Shawnee County Fair

This past Saturday we went to the county fair. It was all free - parking and admission. It was definitely a different experience than the Tanana Valley State Fair that we're used to. It's held indoors at the Expo Center (the convention center here) and had a few vendors, lots of animals and all the judged exhibits (cookies, cakes, jams, flowers, veggies, art work, etc.). Then there was a big barn full of super huge cows, horses, pigs and goats. The only thing missing were the politicians, games, fair food and rides. The girls had a great time in the petting zoo and seeing all the caged animals.



Before we went into the petting zoo, I had Abigail leave her swimsuit (she carries it everywhere - see an earlier post about that one) in the stroller. She enjoyed the animals for a bit, then ran out of the zoo and ran right back in...with her swimsuit. She had NO fear when petting the animals with her "security blanket".
Had to get a picture of the only prized cabbage. Coming from Alaska, this thing was just a baby.
Oh yes, and there were a group of scarecrows...another judged exhibit. Something we wouldn't find at the TVSF :)

In and Out

It's been super hot lately (especially for us Alaskans) with temps around 98 degrees with over 50% humidity. We bought a reflective sun shade for the windshield of the car, but that doesn't block out all the sun - I'm sure we could cook some eggs on our dashboard. The poor girls have to get in their car seats and the metal buckles brand their legs! It's definitely not nice stepping outside from our cool AC at home to a hot hairdryer blowing right in your face...but hey, summer lasts longer here.

So here are a few things the girls do - swim in their kiddie pool out back or we stay indoors doing crafts or visiting the library (or any place with Air Conditioning).



Madeline is in the purple shorts at the end of story time at the Topeka library getting a sticker. The local news anchors read to the kids and there's also a library employee who sporadically has the kiddos sing and dance while he plays the guitar. This library is AWESOME! They have a ton of programs for the kids and adults, there's a huge area for the kids (think Berry Room in Fairbanks times 6) with all kinds of animals, computers, fun things for them to crawl on, and even a place for them to make their own puppet shows. Very cool - we love it there.

This is just outside the law school building. I was going to make the girls lie down underneath the eagle as if it was going to snatch them up, but the rocks were way too hot for that today. I'll get a silly photo of them soon :)

The Drive

OK, I know, it's been weeks since we departed from AK, but here are a few highlights from our drive down to Kansas.

The U-Haul is finally packed (took 8 hours longer than expected...we had a ton of JUNK...didn't realize it really until we unpacked it in Topeka).

This was right near Eielson AFB just as we were leaving at 11:15pm on June 26th. I thought it was quite funny that we were headed to Kansas and a big double rainbow was overhead (think Wizard of Oz).
We pulled an all-nighter the first night. So the following night, we stayed just outside Laird Hot Springs in a very cozy cabin. It was so run down - do you think it's normal to sleep below a circuit breaker box? And the lampshade even had a nice touch of fancy feathers...so ghetto.
My worst fear came true - Abbie threw up in her car seat. Although, it couldn't have been more perfect timing as it was still day 2 and we were in Canada where there were lots of creeks right off the side of the road. She never got car sick after that! Whew!
Middle of nowhere Canada. This is how we refueled a few times...thanks Leroy for the barrel!!

Canadian goats - this baby was thirsty!
Canadian buffalo. They were all over the sides of the road. Randy was super excited to see the herd to the point where I had to have him ride with Jeremy :)
We got tired of stopping and getting out for anything - so here's a photo of all of us next to a beautiful sapphire lake (Muncho lake, British Columbia).
Typical view - the girls passed out, U-Haul behind the Toyota (only when lead-foot Randy was driving...we had to keep him behind us or he'd get way too far ahead).

Deja vu. This is North Dakota...or maybe South Dakota... although, Saskatchewan looked about the same. Lots and lots of fields. We said goodbye to the mountains back in BC.
We're now about 3 hours from Topeka. Randy had to stop and rest along with Jeremy. 3 all-nighters wore them both right out. Funny though, it was probably in the high 80s out and Randy still insisted on wearing his wool coat.

Unloading the U-Haul in our storage unit here in Topeka. Jeremy and Randy were soaked with sweat afterwards...I felt a little bad that I couldn't help lift anything more than those empty gas cans...
Since leaving North Pole, we stayed in 5 different hotels and a friend's house before moving into our house. The girls got very used to sleeping next to one another. When we first got their beds back, Abbie still wanted (and Maddie allowed her) to sleep in Madeline's toddler bed. They're now back on schedule and in their own beds, but it sure was cute .Along with the hotels came pools. The girls swam and swam. Abigail insisted on carrying her swimming suit around with her. It got to the point where she wouldn't leave the house without it. She made up her own little sign (since she still doesn't talk much) for her swimsuit.

Topeka!

It only took us a record-breaking 4 1/2 day drive from North Pole, AK to Topeka, KS. Lots of folks doubted that we'd make it down before a week, but we really pushed it. We've been here for almost a week and a half now...still homeless...here's our story:

Before we left, we found (via craigslist.com) a cheap apartment to rent (with a 10 day notice to cancel the lease, which was good for us because we only needed temp housing until we found a permanent home to rent/buy), however, when talking with a few state troopers and actually seeing the apartment, we RAN AWAY. The house next door was boarded up, but you could see the flickering light of a TV and the neighbors looked like they were ready to "work the streets". The landlord said it was a nice place for a family - the floor was ripped up, there were holes in the doors and walls and it reeked. Lesson learned - don't make a deposit (which he kept) for anything sight unseen.

So we lived in the Country Inn & Suites for 3 days, then the Motel 6 for another couple days. Randy and Jeremy went out in search of a place to rent after seeing the real estate market first hand and talking with residents, we decided it wasn't a good time to buy (even though housing is cheap). Finally, after no real luck, we went to the church last Wednesday night as we knew people would be there for the mid-week activity. We met another Washburn law student (he's in his 3rd and final year) and he told us about where he lives - Fox Ridge Townhouses.

We were invited over for dinner, checked the place out and it's actually a great deal for us and after much prayer, we know this is where we should live. Here is our miracle: there's usually a 1 year waiting list to get in, but there was a 3 bedroom unit open. Perfect! Then it takes about 2 weeks for paperwork to process (this is a HUD residence) - the law student and his family are out of town for 2 weeks and are letting us crash at their house until we get in. Perfect! Our paperwork was turned in on Monday and was completed on Tuesday (13 days early!) so we're moving in on Friday! The manager was shocked that everything was completed in 1 day!!

So we've been living out of suitcases and boxes for a few weeks, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel...
We followed the prompting to come to law school here in Topeka and the Lord is providing so many blessings for listening to Him. It's definitely been a trial of our faith and patience, but here's our first of hopefully many miracles while here in mid-America :)

Pictures will be posted soon...our camera's card reader is still packed...