Trip South..rather than North..

A few weeks ago we had our first road trip going south as a family. We went to visit a dear friend of mine who lives in Iowa. She is one of the most incredible ladies I have ever had the privilege of not only meeting but learning from when I did my student placement at UMD. I was placed in her first grade class in Hermantown ( near Duluth) She taught for 51 years..( yup..that is not a typo....51 years) She taught first grade in the same classroom for 43 of those years!! I learned so much from her and we have a very special relationship. About a month ago I received a letter from her telling me she was in rest home and was dying of lung cancer( never smoked a day in her life!) It was already in stage 4 when they found it and she didn't want to endure any more chemo as her short experience with it was awful. They gave her 2-6 months to live in January. My heart just broke as I read the letter, and I knew I wanted to go and see her. So the family packed up and hit the road. It was an awesome experience, although she can not move as quickly as before, she is still as smart as whip. We talked about the kids we had the year I was teaching with her. They had just graduated and she had all their pictures up on her bulletin board and could tell me about all them of them and what they were doing and where they were going to school. Amazing woman..lived her life for the first graders she had and continued to do so by giving scholarships every year to former students. She is an inspiration to me and it was a wonderful visit. She loved seeing Kali, Cody, and Andy as well.

After our visit we went and stayed at hotel as a family. We have never done this before and boy was Kali pumped. We ordered pizza and ate in the room, swam in the pool, watched TV, and attempted to let Kali and Cody sleep together because they really wanted to. Well, after having them giggle and talk for over an hour, which was super funny and cute, we put Cody in the pack-n-play and they both went to bed. On the way home we stopped to visit Andy's college roommate in southern Minnesota. It was a great trip and I am just so glad we went.


Being silly in the hotel room!