Wouldn't you know that it just kept on raining this past weekend. Matt and Claire decided to reschedule their party. It was too wet and cold and soggy. So now we unfortunately will miss it. I am glad that we got to see them for a week, anyway. They have a great little farm and beautiful flowers. We were sad to leave on Monday morning. Colorado was sad to see us go too, or maybe it just didn't want to see us leave, for it was so foggy Monday morning that we couldn't see very far ahead, causing us to drive slower.

Saturday we decided to get out of the house, because it was still raining and we didn't want the kids to watch another day of TV or videos. We headed into Greeley. They have a mall with a little play area. And conveniently located next to the mall is a Chucky Cheese's. Guess where we had lunch. Note to parents: young children should not attempt to play skeeball. We got pizza and 50 tokens. The kids had a blast and so did the grown ups. Well, my dad looked a little bored. One game is a precursor to slot machines and the object is to stop the moving lights on a particular spot. You can win 1, 2, 3, 5, 100 or 200 tickets, or some prizes. I tried it several times, my brother did, Gary did, my mom did. None of us won anything higher than 5 points. Ellie walks up to the thing, puts her token in, pulls the arm down and stops the light on 100 tickets. Just like that. And with the tickets the kids won, they picked out candy.

Sunday was spent at Matt and Claire's church, then Claire's parents' house. Mary Ann cooked us a yummy breakfast for lunch. Josh finally realized that eggs are good to eat! It was a nice relaxing afternoon. Our stuff was waiting to be packed when we got back to my brother's. We put the camper down and Gary even hooked it up to be ready in the morning.

Yesterday we camped in Henderson, NE. And on the way there we stopped in Gothenburg to see a pony express station. It was moved from it's original location somewhere else in town and now sits in a park. We lunched there and did a bit of sightseeing. The kids got to swing, too. They do enjoy swinging. It's a cute little town.

We are in Geneseo, IL tonight. I find it interesting that although we are not staying at a KOA (Kampgrounds of America,) we are staying at a KOA. I think this campground and the one from last night were previously KOAs. They have the telltale triangle building. We have been trying to avoid KOAs. No huge reason, they just seem too commercial. But ironically we found them anyway, sort of.

We were on the road this morning by 8:30 AM! Amazing, I know. We did forgo breakfast at the campground and went through the McDonald's drive through. But still, we got up at 7:15 and were on the road at 8:30! I think some 'good jobs' and 'well dones' are in order. We are planning for the same procedure tomorrow morning.

Ellie likes to do dishes. Who Knew? She asks to help, and I, of course, do not say no, though she does have a tendency to play a little too much while doing them.

We finally had a fire tonight. We ate S'mores. Josh likes his a la carte. Gary just had coffee. I think our driving east camping is far better organized than our driving west camping. I didn't load us down with all this extra food. What food we do have fits in the camper and in one bag in the car. Our refrigerator is not packed full. And we still have enough food.

Our next destination is my friend Laura's. We are trying to make it there by dinner tomorrow. We don't have to cook dinner, so we have a little more driving time. The kids are getting tired of being stuck in their seats all day. I am too. We have two more days of driving, but it's split by time at Laura's. I do want to try to see my cousin Karen tomorrow, but I forgot to call her today. I hope they are available.

Although this has been a trying vacation with uncooperative children at times, I am glad we did it.