This past weekend we were super blessed to ALL take a road trip together!

Even David, Kayla and the babies!!

YAY!!!

It was COLD though.

Dangerously cold – with temperatures as low as 22 below zero and wind chills as low as 39 below zero.

That is COLD.

And Grant’s car was still in the shop due to a major issue that I cannot verbalize here without asking one of the guys again what was truly wrong with it – but it was broken!

We knew our 2003 van was not an option to take on a long trip in the bitter temperatures, so at the last minute we were blessed to be able to rent a big van and had some Christmas gift money to pay for it!

Being all together in the same van was super duper fun!

Wish we could have fit all of Kay’s with us too!!!!

After a quick four hour drive, the first thing on the agenda was a beautiful wedding!

It was beautiful.

The reception was beautiful too!

We had a lot of friends that traveled in for this wedding, which made it very fun!

These are the only photos I took the whole day!

The next morning we all went to church together.

I am still meditating on things I heard preached Sunday morning.

The music had me all in tears too!

WOW. Good, good stuff!

Someone missed the sermon though!

Sunday afternoon was a time to nap all the little people, and then Sunday evening we all headed to a school gym to celebrate the New Year together!

The middle boys had some tablet time while Blake napped the littles in our other hotel room.

I might have used this during nap time.

We don’t travel light, ahem.

But it was COLD, remember!

Look at the ice that formed on the inside of our hotel door!

Here is our kitchen!

All in one tote!!

And our hydration station!

(I just made that up!)

But seriously, keeping enough water flowing for eight people is not an easy task!

We brought one bag of books, coloring books, and a few toys.

See how happy little people look after good naps?!

Sunday evening started at 6 p.m. with pizza and finger foods.

Then there were some very encouraging speakers.

We had a hymn sing as well!

I was singing while I played with my grand babies!

Then the kids played and we visited!

It was an evening blessed beyond compare.

We saw old friends, and we met new friends.

It left us feeling encouraged, challenged, loved, and our hearts SO full!

We did not stay out until midnight, but by the time we got everyone settled in bed it was past midnight.

The next morning we packed up and headed home!

We were SO blessed with safe travels.

We were MORE blessed to be invited and included in a very, very special day for two very special people!

As we pulled away from Twin Oaks on Saturday morning, I looked at Blake and said “We’re doing it!”

He knew exactly what I meant – we feel Tate and Eliza are ready to handle weekends like the one we just had!

We are not on the farm anymore and life looks different for us now.

We are burdened to try to be able to travel more!

And we DID IT!

Looking forward to many more road trips!!