Five Finds Friday: On The Road

Is it really Friday?

Like, for real.  Is it?

At least a half dozen times today someone in our car said, “Seriously, you guys – what day is it?”  (Mostly that someone was me.)

Because when you have been on the road for a long time, all the days blur together.

I don’t know how my dad does this regularly.  Maybe he never knows what day of the week it is or even what time it is.

Anyway, just for fun, let’s see if I can muster up a Five Finds Friday from the road.

FUNNY 

The microphones full of bubbles that I bought from the dollar store before this trip.

I don’t know why – but they have been a big hit with all ages.

Also.

I found a new podcast that I tried out on ear buds while the kids watched a movie today.

It’s called This Glorious Mess from the Mamamia Podcast Network.  Two hosts who just talk a bit about parenting and family and whatnot, but – they talk with gorgeous Australian or British or some kinda accents because it’s an Australian podcast.  They’re funny and a little irreverent.  Also, I think certain words that I might consider cursing are just sort of common place in Australia.  Or to them.  I don’t know.  It’s not a foul show at all so when they semi-routinely use this one particular word I have to assume it’s because the connotations of the word in Australia are different than the word here in the states.

Maybe it won’t be funny when I’m no longer trapped in a car for ten hours on a single day. We’ll see.

But today it brought much needed comic relief.

FASHIONABLE

Piper’s new suit from Lands End.

(So grateful for one girl swimsuit that was easy to find and a normal price.  My goodness gracious sakes alive, finding the older girls swimsuits this year about turned me into Official Crazy.)

FLAVORFUL

What happened to Sonic’s Limeade recipe?

We lucked out in Kansas and when we stopped for gas there was a Sonic and it was happy hour and the refreshments were London’s choice for finding all of her scavenger hunt items.

I’ve been a fan of Sonic Limeade Slushes since ye old college days when my beautiful friend Marion and I would buy them and walk around the Cumberland Falls trail.

Today’s Limeade Slush was rather disappointing.  Could I have ordered it wrong somehow?

FAITHFUL

Kansas was a rough way to go.

(And all you Kansas fans out there, for the record, there were parts of your beloved state that were truly very beautiful.  I know exactly what it is like to love the land of your birth or your upbringing.  I am unreasonably emotionally attached to Virginia farmland.  I could see some appeal in the Kansas landscape.  All that sky.  It felt like breathing room for certain.  And maybe a little like the sky might swallow you whole.  Berg said Kansas felt like a good place to be lonely because it would just be little old you with that giant sky,)

But it was hard for us today.  Pelting, driving, frightening kind of rain.  Harsh winds and lightning storms lighting up the dark ominous afternoon sky.

It was straight up scary.

Then.  I get all out of the state and discover that, in fact, not even an hour and half or so south of us, there had been a giant tornado that touched down and stayed on the ground for over an hour.  (This news from our waitress whose brother was there.)

There was hail and intense wind and the steady decision of whether I should keep driving or seek shelter and over frightened kids (particularly one) in the back seat and a quick run through of safety procedures for a natural disaster that is not in my wheelhouse of being prepped for.

Once the weather cleared and the tornado watch was lifted for our area, we all breathed a little easier.

But we shared the opportunity to be truly thankful for God’s provision of safety over our lives.

FEELS

This one isn’t all the good feels this week.

I just drove one bazillion hours through a potential tornado for the love and the forecast is looking pretty twisted here.  That depressing little rain icon is sitting on every single day for the next week.  Every.  Single.  Day.  You guys.  I want to feel all the pity for myself.  I want to kind of cry the exact same percentage of precipitation that I see called for daily because I drove all this way and I want to see these mountains and clouds are blocking every view right now.

The cold weather is fine with me.  A little extra winter never hurt anyone.

But the rain.  Oh man.  Horse back riding in the rain?  Fishing?  Hiking?  Limited views of what is one of the most beautiful parts of our country?

This is me – throwing a tiny pity party for myself whilst the kids are sleeping.

And hoping that come rain or sunshine tomorrow – I’ll be able to muster up all the enthusiasm to enjoy what the day holds.