Voss Vaca 2020 - Days 1 & 2

Good morning, friends and family!  The kids, Michael, and I are officially on vacation!  It's only just begun, but we're excited to be here and we're looking forward to a great week! 

Friday, after Michael got off work, we drove to Topeka to stay the night with Glenn and Linda.  This took a good 2 hours off of the drive we did yesterday.  It wad nice to see them again, but it was a very quick trip.  All in all, I would say we were there for only 12 hours, 7pm Friday night to 7am Saturday morning.  But we got a good night's sleep and were ready to hit the road yesterday for our big, long driving day of our trip.

Off we go! 

Our suite at the Twin Cedars Lodge!  😉😂❤  I love this dark, cool, quiet basement bedroom!  We sleep so well there!  And it stormed Friday night, which made the sleeping even better! 

Saturday morning my alarm went off at 6am.  I woke up st 4 and watched the lightning from the storm, but Michael told me to go back to sleep and that I couldn't get up yet.  😂  We got up and around and left Glenn and Linda's house by 7am.  

On the road again!  ❤

Google maps said our drive would take 10 hours, 665 miles.  We had 3 stops planned, in Columbia, just passed St. Louis, and in Nashville.  I intended to drive the first half of the day or more, so Michael could slowly wake up, but with the rain still coming down, even though it wasn't very hard, I was having flashbacks to our vacation last summer when we were driving through a giant red cell in the middle of the night, and I didn't want to drive through the rain, so Michael drove through our first two stops.  

We took I-70 from Topeka, passed Columbia, to St. Louis, so were drove right through all of this! 

I took over in St. Louis,  when we pulled off to drive through Mc Donald's to get the kids some lunch, and drove the rest of the way through Nashville.  However, big city driving makes me very nervous, and as soon as we stopped for gas in Nashville I was done and had Michael take over again.  Like I said, Google Maps said our trip would take 10 hours, the longest single day of driving we've done yet.  With a little time added four bathroom breaks at our various stops, we ended up making it to Murfreesboro in 11 hours, by 6pm.  It was a long day, but we made it!  ❤  

It was a REALLY long drive...  🙃🤪😳

We got to Chuck and Shanna's house and moved in with all of our stuff.  The kids watched a movie and had some popcorn and snacks, the adults had a drink and talked send relaxed.  We're planning to do a whole lot of nothing today but relaxing and maybe trying a few great local restaurants.  😁  Michael's cousin, Sam, Shanna's son, and his girlfriend Alyssa, and their son, Rowan, are arriving today, mid-day.  There'll go with us to Kentucky, to the dairy farm, tomorrow and to the caves with us on Tuesday.  So it will be nice to see them and meet Alyssa and Rowan for the first time.  I think it's probably been 5 years since we've seen Sam.  Lots of family time and relaxing planned for today.  😊❤

Well, since I've been up for 40 minutes now, I might as well get up and go get some coffee and start my day.  😊  Have a wonderful day, everyone, and I'll try to be back on later to update you on our daily activities.  ❤  Love you! 

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 103 - Michael went back to work

Well, we're over 100 days now.  I suppose you could make the case that the "quarantine" is over, as businesses and states are opening back up again.  You could especially say that the Quarantine is over, as Michael had to go back to work this morning.  😥😥😥  Friday at 430 his boss sent an email gently prodding the 3 remaining engineers to come back on Monday.  Michael was done working Friday by 4, so he didn't see the email until yesterday morning.  When he emailed his boss about it, Chuck said what started as gentle prodding turned into the CEO deciding that Monday was the day he wanted everyone back.  Michael could have got all his stuff rounded up to be in the office for the afternoon yesterday, but his boss said he could just wait until today.  However, since we're going out of town next week, when we get home from vacation, he'll have to Quarantine for 2 weeks before he can go back to work anyway.  So basically, he's back in the office for 4 days, then he'll be back home until mid-July.  Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but the CEO does work in airports and on the road and such and feels it's not a huge deal for the engineers to go back and forth from home to the office.  And, if there jobs were to call people and tell them what to do or call and acquire companies or new business, it might not be as big of deal.  But as they have various parts that need modeled, paperwork that needs done, and measurements that need taken, they have a lot of supplies that will have to go back and forth.  So Michael took all of that in today and will have to bring it all back home on Friday before we leave.  🤦🏼‍♀️  And because he'll have to quarantine after our vacation instead of going back to work, I still consider us all under quarantine.  I don't think you can say that as long as people are still wearing masks and practicing social distancing, that we're still in quarantine, because that may be our new normal from now on.  At least, the new normal for some people.  As others have refused to wear masks or distance themselves from others, for the sake of the health of their fellow man, some will not concede to this new normal unless they're required to.  And even if they are, they'll do it kicking and screaming.  So yeah, I still consider us under quarantine, although we've lossened up our rules a lot.  I know the US is still doing a pretty pitiful job to stop the spread of COVID-19, so about the time I decide life is back to normal, it may all get shut down again.  🤷🏼‍♀️  Time will tell...

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 97

Hey guys, I have some pictures from the last couple days that I wanted to share.  😊  Looking forward to a weekend at the farm!  I'm prepping ingredients for the mac and cheese bar now, and to keep from stirring the caramelized onions too often, I thought I'd add a little something to the blog.  😉

First off, garden pictures, of course!  I was pleased to see that my borage was working and bringing pollinators in!  This is the first bee I've EVER seen in my garden in the 5+ years that I've had one!  I'm so excited!  I only saw one, but I hope more will come.  Speaking of which, I defoliated my squash plants today in an effort to get the pollinators to the blossoms better.  It looks a little hacked up at the moment, but the internet assures me this will help!  🤞

All of my tomatoes are looking awesome!!  The Romas and Celebrities are determinate and semi-determinate, so they are putting on A TON of blossoms and tomatoes right now.  I'll have to have Sis or Mama go out and check on the garden while we're gone.  I'm not sure when they'll be ready to pick.  I'm hoping they aren't all ready while we're gone.  At least the other 4 plants should be producing all summer!  🤷🏼‍♀️🤞

Also, check out this awesome gypsy pepper!!  My gypsy pepper plant was my best one last summer.  Having them in front of the of the tomatoes this year has really helped them to do well.  If they grow this well every year, they may end up needing cages!  😳  I really need to get over to Grandma and Grandpa Heorman's house to see Grandpa's garden, and to visit them, because I really miss them.  Maybe the kids and I will go tomorrow.  😊❤  I have 2 more small peppers on this plant.  I'm thinking about cutting this one and maybe the other two up on Friday for our mac and cheese bar.  😊  At least this one.  Hopefully it tastes good!  Online says that the flavor is pretty sweet, so hopefully people would be willing to try it.  🤞

Sis and I went out to my pool on her birthday!  ❤  We had snacks and drinks, we listened to music and enjoyed the sunshine and the cool water!  It was great!  We did better this time about applying sunscreen, but still ended up a little burnt.  🤷🏼‍♀️  We had lots of fun!  Hope she had a great birthday!  Love ya, Sista Friend!

I got magnetic eyelashes...  😳  Not sure how I feel about them, but Sis and Mama said nice things so I'll keep working on them.  😉  At the end of the day I put on the "party" lashes...  Oh boy!  I don't know what event I'd wear them to, but I'll figure something out!  They're wild!  Sis said I look like a Snapchat filter.  😂

For those who aren't on snapchat, here's a pic of me today, with no makeup, through a filter...

So yeah, we'll see how the lashes go...  😉  Could be fun!  🤷🏼‍♀️😊

Yesterday Mama, the kids, and I went to Reverie to see the Waffle Food Truck that was there.  They were different, but super yummy and VERY filling!  Will have to follow them on facebook and try one of their savory waffles sometime!  Yum!

Alright, I have more pictures and things to share, but it's going to have to be it's own post.  Probably won't get it till tomorrow, but you'll see it eventually!   Love you!  More later!  ❤

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 95 - Weekend Pictures

We went to Glenn and Linda's this weekend, and while we're stayed at their house almost the entire time, here are a few pictures from the last few days to catch you up on what we've been up to.  😊

After long wait, Connor finally has his new, big boy bike!!!  We intended to get him a new bike in May for his birthday.  Glenn and Linda sent him money to get one.  But there was a shortage on bikes because of the coronavirus, and everything was sold out!  We finally ordered this one a week ago, and by the end of the day when I went to show Michael the picture of the bike we got, it was sold out again.  😳  Glad we got it when we did!  I'm 98% sure the kids will be out riding bikes at some point today.  😊  Shanna, Michael's aunt who we're going to visit in 2 weeks, asked if we had space to bring the kids' bikes with us when we came down to Tennessee.  She said they have  great paved bike track near them.  I don't know if my car has a hitch to be able to haul bikes though.  This might be something we look into in the next couple weeks before our trip.  😊

Couldn't go to Topeka for a weekend without taking a walk down the street to the winery!  Glenn and Linda are always willing to watch the kids for a bit so we can go over there.  It was great to go wine tasting again!  We haven't been since we went to San Diego in November!  Glacier's Edge is always coming out with new wines, so we like to start with the tasting tray before we decide on bottles to bring home.  I told TJ we were going and offered to pick him up a bottle too.  He found two he thought he'd like, so we came home with 4 bottles of wine.  😂  Just stimulating the local economy.  😉  Gotta keep the winery within walking distance of my in-laws afloat!!  😁

Before we left Friday I blow dried my hair and put on a little makeup.  I just love my pink hair!!  😍💗🤩

I guess those are all the pictures I took this weekend.  Wow.  Sorry about that!  I meant to take pictures of Linda's giant hosta garden under their deck!  It's beautiful!  (Also, my phone tried to autocorrect hosta to hostage...  😳😳)  Glenn and Linda set up a slip and slide, a sprinkler, and a little plastic pool for the kids to play in.  They had a really good time!  I couldn't find Connor's swim shirt before we left, so he didn't wear a shirt to swim.  This sounds like a perfectly normal thing for a 6 year old boy, but Connor has NEVER swam without a swim shirt.  Not because we won't let him, but because he refuses!  So it was a pretty big deal for him to do that this weekend.  He's got the same farmer's tan his dad has.  😂  Then, when we got home from Glenn and Linda's last night, we went to the pool in our neighborhood and he went without a shirt again!  This time because he decided not to wear one!  Crazy!  It's only taken 2 years to get him to be comfortable with that.  🤦🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

That's about all that's happened lately.  We'll be mostly home the next couple weeks before we leave for vacation, cleaning house, doing laundry, and packing.  If everyone is up for it, I was hoping maybe the whole family could go have dinner together on the patio at Norton's on the Thursday before we leave (in a week and a half).  That was we could see everyone and have a meal together since Michael, the kids, and I won't be able to join everyone for the 4the of July this year.  Speaking of which, just one more thing, then I'm out...

We figured out our plans for the end of our trip.  We're going to leave the morning of Saturday, July 4th from Murfreesboro and head to St. Louis.  We'll drive right through Shawnee National Forest in Kentucky on our way out, so there's a chance we could call an audible (like we did with Badlands) and stop there for a few hours before continuing on to St. Louis.  I got us a high room in St. Louis for the night, so if there are fireworks going off, hopefully we can see them well, if nothing else, maybe we can se the Arch!  Most of what I'm reading online says that fireworks shows in major cities have been cancelled or postponed.  We'll just have to wait and see.  Then, Sunday, July 5th, we'll head back to Wichita.  We'll try to get over and see the Arch while we're in St. Louis sometime.  It's about 6 or 6.5 hours from St. Louis to home, so it won't be too bad of a drive that last day.  Then, since Michael is still working from home, and Karen wouldn't dream of letting him come back after being out at several different states, he can take it easy the next day and even week without having to ask for more time off.  And, bonus!  Since the 4th of July is over a weekend, the 3rd is a floating holiday at Michael's office, so he'll only have to take off 4 days of work for our 10 day vacation!  😁  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!  We are greatly looking forward to this trip!  Chuck and Shanna were two of the best hosts we've ever had on our vacations and we've got so many fun activities planned!  I just can't wait!

Have a wonderful Monday!  I love you very much!  Talk to you again soon, probably with some poolside pics!  😉💗🕶🎉

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 95 - Happy Birthday, Sis!

Another Quarantine Birthday!  Although, to be honest, things are getting back to normal and today will be much like Sis' birthday would have been without a global pandemic.  A few years ago for her birthday we went out to the pool, spent the whole day, and got terribly sunburned.  With the exception of the sunburn pain, we had a great time!  Today we're intend to reapply sunscreen more frequently and have another great day!  We're even going to have UberEats or MyTownToGo or GrubHub deliver food to us poolside!  It's going to be so much fun!  So if you can't get ahold of us today, we're at the pool!  😉😎☀️💧🍹🎉🏊🏻‍♀️🤿👙🕶🏝

COVID-19 Quarantine Day 90 - A New Chandelier!!

I'm up to 6 chandeliers in the garden as of today!!  We have some friends from church who gave us one that they were replacing in their home.  They gave it to us the day of Connor's birthday party, but we haven't been to the store much to get the supplies.  I finally got all I needed and now we're set!  I glued the lights in and we got the 6th one hung today!  ❤  We had to move one because we needed a bigger branch for the new one, but it all looks great!  I also ordered some crystals on Amazon and threw some of those on there.  I think they made it even more beautiful!  I love it!  Enjoy these pictures, and I hope you'll be over sometime soon to see them in person, maybe even see them lit up at night!  They're perfectly wonderful!  ❤❤❤

The chandelier from Jon and Katy!  Had to rearrange it so the globes pointed up instead of down so the solar lights could still charge.  Got the lights glued in, ready for sparkle!

How beautiful are these crystals???

I started taking them all apart because I wanted the strands longer.  😂  I'm going to get the hang of this real fast!

Is anyone aware that my hubby HATES heights?  But he loves me, so here he is again...

Love it!!!  It turned out so pretty!!  I have a string of the octagon crystals coming tomorrow, so I might have to have him bring this one back down so I can add some more...  Or I might have to wait until it's time to add another chandelier before he's willing to get back up on the ladder...

Ta Da!!!!  So pretty!!  I just love it!!!  I wonder what my next chandelier will look like???  😁😁😁