Oh happy week.

Today was our travel day from Maquoketa to Des Moines. This trip averages 2.5-3 hours. Due to various weather conditions, it took us 7.5 hours. I was quite excited, as I enjoy travel days and was a bit sad this one was only a short ride. My bus date was Amador (from New Mexico). He's one of our drummers in the cast. We had to pick a bus date based on our birth month. Since his birthday was yesterday and mine was today, I figured it would be fitting. We watched movies, took naps, and shared pictures. He even shared some of his birthday cake with me (his host family had a party for him). When we got to our halfway rest stop, (4 hours into the trip) I got out to use the restroom. When I came back I was blocked from entering the bus. After having someone on the bus grab my coat so I would not freeze, I returned to the McDonald's where most people were standing about. When I finally did get back on the bus I saw they'd converted Bus #1 (Stan's bus) to the party bus, complete with balloons, streamers, and posters. They then serenaded me with a very special version of "Happy Birthday." I got that on video, so I'll see if I can upload it to youtube.

When we got to Des Moines, we were greeted and then we had a special guest... the mayor. The mayor spoke to us and proclaimed this week Up With People Kids Against Hunger (our beneficiary) Week. We also got a proclamation from the governor that says something similar, but we didn't have time to read it due to our travel delays. I am rooming with Britta (from Sweden) this week. We have a wonderful family in a beautiful home. Upon learning it was my birthday, they made a special stop to get a cake on the way home to celebrate. The children are ages 11, 8, 6, and 3 - the eldest being a girl and the rest boys. They're all home schooled and I'll have to get a picture of their school area because it's truly amazing. Each child has their own work station complete with a real desk and a plaque with their name (like you'd get done at Cedar Point or Fisherman's Whart) above it.

So yeah, today was an all around fantastic day. Here's hoping tomorrow's even better.
~Molly

P.S. - Pictures will be up in the next couple of days and I'll try to go back to posts and insert links to pictures where they belong. I figure this will make it easier for looking back in the future. Also, if you've forgotten where my pictures are, they're at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mollyskye218/