Our Big Trip (OBT) - Part One - Getting There!

Jonathan graduated from Army Basic Training at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina,  on June 20 and he asked for us to come.  We made the decision to rent a motor home and drive the whole family, which would give us the flexibility of time, be able to see Courtney and others along the way, and make this monster drive easier on the little boys!  

We stayed at a fun campground in Texas and the boys were enthralled with the cheeseburger playground equipment.......boys, meaning Joe, David, Isaac, and Joshua!  Rachel and I?........not so much.

We celebrated Father's Day morning by going to a delicious local bakery and then heading back on the road!  We were actually a bit ahead of schedule, so decided to make a detour up to Huntsville and take Courtney to dinner.  We were so excited to head her way!!

And yes, we had the obligatory poses, required by Joe, when we entered another state!  You can see how thrilled everyone is........................!!!!!

Ahhhhh.............the green grass of the Southeast!  It was so humid when we arrived in Huntsville we could hardly breathe! It was so good to see our first-born!!

David has grown so much during the past six months!

There were beautiful magnolia trees all over the campus - their smell is so incredibly sweet!

We all went to a terrific Chinese buffet and enjoyed  the torrential rain while we were nice and dry inside!  By the time we were done, the rain had moved on.  Umbrellas?  Never even thought to bring them!  We're from Arizona!

We left Courtney and headed towards Atlanta as we made our way to Columbia, South Carolina.  We were in rain most of the way, and the most hair-raising part of this trip was driving "around" Atlanta in the dark with a thunderstorm going on.  God certainly had His hand on us - the traffic late at night was unbelievable.  Thank goodness for the good ol' atlas and the GPS!!  We arrived at Ft. Jackson on Tuesday, the 18th, and were able to get settled at a really nice campground as we prepared for "Family Day" the next day!

This campground was on Lake Weston, which was right on Ft. Jackson. We could hear constant gunfire in the distance the entire time. Joe, Rachel, and David rented a canoe (no camera taken), and the little boys burned off some energy on the lovely playground.  Why is it that boys immediately go to sticks once they are given freedom?  Isaac and Joshua have such an active imagination and enjoy playing with whatever they can find.  

Stay tuned for Part Two - Family Day and Graduation coming up!