More than Potatoes in Idaho

After leaving Yellowstone, we had another day of driving.  By this time in the trip, I was figuring out some of our best strategies for being in the van.  Despite a few groans, we did manage to complete some summer workbook pages and reviewed a little school stuff.  This was best done in the morning and in small doses.  Kate LOVED sticker workbooks and would do page after page if I sat and did them with her.  Natalie and Scott were really great travelers and complained very little (as long as the flashcards stayed neatly packed away).  Kate was the only one to snooze in the van, and only did that for about three hours total during the entire trip.  

A friend had recommended books on CD prior to leaving, so I grabbed a few from the library right before our trip.  This turned out to be one of our favorite, calming activities.  We would all listen and enjoy the distraction.

We were excited to see our Idaho friends and were once again, overwhelmed by the wonderful hospitality.  They showed us around their BEAUTIFUL town, and we enjoyed our time to visit.

Who needs a John Deere museum when you can take a spin on the real deal?!

More animals!!  The kids were fascinated by the chickens. 

Four wheelin' Fun...(It took much encouraging to get me to drive one, but afterwards, I was glad that I did.)

 In case we never make it to New York...

How would you like to swing facing this incredible view?  Scott was trying to make it over the mountains!

Sweet Sarah & Natalie were trying to plan our next get together...maybe they should start saving up their pennies for plane tickets!

 We are thankful for this friendship that can continue despite the miles between us!

  

After our visit, we started a long trek back home.  

A couple of funny stories from our trip back...

 

At one hotel pool, Natalie had grabbed onto Kate and accidentally pulled her under the water just a bit (like her chin/mouth went under).  Afterwards, Kate said with a scowl, "Natalie tried to baptize me!" 

 

Restaurants stops (and restroom stops!) were always exciting.  There's nothing like sitting all day in a van to work up a good appetite!:)  Scott was "starving" one evening when we stopped at Arby's.  He looked at the spread of food in front of him and said, "This looks REALLY good!  If I was a dog, I'd wag my tail!" 

All in all, we had a fun time together as a family, and we are so thankful for the safe travel and the special memories that were created along the way.  No one is itching to go on another long road trip again any time soon (no place like home), but we are certainly grateful for this first family vacation!  

Go to Yellowstone...or Wendy's!

Oh, Yellowstone!  To be honest, this day was sort of a downer.  It rained (and snowed) while we were there.  Everyone was a bit on the grumpy side, and we were stuck in the van...again.  We had told the kids we would hike and see lots of wildlife in the park, but it just didn't happen.   

 (We look like we're having fun though, right?  That's what matters for the Christmas card!)

Jon and I kept saying, "Keep looking out your windows, kids!  There are LOTS of animals in this park."  But we drove, and we drove, and we drove...and still no animals.  

Before we had arrived at the park, we had stopped at a Wendy's and spotted this deer in the parking lot.  After not seeing much wildlife in the park, we were beginning to think that the Wendy's deer might be all that we got. 

Poor Kate was confused the whole stinkin' day.  We kept talking about "getting to the park" or being "in the park"...she kept asking when we would get there and was looking for a slide and swings.  Despite explaining to her that it was a "tree" type of park instead of a "playground" type of park, she never really seemed to believe it.  At each stop, her eyes would light up and she'd start looking around and asking for the "park" again.  :) 

At one point, we drove around a bend and saw a very beautiful view.  Jon and I were admiring it, and Kate piped up from the backseat, "Mommy, I miss home."  The timing of her statement was funny. 

 Determined not to sit in the van all day, we ventured out in the rain on a few trails. 

Old Faithful...once again...not sure that the kids were that impressed.  They had just come from a ranch with kittens and horses.  That was hard to top!

On our way out of the park, the wildlife started to appear!  By this time, we were pretty much D-O-N-E, but they were still fun to see.  (And helped to keep us from looking like liars to our children.) This coyote was running down the side of the road.

  Elk close by our van

 See the buffalo?

We were all thrilled to get to the hotel that night.  I think this is what we all really needed at this point in the trip.  All in all, it turned out to be an okay day.  However, if you are thinking of planning a Yellowstone trip, you may not want to ask the kids if they would recommend it.  :)

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!

On the Prairie

On Day 2 of our vacation, our destination was the Laura Ingalls Wilder homestead in De Smet, South Dakota.  Our friends had recommended this place, and we were glad that they did!   Our friends also hooked the girls up with some adorable prairie outfits.  

Kittens and Kiddos...how could I resist so many photo ops? 

Several fun, hands-on opportunities...

 Pumping a bucket of water...

Kate with this spunky little pony...(Kate especially LOVED the animals!!)

Washing some clothes...

 Driving the cart...

 Making a jump rope...

Getting ready for a covered wagon ride...(It poured while we were on this, so we were grateful for the cover!)

 Lesson at the schoolhouse...

 Driving the whole group of visitors in the covered wagon...

We left feeling extra thankful for all of our modern day conveniences.  They sure had a hard way of life.  We also left begging Jon to consider buying us some kittens.  :)