Crete, NE

Well, since I'm going to write about my trip to Nebraska, I suppose I should find my red Cornhuskers mug and listen to my Owl City tracks (I would say Josh Groban, but I don't like his voice).
[Insert cheering from the Ralston girls at the mention of Owl City]

Well, I'm trying to think back to my time in Nebraska, and right now it's all a big jumble. That's probably because I didn't sleep a whole lot while I was there. Something about staying up late with Amos and all that.
Anyway, I did have a really good time! Julia, Katie, and Reuben came and picked us up at the airport, and it was a challenge even to get Reuben's wife Alisha and baby Ellie to take them home. Thus we were shut out of Amos' parents' house the first night because of unplowed roads. However, the four of us intruders were just fine at Reuben and Alisha's house.
On Friday we hung out for a while before deciding to pick up more of Amos' relatives (Herschel and his family: Christina, Jasmine, and Keira). Julia, Reuben, Herschel, Amos, and I attempted the snowy roads while everyone else stayed at Herschel's house. We tried a few unplowed roads, got stuck a few times, and were dug out by Julia, Reuben, and Herschel (they had the snow boots). We were almost to the Ralston house when we encountered yet another snowy road. It was decided that it might be easier to charge across the pasture and through the trees rather than to attempt the road. So charge we did. And get stuck we did. The three troopers piled out of the truck again, but then a neighbor showed up with his tractor and pulled us out of the pasture...right before the snow plow went by. ;) haha!

Reuben, Herschel, and Julia digging out the truck

We drove up the road to see Santa Claus wearing tan overalls and a cowboy hat, directing us into the driveway. Santa Claus also goes by the name Lester Ralston, who is Amos' dad! We drove up the drifty driveway only to be stuck about twenty feet from the garage. After a lot of backing out, driving forward, digging, instructing, etc., we managed to get all the way to the house. We were greeted by Amos' mom Barb and various other family members, quite happy to see a piece of California at their house. ;) (or something like that...)

This is getting long...

Anyway, we hung out that afternoon, playing games with the youngest Ralston, Nathaniel. We had venison for dinner that night, and it was really good! We played the card game Nertz after

dinner...that was crazy. It was really fun. I have to say that Sara was the best and I was the worst. It was funny though. After a few rounds of Egyptian Rat Slap, we moved on to teasing Amos. He survived, so we sat around and eventually watched a movie.

The next day, some cousins arrived! I was really tired, so I stayed home while all the Ralston and Reed girls went on an outing...I wouldn't normally say outing, but they did go out, and I don't know what other word to use right now. The girls went to see a lady's collection of handmade

dolls, to go to the mall, and to go to the grocery store. I slept. I hear that the collection was really cool, though!

Caitlin, Grace, Hannah, Sara, Amber, Katie, Julia, and a blurry Barb

We hung out, talked, and laughed A LOT. It was really fun.
On Sunday we all piled out to church. I met a lot of people that Amos has talked about, though I only remember a few names! It was really cool. Theodore, Amos, and I stayed at church to have lunch and to pack up some tables and chairs for the open house. We talked to more people at lunch. I tried to stay awake and be intelligent; it was a struggle. Amos, Theodore, and some of the guys from church loaded up a few tables and about twenty chairs into Amos' dad's pickup truck.

Open House was about to get underway, but I was so exhausted it was just sad. I decided to take a nap. Amos was so sweet, making sure I was okay. I slept for about an hour then talked with

Amos for a little while. We heard yelling mixed with regular voices upstairs, but I didn't think anything of it. Next thing I knew, about three sisters were standing in front of us, screaming

"Grandpa is here! Grandpa is here!!!" Amos' grandpa had traveled eight hours from Oklahoma to see the family! Amos was really excited because he hadn't seen him about five years. We said hi to people, ate food, said hi to more people, answered questions, laughed, said hi to more people, made our way through crowds of friends and family, and said hi to even more people. It was a really good night. I liked saying hi to everyone. It was really easy for me, the shyish person,

because all of the friends and families were looking for me. ;) Kind of a strange feeling, but it makes sense. They don't want just any weirdo from California dating Amos! ;) I was comfortable, though. After putting things away and talking to Amos even more, I went to bed.

The next day was a shopping marathon. All of the younger Ralston generation went thrift store shopping. Barb and Lester watching the three babies and Nathaniel, so we had a caravan: Reuben, Alisha, Herschel, Christina, Katie, Julia, Sara, Grace, Theodore, cousins Caitlin and Hannah, Amos, and I. We were a mob. We went to a few stores, found some good stuff, then went to lunch at Runza. If you want to know what a Runza is, click here. It was pretty good. It wasn't the best thing I'd ever had, but it wasn't bad. I think everyone was really curious if I would like it, since Runzas are only sold in two or three states. It had some spice in it that I recognized from pasties in Grass Valley, so it wasn't that unusual.

After lunch, the cousins had to leave (Hannah had left the day before to go back to college). After saying goodbye, we headed out to even more thrift stores! It was a good day. A bunch of us ended up testing out the furniture in one store, waiting for everyone else to be done. We eventually got back and there was a huge fashion show. Everyone showed off what they got. I think Herschel's shirts got the most head-shaking; some of his shirts were pretty ummmmmmm, awful. ;) He seemed to like them, though; Christina, not so much.

Amos' dad read us all a Christmas story that they have read for years. It was a good story about what really matters in Christmas. It was cool to see everyone listening as one big family. I love how they all relate to each other. Each person is different, but they all tease each other, they all like hanging out with each other, they all love each other. It is good to see.

I was told this was a grain elevator; Crete

Tuesday started with Amos being very sick. He was good enough to fly home, but he slept a lot on the plane. Before we actually left Nebraska, we packed up our stuff and said goodbye to a bunch of siblings and Amos' mom. She really loves her kids, so she wasn't very happy to see Amos go. But we loaded the family van with our bags and a few sisters who wanted to come along. We headed out to Crete and picked up Reuben, then headed to Lincoln. We went by the print shop to pick up some type for Reuben and to say goodbye to Amos' dad.

Heading to Omaha, there was quite a riot in the backseat with Reuben, Sara, and Grace. Each decided to tease the other, while Julia sat in the back being her tranquil self. ;) It was really funny because everyone was going crazy, and then the craziness suddenly stopped...and I started falling asleep. Yep, I was very tired that trip, but it was good.

Amos and I at the airport in Omaha; yes, I really was there

It was a very good trip, and I'm so glad I was able to go. I loved meeting all of these people that I had heard about and that I was friends with on Facebook. I'm hoping to see them again this side of heaven!

And if you survived reading this whooooooooooole blogpost, go find something to eat; you must be starved by now.

edit: Sorry for some of the weird formatting/spaces. Sometimes blogger decides it doesn't want to work right.