit to Sacramento

2011-10-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well we have arrived to Sacramento after quite a long trek through the scenic route that we probably won’t take again and went straight to the Unviersity Campus where Jon had to setup and the kids and I helped (for 5 minutes at least until the kids started getting bored and discovered they enjoyed running trhough all the exhibition booths). We were so tired when we finished that we decided to forgo on the Administration dinner that night and just enjoyed the free food at our hotel. I must say I am impressed with Staybridge Suites – we have a huge 1 bedroom suite complete with 4-chair table, dishwasher, and a closing door (imagine!) between the family room and bedroom. They also provide free laundry and free light dinners in the evenings. Emerson loved setting the table for dinner with all the plastic cutlery and napkins.

On Thursday morning Jon had to leave at 6:45am which meant Emerson woke up extra early – although he seems to be turning into a natural early riser, and the only one in our family. Sacramento Children’s Museum was on the agenda today. I was excited to see online that it just opened 6-weeks ago and our membership allows free entrance. It was half an hour away but we have a compact rental car and I feel we can conquer the world now. The museum was a bit small but at least I could keep better track of the kids. They had fun playing in the grocery store exhibit and experimenting with pingpong balls on tracks. Waterworks was the last exhibit and Emerson got soaked! I did not have a second set of clothing but he didn’t seem to mind.

In the afternoon we explored the new mall that apparently has put Roseville on the map. It was a beautiful map and had just been opened about 3 weeks ago. They had a ton of kids activities going on from a balloon artist in Macy’s to face painting to a Jelly Belly man giving out free samples (Avalynn’s favourite!). Although only Emerson napped and Avalynn wanted to be carried which wasn’t quite my plan of a leisurely quiet stroll through the mall during a double naptime that’s okay. It was a beautiful mall to spend a rainy day inside at. In the evening we went to a nice Chinese restaurant with all the Administrative staff and it was nice to get to know the nice group of ACSI leaders for Northern California.

Since the sun came out on Friday we ventured out to the Sacramento Zoo. I was hoping for a quieter day but it seemed most of the schools in the area had planned field trips so it was quite crowded but beautiful day none theless! It was fun to take Avalynn as this was her first real experience at the zoo where she is old enough to know the animals. She was enthralled with the gorillas and probably could’ve stayed there all day btu Emerson was off running chasing the squirrels before we could see too much. It was a smaller zoo but still nice to get outside.
The kids were quite tired from 2 full days we retreated back to the hotel room for a group nap. The kids didn’t want to settle in their own beds and Avalynn can actually get out of the hotel crib so we all snuggled in together in the king bed. I think it’s the first time they have both fallen asleep in the same bed and was quite cute to watch.

Jon finished up at 4pm after an amazing concert and probably the most CDs we’ve ever sold at one event (over 600) and very tired out. We returned the car and had dinner at Cheesecake Factory and took in a free Zumba lesson being held at the new mall. Avalynn was gettin’ down to the music and Emerson took front stage too! It was lights out by 9pm for all after a long 2-days and much anticipated day off tomorrow.

The mall had little tables just for kids

The balloon artist we found in Macy's

Checking out the Giraffe's at the Sacramento Zoo

2 little kangaroos (Emerson's new favourite thing is getting his picture taken in these billboards)

Fast asleep in mom & dad's bed

Hay Pyramids in Washington State

2011-10-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Monday we had high hopes of finding the pumpkin patch we stopped at last year on the Interstate between Spokane and Pasco but the only problem was we couldn't remember where exactly it was. The pumpkin patch ended up being almost at Pasco which was 2 hours from Spokane but the kids were quite patient in the car despite the seemingly never-ending turns that did not produce our end result as quickly as anticipated. Finally, however, we found it! It was such a fun stop with amazing home-cooked meals in their country shop and then adventures to be had with climbing the 2 hay pyramids and the kids even tried out the mini hay maze setup. It was actually quite amusing watching the kids as it was about as high as Emerson's head. They didn't find their way out and finally asked to be lifted out but they definitely wore off some energy running around.

We also visited the (almost sickly) petting zoo where the animals did not look quite right and then finished off the adventure with a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch. This year we could actually pick one and will carve it in Palm Springs. Emerson had fun finding just the right pumpkin and Avalynn was ecstatic with her little baby pumpkin she found and carried around the rest of the trip.

The kids were quite tired after our stop so we continued the journey along the Columbia River in Oregon (one of the prettiest drives I have been on) and then headed south on US-97 towards Klamath Falls. Once we left the main interstate it certainly felt like we were in no-man's land but it was a nice drive through the high desert terrain. For dinner we stopped at a Bear Country Diner in Madras which was a diner filled with bears - stuffed and statues. The kids had fun exploring the restaurant and luckily the waitresses thought it was cute and not a nuisance. We made it to North Redmond KOA, in the dark and rain, and settled in for the night.

Today it was about 8C out so we called it an inside day and headed to Target in Bend and Olive Garden for lunch. I had hoped to camp in Klamath Falls but after driving through the downtown it looked like quite a run down place - perhaps we missed where all the tourists go? We pulled in to a Rest Area just south of town and cooked up a fish and risotto dinner while the kids happily played, just glad to be out of their seats for a while. I like to try to keep somewhat of a bedtime routine while on the road so whenever I can we pull out the little wash basin and do bathtime and get into jammies and have snack before we head off driving for a couple more hours in the dark. Sometimes it works and they fall asleep but other times no such luck.

Tonight we're camped in Abrham Lake, CA (just south of Weed). We had hoped to make it to Shasta Lake but strong winds took us off the Interstate (one we were glad to see after taking the scenic US-97 for all of Oregon). We are praying for that familiar California sun to show its face soon!

She found her treasured baby pumpkin

Emerson's choice for carving those triangle eyes

Avalynn wanted a turn in the driver seat

Three week tour through Sunny California

2011-10-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well here we are again, one year later, headed down the West Coast for a 3-week tour with Jon. He just got home from touring across Canada with the Newsboys on Monday morning and we left on Saturday night so it was a quick turn around but we are happy to be together as a family and back in our second home. Saturday night we left after Jon finished up a great children's ministry conference at WECA church in Edmonton. We camped out on our best friend's driveway in Cochrane and enjoyed a minnie mouse pancake breakfast to celebrate Cadence's 4th birthday (who also happens to be Emerson's best friend) with our friends!

Today our first and ongoing prayer was to have an uneventful border crossing. Jon is travelling on a new P2 visa and it starts on October 6th so we had no idea if they were going to send us away for 4 more days - sometimes they can be very sticky it seems dependent up on mood of the custom officer. It was a beautiful drive down Cowboy Trail through Bragg Creek and then on to Blairmore - the leaves were all coloured shades of yellow and oranges and I think the kids even got tired of playing the 'look at the cows and horses' game as the herds seemed to be endless.

We stopped in at my favourite stop - the haul truck in Sparwood. I had to get a picture to compare Avalynn to the size of the rim as I did last year at exactly the same time to see how much she had grown. Emerson was much more interested this year and we walked underneath the dump truck to learn about the different parts.

Its a good thing Jon was actually paying attention to the road signs (something he does not do too often anymore in the world of GPS and when I travel along) because our border crossing was actually Roosville when I thought it was Kingsgate. Thank God it was smooth sailing across the border. They brought Jon inside for a few minutes (which meant the kids woke up from their very short nap and were done for the day) and checked him out on google and then asked if he could bring his guitar back in for a performance! Funny how things work out...

Our border crossing mix up added about an hour to our drivetime which I guess is a small percentange in the grand scheme of things when you are looking at a 25+ hour drive to Sacramento. It ended up being a beautiful drive along Lake Koocanusa on a very twisty road. We stopped at one of the endless scenic route stops and the kids had fun throwing rocks into the river and soaking up the warm sun.

Instead of setting up camp for dinner we decided to stop in at a pizza place in Bonner's Ferry and continue on a couple of hours more after dark to make up for lost time from our little scenic detour earlier in the day. We ended up camping in Coeur D'alene for the night along the Spokane river. A long day and it seems we've hardly covered any ground but praise God we are in the US now and have only warmer days to look forward to!

THermine train and more

2011-09-13T14:33:00.001-07:00

Today we took a miniature train called THermine that has been around since 1894 for an hour long tour of Weisbaden. It was fun to learn more history about the city and see the sights which you miss while just wandering the streets on your own. We then headed in to Mainz for some more walking around and rounded off the day at an indoor play park as the weather has once again turned cold and rainy. I am amazed at these German indoor play oasis centers which are huge centers filled with bouncy castles and slides and McDonald’s play gym arenas X10. Auntie Rachael was such a trooper following Avalynn into the large maze of ropes and sweaty children (mine included!) and Uncle Scott even took Emerson on a quad ride. We ended our last day in Germany by dining at the Eisgrubbrau which is a restaurant within historic vaults, which were once utilized as an ice storage prior to the invention of refrigerators; hence the name Eisgrubbrau (Ice pit brew). Now to pack for our last night in Deutschland! What an incredible time here with the German people – we thank God for this opportunity and especially our parents for lending extra helping hands as we follow our dream of touring as a family, even overseas.

111 kids sponsored!

2011-09-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well the last 2 days have been so much fun with getting to go to 2 of Jon’s concerts and my brother and sister-in-law arriving from their time in France so we have lots of family around us now! On Saturday Jon and I spent a wonderful afternoon at the Buchwitz home just visiting and building on this wonderful relationship we enjoy so much. It was nice and the first time we were actually able to just relax for a couple of hours – God knew we all needed that time together as a ministry team. In the later afternoon we toured Schwabisch Hall once again and Jon and the band setup for the evening concert at Martin and Heike’s church.

We stayed for the first part of the concert and it was such a blessing as a mother to watch her kids worship the Lord in their own way. Avalynn was swaying away (especially to the song ‘Chasing After Me’) and Emerson was doing his new dance which sort of resembles a slimmed down version of break dancing but actually looks quite natural as he would not have inherited his sense of rhythm from me! Jon called the kids up for Peace like a River which they loved as usual and get more comfortable each time we are there on stage.

The next morning we drove out to Speyer to attend Vineyard Speyer with the band. What another great church service and fun to see a few old familiar faces from 2 years ago when I was at this church. This was also the morning we have to say goodbye to Jon now for another 15 days as he flies to Halifax early Monday morning to tour with the Newsboys. Praise God we ended the tour with a total of 11 kids! Our goal was 50 and my ambitious goal was 75 but we were so humbled by the German people’s response to the great need abroad.

Sunday afternoon took us to Heidelberg - a town I have always wanted to see but not had the chance. What a beautiful city! We took a tour of the Heidelberg castle and a ride on the 100 year old train up the hill. We enjoyed this beautiful city and 30C weather as well for a nice change.

Monday: I am now headed on to Weisbaden just outside of Frankfurt with my family as we originally booked our flights on Wednesday and Jon had to head out early for the Cross-Canada tour. I am so thankful for family around to help out as I am quite tired now and can use all the help I can get. We stopped in Worms as I had read it’s a neat tourist city but I am not sure if it was the grey skies or not but we were not very impressed with this town, the small part we explored anyways. We continued on to our hotel in Weisbaden – my room has 2 twins and thankfully Avalynn’s crib fits perfectly into the shower dividers – Emerson was so excited to have his own bed just the same size as mom’s and quickly went about setting up all his toys and books on his own bedside table.

We took the later part of the afternoon to explore the beautiful city of Weisbaden, a very green city and one that you should probably only window shop in as I did not see items priced with less than 3 digits, and that’s in euros! Of course we kept busy chasing all the pigeons along the cobblestone corridors and found yet another amazing Italian restaurant for dinner. I know its not Italy, but Germans definitely know how to do Italian.

After finally settling in to bed around 10pm (it takes a long time when we are squeezed in to 1 hotel room and Emerson has to get up multiple times for the potty, which happens to be right beside Avalynn’s bed and the cycle starts all over again) we slept very well after a full weekend.

A quick stop at a Tiergarten before heading to Schwabisch Hall

Climbing a wall at the Heidelberg castle built in 1300s

On the Heidelberg bridge

A marvelous view of Heidelberg - the kids were more interested in their new Playmobil Knight & horse

Worshipping - toddler style!

Emerson's highlight spot in Worms

The streets of Weisbaden

On the move to the Tuscany of Germany

2011-09-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

God answered our prayers today with warmer weather and sun peaking through the clouds! That means we get to make a stop at Playmobil Land – something that Emerson and I have been talking about since arriving in Germany. And what a great stop! Unfortunately we only had precisely 1 hour and 45 minutes from the moment we parked because Jon had to meet up with the band but we made good use of these precious (and expensive) minutes together as our own little family. What a fun amusement park with different stations setup with life-size playmobil characters including a pirate ship area, farm, dinosaur exhibit, and noah’s ark.

I was quite surprised at the lack of safety standards, however, and something I do not believe you would see in North America. The pirate ship was surrounded by water where you could only travel by a rope net or small plank – one which I was even nervous to pass. They also had rafts you could push but no life vests or even a life preserver around. Despite that – everyone was having fun! Emerson found the stow away area in the pirate ship and then the kids enjoyed milking the life-size cows where water came out and there were buckets around to collect the “milk”. Noah’s Ark was by far the favourite though with numerous waterways setup and endless amount of playmobil boats – toddler size and aged 4-10 size. Emerson found the largest pirate ship available and claimed it for his own the whole time we were there. Avalynn discovered the toddler area and enjoyed pouring water out onto herself.

The cafeteria was something else! It was a huge building setup as an atrium with tables intermixed with playmobil play stations all in theme – from jungle sets to airplane sets to princess castles. It was a relaxing few moments for Jon and I and I decided to pack up the lunch for the kids in the car. The kids meals were surprisingly reasonably priced at 4,90 Euros which included a drink in a collectible cup, yogurt and fruit, pizza, and a playmobil toy pack.
Off to the autobahn we went and made it just in time where the band and my parents were already waiting at our new rental house in Sinsheim-Eschelbach. Jon left and I setup (once again) camp for another 3 nights – sadly our last house where Jon will leave us to fly home for the Newsboys tour on Sunday. This rental house is definitely still better than a hotel room as it has 3 bedrooms (Scott & Rachael will be joining us tomorrow from their time in France) but it has a very steep spiral staircase up to 2 of the bedrooms. One which Avalynn thinks is a game to climb up and makes my heart skip a beat every time I see her head for it – we now have a large suitcase blocking the passageway! The kids settled in with their new playmobil toys (also surprisingly a bargain compared to prices at home) where Avalynn got a toddler slide set and Emerson got the “medium” sized pirate ship (Jon nixed the large one during my moment of weakness as we would not fit it in our suitcase home).

Burg Steigsberg was our historical sightseeing and dinner destination for the evening. Set upon a 1093 foot hill and built in the early middle ages, it provided incredible views of the Sinsheim valley. All around were vineyards and we had fun exploring the castle grounds and taking our walk up to the medieval fortress. Avalynn sampled the grapes from the vines and Emerson found a cricket to put in his toy bag.

The restaurant was situated inside the castle courtyard and we enjoyed great German food once again – cheese spatzle is incredible here! Emerson and I decided to attempt a climb at the lookout tour which was in the center of the courtyard. I’m somewhat of a chicken when it comes to heights but we made it about half way up taking breaks at the 2 lookout windows where Grandma Barb and Avalynn were searching for us. He made it all the way down the very steep stairs in perfect form – I’m so proud of my little man growing up so quickly!

After a quick bath in the sink for the kids (we only have a shower here and one that doesn’t have a ledge so the water runs out onto the floor, I don’t really understand this concept here in Europe) it was off to bed after another exhausting and very fun day here in Germany.

Playmobil land!

The vineyards at Burg Steinberger castle
The watch tower Emerson and I climbed (half way at least)

The castle wall

Rothenburg o.d.T

2011-09-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

Another cold and rainy day today was somewhat disappointing but did not keep us from exploring and revisiting some of our favourite spots – today on the list was our favourite medieval town Rothenburg oder tauber. This is my third visit now to this quaint, walled in medieval town and I don’t think one could ever tire of it. Despite the cold we wandered the quiet streets and found a neat and warm Italian café serving fresh pasta and paninis complete with kinder-toys (always a favourite for me as “eating out” is never a relaxing experience with little ones). There is an automated toy bear from a second story window outside a toy shop that blows bubbles and the wind was blowing just right down the corridor so the kids loved chasing the never ending stream of bubbles, only bumping in to the odd tourist.

We headed back to the house for a much needed nap for the kids (and more work catch up for me) and Jon to head out to his evening concert at Vineyard Nurenburg. Last night the concert in Ellwangen saw 19 kids sponsored which brings our tour total to 59 already at half way through! Our tour goal was 50 (my optimistic goal was 75) so God is really using Jon’s new stories from Uganda to spur on people’s hearts towards these little children that need our help so desperately.

Nuremburg old town was our dinner destination tonight but a traffic jam on the autobahn brought us to the town of Schwabasch instead which was about 15 minutes from our village of Haag. What a neat old town we stumbled upon filled with cobblestone streets, fountain, beautiful church steeple, and even gold-plated roof tops all of course in German style architecture. We found a great German restaurant and sat next to the kids play area setup with toys, coloring books, and crayons – why can’t ever restaurant have this? I had amazing goulash and spatzle and dad enjoyed pig shoulder (I can’t believe I put those 3 words together but apparently its one of dad’s favourite). We let the kids run through the marketplatz after dinner and had a quick ice cream treat before heading back home for bed. We’re on the move once again tomorrow – the time is going by too quickly!
Our little house in Brombach

Hello Nama and Papa

2011-09-07T06:27:00.000-07:00

Today we had high hopes of visiting the Playmobil Park just 20 minutes from our hotel but the wind and rain delayed us (hopefully we’ll have another morning of nice weather before we leave as this was the one attraction I was really looking forward to). Jon and I decided to venture in to Nurenburg downtown as we love this city and had not spent time in it in about 7 years. It was fun to walk around some but it took us more than an hour to travel and attempt to find parking so it seemed most of our time was wasted in the car.

Hopes were high in the car driving back to the rental house as my parents now join us for the remainder of the trip and the kids were excited to welcome yet another set of grandparents into their adventures in Deutschland! It was nice to reunite with them and catch up on touring stories over an Italian dinner out and quick grocery trip. The cold didn’t hold Avalynn back from grabbing Papa’s hand and dragging him over to the cows, all the while us adults pondering, “should we check the customs form inquiry as to visiting a farm in the last 14 days?”…
We finished off this day with a quick bath in a laundry basket and early to bed as we missed naps today and I need to catch up on some work.

Goodbye Nama and Papa

2011-09-06T06:26:00.000-07:00

On Monday we enjoyed a leisurely day off and also discovered most businesses and tourist attractions are also closed on Mondays. We went up to Burg Grefenstein in hopes of touring this medieval fortress only to find it was closed but still had fun looking through the gates and enoying the marvelous view of the Lahn-Dill valley. Instead, we wandered the streets of old town Herborn which turned out to be fun inbetween cappuccino stops and ice cream fill-ups for the kids it was a great day to spend a day off as a family and last day with Bauer’s.

Tuesday morning we had to sadly say goodbye to our incredible hosts, the Rau family, in our 1700s house and make our way back south for the second portion of the tour which starts up tomorrow night already! We dropped off Bauer’s in Frankfurt as they will continue on joining up with their tour, so they can actually spend time admiring the old churches instead of chasing the little kids through them! It was so much fun to have them along and I am indebted to them for all their help as a second parent during this busy tour schedule.

We now find ourselves in Neuendettelsau which is about 20 minutes from Nurenburg and central between Wednesday and Thursday night concerts. We are in a smaller rental house now but still perfect compared to a small hotel room. We are situated right behind a farm full of dairy cows. Our daily routine includes visiting first the mommy cows and then the little baby cows they have in the back each in their own pens. On Tuesday afternoon we visited Spielsjola (an indoor play oasis), the same center we visited last year and the kids absolutely loved this – Jon and I took part in the slides as well where we felt like little kids momentarily once again! The weather is turning cold – I hope the sun keeps shining for us…

Exploring the grounds at Burg Grefenstein

The castle of Herborn - we were too tired to attempt that uphill climb!

Our last dinner together with Nama and Papa Bauer

Calvary Chapel Herborn

2011-09-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

Today we stayed at the house for most of the day after a busy sightseeing day yesterday and I want the kids to sleep this afternoon since we have a long night tonight at Jon’s family concert at Calvary Chapel Herborn. The horse kept us busy for most of the morning and after a good bowl of knuddlesuppen and grilled cheese sandwiches (good cheese is very cheap here!) the kids and adults had a nice nap before heading out to the evening concert at Calvary Chapel Herborn. What an amazing night at the church that feels like our second home! We have played here three times now and we just feel so welcome – the church was packed out for this family concert and it was so nice to see so many familiar faces and meet some new ones as well!

The kids joined Jon for three songs with actions up at the front and Avalynn and Emerson were in their element beside daddy and all the other children from the church. The kids were dismissed after that for a “movie night” – Emerson was very excited as he settled in to the mats setup, fully anticipating the Madagascar 2 that started to play. I was surprised to see it in English but quickly realized it was a mistake as the children started complaining they couldn’t understand it so they switched it auf deutsch which lost Emerson’s attention right away so off we went to the nursery to play with the toys there.

Following the concert the church had prepared an amazing meal for us of bratwurst (Avalynn ate a whole one to herself!), salads, breads, and very good coffee cake. We enjoyed some fellowship with Joey, the worship pastor, and reuniting with the band. My kids acted like they had not seen the light of day in weeks as they were running around like crazy with Sam and Jaquline. Sam was giving their rides in a little box and it was so funny to just watch this endless motion of activity. After packing up we headed out at 10pm back to our house (with Jon this time), anticipating a much-needed day off on Monday.

Praise God we have 40 kids sponsored so far and only 4 concerts in to this tour!

Calvary Chapel Siegen

2011-09-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the better part of the day exploring Wetzlar, about 15 minutes from our rental house. At first I thought we had won the lottery by finding a parking spot just 200m from the Domplatz, however, once unloading everyone and everything (double stroller and picnic lunch) we discovered the parking was only for locals. Since it is Saturday, it was very busy in the square and an unusually hot day today at over 30 degrees. I attempted to fit into a parking garage just a few blocks past the Domplatz but once I told the attendant, who was guiding me in, that it was a rental van he waved his arms for me to back up as I would not fit. After an awkward backward / uphill climb and getting the cars behind me in line to back up as well I found a spot about 1 km away up the hill and jogged back down to meet everyone.

It was so much fun exploring the shops through the cobblestone streets and strolling by the river. A children’s festival was being held in the park area so there were tons of children and activities setup. Grandma Ruth got the kids each a balloon flower and the kids wore themselves out on the pirate ship playground. There were horses setup for rides and each time they would come by I would have to be on alert to catch Avalynn as she would all of a sudden dart out towards them yelling ‘horses!, horses!’.

We stopped for an ice cream treat and briefly toured the beautiful Domplatz church in the center of the town but the kids were weary at this point in the day after 4pm so I jogged uphill and brought the car back. GPS choose not to work at this point in time, its been temperamental at best for the trip thus far, but luckily I remembered the turns to take us back home through three little German villages.

I headed out to pick up Jon and help out with the CC Siegen concert tonight and Bauer’s stayed back with the tuckered out kids in hopes of an early bedtime for all after a busy sightseeing day. What an incredible worship night at CC Siegen! About 150 people came out, which was more than we had hoped for seeing as Jon had never played in this town before. The band sounded great together as it was their second concert in and even got a standing ovation from the crowd. Praise God 16 kids were sponsored bringing the total to 20 so far this tour! It seems we are almost sold out of Jon’s new CD ‘Forevermore’ already which is a good problem but not expected as we still have 8 concerts to go. Jon came back to at least sleep and shower in the house and then is off early again at 7am for another concert in Gieβen.

Amusing game: Since this rental house is so old that we are staying at, each lock (and there is a lot of locks!) has its own antique key in place. Before I left last night to go to Siegen this was the conversation I had with Emerson:

“Mama I have a secret” (in a whisper voice)
“What is it Emerson?”
“I have something under my pillow”
“What do you have under your pillow?”
“All the keys to the doors”
“You mean the key to your bedroom door or all the doors?”
“All of them”

Oh no… its going to quite the game to fit them all back in their places!

She sneaked up to Grandma & Papa's room and found the rocking horse in the attic

Exploring the cobblestone streets of Wetzlar

Where is the log cabin?

2011-09-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

Today we savoured the one free hour with Jon we had while and walked around Schwabisch Hall once again. The kids played in the playground – our little stunt woman Avalynn taking way too many risks by climbing the highest slides and ladders and nets! Emerson was successful at the zipline this year and loved it. We stopped at the Backerei, also another German favourite of ours, where you can find almost at every street corner stocked with fresh bread and pastries each morning. We (me, Bauer’s, and the kids) ventured off to our ‘child-friendly house’ in Breitbach and Jon and the band headed off for their evening concert in Kaiserslautern. I tried to limit the amount of moving that the kids had to do so I decided to forgo the first concert and Jon will meet up with us on Saturday night. The drive went better than I had thought it would on the autobahn and took about 3 hours. When we arrived at the last ‘very narrow’ street though I took a detour around into the back alley of the house and then decided to let the home-owner maneuver our van into the parking garage until I had better bearings of the area.

The house we have for the next 4 nights dates back to 1732 – incredible! Our house is the home that the family used to live in until they converted the barn into the home they now live in. We have the 3-storey house all to ourselves. The main floor consists of a nice big kitchen, bathroom, and family room. The second floor has the master bedroom, a large bathroom with bathtub, and a very large room for the kids complete with lego toys and nightlights. The third floor (attic) is setup perfectly as Grandparent style with a little sitting area and sink-bathroom and rocking chair to keep their grandkids occupied when they come up for a visit. Outside our house in the courtyard/driveway Avalynn spotted a horse through the window and sure enough there it was. Of course this kept the kids occupied for the next few hours calling for the horse to come through the window and then filling up the drain with pebbles. The home owner even brought out little bobby cars for them to ride around on. I couldn’t ask for a better setup to make all this travel easier for the kids.

Erwin, the man who owns the rental home, suggested we travel to a nearby Schloss (castle) and go to a log cabin restaurant for dinner that provides views of the whole Lahn-Dill valley, the area of this village we are staying in. It did not look too far away on the map so we decided to pack up and venture out. This road, however, was quite extreme with switchbacks that required a reverse-shift and a road designed two-way in one lane. I am not certain the rules for driving on this road (all up the mountain) but I figured I was probably bigger than those oncoming so perhaps they should yield to me? It was fun and I think Reuben had a tight grip on the front dash but we made it to a very old and beautiful castle. The log cabin, however, was not quite where GPS led us to and after wandering up and down hills for more than an hour and having locals send us every which way we found this elusive log cabin restaurant. It did have incredible views, however, the waitresses told us we were crazy not to have reservations for a Friday night and we would have to sit inside. The kids were understandably whiny at this point in time and famished and it was unfortunate we did not receive service for at least 15 minutes despite our questioning a couple of times to place an order since it was already 7:30pm. After all that, we left the restaurant due to the long wait times for food and found a pizzeria down the road. Emerson gobbled up his ham pizza and Avalynn shoveled in her spaghetti Bolognese and everyone finished off this adventure with full stomachs and a story to tell! A quick stop at the grocery store on the way back home to stock up for breakfast and the kids were sound asleep at just after 10pm. I hope all the creaks in the house don’t wake the kids up tonight but I am sure this farm-fresh air will keep them out til the cows start mooing…

Schwabisch Hall and settling in

2011-09-01T01:40:00.000-07:00

A short flight and many travel headaches finally got us to Schwabisch Hall. We flew from London to Frankfurt and had some complications while picking up our rental car involving different terminals (accessible only by bus) and definitely not recommended while travelling with 2 children under 4 and way too much luggage. Jon, the kids, and I luckily had his parents along to keep watch over the luggage while we made the bus trip over to Terminal 2 to pick up our 9-seater rental van and find our way back admist the heavy traffic back in Terminal 1 to begin our 2.5-hour journey to Schwabisch Hall. After a few wrong turns into country roads, we were finally reunited with a good friends the Buchwitz Family, also Jon’s band for the 10-concert tour throughout Germany.

I forgot to mention (and more make a mental note for myself prior to pondering any overseas trip in the near future with the kids) that Emerson has been up watching Veggie Tales on the iPad from 12-4am for the last 2 nights. Thankfully Avalynn seems to only cry every couple of hours and after a quick cuddle goes right back to sleep. Its hard enough as an adult but as I find myself finally starting to drift off it seems one child wakes up for me to look after and thus eliminating any possibility of catching any shut-eye. I know this too will pass, but when?
So back to the reunion – it is so great to be back with our friends Martin and Heike, Simon and Tatiana, Sammy, Andy, Tabitha, and Ebby! What an amazing group of people God has brought together again this year for this tour. We enjoyed a late night German snack consisting of quite possibly the best bread, cheese, and salami in the world! We finally got to bed past midnight and praise God the kiddies slept through the night. Here’s to hoping our jetlag short stint is done.

Jon has a practice most of today intermixed with tour meetings so I ventured out in our rental for my first time driving in Europe on my own (not my first choice starting out in a large 9-passenger van and manual transmission). I picked up Bauer’s from their Gasthaus 1km from the house and we explored their little village and the nearby church and of course the playground. Its beautiful weather here and so nice to be out in the country and in such a peaceful place.

Our friend, Ina, offered to show us the way into Schwabisch Hall so in the later afternoon we followed her into the city and parked near the Bahnhof. It was fun to walk around one of my favourite, quaint cities again and show Reuben and Ruth. Of course, Emerson did not remember much from last year but loved hopping along the cobblestone streets and Avalynn chimed in with ‘bell tower’ spotting and quickly picked up on this phase as we played our favourite game of who can spot the bell tower first. It was a quick trip into the town as we had an incredible German feast awaiting back at the Buchwitz’s house of Spaetzle and salad and cheeses. We enjoyed a nice night of fellowship and catching up on the year since we saw them last. Tomorrow the tour starts already and we head in separate directions for one night…

London rendezvous

2011-08-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

We begin our tour this year to Germany in London with a very exciting reunion with Jon as he returns from his 10-day trip with World Vision to Africa. Jon played at a church in Harrow-on-the-Hill this weekend and the kids and I flew over with Jon's parent's (who's dad is travelling to Europe for the first time) to meet up for the German portion of his tour. We arrived quite tired from our night flight from London but excited to see Jon. Our apartment flat is right in the heart of Leicester Square and 2 blocks from Trafalgar Square. We enjoyed a day together as a family just wondering around our favourite spots and checking out new ones (mostly for the kids) like Hamley's. Emerson loved chasing the ducks in St. James's Park and was equally thrilled when our hunt for "Big Ben" came up successful! He was in awe of the sheer size of this clock he had only seen pictures of and then from a distance in Traflagar Square but when we turned the corner to the Parliament Buildings there it stood looming in front of us.

Today we had to end our brief layover in London and head back to the Heathrow Airport all too soon to continue on to Frankfurt. It is always fun to hang out in London but reuniting as a family after 10 days away was definitely the highlight this time around!

BC Wildlife Park

2011-07-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

After our cold stopover in Hope, BC and waiting for Jon to finish a longer than expected conference call in the morning we had a late start to Kamloops. Emerson has been talking about stopping at the Kamloops Wildlife Zoo since I told him about it last week. I guess I should’ve looked at the map before we left because it wasn’t on our route when we headed out to Vancouver so we just could not let him down again. It was about 20 minutes off Highway 5 but definitely worth the stop! Its an overcast day and a little bit cooler so the park was very quiet which was nice. Avalynn was sleeping when I transferred her to the stroller so Emerson got our full attention for the first bit in the park where we got to watch a Grizzly bear (36 years old!) devour his lunch full of fruit, dog food, and raw meat from about 2 feet away. Avalynn woke up when we took a ride on the miniature train around the park which both kids loved and we could watch the buffalo graze and elk wander through their meadows.

Tonight we had hoped to make it back to Valemount but ended up having too much fun at the Zoo and thus had to finally pull in at Blue River. It was actually a nice little family campground where we luckily got the last spot for the night too. There were some other kids at the campground that we played with for a short time and enjoyed on last campfire together. The misquitos were so bad though that they drove us inside for the rest of the night.

What a fun trip out to the Coast – we thank God for the new friends we have met on this tour and special memories stored within our little family unit!

Granville Island

2011-07-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Today we decided it be best not to attempt the 'quick commute' over to Stanley Park again and thought we would take our chances at finding a parking spot for our 35 footer somewhere downtown Vancouver. Surprisingly enough we actually found a spot in Vanier Park with spots long enough for cars with boat trailers and it was empty. It was about a 15 minute walk over to Granville Island where we stroller leisurely and I was actually able to buy some food in the public market and bring it back to my kitchen for cooking later on. Jon enjoyed his usual fish and chips at the Public Market and the kids loved chasing the large flock of birds that congregate on the Pier. At one point they actually swarmed Emerson trying to get his food while he was eating! I definitely don't remember the birds being that aggresive.

With our dreams of Stanley Park still not dead we decided to head back over and possibly scout out a spot for our RV (against the advice of our campground attendent). Interestingly enough there were a few spots that could have worked but they were already taken by the time we pulled in - good to know for future reference I guess. We could have parked along diaganol spaces but were not quite up to paying for possibly 7 spots (most we have paid for is 3 at one time and that was for a much needed grocery restock). At least we got one good ride in this trip to the Coast!

Its probably a good thing we headed out at 3pm like we did as it took over an hour just to navigate through downtown. I must admit I sat very proudly beside my man as he navigated with ease through Robson Street and Gastown hardly blinking an eye!

Tonight we are camped in Hope, BC on our way home from a great weekend ministering and enjoying some family downtime in Vancouver!

Warning: DO NOT BIKE across Lions Gate bridge!

2011-07-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

We had a great time worshipping with our old friends and new friends at Coquitlam Alliance Church this past weekend! This is our third time back and we always love returning to these types of churches with established relationships with some of the members.

I do have to admit though that my favourite part of this whole weekend was when my 2 adorable children went up on stage for 'Peace like a River' and participated fully in the entire song! This was a first - usually Avalynn wants to be held by Jon or Emerson wants me to stand right beside him but for some reason they were both on their game today. Emerson sang into the mic for the first chorus and Avalynn was doing most of the actions but was always slow on the 'point to your shoe' part. She was clapping and I could see her trying to mouth the words along. Emerson sang perfectly - even for the last chorus that goes quite fast.

Since the church is located on top of a hill and I was not about to push my double to the Starbucks 0.8km and probably 800 ft return elevation we decided to go to Sunday School twice in the morning and then we had the play room to ourselves during Jon's worship seminar in the afternoon since the motorhome was much too hot for us to take an afternoon nap in.

After Jon finished up around 3pm we headed over to our campground in North Vancouver directly under the Lions Gate bridge. We chose this campground because it boasted within walking distance of Stanley Park (quite possibly our most favourite place in the world, thus far). In haste, we quickly setup camp and Jon pieces together our caravan complete with bike seat for Avalynn, trailer for Emerson and all of our beach gear, and strapped on Emerson's bike to the trailer in case he wanted to ride once we got there. Our high hopes were quickly diminished as we were not more than 20 ft into the bridge and Jon was puffing for air due to the steep incline on this huge bridge! I felt really bad for him and was actually worried he really wouldn't be able to make it over (this was all running through my head as I was shaking like a leave due to my extreme fear of bridges and particularly high ones over oceans). Jon had to stop every 50 feet or so - I think we were on that bridge for over half an hour chugging / shakily along. We finally made it over the bridge and assumed it would take us directly to the Seawall path but we forgot about the 500 foot drop from the bridge back down to sea level. So we took our caravan down a very steep dirt path slipping in our flip flops - looking like complete tourists. Emerson said about 1/3 of the way down - 'guys, maybe this is not such a good idea'. We finally made it back down to sea level and vowed never to do that adventure again, luckily everyone was safe! The ride along the sea wall made it all worth it though.

We stopped at Third Beach and the kids loved collecting sea shells and playing in the water - for an unusually hot Vancouver day. We stayed at the beach until 6:30pm and headed in for dinner but quickly realized with the setting sun our wisest choice would be fast food - we decided to not prolong the dreaded journey back and make it worse by biking in the dark. We took the Causeway road back home and I helped out by walking the caravan and giving Jon a break by just pushing my bike. Thankfully, what goes up must come down and we were able to coast most of the way back over the bridge and made it back to our campsite as the sun was just setting. What an adventure!

Buntzen Beach

2011-07-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today we drove to Coquitlam which took about 5 hours with the big delay coming once we hit Abbotsford. One thing we definitely could not handle about Vancouver is the traffic! We were able to setup at the church and then the worship pastor suggested a lake about 10 minutes from Coquitlam in Port Moody. It was a beautiful evening so we headed up – it was definitely like finding a little piece of paradise! It was a beautiful BC lake with sandy beaches and the most pristine background of mountain peaks. We loaded up our little BBQ in our bike trailer and hauled it down to the lake (apparently we weren’t the only ones with this idea as the area was packed with families but we did luck out and at least find a picnic table). Jon barbequed up hot dogs and the kids had fun wading and splashing in the water with their sand toys. Tonight we’re camped out in a driveway of a family that attends the church as we didn’t feel comfortable overnighting in the parking lot. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Head west young man...

2011-07-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

We have a concert planned out at Coquitlam Alliance and unfortunately we did not get any other bookings for this tour as we had hoped for. I must say God (as usual) pulled out his master plan for us on this though and with Jon’s scheduled filled up as it has for the fall, God knew we would need a few extra days just as a family and take it easy on the way out to the Coast. Our first stop was Wapiti Campground in Jasper where we arrived for a late dinner and Jon of course had the campground roaring before I even had the plates out for dinner! We had fun watching the kids eat their first smores and just puttering around the campground and throwing logs into the river behind our campsite. It was a bit cooler in the mountains but at least we didn’t have snow like we did last July! We did hit a bad hailstorm in Hinton though but luckily left it behind.

On Friday we headed to Kamloops with a beautiful picnic lunch stop at the foot of Mount Robson. I have fond memories from here as a child and always take the chance to stop when driving through. It is a breathtaking view of the tall peaks and the kids enjoyed running up and down the hill (I love it when they find a simple thing like that to amuse themselves so I can take a breather!). We continued on to Kamloops where we camped at Sunny Sage Campground by the Thompson River for the night. The boys brought out their fishing rods (of course Emerson still uses his ‘blue fish’ rod but I think it will be no time before he’s actually ready for a real one) and Avalynn tried her hand at Emerson’s bike.

Jon has been so busy this whole trip thus far working very hard on finishing off his second Kids Worship Album. He’s on a tight schedule for approving final reviews for mastering of the songs as well as artwork. I am must say I am very excited about this project and am excited to see how God chooses to use it to minister to children in the coming years.

Boondocking in the cold

2011-04-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

Well here we are on the final stretch of our 5.5-week long tour and 8,000km later. This past week was a great time once again with the church family of Christ the King in Bellingham. My aunt and cousin came down and it was such a God-appointed evening together of sharing and ministry of broken hearts with Pastor Grant's Palm Sunday sermon. Jon sang 'Surround' in the service and we had so many people come up after the services to share their story of going through a difficult period and how it was such a reminder that God is there in the midst of the storms we each go through in life - He is ever faithful even though we cannot understand why things happen the way they do.
Last night we camped in Valemont outside of the Best Western, where Bauer's stayed. At 11pm when we pulled in we saw the overnight low was -9C so Jon decided it was best to dump the fresh water in case our pipes decided to freeze up overnight. Its always a gamble but I guess better safe than sorry. What a beautiful drive home through the familiar Rocky Mountains with a few side stops to watch herds of mountain sheep - Emerson's highlight!
Its so good to be home but we thank God for yet another incredible and safe journey through many miles where we met many new friends, reconnected with old, and built great memories as a family. May God continue to use us as He wants on the road and in the days ahead...

Pike Place fun

2011-04-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

We have now joined Jon's parents for the last part of our tour and its so nice to once again see some familiar faces (particularly when its Grandma & Grandpa!). Unfortunately its been barely above freezing and raining so we've done mostly indoor activities since joining up in Lynnwood and now Bellingham. We did venture out to Pike Place Market on Tuesday morning which is our favourite stopover whenever we are in the Seattle area. The market was filled with fresh tulip bouquets lined up along the entire corridor. Unfortunately we didn't see the fishermen throwing fish but they were doing their famous singing which the kids watched in awe. Jon enjoyed his favourite restaurant with a bowl of clam chowder and fried fish. I had takeout from my favourite cheese factory restaurant where you can watch them making cheese.

Yesterday we stopped over at Cascade Mall in Burlington where Bauer's took the kids to the childrens museum and Jon and I had a chance to "leisurely" walk around with coffee in our hands and no one to attend to but our own needs - a very nice much-awaited moment for us both :)

We've been "boondocking" in the hotel parking lots where Bauer's are sleeping so we can join them in the morning for breakfast. The hotel in Lynnwood even provided a power outlet for us. Last night Emerson wanted his CD player on while he fell asleep and he couldn't quite understand that the wall outlets only work while we're "plugged in" so we ran the generator for awhile - can't blame the poor little guy for wanting some soothing music to drift off to! I think we'll hit up an RV park maybe tomorrow as we're on 1/3 water now and I'd like to have a warm shower. My last 3 have been ice cold - Jon assured me the solar panel would heat the water when he left at 6am this morning but I guess we haven't seen the sun for quite a few days now on this rainy West Coast.

Stopover at Portland's Children Museum

2011-04-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

This morning we decided we needed an indoor activity since the weather is still rainy and very cold out so after enjoying a leisurely morning (finally!) in our motorhome we headed to the Portland Children's Museum. I took the kids here in the fall when we were touring in Portland and thought it was one of the better museums we have been at. The kids enjoyed playing at each exhibit including the Curious George special exhibit which was on right now. Avalynn was obviously much more mobile this time around and didn't sit in the stroller once - she had to keep up with her big brother in each exhibit, except the water world room where she just couldn't reach into the water tubs.

Our drive up to Seattle was quick but about 10 minutes from our campground for some reason our automatic step kept retracting by itself while driving. Since Jon couldn't pull over - I was just hoping the step wouldn't be ripped off when it randomly decided to retract. We pulled into the campground luckily with step still intact and Jon being the handy man he is fixed the wiring for the rest of our trip home. We're now all tucked in with hood cover in place to keep the cold out for Avalynn in her crib in the front and hope we don't run out of propane tonight for our heater! Last night we had a scare at 3am when we woke up freezing because we forgot to turn on the propane - we must be getting tired out and ready to get home now...

Tulips galore

2011-04-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

We had such a wonderful time this morning with the church family at Salt Creek Baptist and Pastor Gerald & Marilyn with their welcoming us into their homes and feeding us the best food this whole trip! It was so nice to see familiar faces once again - something we do miss while touring for this length of time.

Our stop today was at the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival in Woodburn, on the way to Portland. I have never been to a tulip field and this is the time of year to do it. Unfortunately it was barely above 0C so it was a quick and very cold trip but still worth it to see fields of amazingly beautiful flowers! The kids enjoyed playing at the hay-playground and taking a tractor (tram) ride out to the fields. The last picture here with the kids in their rubber boots I just love - they were so excited (especially Avalynn in her size 4 boots) to sport their rubber boots finally after carrying them all the way from Florida. Tonight we are camped in Portland tonight listening to the rain come down - its calming at night when you're inside a warm camper but I'm hoping it'll be sunny tomorrow.

I-5 North

2011-04-09T21:10:00.001-07:00

Well we have now arrived in Dallas, OR where we will minister at Jon's good friend from college parents' church. It was another 4.5 hour day today along the I-5 North. I must admist I didn't mind the East highway but I am not enjoying so much this Northern direction part as we get colder and even drive through towns with snow but I suppose we must head home at some point. Our campground last night was an interesting place. Since we arrived at night we didn't see the type of area it was but when the sun came up it was like we were stuck in the 70s with older campgrounds and quite a few "free-looking" people. We were humbled while we saw this run-down campground come to life - it looked like people basically had their own town setup here with lots of little kids. The camper next to us had an eviction notice on their door - we tried to knock and offer some cash but no one answered. It was humbling to see this is how the downturn in the economy has affected people in the US.

Since its too cold to do any activities outside right now (and Emerson started throwing up today so I'm afraid he might be starting with Avalynn suffered through all last week with this horrible flu going around) we opted for a shopping mall in Eugene. Apparently the largest shopping complex between San Francisco and Portland but it was a let down - didn't even have a Starbucks for this worn-out mother! (just kidding - I'm not quite as addicted to Starbucks as my family yet...). We found a Costco to fill up at - the cheapest way to fill up with our bills running in the hundreds now daily - and wandered through Costco finding a sand bucket kit for the kids in hopes of a warm seaside day tomorrow afternoon at the Pacific.

Pastor Gerald & his wife Marilyn as such warm people and invited us in (throwing up Emerson and all) to their house for a quick visit and amazing leftovers before we have now settled in with our mobile home in their driveway.

Oregon... at last!

2011-04-08T21:20:00.001-07:00

Well we have made the very long journey through most of California and its probably just as long as Texas was wide. We overnighted in Sacramento last night with an early start from Palm Springs, a lunch stop at Olive Garden and a nice large mirror purchase for our home at a steal price, and then an evening stop at Andersen's Pea Soup which seemed promising at first site with a dutch style decor. Unfortunately the meal was not too great and service very slow but we don't often have these experiences so its all good.

This morning we had to drop off some CDs at the head office of the ACSI conference Jon will be playing at in October and we stopped by to meet up with Jon's old college friend and had a great time with their family and 2 little girls. They took us to a contemporary Mexican restaurant which had great food and then we hit the road a little late in the day at 1pm. Our "sightseeing" detour for today was to Turtle Cove in Redding, CA. Unfortunately the museum and butterfly pavilion I was hoping to take the kids to was closed but we enjoyed walking the unique Sundial Bridge (took 2 yrs to build, $24M cost, and over 200 lights in it) and had a nice supper by the river.

Tonight we are camped in Talent, OR. It was a stunning drive through Northern California through beautiful mountains - our only sad point was to see snow once again. Tomorrow to Dallas, OR for the church we will play at for Sunday morning. Here's to warmer weather! We've had to use our propane heat last night and tonight...

Grace Chapel, Indio

2011-04-05T21:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had the opportunity to serve at Grace Chapel in Indio, CA - Jon did the morning services with then held an evening concert at the church. Emerson and I were able to stop by for the tail end of the concert as Avalynn is still sick from the flu so my parents took her home to bed. I'm so glad we were able to come for the last few songs - it was refreshing to see a room full of people worshipping together (something I don't get to do too often these days) - what a great church family! We enjoyed meeting people after the service and were blessed by new friends made here.

110 degrees in California

2011-04-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well we have arrived at my parents home in Indio, CA where we will make 'camp' for a week. Its a nice break to get out of the motorhome for a short while and stretch our legs for a bit - especially since the weather this week has been 40C which is definitely too hot to be in the motorhome. The drive from Phoenix ended up being a bit longer than we had remembered but we fared okay. I succumbed to rearranging Avalynn so both kids could watch the tv in the front - which Jon also rigged up as Winnebago doesn't allow for that TV to run while the vehicle is on. Oh the creative measures parents will take once you pass the 4,000km mark together on a road trip!

Its been so nice to have a couple of days off before Jon's concerts start up again with a practice tonight. We've enjoyed the pool and seeing family again.

Picacho State Park - Arizona

2011-03-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we drove from Lac Cruces, New Mexico to Picacho State Park just to the north of Tucson, AZ. We stopped at a small town about halfway with high hopes of checking out some New Mexico history but got sidetracked at the air-conditioned super Walmart and didn't have anymore time to stroll through the downtown. After a quick stop in Tucson at a church Jon wanted to introduce himself to, we made camp in Picacho State Park. The first RV place we tried actually had an age restriction of 55+ but what a neat state park we ended up in. Picacho is a mountain peak in the middle of the sonora desert basically and just beautiful to look at! We arrived just in time to catch the sunset and enjoy some late-night dinner - another night of putting the kids to bed after 9pm - no wonder they're both sick.

Today we drove to Phoenix where Jon plays at the Calvary Chapel church again (we played here in May so we will join them for their mid-week service this time around). Much to the kids excitement, we made a stop at Arizona Museum for Youth in Mesa which was tons of fun with their unique exhibits all themed around Fairytales. We enjoyed doing crafts and dressing up, except when Jon played the big bad wolf in Red Riding hood - it brought Avalynn to tears and even scared me a little, although not hard to do.

We had a great time worshipping with the people at Calvary Chapel Phoenix once again and are now settled into an RV park not far from the church - now hopefully everyone will sleep well and start to get better!

Snuggling with daddy

Incredible sunset at Picacho State Park That's one big cactus!

Playing at the Mad Hatter exhibit with giant cards

Avalynn got her own 'mad hatter' hat My little red riding hood

Avalynn didn't like the game anymore when the Big Bad Wolf showed up...

Texas, Texas, and more Texas

2011-03-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

I do not have much to write about today except to once again confirm the saying if you leave Texas at sunrise you will still be in Texas at sunset. We drove from San Antonio to Las Cruces, NM today for a total of about 10 hours and a whole lot of gas money! The terrain was quite typical for Texas as we moved away from the lush terrain to more of the desert rolling hills (yes, perhaps I have been reading a bit too much of the AMA roadmap book).

This morning we took time off from cooking and had a delicious pancake breakfast courtesy of the KOA campground – which we are now officially members of. It was surprisingly cold this morning so we ate quick to head back inside and hit the road – Avalynn has a cold so I feel bad for her running nose and she is definitely not in her usual cheery spirits. At least she was able to catch up on sleep. Emerson has spent way too much time today playing angry birds that I think he will dream of birds tonight.

We stopped at Sonic in Ozona for the indoor playground to get some of their energy out and Jon enjoyed the excuse for some of his favourite fast food. For dinner we stopped in Van Horn and found a small diner with typical Texan BBQ style food – the only thing I wanted to sample today – and the beef brisket was definitely worth it! Complete with beans, potato salad, and coleslaw – a perfect rewarding dinner, Texan style of course.

We were a bit leary of travelling so close to the border but basically the interstate is just another American freeway and a ton of RV travelers so we feel in good company. We will camp tonight in La Cruces, NM at the KOA and then have only two 3-hour driving days left until Phoenix for Wednesday night. I wouldn’t want to do the I-10 through Texas everyday but it was interesting to see once.

Its not pancakes without chocolate (m&m's were all we had today!)

Pancakes at the San Antonio KOA

View of Texas (basically all we saw for 10 hours)

The Loft Church

2011-03-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

We just had an incredible weekend at The Woodlands! What a “picture-perfect” community – we spent Saturday morning back at The Waterways area where they had outdoor sprinklers that the kids just loved. Avalynn was a bit cautious at the random spray pattern after getting sprayed in the face a couple of times so she walked around more cautiously but Emerson just got right in there. We had breakfast at a neat grocery store with a cafeteria upstairs and amazing food from the deli.

We sadly returned our compact rental car and returned to parking far away from the door or not at all in some areas of town and headed to The Loft church for setup, practice, and evening service. The Loft church is apart of the larger United Methodist Church and both are very large. The United Methodist church is an incredible facility complete with a dome top and bell tower. The Loft facility is built more like a warehouse and quite contemporary where about 1200 people attend on a regular weekend. We had a great weekend serving at this church (also the church of Matt Brouwer which is how we got connected in the first place) and were so excited to see 54 kids sponsored!

This morning the kids and I walked over to the United Methodist building as Eemrson wanted to see what these multiple playground facilities were about. Much to our surprise they had a huge indoor playground structure (similar to McDonald’s but spotlessly clean) and we were the only ones in there for the first half hour or so – Emerson loved climbing and they even had a toddler area for Avalynn to explore – complete with air conditioning. Once the Sunday school kids joined in, Emerson came running over and told me his friend Hazel was here. He was running around looking for this girl (among now 30 other kids in the room) and it was actually quite funny when I saw her because she did look almost like our friend Hazel back home. I tried to explain to Emerson it wasn’t actually Hazel but we had to do formal introductions to this surprised little girl (who was being stalked by Emerson for about 10 minutes) Emerson finally believed me that it wasn’t actually Hazel.

This afternoon we drove into Houston to meet up with Matt Brouwer and his new wife Hannah. We had a great time connecting with them and then drove 3 hours to where we are camped tonight at the KOA in San Antonio. This week I originally thought held a 12-hour drive to Phoenix but much to my dismay I discovered its more like 19-hours – I guess what they say is true that Texas is a very LARGE state – we will know this all too well over the next couple of days. Apparently this is the best time of year to drive through Texas though with all of the beautiful wild flowers out!

2011-03-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Another early morning (6am) start this morning took us to Woodlands Christian Academy for their 2 morning chapels. The kids and I joined in for the Pre-K to second grade chapel where Emerson had fun singing along with the songs that he now knows quite well and Avalynn practiced her jumping up and down on 'Trading my Sorrows' song. During the second chapel we explored the school's playground and library.

In the early afternoon we took the kids to The Woodlands museum (part of my one-year membership I bought in October which I'm making full use of!) where the kids loved exploring the different exhibits and Avalynn tried her hand at painting for the first time - very controlled strokes might I add for someone of such young age :)

After a long afternoon nap as we were all wiped from such a busy morning, we explored the area next to our hotel called The Waterways. A very large complex complete with dancing fountains and choreographed light show, water canals with water taxis, mall, and beautiful park areas. Perfect weather once again for a walk outside in Texas.

Emerson in Woodlands Christian Academy library

Avalynn doing the actions at daddy's concert

Painting at the children's museum

The water exhibit at the children's museum

The Waterways in The Woodlands

From Yogi Bear to Houston

2011-03-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

We arrived at our Yogi Bear campground at 10:30pm last night - great job to Jon for singing 3 times and then driving 2 hours - he was definitely super dad yesterday! We had a fun morning with a bit of a sleep in (finally) and full "Saturday-morning" breakfast, the Bauer style, with some pancakes, eggs, and bacon. The grounds for the Yogi Bear campground were very nice with a bridge to walk across and an island with goats on it that you couldn't actually get to (smartly planned I am sure to keep the kids from chasing those poor goats). The kids had fun playing in the playground while I did laundry.

In the afternoon it took about 3.5 hours to drive to The Woodlands, Texas where we will be for the next 3 days at a school and church on the weekend. Its a beautiful little community that seems to be almost brand new with lots of business complexes hidden by all of the trees. The interstate doesn't seem to be so well planned however, in this city and we spent over an hour trying to navigate between the school to drop off our sound system, the church to pick up CDs, and the rental car company to pick up our mini-me car for the weekend. Mapquest said these were all about 5-minutes apart but we seemed to keep taking the wrong exits and its not so easy to navigate with a 35-foot motorhome.

Tonight we are camped at a quaint little campground right inside The Woodlands that has 3 lakes complete with multiple duck families which made for a great walk tonight - weather again in the 30s which we are loving every minute of it!

Gator and catfish

2011-03-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

We had a very full day today with a 6am start to make it to Jon’s 2 chapels for the morning at Parkview Baptist School. The kids and I joined in for the first Pre-K to Grade 4 chapel which was a lot of fun – the students (about 500 of them) were had a ton of energy and joined right in which is always exciting to see. For the second chapel we made our way to the school library to help sell CDs. Mrs. Susan – the elementary librarian – was so helpful with the kids, bringing little stuffed animals out and reading Emerson several books with his favorite being the Titanic.

For lunch, Pastor John and Blaine took us out to Walk-O’s for a true Louisiana experience. They started us off with alligator. I gave tiny pieces to Emerson and Avalynn first which they seemed to really like (until Jon compared the food to the toy alligator we carry around and then Emerson wanted nothing more to do with the appetizer) – I didn’t actually mind the taste and it really does taste like “meaty” chicken but I just could not get over the fact it was still an alligator. Jon had fried catfish complete with hushpuppies and I had the chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans (more southern comfort food). A great dining experience – Louisiana style!

Luckily in the afternoon we found an open power outlet behind the church because the motorhome quickly climbs into the 30s with the heat – so we were able to run the AC and have a much needed nap for all.

The evening concert was a great time worshipping with the very kind people of Parkview Baptist Church – they are all so warm and welcoming! Praise God we had 6 kids sponsored tonight! Now a 2-hour late night drive to Lake Charles Yogi Bear campground…

Beignets in New Orleans

2011-03-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

Exploring the French Quarters of New Orleans was our mission today for our “day-off”. Our campground offered a free shuttle to downtown as apparently its almost impossible to take motorhomes downtown which we could definitely see why once we arrived. Initially we thought the drive was 15 minutes but it turned into an hour long drive. It was interesting as our shuttle driver gave us a bit of a tour through the English quarter and past historical sites but the kids were a bit antzy half-way through and I was desperately trying to keep them quiet so the other seniors in the van could listen to the commentary! We didn’t have our car seats with us either which made it even more difficult but we managed and luckily other grandparents in our van graciously donated some of their grandkids toys that she had in her purse to the cause. It was very interesting to the see unique architectural styles of New Orleans intermixed from the eras and with a Spanish flare.

Our first stop was Café du Monde – a famous place for Beignets (French doughnuts). There was a very long line-up but it moved quickly and within 10 minutes we were sampling these yummy, hot French donuts filled with icing sugar which quickly made its way onto our clothes and faces – but that’s part of the fun! Emerson managed to put a few spoonfuls of straight icing sugar into his mouth before I realized what he was doing.

Next stop was a walk through the French Market were we found some mardi-gras style necklaces made just for kids – Avalynn loved her with pink rubber ducks on it! Emerson was more enthralled with the alligator heads and how sharp their teeth were. We walked through St. Louis’s Cathedral built in the 1700s where Emerson identified the different bible stories from the murals on the ceiling. We picked up a Muffelota (spelling?) sandwich from the Italian market and had a picnic on the grass inside Jackson’s Square while listening to the jazz band play in the background. What a fun few hours of exploring New Orleans!

Our journey this afternoon took us to Baton Rouge where Jon will have 3 concerts tomorrow - a very full day! We are now camped at a KOA right outside of Baton Rouge in a place called Denman Springs - the kids had a great time playing at the park and enjoying yet another supper outside.

Walking in the French Quarter

Aftermath of Mardi Gras just 3 weeks ago (beads hanging from balconies, trees, and all over the street still)

You can't go to New Orleans without your own set of beads, complete with rubber duckies for the kids

Alligator teeth - Emerson was not convinced it was real

I just love Avalynn's facial expression!

Enjoying that yummy beignet!

At Cafe du Monde

A picnic in Jackson Square

In the land of sugar sand beaches

2011-03-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Today we had great intentions of pulling out early and set the alarm clock for 7am (5am MST) however when that wonderful sound went off we looked outside and saw darkness and decided against it. By 8:30am we were pulling out which is still quite early for the Bauer family! After a stop at the gas station where Jon had to swipe the credit card 3 times (the $75 limit is not made for gas-hoggers like ours), we continued on the I-10 west to Pensacola, FL.

I planned a fun mid-morning stop at Quietwater Beach which came highly recommended online by other moms as the most toddler-friendly beach in Florida. What a beautiful beach! We had to take 2 bridges to get to this beach and a few dollars in tolls but it was definitely worth the detour. Sugar sand beaches with shallow waters made for an incredible afternoon in Pensecola. To our surprise, Avalynn showed no fear of the water. I think it was those swimming lessons we finally took with the kids earlier this month that perhaps made her more comfortable with the water. She would run straight towards the water, just expecting us to catch her, and would not slow down. She’d fall into our arms and just float with her tiny feet up in the water. Emerson was crab walking along the shores – how fun!

Our afternoon took us through 4 states in just over 3 hours - Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It was an interesting drive with tons of bridges over swampy areas. Our long day finally ended in New Orleans where we are camped out tonight at a KOA. The drive through New Orleans was eye opening as the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina can still be seen between new rebuilt houses in each community. Tomorrow we will explore the French Headquarters and then head on to Baton Rouge.

The warm Floridan sun

2011-03-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great day yesterday enjoying the grounds of the African Inlands Missionary Retirement center and of course just basking in the warm Floridan sun. The kids of course loved just being content digging in the sand and the luxury of simply being outside without having snow boots, scarves, mittens, etc. Jon had a practice at the church from 4-6pm on Saturday afternoon so the kids and I decided to tag along with a quick stop to Target to get some sandals for Avalynn - an important item I forgot to pack. We had fun playing in the church basement with pool noodles we found in the storage closet and in the park outside. Janice, the church secretary, and her husband took us out for a great dinner and we had such a nice time getting to know them more.

Today was a fun morning worshipping with the congregation of First Alliance once again. Jon sang "My God is so Big" and both the kids were up on stage with Avalynn trying to grab the mic from Jon - I don't think she realized how loud her voice could actually be :) Emerson did the actions perfectly and he was so proud of "leading" the other kids on stage.

Our afternoon trip brough us as far as Tallahassee. I was hoping to make it closer to Pensecola (or at least the Gulf Coast) but the kids basically dictate when we can stop. When I am dishing out Pringles to a 16-month old you know we are desparate to keep them content to the next RV park stop! We are parked at a nice RV park and luckily got the last spot. I did call a few other campgrounds and they were full as its still Spring Break down here. Jon cooked up a fabulous steak dinner while the kids and I did a quick walk to Publix for some forgotten steak sauce on the grocery list. While driving in the grocery store looked close but I misjudged the steep hill required to reach this destination and can definitely say I got my workout for the week pushing the double stroller - I tried to convince Emerson to walk beside me but I think my panting and shortness of breath kept him in his cushy seat.

It was so warm out in the evening we decided to give the kids a bath outside so they could splash til their hearts were content!

Parked at the Africa Inland Missions Center in Minneaola, FL

Playing in the sand

Trying out the new wagon compliments of Grandma & Grandpa Bauer (we forgot the last one in Indiana!)

The pool being closed at our Tallahassee RV park didn't stop us!

On the road again... "T- 75 hours"

2011-03-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

Here we are again... in one sense it seems like we just left and another sense our past tour seems like forever and a day since we were in the motorhome together as a family, ministering on the road. After one long day, an hour delay on the ground in YEG due to de-icing (which oddly enough I didn't even mind because I knew we would not be seeing that white stuff again for a long time), and an exhausting marathon through Houston International from Terminal C to E, we arrived safely with bags and kids in tow to West Palm Beach. We decided to take our chances that the motorhome would still be happily sitting in its parking stall at the storage unit and not rent a car. And there she was, sitting between a boat and motorcycle, waiting to be driven once again.

The kids were of course very excited to see all the "new" toys we left behind in November and luckily everything started up fine and we drove off in under 30 minutes of unpacking. Life is simple when all you have to deal with is 35 feet.

Our first trip was to travel to 4 hours to Minneaola (just north of Orlando) where we will minister at this weekend at First Alliance. We stopped in Port St. Lucie to visit an artist-friend and her husband and had a great time catching up with them! We are now camped at a ministry retreat center for retired missionaries just a few minutes from the church. It's an interesting complex and I know each couple living here would have an incredible story - hopefully we will be able to hear some of them over the course of our weekend stay. There's a lake directly outfront the complex which is just beautiful so we will be looking forward to a peaceful day tomorrow morning!

Here is a screenshot from mapquest of our tour, according to mapquest this journey should take 75 hours or 8,000kms... let the adventure begin!

Crazy Love

2011-02-11T18:12:00.001-08:00

Hope Chapel was so much fun to be back at and talk to some of the new friends we met last year - we always love returning to churches and feel more like we're "returning to our home church". What a great church family and we look forward to hopefully worshiping with you again next year! This week we've settled into the beach-life routine. We even ventured to a few beaches (not always my favorite as I'm not a big fan of cleaning up all the tiny grains of sand that seem to find their way into everyone & everything) which the kids liked in small doses. The ocean is too rough for the kids to go in - they take their time getting used to the kiddie pool at the hotel even - but they enjoyed building sand castles and by the end Avalynn was not attempting to eat the sand.

I read the book 'Crazy Love' by Francis Chan this week as recommended by my mom. I also read the book 'Outlive your Life' by Max Lucado which we received at our recent World Vision Conference in Texas last month. God is definitely speaking to us this year and I am excited to see where He wants to take us and the ministry. 'Crazy Love' is exactly that - a book about relooking at how exactly we are spending our days which eventually turn into life and showing extremes acts of love - to the point of appearing "crazy". Francis is actually living out what he preaches. He took his family to Thailand for a year to minister at an orphanage and really gain a perspective on what matters at the end of the day. We in North America are the richest people on the planet and the rest of the 75% or so of the world lives in poverty. Francis challenges us as Christians to re-evaluate what and how we give of our time and finances - going to back to the roots of what the bible says. As we move the ministry forward into this year we will be praying for opportunities to really live out worship to this end. It was a good reminder for me of what my purpose is on this earth - to love all of God's children and help as much as I can with what resources He has given.

Sweating it out for Jesus... in Hawaii!

2011-02-05T14:43:00.000-08:00

Our tour this February was one that myself and the kids were definitely not going to miss out on. Jon will be playing at Hope Chapel on the island of Maui once again (he played there last year as well - a church of about 1500 people or so). We lined it up so that we stay with my parents in their 3 bedroom timeshare right on the beach (a free place to stay!). We've enjoyed an amazing week so far of fun in the sun. Our winters up in Alberta are far too much for me to handle without some sort of a break - my kids just love running on the grass in their bare feet. Its adorable to watch Avalynn explore. She's still a little bit unstable but manages to stumble along quite impressively along the rugged terrain and even sand.

I had to fly solo with my parents over here as Jon was asked, after we already purchased our airline tickets, to play at Breakforth (a conference of 15,000 people in Edmonton) which obviously he didn't say no to. It was definitely a long flight over (7 hrs from Calgary - Kahalui) but the kids did surprisingly well. Unfortunately our Air Canada flight didn't have personalized TVs which we have become accustomed to so Emerson navigated his way through the iPad and Avalynn took turns climbing on my seat and Grandma & Grandpa's seats. She only slept 45 minutes the whole day! I don't know where she gets her energy from but she's definitely not like her big brother was at just over a year old.

We've developed a bit of a family routine with taking an early morning walk (sometimes at 6am with the 3-hour back time change) on the beach, some playtime at the kids pirate ship pool, and just general "wearing off steam" time in the grass. What an incredible time God has blessed our family with here as we are refreshed watching early morning sunrises and listening to the calming sound of the waves at night.

Enjoying the beautiful sunsets

Hanging out in the largest banyan tree in the world (I think)

My little hula girl!

Livin the life - Hawaii style...

Our little friend Diego decided to come for a 30-minute walk with us on the stroller (surprisingly enough he stayed on the stroller bar the entire time)

A walk on the beach

2010-11-12T18:19:00.000-08:00

We've enjoyed a great week of relaxing in the sun with warm Floridan weather we had hoped for! Most mornings we have spent at the pool for a bit although the water is freezing so its just been Emerson & Jon who have braved it. Today Grandma & Grandpa Bauer took the kids to the children's museum and loved exploring the different exhibits with the kids. Emerson spent a long time in the grocery store exhibit playing in the bakery with Grandma. Jon and I were busy packing up the motorhome for storage for the next 4 months.

We had an impromptu visit to the beach so Emerson stripped down to his undies and chased the waves. It was so cute to watch - the free spirit of a child! Last time we were at the beach in Hawaii he was so timid and did not want to even go in the water. This time there was no shyness - he ran straight through the waves and loved splashing in the mid afternoon sun.

For our last lunch together we found a beach side restaurant right next to the ocean and enjoyed some seafood. It was a fun restaurant with sand and tables off the front veranda. What a nice ending to our time down in Florida! I cannot believe 7 weeks have passed already and its time to pack up and go home. Surprisingly enough Jon and I wish we were travelling on... but it will be before we know it to continue on this amazing journey God has given us the opportunity to take as a family.

Avalynn with her new baby - testing out the bottle

Emerson playing "vet" at the children's museum

Trying his hand at an oil change

She loves her new ride

Exploring Jensen Beach - this was an impromptu visit so Emerson stripped down and took the opportunity to play in the water!

Recovery bible study

2010-11-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

Jon has had 3 concerts this week with a group called Recovery bible study. Avalynn and I went to Fort Lauderdale last night with him for his last one. It was an incredible night and has been a great week of being reminded of why we do what we do. The recovery bible study is all over the US and helps people who have come from addictions, alcoholism, etc. and want to become sober. We met some incredible people and I heard some of their stories and was encouraged. I met a single dad who has committed to raising his 3 year old son on his own - his son tagged along to the meeting and had the sweetest little spirit and enjoyed playing with Avalynn. The group was on fire for God and it was a refreshing time of worship for all!

Port St. Lucie, FL

2010-11-09T19:13:00.000-08:00

We have now moved on about 2 hours south to Port St. Lucie, Florida where my parents have graciously given us a week in their timeshare for some down time and a "home away from home" break from the motorhome. Its a small resort which is a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Disney-town. Each morning Reuben and Ruth take the kids for a walk around the grounds and to the playground next to the pool - this has been incredible for Jon and I to have some time on our own in the morning and sleep a few extra hours!

On Sunday morning Jon sang at Morningside Church which was a great church family and we enjoyed meeting some of the people there. On Monday we ventured out to the Atlantic Ocean. Seeing this side of North America was a first for Reuben and Ruth so despite the cloudy, cold day we bundled up and explored the sandy beaches. Emerson loved finding shells on the beach! We had an impromptu picnic right on the coast - parking behind the restroom building to block the cold wind.

Today the sun finally made its debut and we experienced real warm weather for the first time this tour. Emerson had his bathing suit on before the rest of us even knew what was happening - he couldn't wait to hit the pool with dad. It was nice and quiet by the pool with only one other couple there. Avalynn loves her bathtime but decided she wasn't in the mood for swimming today. Ruth bought her the cutest little Roxy bathing suit so at least she looked like a little sunshine baby.

We dropped off the motorhome for an oil change (yes, the second one this tour which I guess is a testament to the amount of miles we have driven) and decided to visit the Manatee Observation Center in Fort Pierce as this is the season for spotting these incredible creatures. It was an interesting center where we watched an educational video and they had kids activities where Emerson loved putting together the Manatee puzzle. We just missed a spotting of the Manatees out in the ocean which was disappointing but the kids came away with each their own little stuffed Manatee to remember this special day by.

Hunting for Seashells in the Atlantic

Pool time!

My little Roxy baby playing chess

Manatee Observation Center

Dreams do come true

2010-11-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

We have spent the last couple of days soaking up the beautiful, warm Floridan sun. We’ve met up with Reuben and Ruth and love having grandparents around once again! The first day we spent just enjoying the large 2-bedroom condo unit they have here in Orlando and the kids went walking, playing in the playground and Emerson loved feeding the turtles and fish in the ponds on the property.

Of course we had to make a stop at the most ‘magical place on earth’ also known as Magic Kingdom! We took Emerson when he was 14 months old so we also wanted Avalynn to experience it as well and also go before Emerson turns 3 when it will cost $78 for a child. We were able to use Reuben’s handi-cap parking pass and luckily got a parking spot right up next to the front gate. The first ride we went on was the race cars in Tomorrowland – Emerson loved steering and it was cute to follow behind and watch him and Jon move all over the race track. The next ride we went on was It’s a Small World. Unfortunately Avalynn fell asleep after waiting all morning to go on a ride. We tried to wake her up on the boat but she probably thought she was having a dream each time she opened her eyes as she would fall right back asleep again. There was no line up for splash mountain so Jon and I snuck away for a quick rendezvous down memory lane from our own childhood. It was really fun although we both felt a bit sick after the 50-foot drop – we must be getting older!

Emerson loved watching the parade and was so excited to finally see Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mous. He was imitating their dance for the rest of the day with his hands. He also gave Pluto a high five and was so proud of himself. Jon was such a trouper – he had the flu but still came on all the rides so we ended the day with a train ride around the park. It was an amazing day for all and special memories with Grandma & Grandpa Bauer for the kids – they were troopers to come out with us and tackle the big park!

If you look closely you can see us standing on Main Street in Disneyworld. It was decorated for Christmas already!

Avalynn fell asleep on 'It's a Small World'

Emerson's first race car ride

Hi Mom!

Grandma Ruth bought the kids their own set of Ears!

Orlando reunion

2010-11-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

The kids loved having Grandma & Grandpa Bauer around to entertain them for a few days so we drove as fast as we could down to Florida to meet up with them!

Walking the mall during a rainy evening

Hanging out in dad's favourite store - Emerson knows just where to go!

We piggy-backed on a birthday party happening and Emerson got a monkey-balloon

Almost walking!

Our beautiful grounds at the hotel - I think Grandma & Grandpa are literally holding Emerson in place as he wouldn't sit still - too many sticks to pick up and innocent ducks to chase.

Feeding the turtles in the lake

Music City stopover

2010-11-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

I spent the last 24 hours in the city that Jon has spent a ton of time at in the past few years and grown to love. He has been very excited to show us around and we were final able to see where he has hung out from lunch spots to songwriting offices to the beautiful sprawling colonial-style houses that seem to line each road throughout the Nashville and Brentwood area. Our first stop was to Rusty and Crystal’s house, who was Jon’s producer on his latest project. They were a really nice Californian couple with 2 little cute kids who brought down toys for our kids to play with while we got a tour of the studio. For dinner we went to our friends from the band High Valley who has a 2 year old son that Emerson played with all night long. We camped outside on the driveway of Brad and Rebekah’s house and in the morning Jon, Avalynn, and I went to meet Jon’s manager for the past year which was nice to finally put a face to the voice I’ve had many phone conversations with. He’s helped us along in our ministry tremendously and brought invaluable direction over the past year. We also met with a potential publicist and manager for going forward. It was fun to be apart of these meetings that I’ve never had the chance to attend.

After our meetings we picked up Emerson from his playdate with Drew (Rebekah volunteered to take him during our meetings which helped out tremendously!) and we hit the road headed to Florida, our last stop on the 2 month tour across the US. We had dinner at our increasingly favourite gas station, Flying J’s, where Emerson had a quick bath to get some energy out from being in his car seat. Not everyone can just pull to the side of the road and have a bath in their vehicle! We are now camped just south of Atlanta and just have 6 driving hours left until we see sand & water...

Community Bible Church

2010-11-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

This morning we enjoyed worshipping with the church family of Community Bible Church in Mansfield, OH. They only have one service in the morning which was a nice break for all of us who are used to minimum 2 services but up to even 4 services back in Colorado. Emerson stayed in Sunday School the whole time this morning and enjoyed doing multiple arts and crafts like building a shaker out of a toilet paper roll, macaroni, and wax paper and learning about Jesus healing the deaf man. We all enjoyed a family afternoon nap with the kids actually in their beds (this hasn’t happened since we left Canada). After Jon led a worship seminar in the evening we drove 3 hours to northern Kentucky and have now camped out at an RV park, safe and sound.

An apple a day...

2010-10-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

…keeps the doctor away, but probably not when you pick them in the cold! We camped last night in Charles Mill Lake Park right outside of Mansfield, Ohio. It was quite a nice campground and very full but again our heater went most of the night and we had to switch to propane heat as the electric heat just doesn’t seem to keep our little lovebug warm who sleeps in the front room.

This morning we made a stop at Apple Hill Orchards. I have always wanted to go apple picking as a family but its probably a more enjoyable experience perhaps in early to mid October – not October 30th! The route GPS took us had a bridge marked as 12 ft in height so luckily we decided to pull over and finally look up our actual height. It’s a good thing we did too because with the air conditioners we are 12 ft 3” so we had to take a 15-minute detour through the beautiful country and large acreages.

Once arriving at the orchard, Emerson quickly caught on to how apple-picking works and carried his little apple bag out into the orchard. We picked a few apples before the cold brought us back into the small gift shop again. We also purchased some amazing apple juice (the kind that tastes like you are literally drinking an apple) and sampled some apple donuts.

We were hoping for an afternoon nap outside the Laundromat (a much needed stop for us this week) but the kids didn’t want to settle. I enjoyed reading my book for 15 minutes in the Laundromat – I might take up this chore of taking my laundry out to the mat back home as an excuse to get some solitude. Emerson got sent in with me to help with the drying part but he enjoyed putting the clothes in and he’s a great helper when it comes to laundry. For our grocery store stop I decided to dress the kids up in their costumes because we won't be able to trick-or-treat tomorrow night. Of course Emerson was excited to put his zebra costume on again and Avalynn just loves hers because its very cozy.

Outback was the take-out dinner of choice tonight before we headed to the church which also happened to be our campground for the night. Jon had a practice with the band for 3-hours and the kids loved playing in the oversize toddler room with endless ride-on toys. Avalynn figured out how to get onto the ride-on toy and actually balanced on it – she could only move backwards but very cute watching her new skill unfold.

The kids were exhausted (luckily) from our full day so they went right to bed at 8:30pm. Hindsight we probably should not have stayed in the back of the church parking lot as Jon and I were both a bit on edge all night and did not sleep very well. God protected us though and tomorrow night we will stay in a campground.

Picking apples at Apple Hille Orchard

Tasting apple cider and Emerson got a caramel apple lollipop

Avalynn just couldn't stay awake for the orchard

All dressed up - in Krogers

Meeting the Manatees

2010-10-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Today we braved the cold (yes, even for a Canadian as it was slightly above the freezing mark) and headed out for the Columbus Zoo. It came recommended to me from many people and it was definitely worth the trip although now as I am typing my hands are still thawing out. They had Boo at the Zoo event tonight so I dressed the kids up even though the event hadn’t started. Everywhere we walked Emerson got comments on his cuteness and he even got filmed for the evening news! We unfortunately found out they don’t have any zebras at the zoo so he was being labeled as the only zebra at the zoo.

Our first stop was the manatees. Because they were indoors and we were already frozen just from walking from the parking lot to the entrance, only to find out the closest exhibit (the aquarium) was about a kilometer away! Good thing for the double stroller so I ran to the aquarium and we all had rosy cheeks once we arrived. Emerson didn’t believe me at first that they would have manatees. He has a Diego book that we read which is all about manatees but I think he thought they were made up because when I told him we would see them at the zoo today he just smiled, shook his head, and said 'no mommy'. I have never actually seen one either so it was incredible to watch these 2,000 lb animals move around so gracefully.

Since the indoor exhibits were few and far between I tried to extend our viewing time indoors. We spent way too much time for my liking in the reptiles house and Emerson was even not wanting to look at any more snakes by the end of that exhibit.

Avalynn loved to watch all of the animals so much so that she didn’t fall asleep until after lunchtime for her nap. We were up close and personal with gorillas through glass windows but the gorillas were very friendly and loved to watch Emerson and appeared to be interacting with us.

All in all, a very fun but very cold day spent at Columbus Zoo! We find ourselves in a camp ground outside of Mansfield, Oh tonight where we spend the weekend with Community Bible Church. I hope the snow holds off until Sunday night but it definitely feels like winter out there now…

Up close and personal with the Gorillas

In the Australian Outback

Look at that cute tail!

Hanging with the Bears in the North American exhibit

Hanging out at COSI

2010-10-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

Columbus Children's Museum was the highlight of today for me and the kids. We had a great morning exploring this enormous science centre - larger than the butterdome in Edmonton with 3 different levels. The museum was mostly geared towards older kids - even high school age - but we had fun playing in the Clifford exhibit and young families exhibit. Avalynn loved playing with the big red dog and Emerson was great at matching up the proper letters in the post office exhibit. The drive downtown Columbus was quite tricky as my GPS kept losing satellite reception and downtown was crazy with one-ways and interstates and bridges - but we managed.

In the afternoon I decided to attempt a nice 'quiet' stroll through the mall near our hotel as both kids fell asleep in the car but unfortunately they both woke up after I setup both seats in recline mode (a lot of work in configuring the seats!). There was a great play area in the mall where both kids loved crawling all over the playground for a couple hours and before we knew it it was time to pick up Jon from the convention.

We were hoping to take the kids out trick-or-treating tonight as most of Columbus has it happening tonight but the dinner with the convention organizers went until 8pm so we ran out of time. Instead, Emerson dressed up in his Zebra costume and we walked through the hotel hallways and front desk where he ended up with 2 chocolate bars and many 'oh so cute's!' from all the guests we ran into. He quickly caught on to the 'trick-or-treat' phrase :)

Beetlejuice

2010-10-27T18:05:00.001-07:00

It was just a short drive of just under an hour to Columbus, Ohio today where we park ourselves in a hotel for 2 nights while Jon sings at the ACSI Convention for the Ohio Valley region. We picked up a rental car and got upgraded to a minivan which is a nice change (the one that has the buttons to automatically open the kids doors) so once again I feel like I can conquer the world - or at least the interstates and drive-thrus on my own!

We helped Jon setup at the school this afternoon and then headed out to a restaurant recommended by the travel concierge called Max & Erma's. The food was okay but it was definitely about the atmosphere and Emerson loved it. I broke my sugar rules and ordered him a drink called 'Beetlejuice' which was grape juice and sprite topped off with 2 gummy worms - he was in heaven! To end off the night he got to visit the ice cream sundae bar and loaded up his ice cream with all sorts of candy and then proceeded to pick out only the candies from his sundae.

Avalynn is digging into her Chicken Pot Pie

Emerson pleased with this drink called 'Beetlejuice'

Eyeing the sundae bar

Loading up on candies!

What followed this was a very long round of teethbrushing

Tornado country

2010-10-26T17:50:00.000-07:00

This morning we woke up to the motorhome swaying in the wind with a call from Grandma & Grandpa Bauer to check the weather reports. There was a severe storm watch for our area in Indiana and tornadoes touching down in other States around us so we quickly moved the slides in and Jon repositioned us in the campground to be next to the storm shelter. Campgrounds are not the wisest places to be in weather like this but unfortunately the wind was too strong to drive anywhere! So we all huddled in our motorhome and watched out the front window as the wind and rain whipped around us blowing garbage cans and leaves all around - praying the whole time. Thankfully the storm passed in about 2 hours and no damage was done so we thank God for keeping us safe!

We were hoping to make it to Columbus today but had to make a stop at the bank - however, Bank of America's are apparently hard to find out East. Their website said there was an ATM in Springfield, OH so we had to detour from the I-70 about 10 miles only to find the ATM didn't take deposits. We wandered around the mall for a bit and let Emerson play in "Toys r Us" and I found some great summer clearance clothes at Old Navy for the kids - all for $1 each - of which I'm hoping we'll hit warm weather in Florida. We are now camped out in Springfield, OH at a campground that is surprisingly full for this time of year.

I attempted something new for dinner tonight - pulled pork tenderloin in the slow cooker. It actually worked out well - I plugged it into our car adaptor while travelling in the motorhome and it turned out great - a taste of home is just what we needed tonight!

Yogi Bear in Indiana

2010-10-25T15:10:00.001-07:00

Our Sunday morning was spent having a great time worshipping with the people of River Valley Alliance Church. Jon led worship and shared some songs and even called the kids up for 'Peace like a River' and Emerson went to the front all on his own this time. He stood right in the back as he said he wanted to "lead" the other kids.

We enjoyed lunch out with Pastor Larry, his wife, and Tyler the Worship Director at Perkins but quickly arrived at what we call the 'melting point' for the kids. I think they had a very long time as we had to all get up at 630am and head over to the church - the one downfall of travelling in a motorhome is we go where and when Jon needs to go. Being the smart parents as on occasion we are, we cut lunch early and hit the road to begin that wonderful thing called 'afternoon nap' for the kids. I was hoping to stop at the Jelly Belly factory and take a free tour but it was closed by the time we passed. We were hoping to stop over in Chicago but could not find a campground anywhere and had to drive into Indiana where we finally found a campground that was still open for the season called Caboose Lake.

Today was a more low key day as we are only about 5 hours from Columbus, Ohio where we have to arrive for Wednesday night. We stopped to load up on groceries at the local IGA (prices were very high and I think we should've held out for Walmart!) and were hoping to find some outlet shopping - Jon's request. Unfortunately we didn't stumble across any but we did find a Goodwill store where Emerson scored a 48-piece Melissa & Doug dinosaur puzzle for $2.99 and Avalynn a new eco-friendly ball (her favourite toy these days that she loves to chase and tackle).

We are now camped out at a Yogi Bear Campground in Knightstown, IN. I have never heard of the Yogi Bear chain until a couple of States ago but it seems like a great place for kids. They have statues of Yogi Bear everywhere and 2 great playgrounds. Most campgrounds around here close November 1st so we're hitting them just in time. Its getting colder so we are praying for the cold weather to hold out until Sunday when we finally head South!

Perhaps Emerson has discovered his instrument? (We'll still stick with piano to start off with)

Emerson is hiding behind the girl in the black checkered dress "leading" the kids

Fun at Yogi Bear Campground

More cheese, please!

2010-10-23T19:18:00.001-07:00

We now find ourselves in Watertown, WI for a concert at River Valley Alliance Church. We drove last night and stopped over at Black River Falls, about 3 hours outside of Minneapolis. I thought it might be fun to see some waterfalls once again but upon checking into our campground I was informed the falls became 'extinct' about 100 years ago. Oh well, we did see the Black River which was actually black. The sun was quickly setting so we setup camp and had a barbecue outside – once again the surroundings are beautiful with all of the leaves changing colors on the trees but the grass still green.

I stopped in at a cheese & coffee shop next to our campground as I have been wanting to try this famous Wisconsin cheese. The tomato basil cheddar was excellent but I was not too fond of the cranberry white cheddar as it lacked taste – very fun to shop and look at all the variety of cheese they had.

This morning we drove 2 hours to Watertown – Emerson asked his usual morning question (I guess he’s gotten the hang of the touring lifestyle) of ‘where are we going today mommy?’ and I answered “a place called ‘Watertown’”. After thinking for a few seconds he asked if I had his bathing suit in the motorhome and I answered yes and he looked happy and content. I didn’t continue the conversation until 2 hours later when we arrived at the church in Watertown and he looked outside and started crying. He told me he wanted a water fountain to run through with his bathing suit on! We settled for putting on his rubber boots and splashing in the puddles as its raining outside today – its incredible how his mind works! It makes sense a town called Watertown should have some sort of water involved I suppose.

After Jon's worship seminar and band practice we enjoyed a nice meal with the Worship Pastor and team in their house - which happens to be the place we are camping out tonight as well (at least on the street). They were such warm people and the kids loved playing in the family room where Emerson could build a fort out of the cushions and Avalynn quickly discovered her long lost love of climbing straircases - the activity she took part in wholeheartedly the entire night! She would climb a couple of stairs and look back to see if someone was following (which of course I was) and then laugh and climb quicker.

Off for a quick sleep on Louisa Street and early to church in the morning...

I dragged my children outside in the pouring rain just to get a picture infront of the big mouse with the cheese - I just couldn't resist...

10,000 lakes of Minnesota

2010-10-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

So we have been in Minnesota now since Wednesday afternoon and I have to say it is quite pretty. I have only ever been to the airport so its interesting seeing the actual cities. There are lakes everywhere (very small ones) and I noticed that the license plate calls Minnesota the 10,000 lake state. The kids now both have runny noses so we opted to check out the indoor playground in Maple Grove where we are staying. It turns out I think every other child in this town had the same idea and it must be teachers convention or something - it was definitely not the relaxing, sit on the side and drink coffee type morning I thought it would be. I was scared I would lose Emerson as the slides went to the roof and there were big kids running over the little kids. We only stayed for about 10 minutes and headed off to the convention to visit dad at his booth instead. I wasn't sure how the rest of the day would go as the indoor playground was basically my only plan but Emerson fell asleep in the car so I decided to do some shopping and it was a nice, relaxing afternoon as Avalynn played in the stroller and Emerson slept and I found a few great deals at my favourite store, Marshalls!

We walked around the small Main Street of Maple Grove and had a light lunch at Caribou Coffee which had a small children's table, chalk board, and stuffed bear on the wall which Emerson loved and I finally got to sit and enjoy that coffee (the best dark chocolate, non-fat, decaf Mocha I've ever had). We went and played in a high-end toy store for about an hour which was next door. I wasn't sure if the staff appreciated it as I opted not to buy anything at the end (everything was way over-priced!) but they had "sample" toys at each corner of the store so I don't see how they would expect anything different than for kids to play with them. The clerk kept coming over and cleaning up all the toys every 10 minutes but the kids loved it. Especially the Melissa & Doug kitchen and ice cream set.

We enjoyed a pizza night with the ACSI staff at the hotel and I had a very long night up with Avalynn every couple hours as the poor girl couldn't breathe... I hope they recover quickly! We're about to pack up now as Jon is finished the convention at 1pm and we head to Wisconsin as long as Friday afternoon traffic is not too heavy.

Iowa State

2010-10-19T15:51:00.001-07:00

Monday morning was spent at the Daystar Television station in Denver, CO where Jon taped 3 songs and did a live on-air interview with the wonderful ministry team there. The women on staff spoiled the kids with all sorts of cookies in the Green room while we watched Dad on TV. Our travels took us on the road wall afternoon with a brief stop in North Platte at a park where we cooked up a great “home-cooked” meal of ravioli. Emerson enjoyed climbing on a train caboose they had on display and watned to go fishing but the shore was too muddy. We decided to drive a bit more in hopes the kids would fall asleep but yet again to no avail. The campground we planned to stop at in Grand Island, NE was closed so w travelled on to Henderson. After we stopped at registration (since the office appeared to be closed) and picked up a form to fill out in the morning a lady in her nightgown came zooming over (in the dark since it was about 10pm) in her golf cart quite upset that we didn’t stop at the office – even though we did! Kind of a funny moment – all was good when we explained we had the form and would drop off payment in the morning. Maybe people in the North Central area “camp & run”?

Today our travels took us through the rest of Nebraska and into Iowa. For a fun break we stopped at Lincoln Children’s Museum which was a blast – I’m considering buying an annual membership for these places – they are perfect for the age of the kids. Jon enjoyed it as well and participated by dressing up at the different stations from a fireman suit to safari wear.

Milestone alert! Avalynn took her first step in the toddler area of this children’s museum! I could hardly believe my eyes as she has been ‘cruising’ for awhile but not even standing on her own. All of a sudden I saw her let go of the railing and take one step and grab on to the adjoining railing. She was so proud of herself and laughed! What an adorable little girl I have been blessed with! Later on she also stood on her own for a few weeks a couple more times. I was thinking she might be a late walker but now I am not so sure – she seems to catch on to things quickly.

Tonight we are camping in Story City, Iowa. I haven't figured out yet what the "story" actually is but there are tons of trees at our campsite (which is mostly empty and the actual office is closed for the season already) and a small river and playground which Emerson loved scouting out. Its a nice change from the flat dry country of Nebraska. We also enjoyed our first campfire of the trip tonight - this is actually the first campground that actually had a fire pit in it which we have found odd seeing as this is a staple at Alberta/BC campgrounds.

Tomorrow, off to Minneapolis...

Exploring the "Wild Side" Exhibit

Cessna 150

Watch out Papa - Emerson might follow in your footsteps!

Sunday School x3

2010-10-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! It was very full and an incredible weekend with the great people at Southeast Christian Church. Emerson went to Sunday School three times this weekend so we now have 3 orange pumpkins painted by him in our motorhome. I did get called each time to come and pick him up but he stayed for about 45 minutes each time which was a record and each time he wanted to go back. 50 kids got sponsored through Compassion so we praise God for this!

We drove through Denver and have now setup camp in Wheat Ridge, CO just NorthWest of Denver at a nice campground called Prospect Rv Park. Its located right next to a nature park which has a ton of walking paths, multiple parks and fishing lakes. The temperature was in the mid 20's out (Jon was in shorts!) so we enjoyed some family time exploring the beautiful grounds.

Our neighbours at this campground are from Germany and their brought their motorhome over on a barge - interesting people - and we had a nice conversation since we had just visited there.

Caught in Action! Stealing a sip from Emerson's cup in his bed :)

Drive to Denver

2010-10-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today we had a relatively short drive of only 2-hours to Denver. The highway was surprisingly very rough so it was a very loud, rattly ride but the view was incredible with the Rockies in the distance and blue sky. We went on a hunt for another concierge suggestion for family-friendly dining in Denver to a place called PB Loco Cafe which was supposed to be filled with over 40 types of peanut butter (including chocolate and curry) sandwiches served up - it sounded very neat to me but upon pulling into the shopping centre we found out it was closed. I was quite upset about this (Jon was happy as he was not too interested in eating peanut butter & jam sandwiches for lunch) but next time I will definitely call ahead before we hunt out these little side-stops I find. We opted for an Irish Pub - not quite family-friendly - but great food. I tried Bangers & Mash for the first time and actually liked it and Jon and Avalynn loved their chicken pot pie. Emerson stuck with the usual chocolate milk, grilled cheese sandwich, and carrots.

We headed off to Southeast Christian Church in Parker, CO and I must say it is quite the church. It is huge! It had multiple playgrounds which we did not even try out all of them during our 7-hour stopover for Jon's practice and evening service. I put the kids in Sunday school and got to take in about 20 minutes of the service which was a much needed break and great sermon on the book of Ezra. Avalynn was actually crying hysterically when I got called - they said she was smiling and having fun but must have just realized I wasn't there anymore - poor girl! So we enjoyed some girl time checking out the bookstore and she started yelling very loudly in the foyer when she saw Jon singing his final song on the TVs. Emerson had a great time in Sunday School and I only got called in the end when he didn't want to come in from the playground - a nice break from the usual reason of him wanting me.

We had a nice but quick dinner out with the Worship Pastor and his family at Red Robin's and are now settled into our hotel room - kids asleep at 9pm!

Avalynn's first time in a sandbox - she sat there for almost 20 minutes just letting the sand run through her fingers

She's calling Emerson to come back and play in her new favourite place

One of multiple playgrounds at the church (Emerson is waving to Grandma!)

Windy Wyoming

2010-10-15T21:39:00.000-07:00

Today was a very full day! We started off at a leisurely pace this morning and took time to visit with our new neighbours (the horses) only to receive an email from the television station Jon was supposed to tape on that they thought we were coming an hour earlier than we had planned. We rushed over and what was supposed to take 30 minutes ended up taking 3 hours. Luckily it was a beautiful day and Charlene, the TV host, offered cookies and juice and mini chocolate bars to Emerson right off the bat - what a wonderful lady! Her grandkids live across the street and they offered the playground to play at as well. Unfortunately it was so windy that Emerson had a hard time even walking across the street so it was short lived.

We had lunch with the two Pastor's from Calvary Chapel Cheyenne and enjoyed getting to them and their son - Emerson bonded right away with their 4-year old son, Simon. The concert tonight was a great night and we met many warm friendly people! We hope to come back in the future - but I could do without the wind next time.

Home, home on the range

2010-10-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at Calvary Chapel Salt Lake City where Jon joined them for their Wednesday evening service. The kids, my parents, and I enjoyed playing in the toddler room where Emerson loved rolling around in the tunnels. The church puts on a dinner every week prior to the service which was in a neat rain forest-like cafeteria room and the best pork roast we have ever had! Sadly, we had to drop off my parents at the airport as they are flying on to meetings in Washington DC so we hugged them and said goodbyes – Emerson was confused as to why we couldn’t meet them for breakfast in the morning in their hotel.

Since it was late we decided to get a head start on our long haul to Cheyenne so we drove to Evanston, WY. The ride did not go as smoothly as expected though as the kids did not want to settle so I finally had to rock Avalynn to sleep and Emerson watched a DVD until 10pm. The campground we found in our GPS didn’t exist so we settled into the Walmart parking lot along side multiple RVs.

It’s a very interesting ride through Wyoming State with multiple changes in scenery from rolling hills to snow-capped mountains in the distance. We crossed the continental divide and have climbed to 8,500 ft in elevation. I read in our tour book to Jon that there are large herds of wild horses here so now each time we pass a few horses he is positive they are wild – I’m not so sure on that one. It was about a 6 hour drive to Cheyenne today but the kids did quite well and Emerson enjoyed our lunchtime stop at the McDonald’s playpark. Its very windy out today so we couldn’t stop at our usual outdoor community playground area.

We settled into a campground in Cheyenne - its actually an RV sales place but has some hook-up spots at the back of the lot. We also have made some new friends that are right behind our RV - horses! I guess that's not uncommon seeing as we are in Wyoming now. Emerson showed no fear feeding them grass but Avalynn clung tight whenever he would stick his nose over the fence. We stay here for 2 nights which is a nice change from moving each day - at least a bit of similarity for a short while...

This is the "Continental Divide" I had to create to prevent Avalynn from being poked in the eye

A little friend behind our camping site

Niagara Falls of the West

2010-10-12T21:11:00.001-07:00

Our travels took us from Boise to Rupert today. The kids actually slept until 8:30am this morning which was a nice break but we were late picking up my parents from their hotel! We took a short detour to check out Hap's Leather Goods in Boise but unfortunately my dad did not find any comfortable boots - it was fun trying boots on and the kids each came away with a cute stuffed puppy compliments of Grandma. Emerson has named his but I can't understand what he's chosen so I'll keep trying - it sounds something like Nemie but I have no idea the origins of this name.

My dad took the wheel again and Jon worked and slept. Our stop today was nature related (as opposed to most shopping stops we have had) at Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho. These falls are apparently known as the Niagara of the West. It was a flat boring drive all the way in to Twin Falls and I had my doubts there could be this Snake Canyon or falls anywhere but sure enough they came out of nowhere. Dad maneuvered our motorhome down a very windy road into the canyon while my mom and I protested the whole way down! We did make it safely though and it was worth the stress. The Snake Canyon opened up to the Snoshone Falls which is also the place where Evel Knievil attempted a jump in 1974. Emerson loved seeing the waterfall but did not understand why we couldn't go and walk through it - I guess it does look small from far away.

Jon had a concert tonight at First Christian Church in Rupert. We had a great time fellowshipping with the Pastor and his wife and team from their church over a pizza dinner! Pastor Mac is a great guy and I am happy he set the story of the Jackalope straight for me. We had to leave before the concert started to put the kids to bed but Jon had a great time worshipping with the town of Rupert tonight!

Trying out clothing - cowboy style!

Hap's Leather Shop

Snake Canyon and Shoshone Falls

Rock climbing with Papa

She loved her new puppy from Grandma

Exploring Dierkes Lake in Twin Falls

Cowboy boots in Idaho

2010-10-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today our drive took us from Pendleton to Boise, Idaho. After a quick Starbucks stop we headed out on the road once again – my dad at the wheel! It was a sunny day today which was a nice change from rain the past three days. We stopped for lunch in Baker City and found a local park where Emerson dusted off his wagon and went on a rock hunt after spotting the little creek. It was quite cold out though so we ventured into the Dollar Tree and stocked up on essentials like monster trucks and stickers.

Once we arrived in Boise we were on a hunt for cowboy boots for my dad... Unfortunately we didn't find the cowboy boots yet but we did end up finding a new pair of rubber boots for Emerson. His last pair are broken on all sides and were in need of replacement so he picked out an Elmo pair and they are so cute!

Tonight we are in an RV park about a mile from my parents hotel - its called Mountain View RV Park but I have yet to see the mountain view! We had a great barbecue tonight but since it was so cold we had to eat inside - this was in lieu of our Thanksgiving dinner we are missing back in Canada.

Camping in the cold = indoor dinner

Dinnertime with Nama

Playing hockey with Papa

Emerson's new Elmo rubber boots

Visitors!

2010-10-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

We have enjoyed a couple of days now with my parents joining us in Portland for our four day drive out to Salt Lake City, Utah. I picked up my parents and can conclude it as a successful mission – I was a bit nervous about driving to the airport which I had never been to arrivals before but the kids fell asleep and GPS did her job amazingly. We all drove back to our hotel in Beaverton where the church is and it was nice to settle in to a 2-bedroom suite for one night. Avalynn has been waking up every few hours in our last hotel because she knows as soon as she pops up her head she can see me and I have to get her (her playpen was at the end of our bed and Emerson on a make-shift bed in the corner). Since Jon was still at the convention downtown we headed out for supper but quickly got sidetracked by a Nordstrom Rack. We all enjoyed a great supper, shopping side trip, and good night sleep for all with Avalynn only waking up once.

Jon played at Sunset Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning – my mom and Emerson went to the service and my dad, Avalynn, and I planned on attending but our “quick” detour to return the minivan turned into an hour and half side trip because our shuttle had the directions wrong. Emerson loved his Sunday school though and came out with a bible story and pumpkin calendar he decorated – I always appreciate it when the Sunday school programs send home activities with lessons learned. We had a great lunch out with the worship pastor and assistant and then headed East to Pendleton, OR for the night. It’s a nice break for Jon as my dad has been wanting to check off one item on his bucket list of driving across the US in a motorhome (probably not necessarily the I-84 of Oregon but still a drive none the less).

We camped outside the Best Western where my parents had a room and it worked out well – we could even tap in to the hotel internet. Our planned barbeque was postponed until tomorrow due to rain so we ate at a local Diner’s which had decent food and the best pie ever!

Family swim night

2010-10-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today was a bit more low-key and we strolled the hallways of a nearby mall in downtown Portland. Unfortunately there was no indoor playarea which was my main purpose of visiting the mall but luckily we found a Gymboree where Emerson would sit for a bit and watch the kids tv and I tried to squeeze in to the little chair and awkwardly feed Avalynn :) I did finally find the cutest little jean skirt with tulle underneath for Avalynn at Gap Kids on clearance for $4 too - always nice to find a deal like that! We attempted to eat lunch at the food court but after visiting the potty 3 times and asking various people to keep an eye on my food I packed it in and headed back to the hotel. The kids didn't nap this afternoon but we kept busy with another wrapped present from Grandma that Emerson got to open (thanks Grandma!) and practicing putting on his new water wings we bought at the Dollar store this morning.

We helped Jon pack up at the convention center and then ate at a neat burger place called 'Burgerville' down the street from our hotel. Its a take on Johnny Rockets but supposed to be a healthier alternative with local veg-fed beef - it was great and Emerson and I split a Chocolate Monkey milkshake which we both thoroughly enjoyed - this was his first milkshake (I think - unless its happened at Grandma & Grandpa's without us knowing :) ).

Jon had to set up at 6pm which was supposed to only take a few minutes but ended up being an hour and we had been talking all day about going swimming with daddy. So, instead of heading to bed like a good mother would do - I suited us all up and headed downstairs! We waited in the lobby until Jon appeared at 7pm and we had a fun time in the pool. Avalynn was a bit unsure at first since she hasn't been swimming since May but she was quickly splashing away. We all went to bed early - one more day for Jon's convention left. Tomorrow my parents join us so we are very excited about this visit!

Portland's children museum

2010-10-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

So we arrived in Portland after quite an afternoon of picking up our rental mini van, packing up the van, dropping off the motorhome for an oil change, driving to our hotel downtown, setting up at the convention centre, Jon forgetting all of his clothes in the motorhome and having to drive over an hour to get back and get them, and finally settling in - what an ordeal to say the least! We enjoyed a great Italian meal last night as a family - both kids were doing their cute food bop where they bop up and down as they eat showing its a satisfying experience :)

This morning Jon had to get up at 5:30am which meant both kids were awake as well - good thing I showered last night. We had breakfast in our room of cheerios and milk and I enjoyed a one-cup brew from the Keurig coffee machine. Since it was still very early I decided I could tackle taking the kids to the Children's Museum. GPS showed it to be a 5-minute drive - little did I know it would be the craziest 5-minute drive crossing over multiple bridges, merging freeways, and tunnels. Portland must have the most amount of bridges of any city in the US! We did make it though and I didn't even take a wrong turn.

I have never been to a Children's Museum and always thought them to be a bit boring and possibly for older kids but it was the perfect place to spend a morning! We arrived right at 9am when it opened and it was still relatively quiet. Avalynn had a long nap in the stroller which allowed Emerson and I to explore all the different stations including:

a veterinary clinic complete with cages, weigh scale, and chip identification machine
a grocery store with mini carts, check out stand, and food that looks so real it made me hungry
a waterworks area which I cut short in fear we would both end up soaked
a treehouse where we took in storytime
a clayworks station which lasted about 5 minutes either due to my ignorance about how to actually sculpt or Emerson is a bit too young (I'll go with the latter)
a theatre production area complete with costumes, curtains that could be pulled, a xylophone that Auntie Simone would even be proud of how Emerson played something that resembled a tune, and a control panel which could operate the lights and sound effects
a "dig pit" filled with rubber chips and dump trucks galore. This was Emerson's favourite and it even had a set of platform scales and fuel area.
We ventured to the Baby Area which Avalynn just loved exploring although she mostly favoured the soccer ball - her new favourite move is to hug it tightly and try to roll with it - very cute.

All in all a very fun morning to be had for all!

Most pictures are of Emerson as Avalynn was asleep most during most of our time in the museum but she woke up at the end to check out the Babyworks exhibit

I attempted to let Avalynn explore the Dig Pit but she couldn't keep the dirt (rubber tire pieces) out of her mouth

Emerson was in his glory!

Hard to see but this is Emerson working the control booth at the Theatre - he enjoyed turning off the stage lights on all the kids playing dress-up. You can see the actual stage on the TV screen embedded in the booth.

Waterworks - just before it got very wet!

We went grocery shopping multiple times through our 4-hour trip here

Emerson is checking the stuffed dogs eyes with the veterinarian tools

Peach Tree RV park

2010-10-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from our RV park near Biggs, OR called Peach Tree Rv Park. We had a riverfront spot along the Columbia River and it was a beautiful night!

Harvest fun

2010-10-05T21:01:00.000-07:00

Our adventures today took us from Spokane Valley to Arlington, Oregon. We had a fun morning just hanging out with the kids in the motorhome over a leisurely breakfast and Emerson was busy at work building a mouse house out of pine needles with his wagon. We weren’t quite sure whether it was a bunny house, mouse house, or a bird house as he used these terms interchangeably during his construction planning.

On our drive we stumbled across a tourist attraction, in the middle of what seemed to be endless farmers fields in Washington – a harvest fun fair! (This is my dream come true of places I wanted to stop at on this tour). It was the perfect little adventure place for us with a large indoor market and chocolate factory (Jon was drooling but exercised self-control and passed it by) but it was outdoors that Emerson was amazed at. There was a hay pyramid with a tunnel built in the middle, a petting zoo, corn maze, and a pumpkin patch. Our first stop was the pumpkin patch as it was a first for all of us – we took a tractor ride out to the patch (since it was a weekday we were the only ones there). I think our driver thought it a bit odd that we weren’t actually there to pick a pumpkin – something that didn’t cross my mind as its not even possible for us to transport. We had fun walking through the patch and spotted some white pumpkins as well. Avalynn loved all the new sights – Emerson just wanted to go back and climb the hay pyramid.
Nervous at first, Emerson needed Jon’s help to climb to the top, although I don’t blame him as even I was nervous climbing it! By the end he was scaling the hay bales himself. Once at the top of the hay pyramid Emerson spotted a red barn and promptly gathered a big bunch of hay in his hand and started to climb down. I asked him what he was doing and he said “going to feed the goats in the red barn”… so cute!

Tonight we are camping in Biggs, OR and have a beachfront lot on the Columbia River. It was such a beautiful day today and the I-84 took us right along the river (one that divides the states of Washington and Oregon) and through the gorge. We actually barbequed and ate outside tonight which was a nice treat for us Albertans in the month of October. Tomorrow – to Portland and let the tour begin!

John 1:51

2010-10-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

We are reading together each morning from the bible as we begin our drive and God has given me this verse in the past and it was timely this morning as we embark in our tour - a reminder of His promise to us:

"You shall see greater things than this. I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

What an incredible picture of what God has in store!

Sandpoint, Idaho

2010-10-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

We had a successful trip across the border today – thank you God! We were a bit concerned as we are leaving the motorhome in the US for a few months and then returning in March to drive it back home but the guards were very friendly and did not ask too many questions. I declared our food and had a yellow pepper and peach confiscated but not the pomegranate or pear.

Our first stop was in Sandpoint, Idaho which came recommended from our neighbors. It was a beautiful little town with lots of sandy beaches (hence the name of the town) and despite the rain outside we explored a shutdown campground and its beach. This town reminds us of the Okanagan with numerous beachfront houses and a quaint little main street area. Emerson loved running along the beach and tried to feed the ducks bread but they were scared away by a noisy toddler running along their otherwise quiet and empty beachfront. In the afternoon we decided to continue on to Spokane but Jon decided to make a stop prior to that at a truck station to check our tire pressures which led to 2 kids crying their heads off from an interrupted afternoon nap. Our first go-to for high stress situations like this on the road is to find the closest mall (on a cold day) and locate the children’s play area immediately. Luckily the Spokane Mall was not far and attentions were quickly diverted but a fun kids area  Our campground tonight is on the west side of Spokane and is quite a nice resort which has a large playground, mini golf, laundry, and even indoor pool. Jon cooked up an amazing steak and potato dinner to finish off a fun day on the road!

8000km and counting

2010-10-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today began our adventure of a lifetime… it was day 1 of a cross-country tour taking us through more than half of the states from the West coast to the East and finally ending in Florida. This will be a first for our family and our tours previous were “practice” runs for this one! The kids did quite well today (iPad combined with endless snacks can do wonders) and we made it all the way to Cranbrook, BC. The drive was beautiful and probably just the start of what we will be able to see throughout the country as the leaves are all bright colors.
I was so excited to be driving through coal country once again and could not resist the stop at the famous Titan haul truck in Sparwood, BC. Emerson was in his glory and I walked him all around the haul truck showing him the different parts and Avalynn just wanted to touch the tires. Always a fun experience for me when I get to show my kids a bit of what I do in the mining world!
It was dark by the time we found our campground in Cranbook – we decided to forgo the Walmart option tonight as we might see plenty of those parking lots along our way. It was a bit difficult to maneuver into the dark into our spot but as usual Jon made it fit like a glove . The kids are now tucked in to bed – day 1 complete… 49 more to go.

Showing off a bit of my world to the kids

Avalynn's first look at a 57" tire

She loves her new clip-on seat!

Medieval Meals

2010-09-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

My parents took us to a medieval castle restaurant called the Ronneburg dated back to 13th century for our last dinner before we head home. It was an incredible place to eat although the kids were very exhausted from a long busy day so our delicious dinner was quickly scarfed down for an early exit back to our apartment! What an amazing time to spent 2 weeks in Germany!

Tomorrow begins the long journey home - a day I like to call "this is the day that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend!". We fly back to London and then on to Edmonton where we depart London-Heathrow at 5pm and arrive Edmonton at the same time... we'll see how the kids fare once again turning their internal clocks inside out :)

Taking a walk down by the river next to the castle

It was so cold out, but Emerson still wanted to play on the train

Calvary Chapel Herborn

2010-09-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

Jon led worship at Calvary Chapel Herborn, a church we had played at last year, with his German band - we had an incredible time worshipping with this wonderful church family once again! Emerson actually went to Sunday school where most kids only spoke German but that didn't seem to stop him from playing with his new friends. Avalynn spent the morning with Grandma & Grandpa in the "cry room" which was a perfect setup with tv for the service and tons of toys Avalynn had to herself most of the time.

We enjoyed a quesadilla lunch after the service and lots of amazing baked goods (Pastor Edmund's wife made the best scone I have ever tasted!) from their coffee bar they have setup. The church is actually in an American military base which is quite unassuming from the outside but they have done a great job renovating the inside to make it a functional church building. The service was packed out as we were told the congregation was so excited to have Jon back and some of the kids even stayed in the service to worship with Jon and the band instead of going into Sunday school.

This was the last concert of our tour and God blessed the sponsor goal and exceeded it with 69 kids total! We were hoping for 50 so we praise God all of these little lives are now changed for eternity.

Emerson getting out some energy after the service and exploring Germany's nature!

Grandma and Grandpa being amazing Grandparents! They deserve a gold medal after following us all through Germany and helping with our little lovebugs.

Introducing Avalynn during the service (last year I was 7 months pregnant)

Wetzlar adventures

2010-09-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we parted ways with Jon and the band as they headed up north to Dusseldorf for an evening concert and my parents and I headed to the area where we would be playing for Sunday morning in Herborn (too much driving for the kids to take in Dusseldorf). We stopped at yet again another travel concierge "family-friendly" recommended activity but this was the first activity which was a disappointment. The area was called Hessenpark which sounded interesting in the description but turned out to be a small museum with most explanations only in German. Without little kids it would be interested but we opted not to pay the admission fee and I chalked it up to a nice detour into the country (my parents were good sports about it and didn't complain about the extra driving).

I quickly unpacked into our new apartment just outside Wetzlar - another accommodation I was pleased with from an Internet booking. This one had 2 rooms and kitchen and bathroom so Avalynn slept in the hall - finally out of our bedroom so I can turn over in bed freely without fear of waking my light sleeper! My dad had a meeting in a nearby town so my mom and I took in the sights of downtown Wetzlar. It is a beautiful historical village with a walking area by the river and cobblestone streets. We actually had a nice dinner (most dinners are always rushed with one or two kids crying and unsettled) at an Italian restaurant where Emerson consumed his whole pizza and Avalynn ate up the rigatoni bolognese faster than I could place it on her high chair tray. Emerson and I took a walk down to the river after dinner and fed the birds with a saved bun from dinner. They appeared to be a nice flock of birds at first but as soon as the bread was dispersed they actually started chasing us! I was actually quite scared and Emerson wasn't sure what to do with my reaction so we ran. A few brave birds continued following us all the way into the playground. I think I will stick to gated wildlife areas from now on!

Avalynn loves any attention from her big brother

The unassuming scene prior to our attack from the ducks!

Peace like a River

2010-09-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

On Friday our plan was to take a river cruise on the Rhine river but apparently no boats run. Emerson was very upset about this so Jon took him on a fishing boat that was docked and the captain let them go on the boat and even see inside the engine room. We decided to check out the shops and of course Jon found a few new clothing items. I loved walking around the farmer's market that was on in the main square and bought some more gouda cheese for Avalynn and I to enjoy! We also went into the main cathedral - I just love the architecture and find it incredible inside these old buildings that we just don't have over in North America. There is something magnificent and majestic standing inside the old church buildings in the quietness, pondering how many people over the centuries have come to worship God in the structure that still stands today.

My parents and the kids and I attended Jon's evening concert at an Evangelisch-free church in Mainz - a concert that was actually setup by a German that saw Jon perform at Center Street church in Calgary awhile back. Oliver and his family did an incredible job advertising for this concert and the church was packed out! Emerson was so excited to see the German band again and was elated to have Jon call up the kids to help out with the actions on Peace like a River! He is still talking about it how he helped show the kids the actions to this song.

On Saturday morning we decided to visit another recommendation from our travel concierge service at a Wildpark near our hotel. I had a fun idea (at least I thought at the time) of taking Emerson on the bus to this Wildpark and Jon and Avalynn would meet us at the zoo with all the luggage. As soon as I got on the bus (the bus driver didn't speak English) I realized the bus stop might not be at the main entrance, if there even was a main entrance. Emerson was so excited to be on the bus though that he hoped right into his seat before I even finished paying the fare and sat staring out the window. So, the bus did not arrive at the park and we had to walk quite a few blocks to get to the zoo which was not even the main entrance. Luckily I had my mom's phone and we found the rest of the gang about 15 minutes later and I received a lecture from Jon on travel safety (slightly deserved). I was glad to see Emerson have a new experience but next time I think I'll do it somewhere that they speak English! The wildpark was a very neat area that was a park with walk-ways with different wild life fenced in a natural area. This area was free and had vending machines for food - which Emerson loved. He had no fear putting his little fingers through the fence but my heart skipped a beat each time he went to feed them!

Avalynn's newest learned skill - the wave!

Feeding the goats at Wildpark Zoo

At daddy's CD / World Vision table

Playing at a park in downtown Mainz

Emerson found a cart just his size at the grocery store

Emerson and Jon on the fishing boat on the Rhine River