Rushmore & the Ranch

The next day we ventured to Mt. Rushmore.  The kids were super excited when they saw the famous heads in the distance.  I was really surprised at how much enthusiasm they showed.  After a few minutes however, their excitement for this national monument waned, and they were ready to get on to the next thing.  Who could blame them, I guess?

Ask Kate to name the presidents sometime.  She always nails, "George Washington" (in a Kate-voice) and you never know what names she'll come up with for the others!

Mt. Rushmore paled in comparison to our next stop...a real live ranch with real live friends!!

We were very excited to see our Wyoming friends again.  I met Melinda in college, and it had been 9 years since our last visit.  (Notice the kids...9 and under!:)  Despite the years since our last visit, Melinda is the type of friend who I can pick right back up with.   She is so genuine and always has such a positive attitude.  One of my favorite memories from the trip was our time sitting on the couch catching up on life.     

This amazing family went out of their way to show us a good time!  Yeehaw! 

 Scott felt like big stuff on this horse.  City-kid Scott has told several relatives now that he got to "drive a horse" all by himself. 

I love this picture.  The horse started into a trot and caught Scott by surprise. 

Kate on a miniature horse just her size...

 Natalie gets another turn...

 More kitties to squeeze!! 

I think the kittens might have purred very loudly when Kate left the ranch.  She seemed to be on a "find a kitty-hold a kitty-drop a kitty" mission the whole time we were outside.

This kitten even knew to look at the camera.  Impressive.

I didn't even get a picture of the kids with the goats or the cows, but the kids enjoyed them as well.  Certainly a memorable stop for all of us!  We hope to see them again before 9 more years go by!