17 Day Road Trip

I know...some of you may think that we are crazy. And, maybe we were. But, we were also incredibly blessed. We did take a seventeen day road trip with four young children, ages six and under. Not everyone could do that, I know. But, what can I say? We have the most well behaved children I know...not to brag or anything. At least, I think that we do. But, back to the road trip.

We left early on a Saturday morning, heading out to Oklahoma City. Of course, that is where my parents live, and a road trip would not be complete without seeing our Oklahoma family. We only spent three days there, but it was a wonderful time. The first day we went to church and that evening we went and visited my grandparents (on my dad's side). It was a good visit. My grandmother is very sick and she can no longer speak very well. But, she did know who I was and she told me, "I love, I love." It was a sweet time, and somehow, I knew that would be the last time I would see my grandmother. After visiting the grands, Nathan and I, along with my Dad and Uncle Bryce, took Brianna and Nate putt-putt. I new favorite past time, which became slightly competitive between Dad and Nathan. I won't mention who won. While in Oklahoma, we had to find a cool place to swim, and therefore visited a good friend and her pool with the whole family. And, the last day was a busy one. I visited my other set of grandparents, took the kids to see Cars 2, and then had a get together with some more family for dinner.

The second leg of our trip took us up to Colorado Springs to visit my sister Becky and her husband John. And, since Britt and Lauren are in Denver for the summer, we also got to hang out with them. We only spent two days there, but they were packed with fun. The first day, we went to Garden of the gods, Focus on the Family, and we went and toured the Broadmoor Hotel, where John works as a baker. It is by far the most impressive hotel I have ever seen. That evening Becky and John offered to watch the kids so Nathan and I could have a date night. We went to eat and then putt-putt again. This time, I'll mention who won...it was ME!!! And, I won by a lot. Just sayin'. The second day, Britt and Lauren came in and we all went to the zoo. It was on a mountain, and there were lots of inclines. But, also the coolest giraffes in the world. You could actually feed them. And, I do have pics...I have to post them later. After the zoo...more swimming at Becky and John's, and then a cookout to end our time there.

The third part of our trip was the whole reason for the trip. We went to Mt. Rushmore for Nathan's family reunion. We spent three days there, and it was so much fun. I do think that the highlight of that part of the trip was meeting there cousin Madalyn. The were so excited to meet her and just had a blast playing with her. But, the first day, we went to church in Custer, SD where Nathan's aunt and uncle attend church. One cousin, Derek was singing a special that day, and another cousin, Brock was the guest speaker that day. Then, we all went over to Uncle Dan and Aunt Barb's home and spent all day there just hanging out with family. I met so many people I had never met before. It was crazy. But, by the end of the day, I think I knew most of their names. We ate food, and the kids had a contest of who could make the fasted boat and float it down the creek. We took a family picture and the kids, including my husband, played football and shot off rockets. It was a wonderful and fun day for all. The second day we just hung out at the campgrounds at our cabins for most of the day. That night, we went into Custer again to watch the fireworks. The third day, we took the kids to take one of those old time photos, and it was so adorable. Again, I will have to post pics. We also went to visit Mt. Rushmore, as opposed to just driving by it again. It was so amazing. I have always wanted to go there, but never had the opportunity. I would qualify it as magnificent. And, the ice cream there was delicious as well. :)

The next leg of the trip took us to Chicago to visit Nathan's Uncle Doug and Aunt Janeece. Very dear, sweet people!!! They were actually leaving on vacation that weekend, so we had limited time with them. Nathan and Janeece took the kids to the park while I stayed back with a napping James. Then, Janeece let us go out to lunch without the kids...always a treat. We then went and visited with Aunt Pat and our cousin Jill. Then, back to the house for dinner with the whole family. The next day, Doug and Janeece and family left for vacation, and we headed to the Brookfield Zoo. That was so much fun. They had an incredible dolphin show, which for me was the highlight of the day.

By this time, I am sure you are wondering if there was anything else left to do. But, we had one more stop. On our way home, we stopped at the Creation Museum in Kentucky. That was so amazing. We could have spent so much more time there, but lets be honest. Small children do limit you, no matter how well behaved they are. But, we spent about three hours at the museum and it was really cool being able to show the kids the truth about creation. And, they loved the part about Noah's ark. They could have stayed there for an hour. And, of course, they loved the dinosaur exhibits.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Looking back on it, we never had a child melt down because of so much time in the car...or for any other reason. We never went through a traffic jam, even though we drove through Memphis, Denver, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Atlanta (twice). We didn't have any car trouble. No one got really sick. There are so many ways we were blessed. We are so grateful for the blessings from our Lord!!!