My parent flew in to Minneapolis from Louisville today and tomorrow morning they will be taking the kids back to Kentucky with them. We spent the afternoon and evening at the Mall of America.I had never been before, but what an experience! We ate a place called Kokomo’s where I actually hula hooped in the restaurant. You know it’s a fun place when they encourage hula hooping. We stopped into the almighty Lego land and American girl store. It’s a cult-like experience. If you’ve been then you know what I am talking about. Z rode his little heart out in the amusement park area.But above all the things that will be logged in my mind, the one I will never forget is the Flying Dutchman ropes course.J wanted to try it and it looked like a fun little adventure. I saw little kids joining in so I knew it couldn’t be that bad. Welllll, let me tell you, it was bad. J and I both thought we were going to loose our lunch. The Flying Dutch is the tallest skyrail ropes course in the world. It’s basically like an obstacle course where you walk across creaky wooden bridges and tight ropes starting at 30 feet above the ground, all the while you are securely fastened to a metal track, but your brain doesn’t know that and who wants to fall in order to gain the assurance that you are not plummeting to your death!? I can’t remember the last time my adrenaline pumped like that. I went up the first set of stairs and walked across a jiggly cable holding onto some ropes above me and when I made it to the other side I announced that I was done! Level one was enough for me, I didn’t think I could go any further, but J said “you can’t quit! You have to keep going. Come on.” That was all the encouragement I needed although he still insisted I lead the way.By the 4th story you are 56 feet above the ground and I can’t tell you what the view was like because if I had looked I would have thrown up! J asked one of the workers there if anyone has ever puked and he said not while he was on the clock, but a kid peed his pants earlier that day. I am not at all surprised.The only thing that got me through was singing as I walked across. I had to get a song in my head each time I stepped off of the security of the sturdy metal columns. The songs ranged from “A whole New World” to “Strangers in the Night” and I sang them out loud not caring whatsoever what anyone might think. At the very end of the 4 levels you have the option to walk a little plank that hovers over the amusement park and pull on some ropes to sound a fog horn alerting everyone that you completed the course. I took a deep breath and teeny tiny baby steps over to the edge pulled the ropes and then had to decide whether to walk backwards or turn around. Here, I am to worship, here I am to bow down… HOLY CRAP what am I doing up here!?I turned around walked back and then clung to the post for dear life before heading back down the stairs. If you are not the slightest bit phased by heights, I am sure this is nothing, but for J and I it was INSANE, but we did it. We did it together.

7-14-11Blessed are the flexible for they will not become bent out of shape. I learned that quote on a missions trip and it’s stuck with me ever since. After realizing we weren’t going to be able to camp in Minnesota as was originally planned we hopped across the border to Wisconsin’s beautiful Willow River State park. We showed up just before they closed and set up camp by the illumination of the car headlights. The kids were fussy, everyone was tired, and J was insistent on using that same air mattress that let us down (literally) the last two times we went camping. I was frustrated by the whole situation, but for the record it stayed inflated the entire night thanks to J’s chewing gum/wrapper patch that he concocted. It rained some at night, but it was a welcome sound as the 4 of us safely snuggled in our little shelter. We got up early and decided to take down the tent while it was still drizzling in order to avoid the storms that could come in. The moment we stepped out the rain stopped. In the end we were able to take the tent down and go for a nice long hike together as a family.

We let the kids dunk their feet in the icy cold water. and we even climbed to the top of the cliff so that I could have multiple heart attacks every time my children were remotely near the edge, even if they were in my arms and there was a rail. Once again, the stairs were killer, but the view was nice. After showering and getting all of our stuff together it started to rain just as we were pulling away from the park. How perfect is that?

Iowa is a beautiful state. My husband is from there. We were originally going to visit the city of his birthplace, but we ran out of time. We were also going to visit the world’s largest concrete garden gnome, but couldn’t find it. So what did we do in Iowa? Well, we went to a park and played a mean game of kickball with J’s niece and her gang. My team looked like we came straight out of an episode of King of the Hill and despite being labeled as the gimps due to repeated injuries, we still managed to bring home the title of champions. The work out didn’t end there either because after that we went up to the top of a water tower that was converted into an observation tower.The stairs were very steep and seemed to go on forever, the view was nice though. We had a ways to drive, so we said our goodbyes and got back on the road again. After traveling for several hours we stopped to fill up in a little town in Minnesota that just happened to have a mini carnival going on. Thank you Jesus for sending a bounce house, paint, and games to some kids that have been cooped up in a carseat half the day.

On day two we went to a place called Deanna Rose Children’s farmstead.

If you are ever in the area it is a must see. It’s almost like a zoo or a park, but it’s all local wildlife and farm animals. We walked around, pet some goats, fed some turkeys, and then went fishing. Z has never been fishing and this was a good place to start. They give you an old fashioned pole with a hook and a bucket of worms. The policy is catch and release. The fish are small, but easy to catch. We did have one fish lose an eye and I felt terrible about it. He’ll never be able to watch 3D that way.

After lunch and some coffee at some recommended KC places we kind of stumbled into the World War I museum. I went to the top of the memorial to take a few quick pictures, but was completely caught off guard my reaction to the view, the architecture, and overall magnitude of the place. I actually cried a little. It’s weird I know, but I was all alone up on this building the weather was perfect, the sky was breathtaking, and I just felt peace and reverence all at once. That’s the best I can do to explain it.

From there we crossed over into Iowa where we would spend the night with J’s niece and her family. I haven’t seen them in almost 4 years. The last time was when I was in labor with Z, so the kids were all meeting for the first time. They made dinner and were very hospitable and unlike our hotel in Kansas city there were no problems with the AC.

We made it to Kansas city, later than expected, but that is to be expected. On the way up we made frequent food stops. We got fresh peaches from a fruit stand beside the highway. Later we tried some small town Barbeque at a place that has been around since 1927. By the register they have some individually wrapped bubble gum in a bowl that was priced 5 cents with a marker. Nothing costs 5 cents anymore.

And just when I thought you couldn’t get anymore simple and old fashioned than that, we found Chet’s ice cream. They have chocolate, vanilla, or swirl. It was a no brainer decision for our little family. CHOCOLATE!

When we made it to our destination we had some hiccups at the hotel because the AC was out in our room and if you are anywhere near Kansas City Missouri right now you know that is not a good thing! They upgraded us from a little queen bed room to a suite that was like having our own apartment with two bathrooms. Don’t picture anything fancy, it was a cheap hotel, but still it worked out great because long story short we have a friend that was visiting the area from Tyler, TX and she ended up staying with us on the pull out couch in the other room.

Very cool spontaneous fun.

Other than that, as if that wasn’t a full enough day already, we had dinner with an old friend from High school that lives in KC.

It was really great to catch up, despite the fact that SJ banged her head on the marble table and busted her lip open causing a slight scene (blood and all), but she’s okay now.

After that J dropped me off at IHOP (International House of Prayer). IHOP is an amazing ministry that has an auditorium for 24 hour prayer, open all the time. IHOP is what brought my friend up from Tyler, it’s also what brought my High shool friend up to live in KC and it’s the reason we hunkered down in this area for the night, so you know it must be incredible. I prayed, spent some time in worship, and even wrote some poetry until 1:00 am. It was awesome. J stayed at the hotel with the kids and he had his time at IHOP in the morning. You could show up at 3:00 am like our youth group did last week and there would still be live worship and all kinds of people on fire for God interceding and spending time seeking Him. You could even go online to see for yourself because they keep a live stream going so you can peer into the prayer room at anytime and see what’s happening.

Well, friends, that’s day one. 18 more to go.

Good Morning from Texas. This will be my last time checking in from here for a while. Today we are leaving for our 2011 Summer “vacation” (the quotations are because I will be photographing a wedding in Minnesota, which is the reason we are able to get away in the first place). My ical is nothing but travel for the rest of the month. I’ve got a new tripit app, tons of pages printed out from google map and weather.com, along with several drawings of what I will be wearing, so I think we are ready! Hopefully all of the planning will pay off because we are going to need it. We’ve never made an endever like this one before. We are talking about traveling over 3,000 miles by way of car. If we were to drive the entire route without stopping it would take over 2 days! Don’t worry the kids will only be with us for part of it. My parents are picking them up and they will fly to Kentucky with them. Definitely wouldn’t mind prayers for safe travels. I’ll be back on as often as I can to let you know where in the world is Messy Momiago. That was supposed to be a joke for any other children of the 90’s that remembers this show.

For now I’ve got to run, cooler weather is calling my name.

This week I have focused on what I call our little urban farm, which really means 3 gardens and 4 chickens in our backyard. We’ve enjoyed it so much and been so eager to learn more that it kind of makes me wonder, how did we get this farming itch? And the answer may go back to the 1940’s in the plains of North Dakota where my father in law grew up.

Earlier this week when we were all together for the 4th of July I asked him if he was raised on a farm. He was hesitant to answer yes and needed clarification. In the sense of commercial farming as a full time income, he was not raised on a farm. They did live off of the land though, which back then was just living, not necessarily farming. They raised their own meat, milked their own cows, and planted their own produce. He shared memories of putting fresh milk in a pillow case tied tight with a stick that would become cottage cheese. He remembers a wood burning stove, a root cellar, and a cantacerous rooster that when finally caught was slaughtered by his mother on the chopping block for Sunday dinner. He remembered that same rooster winking at his mother after being decapitated. She wasn’t able to kill another chicken after that day. Maybe J gets his farming itch from that side of the family.

My mom’s story takes us to a very similar lifestyle half a century ago up on a mountain in Vermont.

My mother was raised on a farm where she recalls growing up with 5 siblings and lots of animals eating whatever was in season. If the corn was ready for harvest then they ate corn until their hair turned yellow, if was beats they ate beats until they were ready to beat each other silly. I too have memories of visiting this farm as a child. One of my favorite activities was swinging from a rope tied to the rafters of the barn and plummeting down onto a thick pile of hay. I also remember sitting down for dinner having my uncle talk fondly of the pig we were about to partake. They were so comfortable with the whole farming process they would even refer to the animal by name as we ate her. I still have family up on that mountain and it is one the most beautiful places I have ever been. I look forward to the day I can bring my kids up there to share the experience with me.

In the mean time I do get to visit the country fairly often when I go up to J’s parent’s house.

They have a lot of land with dogs, cats, cows, and horses. This was the same field we renewed our vows on last year.

I love these photos of our rings positioned on my father in laws old tractor equipment.

Hearing stories from our history makes me feel like I am finding missing pieces of myself. Maybe that’s why we are into this farming thing right now. It’s in our roots.

It all began with a trip to the Library. J got a book called The Family Kitchen Garden and was inspired to plant the garden that he had already dreamt up in his mind. We all planted the seeds together and I had no idea how much I would love the entire experience. It’s like opening a present on Christmas morning when you find a new blossom, bud, or food growing. The cilantro was the first to come up and was ready to harvest within about 3 weeks.