Eclipse

So Mark has been unbelievably excited for the eclipse for MONTHS.  We had our glasses months ago, watched tons of youtube videos about different things to look for (except for the obvious eclipse!), and we were READY!  And I am so glad that Mark was so excited because I am not sure if I would have made the effort to go up to the totality area otherwise.  

Sunday afternoon after church, we headed up north to Rexburg.  We were a little nervous about traffic but we had no problems at all!  There were more cars on the road but we were almost always going freeway speeds.  No biggie!

We were so lucky to be able to stay at Daniel and Teresa's for the big moment!  Sunday night, we played lots of games and watched more youtube videos to make sure we were all ready for everything!

Monday morning, Mark and Jacob made the final touches on their shoe box projector.  We had glasses, but we thought this might be a fun thing to have as well - and plus it was less stressful with our little ones.  The little ones just played and played while we watched the sun begin to hide. 

It was so surreal watching the environment change.  Watching the lighting change was so interesting.  It felt like having sunglasses on.  And the temperature dropping was also really interesting.  

Once we got to about five minutes before totality things got EXCITING!  We had set up a white sheet to watch for shadow bands and they were awesome.  But absolutely nothing compares to when things reached totality.  It was amazingly beautiful - and actually felt spiritual to me.  It was incredible and completely worth every effort to get there.  It was addicting and did not last long enough.  We had almost 2 1/2 minutes of totality and it was wonderful.  

It was such a beautiful experience.  Afterwards, I think we all commented that we completely understood why people travel the world looking at these.  It is unreal.  I am grateful for Mark for encouraging us to have this beautiful experience and for Daniel and Teresa for letting us enjoy their home.  

Our world is a beautiful place.   

***Also, I really didn't take any pictures.  I wanted to experience the eclipse and not be worried about trying to get the best picture.  And I am so glad I did.  Because there was absolutely nothing like the real thing.***