So, here is an important lesson I learned a few days ago: Don't drive in flip-flops! Why, you may ask? Because, your car-topper might suddenly blow open on the freeway and then you will be running up the road trying to get all your belongings out of the way of the oncoming traffic! Okay, let's back up a little bit. So, my sister and I were heading off to visit our little brother in Montana. We were both antsy to get on our way, and when the key to my car-top carrier wouldn't come out of the lock, I figured we could just leave it in there. (Mistake #1) I wiggled it and tried to pull the lid off and decided it would be secure for the drive. My dad offered to bungee it closed, but I thought we would be okay. (Mistake #2). So off we went to Butte, Montana. Things went great for the first two hours. We had five kids hanging out in the van in relative contentment, and Trisa was just drifting off to sleep...when BAM! We came around the corner of a big mountain and got slammed by a huge gust of wind blowing all the way from Texas. The carrier completely blew open and stuff started to bounce all over the freeway at 80 mph. Ellie's suitcase, Bekah's suitcase, a Wal-mart bag with barbies, my running shoe (just one of them), oh... and Rachel's saxophone. And, the car wanted to roll over from the sudden lateral forces! I pulled over and hopped out of the car. I found myself sprinting up the road in flip-flops, trying to curl my toes, so I wouldn't trip on the front of them, you know? It was like some crazy, extreme relay: run up the road 50 feet, throw a suitcase to the shoulder, run 10 more feet, throw a suitcase to the other shoulder, run 20 more feet, grab the sax case, the sax, the neckstrap and move those to the side of the road. Wait while the UPS semi runs over the neck of the saxophone (flatter than a pancake!), then run out and try to salvage Barbies, barbie accessories, and my running shoe. Alas, Ken got decapitated and we lost several of the accesories. I think I won the relay, because I successfully dodged traffic and recovered 70 percent of the saxophone! It was rent-to-own, do you think I could take it back and say we don't want it anymore? Hmmm. I am so grateful that we were blessed enough to make it to Curt's in one piece/several pieces, and that Heavenly Father watched over us, even though we forgot to have our usual prayer before we hit the road. We did have one right after I tied the carrier shut with a tow rope. So, lesson learned, I will always accept bungee cords when offered! I hope one day my children will appreciate how dedicated I am to their happiness! I really tried to get every last piece of Barbie I possibly could! :) Life is never dull with us! So the car-topper had a funeral and we made it all the way back to Kansas without any other incidents. I don't know if I want to ever take a road trip again!
Here is Andy, just having blown out his candles. He is moving so he is a little blurry.
This is our little guy on his first birthday, 14 years ago! I can't believe how time has flown! We love having Andy as part of our family. He is a great big brother, and as you can see a great, big brother! I think he is almost as tall as Vaughn, now! He brings lots of sunshine and laughter to our home, and is very good at calming down hysterical females (moms and sisters!) Happy Birthday, Andy! 
