Home Sweet Home

It was very good to get away and to have a break from school!!  We all needed that!!  Our trip went better than any of our vacations have in a long time!!  I hope that says something of the progress we have made with our "newbies!"
Like always, though, it seems that some of the hardest times is right before or right after a trip... 

We had to get home for John (Cade's brother) and Susan's oldest daughter's wedding on Saturday!!  Thankfully, we didn't have to travel far from home for it since it was just across the river at Oak Bar!!  I don't remember ever feeling so grateful to be home again after such a long trip!! 

We left Mom and Dad's house around 5 am on Thursday morning (New Years Day) and drove straight through the night.  We stopped for one hour along side of the road (it was -8 so we had to keep the Excursion running) and we all slept and then I drove a couple of hours and then Cade took over until the morning!!  This was our view in the morning!  Mt Shasta always touches something deep in me going back to our "Kohlie days" when I would be driving back home with her and when I saw Mt Shasta I always became emotional because it was like it was only then that I let myself believe we really were going home!!!

This was Mt. Shasta when we were headed home!!! 

The rest of E and Bella's Christmas gift didn't make it before we left so
 they got to open it when they got home which was pretty fun too!!!

American dolls

Their matching dolls

This special friend played the piano for the wedding
 and stayed with us a couple days after the wedding.