Making the Most of the SNOW........

We seemed to have gotten through the flood...and now a winter storm. We got about 10? inches of snow last night and today. I got off work about 12:00 (My Dad brought me and picked me up in his truck!) After many days stuck inside...Tyden inspired us to go out and play in the snow. I attempted a snowman and it is not beautiful, but it was fun! We are really wishing for spring here.....and baseball season!!

Making the Most of the FLOOD......

It's been quite a battle here in Fargo-Moorhead. We are in the middle of fighting the Red River Flood. Many homes have been evacuated in Moorhead including the Concordia and Mhd State campus. My Gma left her house on Friday and is staying at my parents. My sister and I thought we would join in the fun Friday (that way we could watch the State Boys Basketball Tournament as we don't get it at our house). As you can see the boys were entertained by Gma Cella, Katelynn and Papa played games, and Gma and I got a traditional game of Scrabble in! I better mention cheering for the Pelican Rapids basketball team as they won STATE!!

Craig's sister and family has been here since Friday as their sewer and water are off. Katelynn and Eli have been having a great time....slumber party every night!! Joel keeps us updated on all the things going on in the city....he talks to all his neighbors and gets the scoop. He also makes lots of trips to the store to make sure we have all we need!! Heidi gave all 4 kids a bath together tonight...we are suppose to conserve water you know!! I haven't even done laundry from our Phoenix trip! That's okay..the laundry room still smells like sunscreen and it gives me hope for brighter days ahead!

We are suppose to be getting a big snowstorm tomorrow/tue...after that I think we will know more about the future of this flood.

You know it's time to be home when...........

You've driven 3845 miles!

You've had 51 hours of driving!

You've driven through 11 states!!!

..............WOW!

We are home...we had a fantastic trip (other than Austin being sick) and are glad to be home. Kind of scary driving into town and seeing all the water!!

We left after the 1st game on Sat. (3pm Arizona time) and tried to drive through the night. We had to stop about 1:30 am at a REST STOP and sleep a few hours. It was the weirdest thing I've ever done. There were actually other cars there too amongst the semi's! We pulled out of there about 5am and drove all day. We really wanted to make it home, but decided to stay in Lincoln, NE so the kids could have a break. We all slept really well. We had 7 hours today and are glad to be back!! The trip was actually really cheap to drive so I am afraid Craig will never let us fly again!! We had quite an adventure and kids were really good. It's hard to be back in this gloomy weather when Phoenix was so sunny and warm!!

*Austin is learning to read maps already!! I guess he knows he better start early!

You know you've been at the Zoo gift shop when there is a pink flamingo attached to Katelynn everywhere we go!!

We've had quite the day. I will start with the end which ended us at a Pediatric Urgent Care with Austin. I thought he was doing better last night and today he could barely keep his head up. I brought him to a "Minute Clinic" in the CVS pharm across the street. The doctor there wasn't sure about his lungs so she thought I should bring him to a Pediatric Clinic.....that made me nervous. It ended up being a double ear infection/bronchitis!! We had to do a nebulizer for 1o minutes, ear numbing drops, and tylenol/ibuprofen/narcotic combined!! Then we were sent with 3 prescriptions! yikes!! A few hours later he was running around at the pool....I guess I would pay whatever I needed to make him feel better!! They were nervous about his ears and flying home. I said "Oh...don't worry we are driving!!"

We did, however, have a fun time at the Phoenix Zoo this morning. It was really neat and Katelynn

really got into all the animals (favorite=flamingos!!) Jen's favorite = giraffes. We got to go on a trail in a cage with monkeys flying around us. Katelynn actually loved it. They told me to be careful with Austin's pacifier because the monkeys like them!!! :) Tyden and Katelynn went on the carousel and had a ball!! The next stop was the gift shop as all the kids were promised something. Katelynn picked out a FLAMINGO that didn't leave her side all day....it is sleeping with her now. Tyden picked out a RHINO and it is sleeping with him now! Austin got a bag full of different animal figures.

The Cobbers won 2 again! They were really fun games and we had lots of shade. Dad came over tonight to hang out and the kids really like that. He could here them screaming for "PAPA" from the parking lot in our hotel!! They were so excited to see him.

One more day in this beautiful weather. We start the trek home after the games tomorrow. The agenda is not completely planned out yet.

You know the Bryant has arrived when the first stop is SONIC on the way to the ballgame!!
As you can see, Craig is ordering at Sonic....we ordered so much food to bring to the game and no one really ate any of it because we were so busy getting the kids organized once we got to the game!! I think Sonic is weird because people come out on rollerskates to bring your food.
Another beautiful day...we even had some welcome clouds at the ballgame. We started the morning out with an awesome breakfast at the hotel and some swimming. Katelynn is becoming quite the fish. She loves to swim around the pool by herself in her floatie! We looked like the Grizwald's piling out of the van (since the Bergeson's are with us now) after finally finding the field. We took a road full of rocks to get there!!
THE COBBERS WON 2!!! The first game there were 4 home runs!
Craig made a nice little "fort" for shade for the kids. Austin had a rough morning of not feeling well, but finally perked up after a good stroller nap. He had fun pitching and running around during the 2nd game.
Craig had to drive to 3 different pizza places to try to find supper and we still ended up doing Chili's to Go. 2 of them were closed and 1 only served individual pizzas!! What?
After the kids went to bed Rach and I enjoyed some drinks in the hot tub...we even made some friends (Connie you would be proud!). We enjoyed our sister time and Craig's margaritas poolside.
Time to get to bed...big morning tomorrow at the ZOO!!

You know you're a Mom when you try to find the SHADE at the game instead of the SUN!!

I did find a spot where I could go back and forth between shade and sun when I got hot. I did keep the kids in the shade 90% of the time, so I was glad about that. Especially since Katelynn had heat rash on her neck and Austin had some weird welts on his arms!! It was 90 degrees today. It felt GREAT in the shade and not too bad in the sun! Katelynn spent the entire first game trying to eat seeds (is Eli here?) And the entire second game sitting with Gma Connie and heckling people who got in her way of seeing the game!! (That's my girl!!)

Austin has had a fever the last few nights...bummer. He took a few short naps today and just sat with my in my captains chair a lot of the time. He did get out for a few innings and as you can see in the picture he is lining up any item he can find from my bag! (All safe items as you can see!!)

The Cobbers lost 2...Katelynn still got to run the bases after the game and wanted to do it again!! Papa said we will do it again tomorrow. Hopefully Austin will feel like joining in when his cousin Tyden arrives! We switched hotels now and it is AWESOME! A 2 bedroom suite with livingroom and kitchen. We had free supper tonight...spaghetti/salad/breadsticks...it tasted really good.

Craig just left to pick up Rachel and Bryant. He has been trying to figure out how watching the Bison and Gophers is going to work around the ballgames!

You know you're hungry when you eat EASY MAC for supper!

Austin wasn't feeling the greatest today. He had 3 naps and was pretty low key. He did perk up on the Carousel at the park once he got to ride on one of the horses!! He didn't eat much all day until we got home for the evening. I thought I would try an Easy Mac. He had some medicine and ate the whole bowl! He turned into a different little boy and was running around like crazy!

We went to a Railroad park today. Lots of different playgrounds, a train ride, a carousel, and a railroad museum. It was a cute little place. Austin took his 1st nap most of the time, so Katelynn hopped from park to park. We tried a carousel ride and both kids cried the first time around as we sat in a wagon that didn't move! The second time they both went on horses and LOVED it!! Katelynn was proud she went by herself! The train ride around the park was fun too. We packed a picnic lunch and enjoyed the beautiful day.

After some good naps (and Jen got some good pool time!) we headed to Gma Connie's hotel for some more swimming. Austin stayed on the sidelines, but Katelynn really had fun swimming with Gma and Karen. They even got her floating by herself in her innertube!!

After supper and baths the kids are finally in bed. I just got word that PAPA has made it to Phoeix...Austin has been asking for PAPA everyday. We are all excited to watch the Cobbers tomorrow!

You know you've had to much sugar when you throw up on the hotel floor!!

What a day!!

We had a great first day in Phoenix. We started out the morning with a stroller ride to Starbucks! (only a block away!) After that we decided it was warm enough to invade the pool! The kids loved it, but Austin was a little brave for me. He went under water 3 times!! Craig's college roommate, Kyle, and his family are down here. We decided to skip naps and go to the Brewers/Cubs spring training game with him and his little boy, Braylon. I am so glad we went! It was great! Austin slept in the car and on the walk to the ballpark. We sat in the outfield in some shade on a lawn where everyone sits. Tickets were only $8 out there! We decided to stay in the rest of the night. Good thing we did because Austin just threw up! I think he had a little too much sugar/treats (okay a lot of sugar!). I am hoping that is all it is!! He is in bed now and Katelynn is watching a movie. Tomorrow we are planning the "railroad" park in the morning.

*I had to put this picture of Austin on here with his Twins cap. To me one of the cutest things in the world is a litte boy with his baseball cap on!!

You know you're from Minnesota when.....you all have shorts on at McDonald's and it's 40 degrees!!

WE MADE IT TO PHOENIX!!!! We started out in shorts this morning thinking it would be warm soon. We were 45 minutes from Phoenix (up in the Mountains) and it was still only 60. 45 minutes later it was 79 degrees at THE FOUNTAIN!! We stopped at the huge playground/fountain in Fountain Hills before we went to the hotel. The kids had so much fun playing on all the different playgrounds. The sun felt soooooo great!! 25 hours in the car was worth it!!! The kids were great again today...but I am glad we don't have to drive anywhere tomorrow!!

Our hotel is nice...Craig did a great job once again. We have a separate bedroom so the kids are sleeping now and Craig and I are relaxing. We drove through ASU campus to go out to eat. It sure looks like fun. The football/baseball stadium look really neat. We were trying to figure out how Austin can make it 25 hours in the van, but not 30 minutes at a restaurant?? We hurried to eat and came back to the hotel for baths/bed. We aren't sure what we are doing tomorrow yet. We have a few ideas.

A special thanks to Joel for keeping our house in order while we are gone! And to my Mom who is taking in our paper and mail!! Thanks guys!!!

You know you're in New Mexico when.....all the houses and buildings look like an orange Taco Bell!!

We made it to Albuquerque where we are spending the night. We have driven 19 hours out of the last 24!! It seems like a lot but it has gone really well. The kids have been great...especially for being stuck in a car seat. They both slept over night but they were restless sleeps so I think they are pretty tuckered out. Other than sleeping they have watched LOTS of movies. Katelynn has learned to run the remote so she is in charge of the song choices for Mamma Mia!! Austin likes to throw his pacifier around. He thinks its fun for me to try and find it amongst all our stuff!! ha ha!

I am impressed with what troopers they have been over all. The drive was beautiful through the mountains. When we weren't in Mts it was brown desert! We arrived at our hotel about 5:00 and finally got to go swimming. We just finished pizza and are getting ready for bed!! All of us!

You know you're on a Schwantz vacation when the first stop is Walmart!

Our first stop was Walmart in Watertown!! Can you believe it? We had to get a couple blankets for Austin as we forgot his at home. So, we decided to eat supper there in the food court. What a way to start out a vacation. Austin enjoyed running in the aisles to waste some energy before the long car ride!! We stopped at 10:00pm to get gas. Craig drove until 3:00 as I slept in the back seat! I took over at 3:00 and took us to Laurie's in Colo. Springs! I had to wake Craig up an hour before Denver as I was getting sleepy. Not much scenery until the sun started rising in Colo. Springs. So fun to see mountains. We couldn't believe we made it when we pulled in Laurie's driveway.

It was great for the kids to play for a couple of hours. Laurie made us breakfast and we had so much fun catching up. She just had her 3rd baby a couple weeks ago. Teagan has the same bday as Katelynn a year later. Justus and Austin are a month apart. They had so much fun. We even got to play outside. What a treat!!

Thanks Laurie!

Craig and Katelynn planning our journey to Phoenix!! Katelynn showed me where the Zoo was.."See Mommy...it says Z-O-O!"

So nice to have someone handy in the family.......Craig and Joel put up shelving in the closet in Craig's "office" on sat. I told Craig it was really time to organize the chaos in there!! It looks so nice! I am so glad that Joel and his tools live so close. He even made Craig use the saw! yikes!