Family Man

We found a silver lining in the sad passing of Uncle Rick and Brian and I like to think that Uncle Rick would have wanted it that way. Rick was a family man to the core and after considering just sending Brian and Jake to the memorial this weekend we decided to bring everyone. This decision afforded us a great opportunity to enjoy our family and honor Uncle Rick's dedication to his. 

We set off on the trip undecided if we would drive the whole way (11.5 hours with no stops) or if we would stop and spend the night in Reno en route. We ended up driving the whole way and taking 14 hours to do it. We left at 730 AM and arrived (Boise time) at Auntie Sue's at 930 last night. Talk about family togetherness. We didn't even take our big car. We decided to rent a vehicle since our old Suburban has seen better days. We ended up with a Chevy Impala and the kids filled the backseat. I think the trunk was bigger than the car itself. 

I can honestly say we had a great, great day. We listened to music and ate way too much junk food, drank too many energy drinks and too much coffee, and gave the kids too many treats and let them play too many video games. It was a day of excess and a day of true family togetherness.  We played games and sang along loudly (and mostly out of tune) to all kinds of music. We stopped too many times and even wandered around the world's largest sporting goods store, Scheels Sporting Goods, for close to an hour. (That's Faith and I on her first Ferris Wheel ride.). 

The night before we left my friend Donette gave me a great idea- she suggested filling a baggie with strips of paper that have different activities printed on them and allowing the kids to pick a paper every 30-45 minutes along the road. Brian and I wrote the activities the night before and told the kids of our plan that morning. They were so excited! The papers contained everything from, "Stop at the next safe spot and run around the car 6 times" to "30 Minute Mandatory Rest Time". They  pulled out strips that allowed them to play "20 Questions with Dad as the Leader"  and to "Play 2 Games of Hangman with Mom". "Blast the radio and sing along to music of your choice for 15 minutes" was a big hit, as was "Stop at the next gas station for a drink of your choice".  It is still hard for me to believe that in that entire 14 hours there wasn't one argument or sibling squabble.  

Uncle Rick- you will be missed by all of us and we hope that somehow you know the joy that was had by our family as we journeyed from Boise to CA to honor your life.