I thought ya’ll might enjoy a small glimpse into what it looks like when we leave for a trip. It is usually extremely crazy, a little frantic, and VERY messy around our house/bus as we prepare for departure.
My dear mother does a fabulous job keeping things sane with some detailed packing lists. Other than that, though, we pretty much just scurry around like busy little beavers the day before leaving…..knowing that everything will get done at some point, be that 2 or 10 hours later than planned.:)
the messy bus
Here’s the story on this photo:
Carson bought an old junker four-wheeler this spring. It was nowhere near working condition…..non-working engine, etc. He worked on it in his spare time all spring.
Finally, it came down to the day we were to leave for our summer tour. Carson worked on it late that evening. About 12 o clock, I heard a roar. Running outside, I saw Carson tearing down the road on this baby. Of course, I promptly hopped on and took a spin with him. It was a perfect near-finale to my crazy 20-hour day. Of course, Josh got a ride, too, before Carson reluctantly parked the four-wheeler in our shop for the summer.
the bus
I snapped this photo of the clock shortly before leaving. We ended up hitting the road about 2am. We had planned to leave about 8 in the evening. That’s typical for the Bontragers.:)
Ryker missed Joshua (maybe the rest of us, too?) greatly when we’re gone. He’s always ecstatic when we get home!
the fridge…packed to capacity….little did we know that some of the food would end up spoiling because this little fridge/freezer apparently can’t handle this much food at once.:)
The couches are usually loaded with all manner of things.
This photo was taken when we started to pull out, but had to wait in the driveway as people ran inside to grab forgotten items.
We love the Alaska map that dad bought! We have it on the wall where we can point of the (very long) route we are going to take and examine our Alaska destinations.
Yes, our bunks are large enough to fit whole people in them. Some people just tend to spill out of their bunks, at times, as they sleep.
Little Miss Angel.:) The littles were running back and forth from the bus to the house and around in circles (slight exagaration, maybe?) longgg after their normal bedtime. I pleaded, “Can’t they please be put to bed?” You see….when you are trying to get all the last minute things done or packed, having hyper-about-leaving, 4-hours-past-their-bedtime-tired children running wild is, um, complicated. So they finally crawled jumped into their beds about 1:15pm and dozed off attempted to settle down.:)
-posted by Allison
Looks exciting, perhaps a little much for me:) but I'm glad that you got left and I'm sure home will look sweet in about 6 weeks. praying for you all and for safe travels. We sold 4 CD's today at Grandma's. 🙂
Haha yep know the feeling of getting ready to travel in a bus!! Pretty crazy and full of late nights!! 🙂 our family has been travelling the country singing and preaching for 20 years… plenty used to the bus life 🙂
Looks like FUN! even though you got out late… I will be looking for more updates! LoL! have fun! miss you!
-sle-
Hello to all of the Bontragers,
That's a nice looking bus! Sometimes we r late getting out the door, early, or just on time.
That's great that Carson got the four wheeler working! That map looks good.
I pray that u all have a great time!
In Christ,
Lexi
I don't enjoy the "leaving the dog" part when we go somewhere, but it's always nice to be greeted with a really wagging tail when we come back.
Don't feel bad about leaving later than planned. That happens to many people, even people with small families. I know it's happened to us plenty.
I like the picture of your dad. He looks like he's saying,"Come on, guys. I'm ready. i'm ready to pull out."
His expression is humorous.
Be safe in your travels. God bless.
Rebecca K.
O the joys of little ones that are overly tiered and exited! There's nothing quite like it:)
Why do the last few hours before one leaves on a trip always have to be so hectic, and I've never been on a trip for more than a week. I'm sure the packing we do doesn't even compare to what you guys need.
I hope you are all having a WONDERFUL time!
♥Michelle
Hello to all of the Bontragers,
I lov all of the pics! It must be so nice to have a lot of siblings, specially the little ones! My best friend Marisa(we r sisters, that's how close we r) she has one older brother named Austin whose 15, then four little sisters(they r also like sisters to me and im the same to them)Gabriella whose 8, Brianna whose 6, Samantha whose 2(3 in August)and Rebecca whose 1!!
I hope u all have a great trip!
In Christ,
Lexi
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