It was a long 38 hours on the road! We could not afford five plane tickets, so we drove 2000 miles from Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico to Springfield, Kentucky, USA. We bought a tent at Costco before we left and we planned to spend at least two nights camping on our road trip. We were making great time because we left at four in the morning! Brad felt good and it was still light out so we passed our planned campsite near San Antonio,  Texas and kept on moving. Outside of Austin we decided to look for a campground. We found three but they were only for RV’s. It was a waste of a good hour and we were frustrated! We ate pizza for dinner and got back on the road towards Arkansas. We tried to stop and rest in the Denali but our kids would not cooperate. Honestly they were very good for spending 38 hours in the truck. I think we only watched Croods about ten times on the way…

Our trip was pretty uneventful except for the long drive. I barfed an hour after we left Morelia and then I felt sick for the next 12 hours. That wasn’t fun but I am glad it was me and not one of my babies! Then when we crossed into Texas we spent an hour with the US Border Patrol while they inspected our vehicle. We had to remove all of our belongings and put them on a table for the officers to search. I was sad to give up our tasty Mexican avocados. They could not cross the border with us but Brad’s hot Serrano peppers were allowed to pass. It is kinda funny how thorough the US border was compared with how lax the Mexico border was when we entered the country 10 months ago. You can read that story here. I think the US side found it odd that a gringo family of six lived in Mexico six months, spent a month in Belize, then returned to live in Mexico another three months. Plus our large, dark, Denali always seems to draw attention. Turns out the cartel like to drive large, Suburban-like, vehicles too.

Now that we are back in Kentucky, life is insanely stressful once again. We are traveling back and forth between two homes, my parents and Brad’s parents. We had 11 doctor’s appointments last week! We want to see all of our friends and family, and we are running out of time and energy. For those that wonder, we have some great doctors in Mexico and at 30 pesos a visit it is quite affordable. But we still have health insurance in Kentucky and all the doctors know our children’s history,  so I figured while we are here it would be silly not to take advantage of it. Plus Brad needs to check in with his specialists for his TBI or traumatic brain injury.

When we first arrived at my parents I felt like I was in a dream. It was very surreal. It has been wonderful seeing the people we love, although it is a whirlwind of hectic activity. I am a butterfly spinning round and round, trying to keep my bearings, and appear peaceful and beautiful. Hahaha! I miss our simple Mexican routine of homeschool and our Bible ministry. It will be good to return at the end of September even though we will have only three weeks to find another house. Yes, we decided to move… more on that later.

Kentucky is very beautiful during spring, summer, and fall. Green grass, blue skies, rolling hills, lush trees, and farm animals. I miss the Kentucky countryside. I do not miss the infernal heat of summer. When you exit your vehicle or home you are hit with a blast of hot, humid, sauna-like air. Whew! Morelia is in the mountains so it is always between 55 and 85. It’s amazing weather! I don’t miss the dreary Kentucky winters either. We always have flowers blooming and fresh fruit to harvest in South Mexico. And the hummingbirds hang out with us year around.

I am dealing with a head cold right now. We are on the way to Louisville so I am blogging on my tablet. My parents are keeping Taylor and Sawyer for a few days, while we visit Brad’s family. It’s exciting to only have two children out of four! Maybe I can get some things done and find some time to write and relax? What do you think? I included some photos of our Kentucky trip thus far, below. Can you tell which ones I took with my dad’s new Samsung Galaxy 5 smartphone and my Sony A700 D-SLR?? How good of an eye do you have for photography ;-) Signing off, Tina