The Gateway Arch framed by the window frame of the Excursion, and meeting Dad and Susie in Missouri

The largest cross in the western hemisphere, somewhere along I-40...

The old house and the new...

Ohio is for lovers

Sunday 10th: Went to church in Flagstaff in the evening, they threw a party after church for some folks who were leaving. It was a lot of fun to crash a party for the first time in many years...!

Wed. 13th: Jacob's 6th birthday party! Seth, Caleb, Ethan, Abigail, Haddasah and Isaiah all joined us for the celebration at Jochebed's house. It was a superhero birthday party, with masks for everyone, and a special cake. He got a couple Gameboy games and some other cool gifts. In the afternoon Richard went over to ABQ to pack up the house ready for closing next week.

Saturday 16th: Sweat sweat sweat, but with Eric and Robin's help, the house is empty. Two 10x20 foot storage units completely filled, not even space left for a wheelbarrow. God came good with a 24 foot Penske truck, which got completely filled, rather than a 12 foot U-haul, which just wouldn't have worked.

Sunday 17th: Last day in Arizona, worked on the truck to get Jonathan's car-seat in the front, so it's now a 9-passenger - thanks Reuben!

Monday 18th: Got as far as Grants, stopped for the night at a truck stop

Tuesday 19th: Went on to ABQ, cleaned the house, took some stuff to the dump, and went over to stay in the parking lot at the closing company. Got way too hot - no air-conditioning! Decided to go to Ohio next.

Wednesday 20th: Closed on the house sale, went over to Optomec for a while, took Em to the doctors (diagnosis, too hot), and hit the road. Got as far a Tucumcari, (Tucumcari Tonite!). Em’s doctor charged $65 cash. With our old health insurance, we would've had to pay $35 copay, but actually we wouldn't have been able to go to the afterhours place, since they don't take BCBS, so we might have had to pay $100 at urgent care... So, an extra $30 spent, i.e. 2 days worth of health insurance premiums!!

Thursday 21st: Through TX, OK to Joplin, MO. Humidity! Saw the big cross (see pic). Jonathan is up on his knees and crawling backwards.

Friday 22nd: Met Paul and Susie for lunch (but didn’t eat – in some parts of the world, it’s still legal to smoke in a restaurant, and still legal to decline to eat there), went on through St Louis to IL, spending the night at a beautiful RV park in southern IL.

Saturday 23^rd: Arrived in Ohio!

Sunday 24^th: Went to church in Bluffton, had just a wonderful time. Lunch afterwards at Las Palmas, Carne Adovada was excellent! It was great to see everyone again.

Monday 25^th: On down to Columbus, found a nice campsite with pool and playground. Really really hot, great to swim in the pool!!

The kids sitting by the bushouse 

The Turbocharged Chariot 

Jonathan, 4 months old 

Pictures

The kids dancing with "The Wiggles" inside the bushouse

I can SEE!!!

Friday: Left on our camping trip - Rachel and Eric, Jay and Chris and us plus kids. We were supposed to leave at 8am, but, well, 3:30pm was close, right? Got to Hannagan Meadow in the White Mountains well after dark, but found a beautiful clearing with a great campfire.

Saturday: Went fishing in the Black River, the kids caught nothing, but hey, they had fun! Richard acted like someone out of a comic strip, carrying all the supplies to the river, helping everyone untangle their lines, then just as everything was finally set up, it was time to leave.

Sunday: Kids church in the forest at 9,100 feet, we did the story of Elijah on Mount Carmel. No-one wanted to be the prophets of Baal, so Richard had to do it - the first time he'd ever been 450 people all at once during Kids church. Seth (playing Elijah) seemed to take way too much pleasure in killing them... The bushouse performed like a trooper - the water lasted, the batteries went two days before we needed to recharge, and the heater kept it nice and warm at night

Monday: Cruised home, uneventfully. Backed into the driveway at Jay's house and popped the back tire of the truck on her culvert. Whoops.

Tuesday: Took the truck to the shop to get air-bags put in to the rear suspension, as the bushouse is just a bit heavy for it. Once they were done took the truck to get a new tire, only to find our tires don't have the load capacity and we needed 5 new ones. Must talk to the bank manager tomorrow.

Wednesday: Lael went for laser eye surgery today. Seemed to go well, she got to spend the day sleeping, a good day I think...!

Thursday: Happy Birthday to Richard! 33 years. To celebrate, we took Lael's mom out to lunch, Lael went to a follow-up appointment after her eye surgery, and we had steak in the evening and watched the 2nd-biggest fire in Arizona history burning a few miles from Jay's house. Richard's sister had her first baby today (33 years and 30 minutes after Richard was born). Esther Ruth Wharton, 8 lbs 10oz, mom and baby are doing fine.

Friday: Shabbat. Rachel made shabbat dinner - salmon and cous-cous. Taim maod (very tasty).

Saturday: Went to Lake Mary with Josh and Jessica and their Jet-Skis. Had a great time! Caught a little air, almost lost Jay's hat, scared Sharon, a great day. Took the bushouse to Reuben and Sharon's house in the evening and parked up beside their house. Never try to back a 34 travel trailer into someone's driveway off a main street when a 3-car high-speed police chase is going on.

Sunday: Richard went down to Phoenix and took Lael's mom to church, went out to dinner after, the whole 9 yards. It's always good to praise the LORD!

Monday: The 4th of July. How do a Canadian and an Englishman celebrate the 4th of July in a county with a fire ban in effect? They go to the shop and fix the back door fo the truck so it locks. Makes for a thrilling day.

FAQs: The first in an occasional series of FAQs.

Q. What do you do for health insurance?

A. We subscribe to Samaritan Ministries (www.samaritanministries.com I think, maybe it's .org), you send $195 every month to someone who has medical bills to pay. If we have the bills, other subscribers send us enough to cover it. Simple - share the cost around, pay cash so the costs are low.