After 12 hours on the road yesterday, a trip which just seems to get easier each time we do it, we got to my parent’s house at about 6:15pm.   In the past, our car would be filled with trash from empty fast food bags and leftover wrappings from the small travel gifts I get the kids, but recently we’ve been able to keep the chaos to a minimum.   But THIS time, for the first time EVER, we arrived and without me saying one word about it, the kids brought in all of their stuff – travel bags, suitcases, everything – and had it all in place in the room we stay in before I could blink an eye.

This may not seem like a big deal, but I was astounded.   They got their own bags!   Without me asking!   This is sooo cool!

Anyway, within minutes bikes were out, swings were being tested and we stayed outside till almost 9:30, then headed straight for bed.

Everyone slept very, very well.

Today was fun because we did all the things we do when we first get to Indiana, which may seem pretty mundane to others, but which we thoroughly enjoy (at least for a few days until the novelty wears off.)  They include:

1. Going through the drive thru at Starbucks, where the guys all know me and it’s like returning to “Cheers” after a six month absence.  (‘Hey, there you are!  We were wondering when you guys were going to roll into town!’)

2.  Going to Target.  We love Target.  We bought shirts for Maya, Lego for Ben, tinted moisturizer for me, and some other things we saw and realized we ‘needed’.  (!)

3.  Goodwill!!!   The Goodwill store here is HUGE, and you can get used Webkinz for $1.   One word to describe this place from my kids’ point of view?  HEAVEN.

4.  Lunch at the Golden Corral.   Ok, this was the one disappointment today.  The Golden Corral, for those of you not accustomed to Midwestern cuisine, is an all you can eat kind of place (where most people do, and then some) with a salad bar and every kind of hot food under the sun, from nachos to pizza to roast beef and mashed potatoes to meatloaf, etc.   Usually, they practically accost you the minute you sit down, with extra plates, baskets of melt-in-your-mouth breadrolls and offers to bring more soda.   Today?   The food was just mediocre and the waittress gave us a passing glance only once to ask if we needed refills and tell us bread could be found next to the dessert bar.  Hmmm.

But then:

5) We went to the new indoor playground which has the most amazing climbing structure ever put in an indoor playground.  (See photos)

After which:

6) We came home and did farm things like holding new kittens, looking at new baby lambs, playing with Bear (not a bear, really, but a very un-bear-like yellow lab), and using fabric paints to decorate the bike Ben is using while we’re here, which was primarily pink.  That last one may not be a typical farm activity, but that’s how we think of it.

All in all, a pretty good first day on the farm.

Finally, please visit dooce.com and read her latest post on Bangladesh, and spread the word.  Awareness is the first step to a solution.