Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Cody, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole

Loaded and ready to go!

Is there a better way to start off a trip thru Kansas and Nebraska than a trip to Krispy Kreme? Probably not.

It was nearly two hours on the road before the first “are we there yet” was asked. Avery is pretty sure that the middle of nowhere and Kansas are the same place. I have to agree with her. The first day was a long, long drive. But on Day 2 we picked up Jason in South Dakota and drove to see the Presidents heads aka Mount Rushmore. We went back later that night to watch a night time show that was a disappointment but Mom caught a great picture of the kids using the binoculars.

We stayed at a great resort in Keystone, SD and went on a tour of a working gold mine and the panned for gold afterwards. Water + rocks +bowels + shovel = a great day on vacation for the girls and Carter. They each found several flakes and other precious gems that are now sitting, freshly washed on the kitchen counter.

Crazy Horse, Three Crazy kids.

Devils Tower on the way to Cody, WY.

While we were in Cody, WY we went to the nightly rodeo since all three kids were sporting new boots and cowboy/girl tops. It was cold and rained off and on. Reagan volunteered for the calf scramble. She walked right into the arena and lined up with the dozens of other kids. I decided to step on the inside of the arena just in case. Then I saw the young cows they were passing on as calves and looked at the bleachers to see if Jason was in cardiac arrest. They released three rather large calves that all ran right by me and straight to the back, right passed the crowd with Reagan in the middle. I am glad she has the courage to volunteer and join group activities….but I don’t think I will introduce her to Running with the Bulls in Spain just yet. Here is a picture of Avery telling her how crazy she was.

Yellowstone National Park.

Here is the list of what we saw or proof of….buffalo, the tail end of one moose, rabbits, deer, something like a pelican, antelope, elk, and some type of squirrel and snowmen tracks. Dad tried explaining a spot of grass where a few deer had been to Reagan and Avery and then found where a family had emptied their cooler. He told them a snowman had just walked by, snowman droppings. For a second, they almost believed him.

We also stayed to watch Old Faithful.

From Yellowstone we went to Jackson Hole, WY and stayed for a couple of days. Down on the square they collect the antlers from the elk and build arches for each corner. Reagan found this statue of an Indian; I am not really sure what pose this is supposed to be.

From Jackson Hole and the Tetons, which were really cool, we headed home through the middle of nowhere and more buffalo, a snowball fight alongside the road in Medicine Bow National Forest, lunch in Estes Park, one more hotel stop and our first time to use a pool, more middle of nowhere and finally home. We traveled across 6 states and crossed the Continental Divide several times. Vacation over…..until next time.

The End.

She said...she said

Actually it should be She said “said”….this is a not so new game that the girls have been playing a lot of recently, especially over the nearly 2000 miles that they traveled last week. It usually happens in the car, usually with their best babies or some stuffed toys and of course happens in the land of imagination where they both spend an enormous amount of time. They are each at least one character and each have lines to say…but here is the twist….Reagan makes up all of the lines….including Avery’s. So she will have her toy say to Avery’s “Do you want to go to a swim party today with our friends said of course I would love to and I am going to wear a new suit” Then Avery says “of course I would love to and I am going to wear a new suit”. Notice the duplication/repeat?

It happens all the time. Avery used to never get a word in at all, now she does but her lines are given to her. It’s hard being the little sister.
Reagan may be a great screen writer some day, she gives Avery the lines but also includes stage directions, mood, timing etc and Avery never misses a beat. Never….
On this trip Carter was buckled into his seat between them and stuck in the story…sort of like watching a tennis match…I am not sure that he was bored, entertained or confused….either way we watched most all of it minus the popcorn and sticky theater floor.

School supplies

On the way to Hot Springs we stopped in Clarksville at the Wal-Mart to let Avery use the restroom. While Avery and I were in the store I noticed that the pallets of school supplies were in the aisles so I stopped and dramatically asked Avery to look over there....markers, glue, paper, crayons...school supplies! I then asked her if she knew who got to buy school supplies this year. She smiled with her entire face the way only Avery can do and then rolled her eyes as if she was embarrassed or maybe it was because I was so not cool....anyway….On Monday we made the trip to Wal-Mart to buy a cart full of supplies. The girls were excited and double checked their list. We also made a trip to the mall to buy Avery her new 'ready to go' to Kindergarten backpack and lunch box. I will try to send a picture tomorrow. Reagan asked for a messenger bag this year and we found one online. She should have her new zebra print bag in 10 days. School starts in less than one month. In one month we will be a family with "school aged" kids....what ever happened to the family with the two cute little blondes. I kinda miss them.
Someone please stop the clock.

Reagan wants to know...

On the way to Tball practice Reagan asked.....If someone is allergic to fish, can they swim in a lake?
Does anyone have any ideas?

This is why I do not get to listen to the radio. We discuss things like fish allergies, the types of grass growing in fields and how it is different from Winter Rye, how electricity travels in the power lines if their Grandparents met Noah....I promise I do not make this stuff up.....

Girls only day...

We started today with a list of errands to run and in the middle of them one of the girls reminded me that we had not had a 'girls only day' in a long time. A 'girls only day' is usually a Saturday when Jason is at work and the girls and I run errands, do some window shopping, make a Sonic run and stay in town for the majority of the day. That was today and it was GREAT even if our feet are tired. I do not think we have had a girls only day since before Memorial Day....it was way overdue and we did let Jason join us for Sam's club and lunch.