April Showers Bring May Flowers

As I entered 19 weeks of pregnancy, we made an 11 1/2 hour trip to Newton, Kansas. Trust me folks, this isn't a fun trip even if you're not prego! And bless Nolan's little heart.....here he is driving a pregnant woman, a 4 year old and a dog for over 11 hours. The man deserves an award. If it wasn't me needing to stop to pee, it was Georgia needing to pee. If it wasn't one of us needing to pee, we needed to eat. Really, other than Nolan, Herbie (our 6 year old Australian Shepherd mix) was the best passenger. He never complained about how long the trip took. He always waited for the next stop to pee. His only issue was barking at anyone who got near our Subaru. Gotta love a dog that will guard your stuff!

First of all, there isn't much to look at as we leave Indy. There are fields, some trees and every once in awhile you might see a small herd of cows. Nothing too thrilling besides the large cross in Effingham, IL.

I've always wanted to drive down and take a look at what this cross is all about, but we never take the time. 

You can see this cross in the distance as you are driving. Georgia could not see it until it was right outside her window. In fact, she almost missed it. Made a mental note to get her eyes checked when we get home!

But then after a few hours we arrive in St Louis! Yea! Georgia LOVES the "silver rainbow" or others may know it as The Arch. But when we travel to Newton, we avoid downtown St Louis and therefore we don't see the arch. Georgia actually even pointed this out to us as we were driving along. We hear from the back seat, "I thought you guys said we were in St Louis. I didn't see the arch?" So then we had to explain the whole scenario to her and she gave us a confused look and let us know how disappointed she was not to see the silver rainbow.

After St Louis, the trip gets really bad. Missouri is not great traveling country. It's boring. There is nothing out there. It's just about as boring as the stretch of road between Indiana and Illinois. But then Kansas City comes and we see Kauffman Stadium where the Kansas City Royals play baseball. Seeing the large crown always brings a little bit of excitement because we are almost there. Now when I say we are almost there, I mean we have a few hours to go! 

And then at last we enter Kansas. Oh Kansas how we've longed to feel your sunshine on our faces, your breeze in our hair and to gaze upon your ever flat land! Call me crazy, but I do enjoy looking out on the prairie as we drive rather than corn fields. It makes me recall one of my all time favorite shows Little House on the Prairie and what little Laura Ingalls must have been thinking as she rode in her covered wagon. 

Oh little Half Pint!

And then after traveling the 2 lane hi-way and having several bugs smack our windshield, we get to the Lichti House. Where there is a warm meal, comfy chairs and warm hearts to greet us. We are so glad to be spending the week here visiting and making memories!