Indiana

We left Utah on a rainy Saturday morning, early. Both Wes and I had just finished up work the day before, and Wes had school on Monday and I had to be back at work. The drive across the country is never as fun, if you can even use that word to describe it, at the end of the summer, and we were dreading it that much more having two cars! But we were equipped with walkie-talkies and audio books and so it wasn't that bad. The plus side was not having to worry about cramming all of our stuff into the mustang since we have my jeep now.

We front loaded the first day and made it half way through Iowa. I got a speeding ticket in Wyoming, but it's really Wes' ticket. He was in the lead the whole trip and had the cruise control set at 89 mph. We were close to a town and it was around eight in the morning and I had fallen behind a little and was speeding to catch up to Wes. Of course a cop was around. Once I got to Wes, I see the cop right behind me out of no where and radio Wes to slow down. So we do. And the cop rides me for a couple of minutes. We move to the slow lane and then he decides to throw his lights on. Awesome. Wes keeps going while I pull over. He stops a mile up the road to wait for me. I'm freaking out and fuming and trying to get the sleepies out of my eyes. I was really hoping to get away with just a warning, but of course he gives me the ticket since I'm an out of state driver. He said he'd cut me a break since I was wearing my seat belt. Oh thanks officer, not.

All in all it could have been worse and I just ended up with a $60 ticket, a bruised ego, and a smug husband. Okay I'm exaggerating about Wes being smug, he very well could have been ticketed as well, but he did comment that I now have two tickets on my record and he's still squeaky clean. ;) I was mad but I got over it once we got to Nebraska. Then all thoughts turned to how much I hate Nebraska. It's way too long. And I was also paranoid about getting pulled over again.  We still pushed it, because as Wes will tell you each 5 mph that you can go faster is another hour off of the trip, and didn't have any more encounters.

Until the next day in Illinois. But it wasn't with cops. It was with the toll road. We totally spaced getting cash for the tolls. Because they only take cash. Which makes no sense. But that's Illinois. And we have to stop every so often and pay another few dollars. For both cars. Ugh! We were able to take a voucher basically for the first two that let us pay online later but that's the most that you can pay online. So we stopped at a gas station that thankfully had an ATM. Now it was Wes' turn to be upset - this is the kind of stuff that ticks him off. We eventually made it home that day around two in the afternoon.

Our adventure wasn't over yet because then came the unpacking, cleaning, and organizing our apartment that hadn't been inhabited for three months. Thank goodness the Indiana summer hasn't been very warm, so the mustiness and bug situation wasn't nearly as bad as last year. Though our bathroom door was so swollen it wouldn't close and there was some kind of mushroom/fungus growing out of the carpet and the door jam by the bathroom. There was a leak from the ac in the apartment above, but that's all been taken care of now.

Time is a very strange thing. Once we got back, it felt like we never left South Bend. The only evidence that we had gone home were the memories in our heads because time keeps moving forward whether you go along with it or not. And time has brought us our third and final year at Notre Dame. Oh my goodness! We are so close! And I am ready for the time to speed by. But not too fast that we can't have a little fun and really make the most of our time left in South Bend.

So back to the grind we go. Wes jumped right back into school. It's going to be another good semester for him. And I'm back at the call center. But it's good. I feel a renewed motivation and have some good things to work towards. A pay raise can do that for you. It's back to the late hours, but I'm already used to it again.

We were released from our callings in the Plymouth Branch and so we are back in the Notre Dame ward. We're sad to not see our friends down in Plymouth anymore, but are excited to make new friends.

We had a great summer. We have been so blessed with how well things have fallen into place. And we will continue to have a great year. Now that the sadness has worn off, I'm excited. I'm excited to plow through these last few months and make the drive across the country one last time. I'm glad to be back in our apartment with all of our stuff. I missed my piano and my guitar! I've taken a hiatus from songwriting, but I'm feeling that itch inside me to start again. And most of all I'm glad to still have Wes by my side through everything. He's the reason why I'm Indiana, and it has been, and will always be, worth every second.

Thanks for reading and following along, and most importantly thanks for your love and support! So here's to another school year with a new look for the blog and more adventures and stories from Anna and Wes!