Gong Show!!

(Cohen in the snow outside the repair shop where Joanne's truck spent a mini vacation)

.(Avery outside the same shop... isn't she happy?)

So, the old adage that everything that can go wrong will sure applied to our mad dash to Great Falls. It started before we even planned to leave. I think point form might be better..... here goes

• the date to pick up Joanne changed three times in less than 24 hours
• Montana was hit be a major spring snow storm, and the roads between Shelby and Great Falls were closed, but we headed out anyway
• ( this is a shot of the amount of snow they received in less than 24 hours)
  
• Grant had to pick up a valve for his tractor in Lethbridge, but they refused to give him any paperwork on it because it wasn't being billed to him. Even when he told them we were going across the border, they refused. They did wish him good luck though. Nice.
• We decided to do a little shopping for Avery's birthday present before we tried the road report again. I forgot that a little was the operative word. We were in Grant's truck, rather than the Tahoe. NO room for anything... let alone a rock tumbler and storage box for Avery's birthday. I got to sit with my knees in my chin....
• We stayed at the Ramada in Lethbridge, and went to the waterpark. This meant a bathing suit for Kimmy. Tragic, I know.
• The roads finally opened at 6pm, but by this time, we had already booked and paid for our room in Lethbridge.
• We made it to the border by 10:30, but they were searching every vehicle... so we sat there for over 30 minutes even though there was really no line up at all....
• We only spent six hours in the States, so we didn't have an exemption. So Grant only spent $250. And I only spent $224. ooops.
• Getting Joanne's truck on the trailer freaked me out. It just barely fit, and every time we hit a bump or dip on the road, Grant was worried that the tires were going to shift on the trailer, and it might fall off. Nice. Nothing like sitting in the back of an extended cab truck worrying the whole way home whether or not the truck on the trailer behind you is going to come smashing through the back window.
• 
• I sat in the back seat for over four hours. Ouch.
• Cohen fell asleep in the truck 10 minutes from home. And was wide awake when we finally got home at 9:30....

But on the bright side, we did make it home safely, the kids both slept all night (once they finally got to sleep), and life returns to normal today.... hair cuts for the kids, and wrapping Avery's birthday gifts....