NaNoWriMo

I apologize about my lengthy absence. We were planning a trip to Texas and Texas was the only thing on my mind. I did not want the world (at least not local criminal types) to know we were going to be out of town. We're back now and had a BLAST! We visited hubby's brother and family, went to the Texas State Fair and The Alamo. On our way we explored Bent's Old Fort in La Junta. On our way home we explored Carlsbad Caverns and Santa Fe. Our little GPS, who my crazy hubby uploaded a squirrel's voice to, told us we drove for 52 hours in our 9 day trip. The kids were wonderful in the car. I guess that would be a miracle considering how long we were driving. Hotel rooms were a different story. They were wanting to be awake and doing things WAY before we were. It was also tough getting them to stop fighting over blankets and pillows before falling asleep. Overall it was a wonderful vacation. Here are some of the highlights:

• The squirrel stuck in the Nuvi - AKA the GPS with a squirrel voice. Bob had also uploaded a "scary" voice but he had a British accent and was NOT scary. :) Bob promptly switched to the squirrel who randomly exclaimed such things as, "If you see a squirrel run in front of the car, it's probably my uncle Frank. He's crazy like that!" and "Do you think the gas station would sell walnuts?" and "Sometimes I get a little distracted... Hey do you want some peanut brittle?" All in this cute, sometimes grating, squirrel voice. When bro-in-law drove us around in Ft. Worth he did not appreciate the squirrel. He made disparaging remarks when he veered off course and caused squirrel to exclaim, "Oh NUTS! Don't worry, I'll get us out of here!" Poor squirrel.
• Rhianna did not like driving in the dark. "I want to go home and watch Dora!" "I don't like the freaky stuff!" Daniel had asked her about Texas, "Do you like Texas, Ri-Ri? What do you think of Texas?" "I don't like Texas. There's no sun!"
• Mike bought us fudge. Yum? No! It was HOT! What was hilarious is that his piece was not hot and he did not mean to buy hot. So he says. He did seem genuinely surprised at our reactions. Brendan was fanning his mouth. Rhianna had tears in her eyes, fist in her mouth and was drooling. Later we walked past another candy store and Ashton told Mike, "No fudge!" It was pretty funny.
• Carlsbad Caverns is a MUST SEE. It was a little disconcerting walking underground. Daniel was quite nervous and Bob talked to him on the way down. I was shaky and did some self-talking myself. But the scary part was brief. The lighting, shapes, colors, crevices, and tranquil pools were breathtaking. It was amazing. God was there. The boys asked how long we had been underground after about 2 hours. I reminded them about watching the miners in Chile coming out of the mine after being in there for 69 days. Just no comparison.
• Some pictures below.

We are all happy to be back home. Well, except Bob who had to fly to California two days after we got back and is currently driving 12 hours in one of their new police cars. 7 states in a week. Poor thing.

So that is why I haven't blogged recently. And this post's title is why I will not be blogging in November. November is National Novel Writing Month - NaNoWriMo. I am fixin' to write me a novel! It will be like number 4 in my priority list; after Bible study, Bob, and homeschooling. But I figure since I will be cutting out Facebook (cleaning), blogging (reading & writing) and movies (cooking), I should be able to reach the 50,000 words.