Road Trip

This was taken in Shelley, Idaho in my Mom and Dad's drive-way. Getting ready to head back in Tennessee. Grace and William are already playing their games and won't even pause to look up for a photo. Peter and Parker are losing it early on, and Eliza and Michael seem to have good attitudes!

We had such a great trip. We left here on Thursday (July 22nd) at 6 PM and pulled into Paul and Rita's driveway at 1:30 AM Saturday morning. We drove pretty much non-stop. We gassed up the van, filled our bellies and emptied our bladders at each quick stop. David and I switched off driving and napping. We drove nearly 2000 miles in 32 hours with 8 kids and lots of electronics, the cooler stocked with snacks & goodies, and lots of open road. The kids were amazingly good. We had a great set-up. David had packed almost everything onto the back hitch-haul, so the van felt "roomy"--at least for the first 10 hours. The kids took full advantage of endless electronics time. I had some great hours of Tetris in the back seat to keep me sane. I love that game. I knew I had played too long and decided to take a break. I was looking at the clouds somewhere in Kansas when I started turning and dropping the clouds to fit into tight rows. It was sure fun.

We stopped for a quick breakfast at McDonalds on Friday morning-somewhere in the middle of Kansas. We had lunch on Saturday at some gas station. It was actually really good food. Our other big stop was in Laramie, Wyoming--we actually went in and sat down and had a yummy dinner on Saturday. The other meals were from the cooler.

After a few days in Provo we drove 4 hours to Shelley--that was a cake walk! The kids were amazed at how fast it went. Then 4 more hours to Cooke City and then back to Idaho, and finally another 30+ hour drive home. We did it straight through, too. The drive home was good, just not as fun--due to the direction we were going!

My Mom and Dad sent us with some amazing loot for the cooler--frozen water bottles, juice cheese curds, rolls, granola bars, grapes, crackers, and yogurt. We also had a wad of "blue office rags" to soak up any messes and a good stock of Zip-Locks. Parker and Peter were sick. We wanted to be prepared. We really only had one bad episode--that was Peter as we were driving through Yellowstone, we had our own version of Old Faithful when he vomited! I was sitting by him when it hit and we got it cleaned up fast. He was wearing his favorite Buzz Lightyear PJs (that he wears all day). They got tossed in the trash (on accident) in West Yellowstone. I had put them in a plastic sack and when we stopped to clean up I grabbed all of the sacks and tossed them. The nice thing was that he took a good, long nap. We had a great time. Thanks everyone for all the memories.

Some highlights of the road trip: (maybe not highlights, but some memorable occasions!)

My turn at the wheel--everyone is settled down and mostly asleep. I have Grace's Ipod with earphones and some sweet music. I've got a stash of candy and am all set to put some miles behind us--when I open my Dr. Pepper and it explodes all over me, the steering wheel and windshield. I didn't swerve too bad, but was ticked because my "travel outfit" got thrashed the first night.

This wasn't quite as bad as the warm shower that Grace and Parker got from Peter. He was trying to "relieve himself" into an empty water bottle when David hit a bump and Peter's connection was broken. His urine hit Parker (who was furious), Grace (who was crying and laughing at the same time) and himself in the face. Peter was MAD--he said that it tasted "stronger than salt"!

Another time after I had driven and was tired, I switched David places--he took the wheel and we were down the home stretch. I was dozing and had just fallen asleep when he hit the rumble strips. He had just dropped his sunflower seeds or something. I dozed off again with the lull of the van putting me into REM rather quickly, the next thing I know, we hit the rumble strip AGAIN--this time it was his earphones or something that he was trying to adjust. Anyway, with a little more swerving, I was WIDE awake in fear that David was falling asleep. I reached over every few minutes and whacked him to make sure he was OK. He kept assuring me that he was fine. I finally just drove the last hour or two, because I was SO wound up. He feel asleep and I had a beautiful experience driving through Echo Canyon, looking at the stars, listening to music, thinking about the pioneers and of course shedding a few tears of gratitude.

Hanging Out

I love this picture of Clark--Grace took it during the summer--he is about 2 months old in the photo. He is just hanging out and enjoying his life--oblivious to the chaos that is constantly surrounding him. He has a fun personality and is a very sweet and loving person. He is starting to laugh and he is a great addition to our family.

I guess it is time for my quarterly up-date. We had an eventful spring with visits from my sister Debbie and her three little kids. That was a blast. We just let the kids play in the perfect weather, chase chickens around the yard, took them to a few different parks (and got asked if we ran a daycare!!), and just let the kids enjoy each other. They were also here for Easter, so we had a fun egg hunt and various activities--mostly thanks to Emily! Debbie and I had a great chance to sit and visit. One of the highlights was David getting lots of leftovers from classes that he was teaching. We ate good that week--I only cooked a few simple meals the whole time. It was nice. Debbie was here just two weeks before Clark was born. He made his debut on May 2, 2011. Rita came out for a week to help out. She is fun a lot of fun to have around. With Emily just up the street we had some great times. Then my Mom and Dad came later in May. We mostly just relaxed and ate--I'm sure we must have done something more exciting, but I can't remember that far back.

The rest of the summer seems like a blur--Girls' Camp, Scout Camp, Youth Conference, EFY, movies, swimming, Faith in God, merit badges, a few outings, lots of sweating, and few good cries everyday, and great friends and family. We rounded the summer out with a road trip--5000 miles, 3 weeks, and lots of great memories.

The kids are full-swing back to school. They have survived the first week and all seem to be doing well. It does feel good to be back on somewhat of a schedule. We are all happy and well and hope that you are the same.

Magic Treehouse

Oh No!! Peter wanted to pose like this.

Underneath the treehouse in the shed is our 3-wheeler

(A Michael Thurman original)--we are sad about that, too.

Destruction.

When Katherine walked out and saw the treehouse she asked in a very disgusted voice,
"Who did that to our treehouse?"

Inside the Magic Treehouse before the wind started to blow!

Cousins Camp 2010--Heimdals, Ernsts, and DeBrys--We used "Magic Treehouse" as our theme.

Builing the treehouse--April 2005

Eliza waves out the window.

Michael, Eliza, and David building the floor.

"The wind started to blow.

The leaves began to shake.

The wind blew harder. And the tree house started to spin.

It spun faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still."

(Magic Treehouse Books by Mary Pope Osborne)

We were all sad that our treehouse got knocked over by a big tree. There was a storm a few nights ago--at 11PM. We all slept through it and did not hear a thing. Guess we were worn out. A few other big trees went down in the neighborhood so everyone has been busy with their chainsaws. Thanks to friends and neighbors for their help!

Baby, Bishop Release, and Tornadoes

Lot's to catch up on from the last few days. It will be brief since this is David. Marilyn can elaborate later.

Baby Boy:
Clark Andrew DeBry
Born May 2, 2011. 7 lbs, 1 oz., 20 in long. Looks just like our youngest children.

Bishop Release:
I was released from being Bishop yesterday. It was great timing...and after 5 3/4 years, it was time for someone else to get the blessings :).

Me and Marilyn after the release.

This is the Sunday I was called (Sept. 11, 2005) - notice how young, tan, and energetic I look. The kids are young, too.

After my release. Older, worn out, but wiser :)

Tornadoes:
This past week our area was hit by the same storm as Mississippi and Alabama, and we were hit pretty hard. Not as hard as the others, but in our Stake bounderies (multiple congregations in one area in the LDS church) there were about 20 deaths (no members died). Our stake has been helping out and we are going to be going down to Alabama or Mississippi to help out in the next few weeks.

The neighborhood of my 1st counselor got hit by a tornado, including his house, but he didn't suffer any major damage. His neighbors weren't so lucky, and if these had been mobile homes, they would have been destroyed. We drove to his house and took some pictures (about 8 miles away).

House with part of the roof missing

Row of 3 houses with parts of their roofs missing. It was amazing to see. There was debris everywhere. Even a canoe was sitting out in the middle of someone's yard.

Metal wrapped around a tree.

This is a ~$300,000 home that is probably totaled. It is right next to my 1st Counselors home. They said they felt the house lift off the foundation as they ran downstairs. If you notice, many of the walls are crooked, like a funny house.

Part of the garage ripped off another home in the same neighborhood.

Ready or Not, Here I Come

Well, we are down to the wire. It has been a LONG 9 months and I go in tomorrow morning to be induced, I think that I am ready, but I am nervous. We will welcome a new little DeBry boy into the world. We still haven't settled on a name, but have a good list. Someone suggested letting the kids name him. (If we did that in the past we'd have a Gingerbread Boy, Winnie-the-Pooh, and SpongeBob!) They get some input, but in reality I have the power. The kids are all pretty excited. Peter woke up yesterday morning and said, "I CAN wait! Only two more days!" They have been sweet and helpful. I can't hardly bend over or do much. I asked Peter to pick some towels up off the floor for me--he willing did it--he used his feet to pick them up--just like he has seen me do for the last few months. It was pretty funny.

The other day I swept the kitchen floor. It hurts to bend over, so I just left the pile in the corner. About an hour later, I came into the kitchen and William had the dust pan and small broom and was sweeping it up--he even got it mostly in the dust pan and into the trash. I started crying--yes, I am at that point! Another story about William. I was laying on the couch and he had a play stethoscope, he came and put it on my belly and "talked" to the baby--he said, "Hi, how are you doing? I love you--Bye". It will be fun to see him grow up within days and have a new brother to take care of.

We've had everything pretty much ready--thanks to my friend April for all of her babies clothes and car seat and maternity clothes. I had gotten rid of everything. The only thing we really needed was a place for the baby to sleep. I looked on Craigslist for something and never could find anything. We did go buy a bassinet so that the baby would not end up in a closet. It is set up in Parker's room and he asked where I got it--I told him that I bought it at Wal-Mart--he was so shocked that I had actually paid for something. It was worth it just for his reaction! It's funny how the preparation for the first one differs from the 8th one. With Eliza I had a nursery "theme", had made blankets, had purchased a new stroller with car-seat that hooked into it (after much research, had clothes folded and ready to go, and had a stocked diaper-bag. This one gets ALL hand-me downs, corner in a room, and I just remembered I need to wash the car seat cover--and I don't even have a diaper bag--I just hope there is something in the van that we can use--diapers or otherwise (kitchen towel, sock, etc.). If I get really desperate, I go find a "new Mom" who has it all together!

One thing is that there are a lot more people waiting to love and take care of this one! We are excited for our new adventure and can't wait to meet him. We are READY and are anxious for the big day tomorrow!

General Conference Traditions

Digging into the goodies. This is one of our favorite traditions!
Eliza embraces that tradition of falling asleep.

Peter is fading, too.

This is from years ago. You can see David in the background keeping his tradition alive.

Parker and Eliza show off their Conference Books while Michael makes faces!

We have a few fun traditions that we have been pretty good about. Every October and April we listen to General Conference. What a great opportunity to listen to the prophet, apostles, and other church leaders. I have little activities to keep the kids focused. Our two main traditions that have held up over time are junk food/goodies and David falling asleep at least once during the weekend event. He claims that it is during one of the seventies talks so that it wasn't that important and I always try to convince him that it was the best talk yet! One year when he fell asleep it was April Fool's Day--while he slept, we sewed him to the couch, painted his fingernails bright pink, and tied his shoelaces together. We thought that would teach him. He was alert for the next session!

This April Ben and Athena (David's youngest sister) came to visit. They were in Washington DC for an internship for four months. They rented a car and drove 6 hours to spend the weekend. It was really fun to see them again. We just hung out, visited, played and watched a wild paint-ball outing and just had fun being together. Family is great. Thanks for coming and being with us.

Eggs

Fresh eggs ready to dye.

Peter gives Tyles a congratulatory hug after he catches a chicken.

Back in the fall we build a chicken coop and got 4 chickens. I think the trauma of moving must have been quite overwhelming so they quit laying. We also did not get their light up--which made for a long, cold winter. They are tough and survived. We eagerly checked for eggs for weeks and then the novelty wore off. In the spring, when things started warming up, David decided to clean the coop and check for eggs--guess what he found--19! (It's a good thing we didn't decide to do cows--with that type of neglect there would be some serious mastitis!) They have been laying for months now and it is great to get eggs--4 a day. We usually use most of them and give the extras to friends and neighbors. Eliza is the one who has really taken over the gathering and cleaning of the coop. We feed them our "scraps" from dinner and built the coop from miscellaneous wood and tin--mostly free stuff. It's been a fun little project and hobby.