This morning went by so fast. After the hugs and pictures at the building, the boys boarded the bus and we made our way south. Aaron and I had the feeling that we forgot something, in part because we always feel that way, but also in part because despite the fact that we have 6 boys more than we usually travel with, the bus had oodles of spare room in the bays and above. So far, we can't think of anything (or anybody) we forgot.
Our first stop was for lunch in the rest stop near Elko. The rain held-off the entire time we were there, so that was nice. Ethan was pretty proud of his sardines he brought for lunch. (The deal was, as long as I didn't have to smell them, see them, or taste them, he could bring them.) To the best of my knowledge, he actually ate them and was able to keep them down. Go Ethan!
After lunch, we tried something a little new for rest period. Since Day One is always a bad day for getting the boys to actually nap, we let them put their headphones in and fall asleep that way. I am fairly certain a higher percentage of boys slept this way compared to the other. As we crossed the border into Iowa, we woke the boys to the sound of the state facts of Iowa and took potty break #3 at a cool barn-style visitor center just inside the border. (It took a little while to explain to the boys that in Minnesota, we adopted a state tree as a symbol - in Iowa, they really just have one tree to call "The State Tree".)
Before last year's tour, I bought "An American Tail" for the boys to watch, but we never got around to it. I took the shrink-wrap off of it and we watched that while boys played games and checked-out the incredible scenery outside the window. (Just kidding - not many boys spent much time looking out the windows.)
Before we knew it, we were coasting into Des Moines! We changed the boys into their spiffy travel uniforms and met with the members of the Heartland Youth Choir. They treated us to a wonderful dinner at St. Mark's and told us about their choir and where they tour/are touring. (They will be headed to the World Choir Games next month.) The concert was a shorter joint concert between our two groups to a mostly full house. It was a great crowd, (especially for a Wednesday).Just as the concert was finishing-up, a decent band of rain came through and messed-up our routine. The boys managed to only get mostly wet while gathering their things, loading the bus, and going home for the evening. There was a lot of smiles in the process, so I think they had a good time, given the circumstances. Tomorrow is another relaxed trip down the freeway to Kansas City. In the morning, we have some time to kill, so we might see if we can get a letter done. (FYI - nobody sent me any emails to print-off today, so I am getting worried the process is not working correctly. It's mail@lolcb.org if you get bored and want to send a letter - you cannot possibly send too many! I promise!)
Well - Be sure to share this with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or anything else you would like. We have great boys doing great things on this tour and we want the world to know about it! (Especially send this to your rich uncles!)
Shameless plug: We are trying to raise some extra funds to help offset some of the costs of the tour. If you support what we are doing for these boys, please Click here to donate! Our goal is to raise about $4,000 by the end of the tour - the approximate number of miles we are traveling. We are up to $11!
Adios - Fanberg, Out.
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