Last Day Painting With Tony C.

Today we picked up our van from Enterprise - a 2009 Chrysler Town & Country (gray)! Why not fire engine red? Abbey and Emily helped load all our stuff after much complaining about not wanting to leave Las Vegas. I guess I can't blame them, Shiloh Horse Rescue is an amazing place to spend time volunteering. It is so hot here that I can't wait to get to higher elevations and cooler temperatures in Utah.

The girls spent the afternoon painting with Tony Curtis at Jill and Tony's house. He invited them for a painting lesson. We all enjoyed our time together and was very relaxing. We will join them for an art show in Sedonia, AZ in early October. How's that for learning art? The VandenBerg Homeschool is now in session!

Almost Packed!

Today was a crazy day! The girls went out to the ranch and I stayed home to catch up on banking, planning, shopping, etc. I purchased clear plastic totes for all our stuff. We each have a tote for clothes and I put all our food, camping gear, school books, and toiletries in 5 others. Also purchased 3 folding chairs for camping, all of which will have to be donated to the horse rescue when we return. We can't cart it all back to AK, that's for sure. Tried to keep the food fairly healthy with cereal, oatmeal, and fruit for breakfast, pb&j for lunch, lots of trail mix for snacks, and soup, noodles, and chicken for dinner.

The girls don't want to leave Las Vegas. They are having so much fun with Sally and Jill (grandma and auntie). Every day they wake up at 6:30 a.m. and head to the rescue - Shiloh Horse Rescue. They spend most of the day working - filling water buckets, grooming horses, mucking stalls, and orienting new volunteers. Some days, they tack up their horses and go for a ride! If I were 9 & 13 and had over 200 horses to visit every day, I wouldn't want to leave either! Not to mention the pot bellied pigs, llamas, goats, mules, dogs, cats, and chickens. It's almost like a day at Disneyland!

Tomorrow we pick up the rental van and load, Tuesday we leave!

Arrived in Las Vegas

Let the journey begin. I arrived in Vegas early this evening after standing by for an earlier flight in Seattle. Fortunately, my bags arrived too. Can't believe I had to pay $40.00 for two bags. Why don't they just factor it into the price of the ticket? Tomorrow I pick up the girls - they've been in San Diego for 8 days now I think.

Lots of packing, purchasing, and organizing to do. Pick up the van on Monday. Weather is extremely hot, I may just melt.

This Is A Test

Figuring out Blogger and it's looks like I won!

Leaving Gustavus

Heading to Juneau today - rain has stopped and clouds have lifted (for now anyway). Lots of words come to mind to describe my emotions . . . . excited, nervous, happy, guilty, these are just a few. I have planned as much as I possibly can without boxing us in with dates, committments, etc. Not sure how often we'll have internet access, but will keep everyone posted as we can. Think happy thoughts and send good karma our way!

Bag Are Packed

We all had a great time in San Diego. Clint got married, Tom surfed, had dinner with friends, and spent the day at the zoo with the girls. Oh, and the weather was fabulous!

Came back to lots of rain in Gustavus - gave me time to get ready for the next adventure. The bags are packed, school curriculum ready, camping gear tested and I am ready to roll! The girls are still in San Diego. They spent the last three days at Disney. It has been crazy here, but all is good. Have one more day of work, then off indefinately (well, hopefully until next summer).

Heading out on Thursday and we start driving on Tuesday, Sept. 1st. Will keep you posted!