We are sitting on the 1 in our Jeep, a mere blip in a line of traffic somewhere between Sicamous and Calgary. As time stretches on, more people get out to play in the snow and the quietness of outside grows as vehicles are turned off. Morgan has played hockey on the road, cleaned off the vehicle and we have had quality petting time with the horses a couple vehicles ahead of us. We have had an argument over which cup holder is the front and which is the back one. I’m convinced The snow is piled up as far as the eye can see, and we happen to be parked by a frozen lake so our view is spectacular. It’s hard to be upset that avalanche control is postponing our journeys when we can be in this delightful snow globe. Occasionally we can hear the booms somewhere on the mountains ahead which is a good sign that the job’s getting done at least. I am personally enjoying sitting and doing nothing after the rush of school Christmas things.

We are currently en route (or supposed to be) to Linden for night. Tanner+Cheney are out at Genes so we are making a 12 hour stop to visit, then heading north up to Edmonton tomorrow with a stop for lunch, hopefully, in Blackfalds with Grandpa Ken and Marilyn. We are going to visit my Auntie Lanes PuraBotanicals studio in Edmonton, and maybe the West Ed mall. Also Morgans cousin Emily is in the unit so we will hopefully see her as well. Then we are going out to Grandpa Gary’s for a couple days, and then to Roblin where some of the Bronsons are getting together. We are hoping to go to Mackay, ID, from there to be with my family for a few days YAY cuz Madison, Mom, Dillon’s and little Max, and Mark&Rhodas family are all going to be there♡ my best people on earth. Then we will drive home to Enderby, bringing my Mom back along with us to spend a couple weeks! Guess we’ll see how the travels go!

Our parent supper was a couple weeks ago already, but truly so much fun. My students ushered their parents in to comfy office chairs, then served them sparkling apple juice while they waited. My decor committee had decided on white tablecloths (ValueVillage), greenery (trees at school), gold candlesticks and candles (assorted moms), and string lights (oldest class boys). My food committee had decided on grilled chicken and BBQ, gourmet potatoes, ceasar salad, cornbread muffins and honey butter, and chocolate trifle for dessert. After supper the parents were brought to chairs in the gym where there were chocolate covered strawberries waiting for them to eat while they watched the class sing songs and act out the Christmas story. It was the cutest thing, all of them dressed as shepherds and wise men or women and angels. After they got off the stage they burst into somewhat hysterical, nervous giggles so I think they were excited to have it over. The parents played volleyball with them after we cleaned up, which was a highlight, so all in all a success i think!

Morgans students put on an equally amazing evening for their parents and I also got to attend. They did stuffed mushrooms for appies, three different meats, and it was nice not to be doing the work:) We were also treated by the school board one evening for our teachers/board supper, complete with steak, cheesecake, and a beautiful charcuterie board made by Jodi. One evening we were invited to Marshall+Janell with Uncle Orlins, Kendals, and Garys for Mexican food (so hard to come by up here!). Lovely evening being with all those people and I stocked up on candles again. If you’re looking for delicious smells, Janell is the person for the job, @ lux_amare_candles on IG. Our school program “The Coming of the Light” went off wonderfully Thursday evening and of course I was very proud of all our kiddos. Our Christmas party was Thursday morning from 9:30-2. Each student brought snacks for their class and then we got pizza in for lunch. We practiced program once, then spent the rest of the day eating and having relays or playing games, and of course exchanging gifts. Morgan and I got assorted things, and Morgan’s class also got him an espresso machine so we are stoked! We have been looking at them for a while so he almost wept when he unwrapped it:)

Exciting news for us…Uncle Orlins have offered us a housesitting position beginning when we arrive home from Christmas break so we have packed up our basement suite and will be moving over to their lovely house for a couple months. We are so excited. Then in March, we plan to move back into our favorite bus!♡ we can’t wait! God opened all the doors and we are so thankful it’s all worked out like it has. We will be parking our bus on their land, out by the shop with a birds eye view down the valley. Come see us:) Morgan has elaborate plans to make ski jumps down the mountainside. We will be out in the country which we are stoked about as well. Also Walds, Ben’s, and Darwins will be close neighbors so we have a sweet community, all school board or students so we can frequent their houses now. Haha. Also of interest, if you get my statuses, you will notice our excitement at finally seeing a bear in BC. A cute black bear who just wanted our trash. And it came on our back porch multiple times so we had good views. Now I’m nervous to come cruising around the corner of the house and have it just hanging out.

It’s almost my Dad’s birthday, so I’ve been thinking lots of all the happy times and being sad that we can’t have more. I’ve been thinking too of the different kinds of grief and loss people will experience this Christmas. First holiday without someone, missing a loved one who’s gone, missing family who’s far away, another Christmas for a couple without a baby of their own, or rocky family relationships (inlaw or other), are all different things you grieve for anytime, but for sure at the holidays. You are often put in situations with well-meaning people, other couples that do have babies, families without anyone missing, or family members you’d rather not be with. I’m sure there are more examples you could list, but these are some I’ve been thinking of. If any of these are you, you aren’t alone. You don’t have to say yes all through the holidays. I bring my iPad (to draw and design more stickers), a book to read (probably Harry Potter), and I claim a coffee cup that I haul hot drink around in the entire season. I do what I can to help the anxiety I know will hit me at some point. It often will just be something tiny that will suddenly make me so sad for my Dad and the past life we had, or something that triggers a feeling of loss at family relationships that haven’t worked out, but it usually helps me to just find a chair and relax alone. It doesn’t make us less of a Christian to sit and regroup for half an hour. It doesn’t make us less of a Christian to have people it’s easier to be with than others. If none of the above rings a bell with you, then hopefully this can just be a reminder for us all to just be kind. It’s okay for us to not be okay all the time, even at jolly ol Christmas time, and we need to normalize that.

I know I’m being transparent, but I suppose you won’t mind. Anyways, wishing you all a safe+happy Christmas season, from the bus,the bear, and us. Xo.

So, Tuesday the 9th we left for school meeting in Crooked Creek with Amy and Rosemary. We spent the night in Valemount and arrived in CC in time for supper Wednesday evening. We even got our school Christmas program planned while we drove. Morgan and I spent nights at Chuck&MaryJo Reimers, who we sort of knew but on the other hand didn’t know at all and now we do and we absolutely loved them. Crooked Creek (actually they are the Rosedale congregation I think. Like does anyone even know that? I didn’t.) congregation were excellent hosts and we had delicious food and listened to inspiring talks by school board and teachers until Friday at noon. I got to see so many old friends that I had known in my previous Alberta life and that was just an inspiration to catch up.

Everyone departed mostly for home then, but Morgan and I turned off our mature teacher brains and switched over to wedding mode because Friday evening was the supper thing at school (for Kelsey and Jordyne’s wedding) in which I got to see some of my favorite people and also add to my favorite people list. Saturday morning was a couples brunch and the local couples spoiled us all with delicious food and coffee and a very fun morning catching up with old friends and visiting with new ones. I was thriving in the crowd of course. And I must say that there are just such nice couples from BC to Alberta to Manitoba that I talked with and it was just so fun. Saturday evening was the wedding and Kelsey and Jordyne were lovely and so was the butter chicken we had for supper. Came home and got a bad cold because why have a week with no sleep and all fun without a consequence? haha

Last Sunday Morgan had a chance to go do some CDR flood work by Merritt so he was gone all day. I went to Randy&Cindy for lunch with Eric’s and Carl&Nora and had a relaxing day. I didn’t mind getting some alone time in:) This week we had Friday off for report cards so Morgan split some wood that day while I did some shopping. We stayed late working at school a couple evenings, and Friday night went to Uncle Orlin’s for supper and wonderful chats. One night we took pizza up to Lance’s and played Crokinole and Rook on Rook off all evening so that was a blast. And since we hadn’t played Crokinole enough, we stopped in at Carlos&Jodi’s to play some with the kids and also have coffees. Tonight we had Parent Teacher Conferences which I’m relieved to have over with, although my parents are so cool. It makes all the difference in a school year!

We have another busy week planned, and it seems like the days get more packed until Christmas. Saturday evening my class is putting on a supper for the parents for their Christmas gifts so that will take up a lot of the week. How to plan for 8 busy students to help make food in a kitchen without using too many band-aids or too much drama? Tips welcome. I always love doing it with my students though, and we make a day out of it and have a good time. Morgan is doing the same thing except his is the week after mine. I do have my student gifts wrapped and at school and the school programs are sent home to practice so at least we have a couple things checked off the list.

It probably seems like I talk about the same things every post and in reality, it seems like life settles into a routine when you teach school. We like it. The snow makes us happy. It’s rained off and on the last couple weeks but the snow is still around. Every Thursday morning we make a Timmy’s run and get coffees to bring to Amy and Rosemary. Even this is a routine and im a fan. We have some fun news that I will share next time if all goes as planned. Keep us in your prayers while we navigate school! Xo Cheyenne B.

Notes: I tried yarn for stitching, but it was too thick to pull through the fleece. I used fleece for the body and dollar store felt for the ears, mouth, and legs. For lower grades, the legs, mouth, and ears should be tacked on or sewn ahead by an adult. -Rosemary Ratzlaff. Follow the Pinterest link here👉https://pin.it/lcuvOeE

Notes: I made one of these out of canvas and drew the points on. Every so often I’ll have the students make paper airplanes and spend the rest of art period trying to get their planes to fly through the holes. They sometimes make multiple planes, trying to get a better build, and some students keep them over until the next time I pull out this project. They love it!

A favorite in the winter. Copy Christmas song, cut out toque and mittens. I have used fabric for both of those, or paper. Cut out face and hair, draw on face, and assemble. These are some my Mom did for one of her art classes.

Notes: Cut coat and mittens out of cool patterny paper. I drew braids for the girls, and used whatever color hair the students each wanted. Glue cotton balls on and add eyes. Use a small coffee filter for the coat hood.

Notes: Print silhouettes, cut and glue magazine strips, and cut out. Put on construction paper for an easy project.

Notes: I drew dots on the back of the tires and we pulled yarn through with a yarn needle. -Rosemary Ratzlaff

Notes: On your choice of background, cut white snowdrifts , draw tree trunk silhouettes, add in a cozy house or two, and cut circles of different laces for the snowy treetops.

Notes: These pictures took a couple art periods to complete since they are very detailed. Morgan used this book from Amazon for his Grade 8 & 9 class. 👉 http://Color Quest: Extreme Coloring Challenges to Complete https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1438008562/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_JWPNEV2AB6ZA2RCT6R10

Notes: Start with markering your coffee filters since they will need time to dry before you glue things on. I have found that Crayola washable markers work the best. They don’t need to color every bit of the white coffee filter because once it’s sprayed with water, the colors bleed and spread. I have the turkey body, legs, and beak ready to cut out and glue on when the coffee filter has dried. I usually lay the filters on a piece of cardboard to spray, then move them off the cardboard to a table to dry faster. If I start art class at 2:15, they are usually dry by 2:45 so the students can quickly finish gluing things on.

Notes: -Amy Penner

Dark, cold mornings. Fog hanging low over the mountains. Pine trees lost in the rainclouds. Wood smoke curling lazily. Smells of coffee and cologne. My favorite person beside me, holding my hand. Comfortable silence while we look at the world. Golden leaves crunching. Keys clattering in the lock. Shouts of children greeting the day. My classroom comes alive.

Basically this sums it up. They’re getting shorter now, the days. Sometimes if I get up when I’m supposed to, it’s still dark outside and the lights of the town are scattered in the fog. We found bear poo the other night outside our back porch so that adds to the scenery as well. The snow is creeping closer, mountaintop by mountaintop. It’s even supposed to snow here this week. I catch myself spying for Christmas gifts when I walk through the stores and singing Christmas songs a lot. Before bed I look for the Northern Lights which we’ve seen a couple times the last month and they get more beautiful each time.

This week I had a “farewell fall” week at school. I had the students guess the weight of a pumpkin one day, guess mystery items in a box, and guess how many candies were in a jar. It was quite fun but I ran out of steam because my evenings are full of revivals so I ran out of time to continue coming up and organizing schoolwide projects. But I promised them a “winter week” after Christmas. We have talked about the Christmas program too so I feel quite in the spirit of things. Also I just have to say how much I love all of our students here at our little school. They come up with the craziest things and do things they shouldn’t but they are such a great group of kids. My class is planning parent projects for Christmas and I want to give my classroom Christmas vibes so I will be working on that soon.

For a couple Saturdays Morgan has gone to the range with Lance’s. I went the first Saturday but forfeited last time to get some shopping done. It is truly a trial to spend my Saturdays shopping, especially when there are friends and campfires to be with instead. Next Tuesday after school we teachers are leaving to drive to Crooked Creek for school meeting. It works out so well because Saturday is Kelsey&Jordyne’s wedding there also! It will be a very full week of people. Morgan and I are also staying with some people from that area, which feels weird because we are used to the bus and our space. The bus has been winterized and we will pull it out next spring, or sooner depending how much we miss it.

We have cruised all over for this last month. On our Thanksgiving weekend we made it as far as Abbotsford before we realized we couldn’t afford Vancouver Island on teacher wages, and also the ferries were booked up. So we spent the evening and next day in Abby, trying coffee shops and going into little shops and thrift stores. It was so cool. Then we headed home because we had been invited to Joe&Myrna for supper Saturday evening and it was quite a frolic. Scott&Mary were out so spent abit of time with them. For Thanksgiving dinner we went to Ken&Brenda with their fam whom we love so we had a wonderful time. Now its time to Christmas everything up. Lucky for us in Canada, Thanksgiving is over so we can decorate for Christmas already.

We have had lots of food invitations this month as well. Doug&Elaine for delicious steak grilled by Jake&LaNita, a pie fest at Carl&Nora’s, Anthony&Teresa, Kevin&Joyce, Cam&Heather, Ben&Penny (where we made chili rellenos, a first for me), Carlos&Jodi with William,Rosie,&Amy, to name a few. We also had Eric’s and Titus’ over for SmashBurgers one evening. Ben&Penny are school board and once a week one of the board couples brings snack after school which is just awesome so they brought snack Thursday. Teresa brought lunch for us one day this week which as you know is an answered prayer for teachers during revivals:) just writing all these names brings joy to me. We didn’t know these people two months ago and now they are just dear to me and I see all of their faces when I type. How fun.

I signed up for the Heart Sister thing here so I could maybe get to know the ladies more. I’ve had inspiration that the men should start a Heart Brethern side of things. They all seem to have so many “good” ideas for the ladies and think it’s so easy for the ladies to find things to give each other. Therefore I have challenged several of them to undertake it as well, although I haven’t seen much follow up.

Our Christmas plans fell through with my family because tickets are so so expensive. We are quite sad but there isn’t a lot anyone can do. So, Morgan and I are debating what we should do. I think it will be quite relaxing, and include a stop in Roblin for the Canada Bronson’s Christmas and maybe Pincher Creek. I’m scouting for tickets so we may end up in Hong Kong, or make it as far as Calgary. Who knows? I have had a tough day today, missing Dad, then in turn missing my family and Dan&Nat and our boys. Full headspace with school stuff and revivals so we didn’t do much. We went to a ski swap in Vernon this morning and then did some school shopping. Morgan ran a couple errands this afternoon and I got out my Christmas box which was a happy thing. Wishing you all a good upcoming week, and hope you can make sense of this post since it feels a little scattered today. Xo chey

Well, school in Enderby has started, in case you were all wondering. Most of the days we’ve been here so far have been sunny with a few rainy days scattered here and there, which Morgan and I do not complain about. It’s a little greener than when we first arrived, and the trees have been changing slowly the last couple weeks or so. There is one particular maple, a green through the the middle and brilliant red around the edges that I admire every time we drive to Vernon. We have mostly spent our days at school, which I suppose is good since that’s what we have been hired to do. Last Saturday we hiked on the Enderby Cliff trail that’s right outside of town. Enderby sort of lies to the south of the Cliffs, not quite in their shadow. We have a beautiful view of them from our back porch so we eat supper outside and watch them turn pink in the sunset, that’s if we are home from school by the time the sun sets. We live in the bottom suite of Rodney&Adeline Esau’s house, and our door and windows have the most wonderful view. We are mostly settled into our place, and have the bus parked for now until we have a free weekend! Sometimes a doe and her fawn are eating in the neighbors lawn when we come home and we always accidentally scare them off. I lament often that we haven’t seen a bear yet, although we have had some close calls. Rosemary called us the other day so we left our supper cooking and drove to see the bear but it had already disappeared. We at least got to hear it making a racket in the woods so we know they do exist. People here see them all the time so I’m hopeful.

School is good. It sometimes feels like we are in our own little world there all day and we have no clue of outside happenings. There are 36 students. We teachers take our checking to the office after school and munch and grade and discuss our days. It’s quite fun. We probably have the best co-teachers. Their names are Rosemary Ratzlaff and Amy Penner. They both have good humor and wit and are experienced teachers to help with any problems we may have. I quite enjoy our conversations. Morgan loves teaching. His kids are really cool and seem full of life so that makes it more fun. My students are amazing, of course. I am kept busy learning the new games. Like why isn’t King’s Base the same in every congregation? Well, it’s not. And other games are called something else in the States but up here are a different name with the same rules. So by the end of the day my head is usually full of new information. Then there’s learning new songs, how hot lunch works, who gets the gym on rain days, and so on.

I turned 30 on the 27th which I guess I can tell you since it’s over. I was sort of dreading it but I’ve had such a tremendous 30 years that I’m becoming more accepting of the fact. There happens to be another girl with the same birthday here so there was a big party held for us. Campfires, volleyball, some stray fireworks, delicious discada, and new friends made for such a fun evening. I got some darling little gifts. Then, if that wasn’t all enough, I was given a note by my students that we were taking a class trip on Wednesday. So late Wednesday morning some Moms pulled up and hauled us over to Vernon to Davison Orchards. We had lunch after the rest of the Moms arrived, and Penny had brought me sushi:) then went on a “train ride”, picked out pumpkins, went through the gift shop, and sipped pumpkin lattes and cider. It was such a great fall outing. I missed fall when we lived in California so I’m glad it’s just taking it’s time and getting more beautiful here.

For our fourth anniversary a couple weeks ago, we drove up to Wells Gray Provincial Park which was more wilderness than we had seen for a long time. We hiked to Bailey’s Chute and watched the salmon trying to jump up the falls which was so cool. I hadn’t seen that ever, I guess. It rained most of the day and we just loved it. It was almost like a rainforest in the woods while we hiked, with giant leafed plants and mist rising over the green forest and damp earth. It truly felt like an ancient place. We spent some time in Kamloops, shopping and eating sushi dreaming about our next four years and so we had a fun time.

This next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving so we are trying to decide what we will do for our long weekend. There are so many options to choose from. So we have considered Vancouver, or driving somewhere up North. Enderby has been so awesome to us already. Like we have had invites all over and that has really helped us to feel at home and also to start figuring out which children belong to which parents and so on. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and please pray for us teachers of MVCS. xo cheyenne

After leaving Saskatoon, we drove a couple hours to Neilburg where we did a 30 minute stop at Lars&Shari. Only Lars was working so we saw Shari and new baby Skylar Grace and we had a fun time catching up. We stopped in Wainwright, Alberta, for the night at a little dinky RV park. A thunderstorm came through while we were out riding bike so that was terrifying but we got back to the bus and made coffee and sat in the dark and watched the lightning so it turned out okay.

We had a relaxing day Friday. We stopped in Camrose and did laundry before driving down to Grandpa Gary & Grandma Cathy’s out at the lake. We got there mid afternoon and Uncle Brydons family pulled up in time for supper as well. Saturday the kids swam with Morgan and Uncle Brydon and Grandma, Auntie Lane and I chatted at the house. Such a fun day.. Uncle Brydons had to head back to Edmonton later in the afternoon and Uncle Jared arrived. Morgan and I made plans and drove to Edberg for supper to Andrew&Brittney. What a delightful evening. Jon&Carolee were there as well and we had yum food and conversation and a crackly fire. A top evening for sure. We spent Sunday with Grandpa’s and Jared, relaxing and catching up with cousins and uncles and aunties who stopped in.

Monday morning we left and drove to Linden, another very important stop. We parked at Gene&VJs and did a lot of catching up and hanging out. Had supper at the field with them and Dalin&Shirley Monday eve, and then Mama and Rosie (VJs mom and sis) came for toast and hot tea around the fire. We are teaching with Rosie this year in Enderby so Morgan finally got to meet her.

Tuesday morning VJ gave me an aromatouch massage and in the afternoon I was with Cecily. I mostly gave her baby name suggestions while Morgan brought us drinks. Then Zachs and Davons and Brian Baerg and Rosie came for supper to Gene’s and we sang and played games and I had bits of conversation to catch up with all of them.

We left Genes at 6 yesterday morning. I was still in bed, obviously. Morgan drove us to Canmore where we stopped at Rocky Mountain Bagel Co. to eat breakfast since itd been recommended to us by Eric&Abby clear back when we were in Manitoba. We were not disappointed. The mountains on our drive also didn’t disappoint. Like I wanted to just spend all day looking up but at some point we had to keep driving. We picked up a hitchiker somewhere between Radium and Golden and hauled him for aways. A nice man from Quebec who chatted and was quite interesting.

Our bus cruised along so well over the passes that we got farther than we intended. We stopped and had a swim in some hot springs in the eve and then grilled steaks and potatoes for supper. Grandma Cathy had given us fresh cukes so we made tomato cucumber salad, and Auntie Connie had given us fresh BC peaches that we had with brownies while we watched the sunset on the mountains and contemplated the fact that our journey is almost over. We have been on the road almost two months and it’s bittersweet to know we’ll be in Enderby today. Yes today! We can’t wait to see everything. We are dropping the bus off tonight and borrowing a vehicle for us to drive down to Seattle tomorrow. Canaan&Tara are driving our Jeep up and meeting us Saturday so we are excited to see them and also hang out in Seattle abit. Please pray we can get our Cvid tests back, and both vehicles back across okay. Once that’s done we will be relieved to have our school stuff and able to focus on school, I think.

Thursday afternoon we had just left International Falls driving west and north towards the border when my phone buzzed and my test results came through. Morgan got his as well, and we were both negative so we felt it was an answered prayer that it all went smoothly. The border crossing was fine for us, the bus not so much. The border official was very helpful tho and we got it figured out pretty quickly so our bus is here on a visitor visa for a year, or we can import it any time.

We arrived in Steinbach area around the same time the rain and thunder did. Morgan and I are so happy to be where it rains, although everyone here was quick to assure is that this was the first rains in a longgg time. We got to Micahs in time for supper and spent the next several days there with them. Morgan worked on the bus doors and rode with Micah on the truck some, and Kandis and I and the girls did some shopping in Steinbach one day. Saturday afternoon we cruised in the bus over to Whitemouth area where we stopped first at Morgans cousin Renae&Jeff and toured their garden and produce stand. Then we stopped at Orlan&Krista where I sort of wanted to just drive the bus down their lawn to the river and live. We are sad they’re home from Kelowna because we won’t be near them now! For supper we went to Uncle Richard and Auntie Wanda’s beautiful fairy woods with paths lit with candles. It is the prettiest little place. I hadn’t met Cheyanne yet because she’d been in Ukraine last time we were here and she forfeited youth wedding supper and stayed around so we loved being with her. Uncle Jons and Jeffs and Micahs came for supper as well and we had a very fun evening and ended up back at Micahs again later for night. Sunday was spent at Rosewood congregation where Micahs attend, and we were at David&Bonnie for lunch and they are some stellar people. We love being with them. After church in the evening, Scot&Raquel and Savario&Alicia came over for night lunch and we loved that too. Such a good time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones!

We left Micahs early Monday morning and had a fairly uneventful drive over to Roblin. We stopped at Grandma Bronsons and saw her new apartment, then spent supper and night at Uncle Calvin & Auntie Roxine. We spent some hours cruising around with Kelson, Brittney, Leah, and Cory&Janae looking for moose and bears because we’ve heard they “see them all the time.” After a lot of bumping through fields and weeds, we had some proof there were living things because we’d seen some raccoons and deer but that was it. We can’t say Kelson didn’t try. We all went to Grandma Bronsons for lunch and then we headed out for Bredenbury. We were just abit down the road when Cory messaged and sure enough, a big black bear had just crossed the road in front of them. Ugh. So annoying.

Our time in Bredenbury was short and full. We made a stop to visit my Edmonton house papas, Harry&Millie, and a stop to see Christopher. It was so good to see them all again! Last time I saw Papas was at my Dad’s funeral I think, so it’s been awhile. We stopped at another Bronson cousin, Jill&Perry, and then went with them over to Uncle Myron & Auntie Twylas for supper. We had a lovely evening and scored some of Taylor’s coffee which we can’t wait to try ! Back to Perrys for night and breakfast with a stop at the local butcher shop on the way out.

Last night we found a campground in Saskatoon and stopped there for night. We had grand plans of butter chicken for supper but we are having an issue with our propane that we will have to fix before we use the stove apparently. Honestly I’m surprised more stuff hasn’t rattled apart on these Saskatchewan roads we’ve been forced to endure. So we rode bike into town along the river to Old Spaghetti Factory. We had a grand time riding bike this morning too, this time to an outdoor store. We are woefully unprepared for cool weather, which we have been in the last week, so Morgan found some gloves and I found the first Christmas gift to buy for the season 😀 we also got lattes at Venn Coffee and spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the bus, reading, and eating hummus. Now we are going to Value Village before we leave Saskatoon. We really liked the bike paths along the river here, and the murals painted all over the city.

As of this morning, we are 15 states down, 4 provinces to go. And guys, the trees are just starting to change into yellows and reds here in northern Minnesota and that means it is almost fall season where pumpkin and boots appear and I can’t wait.

We left at 11 Sunday evening after a last hurrah with the Breakfast Club at Dan&Brendas. We felt like night driving and I was dreading saying goodbye and leaving in the morning so we headed north and got several hours up the road before we stopped and slept at a rest stop. We drove away over the lovely Mackinac Bridge and stopped in Manistique for lunch. We rode out to the lighthouse and took a swim before we went and got iced coffees for the road. My favorite stop of the day, made possible by Cyrus Schmidt, was Kitch-iti-kipi. It’s a 45 feet deep, teal blue and crystal clear spring in the middle of the forest. Theres a raft that goes across the spring on a pulley, slowly and quietly enough that it never makes a ripple on the water. You can see the mushroom clouds of sand at the bottom of the spring where the water is coming in at 10,000 gallons a minute. It was such a cool quick stop to make.

We got to Rockie&Laura, who live up by Rock there in the U.P., around 4. Brennen and James were up there haying so we went to the field for supper with all of them. Morgan and I drove Rockies car around so we could see Uncle Jeffs house and some of the other people’s places who have bought there. We loved it.

Tuesday morning we left at 5 and drove along Lake Michigan into Wisconsin. We stopped to see the Green Bay Packers stadium and even managed to see some of the Packers players practicing outside. We decided to stop in OshKosh at a little market where we got sandwiches and potato salad and ginger ales in cold glass bottles. We found a park by Lake Winnebago where we had a picnic under the trees and it was so happy. We headed west from there over to Westfield, WI, where my cousin Shaina lives with her daughter and fiancé, Matt. Matt grilled some incredible chicken for supper and Shaina had pasta salad and veggies & dip so we were set. We toured their house and met some of their friends who stopped in and later had a fire. We really enjoyed meeting and chatting with them. It was way too short, of course.

Wednesday morning we left Matt&Shainas and drove until we got to Duluth, MN,around noon. Unfortunately we made our first mistake planning and didn’t think ahead for C-vid tests to cross the border into Canada so we scrambled abit yesterday in Duluth and eventually found a place that guaranteed results in 1-2 days. We took the tests and drove up to Gilbert where we spent the afternoon and night at Sherwood Forest campground by Lake Ore-be-gone. The lake used to be a quarry and they left a helicopter and some planes and jeeps in the pit when they were finished with it so you can scuba dive the lake and see all of it at the bottom. There is an ATV park there and a lake so we swam and then went on the bikes, cruising around on the trails checking out the little town. We are having fun trying the little hole-in-the-wall diners we find in these small places too. We had a really relaxed evening with us both working on school stuff at the picnic table until it was too dark to see.

This morning Morgan made breakfast tacos and coffee for us. Now we are driving up to Lake Kabetogama, a place from my childhood. Uncle Dean’s owned a resort here for years where Dad would come spend summers with their boys, Lance and Brent. Brent was Shainas dad. Some of my family’s best memories are coming up here in the summers where we would swim and fish and pontoon and watch wolves and eagles with Uncle Dean and eat Aunt Carolyns wild rice. Although they don’t live here anymore, I wanted to go back and show Morgan since we are driving right by so we will be there soon I think. I miss my Dad very much when I see this place. And I miss how normal our life was.

We are on a really loose schedule until we get our test results so we are going to try to get up past International Falls so we are ready to cross whenever we get them. Have a good day♡

I should probably dedicate this entire post to writing the things I learned and heard at Teacher Prep but I’m going to condense and maybe share things in the coming weeks if I remember them all.

August 2- Mom, Madison, Morgan, and I left for Pennsylvania early in the morning since Teacher’s Prep was held in Shippensburg this year. We didn’t drive our bus because we would have had to take more days coming and going and we really didn’t feel like we had the time. We had supper at school Monday night with all the teachers and committee, and spent the nights in Shippensburg at Tyler&Abbys house. I taught with Abs in Grant so we had a good time catching up. Usually Mom and I teach the Lower Grade Workshop together for Teacher’s Prep, but I took a break this year and Madison helped Mom this year while I sat in with Morgan in the Upper workshop (teachers Mitch Koehn and Darrel Koehn) and I also sat in on Gail Koehn and Carolyn Jantzs Middle Grade workshop a bit. I loved all the lectures and getting to know more people and chatting with all the girls.

I was bridesmaid for Lonetta at Shippensburg a few years ago so I got to see people I’d met then and looked familiar now which was really cool, although Morgan learned a thing or two about my past shenanigans from the people who remembered me.😬

After a delish outdoor breakfast at Tylers, we left Shippensburg Friday morning and drove over to Gettysburg. As a total history nut, it was astonishing i had never been here, and we couldn’t resist stopping when we found out how close we were. We first went to the museum where we watched the film and spent time checking out the world’s 2nd largest oil painting, a little longer than a football field, of Picketts Charge in the Civil War. Absolutely stunning. We went through the museum then, where we could have spent many hours instead of just two, and then we drove around to different sites of the Battle of Gettysburg. I loved it all and wish we could have spent more time.

From Gettysburg us, Mom, and Madison drove north up to Finger Lakes, NY, and arrived to Jonathan & Julies in time for supper. We spent Saturday at Lake Cayuga out on the boat, tubing and swimming and the guys went wake boarding. It was such a fun day. Sunday we got to attend the Finger Lakes congregation and met new and old friends and I loved how everyone made us feel right at home. We had a picnic in a beautiful park with Jonathan’s family, and did some hiking up to waterfall afterwards. In the evening Jonathan was on call with the fire department for the 4th of July fireworks that had been postponed, so we were happy about that and all drove out to Auburn to watch those. The area of New York where Jons live is absolutely stunning. Rolling hills covered with trees and coming over the hills you would see a lake below you. All those Country magazine pictures I looked at at Grandpa Bob’s when I was a kid finally came to life when we drove through New York.

We left Jonathans early Monday morning and have spent the rest of this week here in Michigan, picking blueberries by Lake Michigan, being with friends in the evenings, and trying to plan for school. Last night us and Dillons and Madison and Mom played mini golf and went out for Mexican food, and Boston made us coffee drinks later which we drank while we hung out with Tuckers.

We are planning to leave here early Monday morning so I’m sure i will be updating here more frequently again. I’m quite sad about leaving my family, but we also are excited to continue our drive to Enderby, and see what all the adventures are in between! I’m getting ready to just be there already, get our classrooms set up, meet the people, all of it. Partly because I’ll be missing my family once we leave here so ill need to be busy🙂 have a safe happy Sunday and week friends. Xo