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Stories |
8/5/07- Tonight after evening church services, we went with Gigi and Papa O and Nanny to Amigo's for dinner and then Caleb went home with them to spend a couple nights. He's so excited!
School starts tomorrow for Mommy and Daniel!! It is the county-wide inservice day, so Daniel will start at the First Mates Daycare tomorrow! Since Caleb is now a student at the school (which is hard to believe), he has to wait until all the kids start. And, since he's starting Pre-K, they are phasing the kids in, so he actually won't start until next week.
8/3/07- Today we went over to Mommy's school to work on some things. Then, we met Lisa, Lorence, Laney, and Lawson at Pizza Hut for lunch. Whew! 5 kids at Pizza Hut at one table is kind of crazy! But we all had a good time. Caleb loves any chance he gets to see Lorence. Those two have just grown up together since they were born.
7/28/07- Couple things. Daniel has said 3 new things this week! "Ta-Da!", "Cheese!", and "Boo!" It's so cute to hear him say new things. There are times where he is trying so hard to tell us something and he knows exactly what he's saying, and we just don't understand. In time, in time... There's no doubt that he understands everything. And he does everything Caleb does. They both crack us up!
I took the boys with me over to my school to work on a couple things and they were so great. They just entertained each other and played with some boxes. I was there for almost 2 and 1/2 hours and got so much done and they were so great! Thanks, boys!
We had philly cheesesteak sandwiches for dinner and ate downstairs while we watched a movie and just had a great night! The boys had fun wrestling with Daddy and it was just fun to be together...
7/25/07- We went by the school today and Caleb was able to meet his teacher for Pre-K. She is really sweet and I think Caleb will have a great year. He was really excited to see all of the neat things in his classroom. We're looking forward to a great year, Mrs. Donna!
7/21-7/22/07- We all slept GREAT last night at Nana and Papa's and Caleb went downstairs to see Papa as soon as he heard him getting breakfast ready! It wasn't long after breakfast that 2 little boys were ready to get in the pool! Caleb couldn't wait to show Nana and Papa how he "swims" in the pool. He's like a little fish!
Aaron was glad to just relax and he went in the pool for a while, which the boys enjoyed. I worked on making a DVD of the pictures of our trip out West and the videos with the new Nero software and DVD burner that Mom and Dad had gotten me for Christmas. It was so fun to make and I was able to finish it so Mom and Dad and Matt could watch it!
Sunday, we went to church and Aaron and I were both wondering how Daniel was going to do going to Bible Class. He's been going through a stage lately and just screaming and crying when we go to leave after we take him to class. Where Mom and Dad go, they have 2 songs and a prayer before everyone goes to class, so Aaron took Daniel to his classroom and Daniel pointed to which chair he wanted to sit in, and he was excited, so after the 2 songs and prayer, Aaron took him back there, and he didn't cry at all!! When Aaron picked him up, the teacher said he was fabulous! Yes!!
The boys were hungry when we got home, so Aaron gave them some cashews. Last night, the boys ate like they had never eaten before! But, when we sat down to eat for lunch, Daniel didn't act like he wanted to eat, which was very strange for Daniel. He was acting fussy, and I held him, and he got a little sick! Thankfully it wasn't a lot, but still. He didn't do it again, so after a while, I laid him down for a nap. My mom got to thinking and she remembered that Daniel had had cashews at Matt's house when we were up there for her birthday in April, and Daniel got sick. Then, she told me Aaron had given Daniel just 2 cashews before lunch, and he got a little sick. So, together, we got to thinking, "maybe he's allergic to cashews." Aaron was allergic to pecans as a child and now he eats them all the time. So, maybe that's the case with Daniel! NO MORE CASHEWS, little boy!!
The boys and Aaron napped and then we got on the road to go to church on the way home, so it wouldn't be so late when we got home. We barely made it to Shelbyville, and the whole ride there, anytime Daniel coughed, Aaron and I thought he was about to get sick, so I got in the habit of asking Daniel, "are you okay?" and he'd shake his little head "yes." Well, it got to the point where he'd start shaking his head right after he coughed, even before I could ask him! Smart little boy! So cute!
We stopped at Sonic on the way home and the boys and I shared a Large Popcorn Chicken and tator tots, and Aaron had a couple junior burgers. Daniel did fine with the food, so I guess he's okay! Weird...
7/16-7/20/07- VBS WEEK! What a great week! Caleb couldn't wait to go each night- he loved it! The whole congregation did a great job pulling it all together. Great job, North Terrace!
Daniel has started saying, "uh-oh!" and it's absolutely precious how he says it! I noticed throughout the day, he dropped things "on purpose" and then reacted with "uh-oh!" Little stinker!
We went to the ENT one day for Daniel to see if he was going to need tubes or not for his ears. Turns out, there is NO hearing loss in his ears, and the fluid was gone from the right ear, and it was just in the left! Yay! So, he put him on Nasonex, and wants to see him back in 6 weeks. I'm so thankful that he hadn't lost any hearing. I remember they said Caleb had when we first went to the ENT with him, and he did need the tubes. But, looks like Daniel will be okay! He was so cute when they were doing all the little ear tests. He just sat on my lap and looked around and listened with such a curious look on his face as they stuck things in his ears. They were both so cute in the waiting room before we went back. Caleb just sat there at the toys table and looked at books; I hardly knew he was there! Daniel- different story. He's going all over the room, from chair to chair. Then, he finds a Bible and picks it up, opens it, and holds it like a song book and starts singing, "Bible, Bible, Bible!" in the loudest voice he can, and waving his hand, like he's leading singing. :) He's been "leading singing" a lot lately, and it's so cute!
Caleb spent the night at Joey's house one night and was so excited about that. I felt like I had to keep threatening him throughout the day, "if you're going to misbehave, you won't be able to spend the night at Joey's!" Then, I found out from Josh that Rachele had been saying the same thing to Joey!! They were both so excited! He went home with them Tuesday night and then went to the movies on Wednesday, and then we took him back home after VBS Wednesday night.
After VBS Friday night, we headed up to my parents for the weekend. We were excited to have some family time again and spend time with Nana and Papa in their new pool!
7/12/07- Family pictures! Today we went to have family pictures taken, since we've never had them done before! And it had been a while since we had the boys' pictures taken, so we got some of them individually and together. They turned out GREAT! The boys did fantastic- I was so pleased! Caleb just smiled and let the lady take care of Daniel, and Daniel never got fussy. He was great.
Aaron had some things to do after the pictures, so the boys and I had fun the rest of the day doing things. We went to Coolidge Park to play in the fountains. Caleb loved it, but Daniel didn't like all that water splashing up on him. He loves going in the pool, but he gets uneasy when water is splashing everywhere. We got a snowcone and then got ready to go to Free Night at the Creative Discovery Museum. They both had a blast there. The boys are both so different. Caleb will sit and look at something and play with it for quite a while, but Daniel, plays with something for a little bit, and then wants to go on to the next thing! Daniel loves music and balls. Caleb likes art, music, and all sports. They are so cute.
After the museum, I decided to take the boys out to eat at Chili's. It had been such a fun day and it was dinner time. On the walk there, I carried Daniel, because I could tell he was getting tired, and he was a little fussy. I thought he was just hungry, but when I felt his forehead, he was pretty warm. I debated whether to still go to Chili's or not, but I knew Caleb was hungry, so we went ahead and went. Uh, Oh!!! When we sat down, Daniel just wasn't acting right. He took a little sip of his water, and then started coughing a little bit. My "motherly instinct" sensed that he was about to get sick. I emptied out my little waterproof zip pouch that I carry diapers and wipes in, and had it ready. He got fussy again and wanted out of the high chair and for me to hold him. I set him on the booth next to me and he started coughing and I just shoved that zip pouch in his face so he could get sick in it. EWWW! Wouldn't you know, while this is going on, our food comes to the table?!?! I just told the lady to bring me a to-go box, and I gave Caleb some chicken to eat while I cleaned up Daniel, and we left! Poor baby. I felt so bad for the little guy. He had been fine the whole day! It always comes out of nowhere with kids...
7/9/07- The boys spent the day with Gigi and Papa O and Nanny, while Aaron and I went down to Atanta to shop and go out to eat. This was all planned by my wonderful husband- he's off this week and then has to go back to work next week, so he planned a day just for us! We went to the Melting Pot for dinner and it was fabulous; last time we were there was 3 days before Daniel was born, so it's been a while! The boys played and then went out to Pizza Hut for dinner with Gigi and Papa O and Nanny and had lots of fun.
7/7/07- WE'RE HOME! We caught up on laundry today and just enjoyed being home. It was a great trip! The boys had missed their toys, so they played all morning with them. And they enjoyed being back with Gigi and Papa O and Nanny.
7/6/07- Day #17: TENNESSEE, HERE WE COME!!! We got on the road by 9am this morning and just DROVE. Today, we were determined to get home. The boys were ready, too. They've been so great and such troopers- Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you guys!!!! Thanks for going with us and being so great!!! Daddy, thank you for planning such an EXCELLENT and FUN trip! We all have had a WONDERFUL time being together and doing special things together.
We went over the Missouri River into Nebraska, since we were so close to it. That was kind of funny! We didn't do that with any other states, but Caleb had made it to 29 states and we wanted him to make it to 30, so we dipped into Nebraska for him. It was a whole 8 miles out of the way. 8 miles really isn't a big deal when you're talking about 5,300!
We continued on into Missouri and got to the outskirts of St. Louis around 3:45pm. That's when we knew we were getting back East: traffic. We hadn't seen traffic for 17 days and it had been great. Now, we were on the edge of our seats going through St. Louis and trying to beat rush hour. We went right by the Arch and saw the St. Louis Cardinals Stadium downtown as we drove by. But, we were ready to get out of there.
When we got to the I-57/I-55 split, we stopped at Mt. Vernon to eat, because there was a lot at that exit. We went to Fazoli's, which was good, cheap, and quick. We got back on the road and within an hour, we were on I-24, and that was a good feeling, because we knew we were on our way HOME! We stopped at a rest area just into Kentucky to get the boys out, use the restroom, and it turned out that they had a little playground! We all played on it for a while. They had a teeter-totter, and Caleb and I were on one side, and Daniel and Aaron on the other. We all had so much fun on that! We got the boys pajamas on, put a movie in the DVD player, and headed on the road. We were homebound now!
Made it home around 12:30am, safely and soundly...and most thankful to God our Father, for such a safe trip.
Okay, so to recap: 5,300 miles, 17 days, 12 states, with a 4 year old and an 18 month old. AND WE'RE ALIVE AND ABLE TO SHARE THE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!
7/5/07- Day #16: CURRIE AND WALNUT GROVE, HERE WE COME! Aaron had found this great place in Currie, Minnesota, called End of the Line Railroad Museum and Playground when he was looking on line for the trip:
www.endoline.com What a great place! Of course, having a little train lover makes it even more fun! They have one of the only working manual turntables left and on the tour we were able to go on it while they demonstrated it! They call it end of the line, because Currie was the last town on this railroad, and then they would turn the train around on the turntable and go back. The tour was very interesting and they have done a fantastic job restoring the grounds and buildings. The tour was about 2 hours and very informative, and the boys were excellent. Caleb listen to everything she said and didn't touch anything. We were so pleased...
After Currie, we headed to our last stop of the trip: Walnut Grove!!! Home of Laura Ingalls Wilder from Little House on the Praire. This is where the book "On the Banks of Plum Creek" took place and where the Ingalls lived in the dugout home. They had a museum there in town and a place called "Nellie's Cafe," and "Oleson's Mercantile." I got a post card and a bonnet as souviniers and went to the post office and mailed it home so I would have it with the Walnut Grove postmark when we got back home. After going around town, we went over to where the dugout home was, and where the depression of the home still is, right on Plum Creek. It's funny, because it is actually on the back side of this couple's property. They allow you to drive in through their driveway, pay a small fee, and then drive back to where the dugout is. Aaron and I had fun making a little movie of me. I put my bonnet on and pretended to do the beginning of the show "Little house on the Prairie," and run in like the girls do in the beginning. I even fell down like Carrie does! Aaron sang the theme song and we were both laughing hysterically!
After seeing the dugout depression and walking around the grounds there, we started our journey back to Tennessee. It was time to head home! We drove back toward South Dakota and headed SOUTH on I-29. We got into Iowa at Sioux City and went to dinner at Chili's and it was great. We drove a couple more hours and then decided to stop and get a good night's sleep so we could drive all day tomorrow. The boys had done so great and every day has been a long day on the trip, so we were ready to rest. It's been a GREAT TRIP!!!!
7/4/07- Day #15: HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!! We went to a GREAT zoo, called Bramble Park Zoo, right there in Watertown, South Dakota. It was the perfect size zoo to do in 1/2 a day, which is what we had time for. They had so many animals for their size. We saw several kinds of birds, a white bengal tiger, bald eagles, black bears, condors, a black jaguar, snow leopards, zebra, ducks, cranes, antelope, buffalo, peacocks, kangaroos, monkeys, camels, alligators, and goats and donkeys. They had food machines near the animals you could feed and the boys enjoyed feeding the goats and donkeys. The little baby goats just poked their heads through the fence and they were so gentle and cute. Caleb was very brave and just went right up and fed them. Daniel had Daddy help him and did a great job feeding them, too.
They had a little train ride there, so we had the boys go on it. Daniel got scared after one time around, so we got him off and let Caleb go. Then they played on a playground before we left to go get lunch. It was a great zoo and we all really enjoyed it!
We went to Arby's for lunch and it was great for all of us to eat for only $5.95, with their "5 for $5.95" deal. Aaron was excited about that! We got on the road, heading southeast, toward Marshall, Minnesota. Marshall is within 30 minutes of Walnut Grove, and it's one of the only good sized towns within a 50 mile radius. Plus, we knew we were going to be there on Wednesday, and Aaron had found a church there.
The boys napped as we drove and the drive was so beautiful. As we neared the South Dakota/Minnesota border, we noticed all of these windmills, for MILES! There were thousands of them. It was neat to see.
We arrived in Marshall and tried finding the church at first, but were having a hard time, because there was construction on the main road. So, we checked in to the hotel and Aaron looked up the number and tried calling. He only got an answering machine, so he left a message. It was still early and I needed to get milk for the boys, so Caleb and I went out to see if we could find the building while Daniel and Daddy stayed at the hotel. We found it, but the sign said, "Wednesday evening: 6pm Group Study." We were afraid that they might not have services at the building and still hadn't heard back from anyone. We decided to go ahead and get ready and go at 6pm to see if anyone was there. 6pm- no one. Aaron called again and left a message, but he remembered that he saw there was a congregation in Tracy, about 25 miles south, but we knew that was a very small town, and we wondered if they started at 6pm also or did the same thing on Wednesday nights. Just as we were debating what to do, Aaron got a call back from the daughter of the preacher there in Marshall. She said her dad was out of town, so they cancelled services. Interesting. He asked if she knew anything about the Tracy congregation and we found out that they don't meet on Wednesdays either. Aaaah! We sang some church songs in the van before dinner since we weren't able to attend services.
We went to dinner at Applebee's and had a GREAT meal and GREAT service! We were very impressed with the Applebee's in Marshall! After dinner, Aaron hung out with the boys at the hotel while I ran to Wal-mart across the street. When Caleb and I went earlier to get milk, they were having a HUGE clearance sale on their clothes, so I wanted to go back and check things out. I had to be back in time to take Caleb to fireworks, though- that was the plan! I found SO many deals, it was unbelievable! Dresses for $4.50 and $3.00, capris for $3.00, tops for $2.50! It was great! I found so many things for school this year, so I was very excited. While I was there, Caleb called me and for some reason, my phone didn't ring. I realized later when I checked it that I had a voicemail, so when I checked it, I heard, "Hi, Mommy! I love you. I'm ready to go. It's almost fireworks time. The sunset has set and it's so low. Okay. I love you. bye." I had to save that message- it was too cute! I checked out my purchases and headed over to the hotel to get my little guy.
Fireworks were scheduled for 10:15pm and we knew Daniel would not be able to stay up. In fact, when I got back to the hotel at 9:40pm, he was out, even though there were some little fireworks going on outside the hotel. Caleb and I went across the street to get some frozen custard/ice cream and then went back to the hotel parking lot to watch the fireworks. We had a great view and the fireworks were fantastic! Caleb really enjoyed them and he was so excited.
7/3/07- Day #14: LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRE, PART I!! We got up and out this morning and headed to DeSmet, one of the homes of the Ingalls family, and where several of the books of Laura Ingalls Wilder took place. THIS town is actually where Silver Lake is/was and where the Ingalls family moved after Walnut Grove. When the Ingalls family moved to DeSmet, "Pa" bought 153 acres and they have that whole area to visit now. This is also where Pa built a house in town and we were able to tour it. Most of the Ingalls family is buried here: Pa, Ma, Mary, and the baby of Laura's who died. They also have the historical marker where Laura and Almanzo had a home. It was all very interesting and neat to see.
After DeSmet, the boys napped as we headed up to Watertown, SD, which was about 1 and 1/2 hours. We checked into the hotel and I took the boys to the pool while Aaron rested. Aaron had taken the boys to the pool Monday and Caleb kept telling me he had a surprise to show me when we were in a pool. So, we had a good time. Caleb's surprise was swimming underwater and kicking and swimming!! He is doing so great! I almost couldn't believe what he was doing! He has totally come over the fear of going under the water and he is like a little fish! Daniel also enjoyed the water and just loved jumping to me and "swimming"around.
We went to dinner at Perkins and then Caleb wanted to go back in the pool after we got back. Daniel and I ran to pick something up and when we came back to the pool, Caleb was swimming across the pool underwater, little by little, with Aaron in front of him. Aaron said he had already done it 4 times before we got there! Aaron would stay about 3 feet in front of him, and Caleb would hold his breath, and swim underwater to him, then come up. Then, Aaron would move back, and he'd do it again. He did so GREAT! I can't wait to see him in Nana and Papa's pool again!
7/2/07- Day #13: SOUTH DAKOTA, HERE WE COME! We took it easy this morning and didn't rush too much. We've been on the go so much the last couple days, we were going to take it easy and gradually head into South Dakota. When we originally had the plan of camping in Watertown, SD, we realized that we would really have to push it to get to the other side of South Dakota and it would be a full day of driving, plus we'd have to get there before dark and setup camp. But, since we weren't going to camp, and we were also now going to go to DeSmet, SD, which is before Watertown.
The boys and I went to breakfast and let Daddy sleep a little more. He's been driving so much and needed some more rest. The boys were so good during the breakfast. They sat at their seats and ate their food so well. There was a couple at the table next to us and before they left, the woman came over and said, "you have such adorable and well behaved boys!" That really meant a lot.
After breakfast, Daddy took the boys down to the pool to swim again. I was able to get things organized before we got on the road again and check some e-mail. It's great having Wireless at the hotels! We got things packed up and the boys have gotten in the habit of helping. They actually want to help carry things to the van, which is great. Daniel usually carried the "C" bag and Caleb usually carried the little cooler and a dirty clothes bag. They were so cute!
We headed toward South Dakota and decided not to go through Custer State Park and run by Mt. Rushmore. Aaron and I saw it 5 years ago and the boys are little too young to appreciate it. We did stop for lunch in Rapid City at the Rushmore Mall and it was nice to get out. We walked around, found the food court and ate. Then we went by the Old Navy store and Target there (yes, they had an Old Navy AND Target connected to the mall!). I found Caleb Thomas swimming trunks and got Daniel some new ones also. We also got a new volleyball that was on sale for $2.00 at Old Navy! Aaron got a South Dakota State University shirt, which he was excited about.
We got back on the road and headed East. Daniel was in a great mood. He had taken a good morning nap, so we had fun with him while Caleb was taking his nap. He drew on some paper and played with a little phone of his and I pretended to call him with my phone. We did that for a long time and it was so cute.
Aaron and I realized that there was no way we were going to make it Watertown tonight, so we looked at the map and decided to aim for Huron to stay tonight, which is about 80-100 miles east of Pierre, and only about 25 miles from DeSmet, where we planned to go tomorrow. We headed north toward Pierre, South Dakota and stopped there to eat. Unfortunately, they didn't have any restaurants! So, we just went to McDonald's and the kids played in their indoor playground, which worked out well. It is so funny how Daniel does whatever his brother is doing, even if he's afraid to do it at first. They had this steep tunnel you had to climb up to get to the upper tunnel, and then it went around to the tunnel slide and down. Well, Daniel didn't want to do it at all at first. But, he kept watching Caleb and then Caleb helped him in the tunnel, and Daniel did it! Then, he wouldn't stop going up it!
We headed on toward Huron, SD and the boys watched the Cars movie on the way. We stopped to get gas and put the boys pajamas on, since it was getting late and the boys would probably fall asleep on the way. We made it in to Huron around 10pm, got the boys inside and to bed and then I got busy on laundry. We had the wet clothes from swimming at the pool this morning in Gillette, plus 2 full bags already! Thankfully, they had 2 washers and 2 dryers. We got the loads going, one washer with colored and one washer with lights. We got it all done by midnight and then went to bed. DeSmet tomorrow and then on to Watertown!
7/1/07- Day #12: SUNDAY WORSHIP, DRIVE THROUGH BIGHORN NATIONAL FOREST, AND MAKE IT TO GILLETTE, WY!!! We got up and out for church. There was a small congregation right there in Cody, but there were a lot of visitors. Daniel screamed about going to Bible Class, so we just had him sit in with us, and he ended up falling asleep. Caleb enjoyed class; he loves going to bible class. I know Daniel is just going through that stage right now and being separated. He'll get through it...
We met several people afterwards; it was a very friendly congregation. They had a guy from Casper, Wyoming preach, because they are without a preacher. Aaron found out from one of the members afterwards that there are so many congregations in Wyoming without a preacher. They are just begging for the Truth in these small towns out West.
We all changed clothes out in the van before we got on the road. The terrain between Cody and the Bighorn National Forest is almost like desert. I kept saying, "this looks like Radiator Springs, from the movie Cars!" It was probably 90 degrees on the mainland before we headed up the mountains into the Bighorn National Forest. The drive up into the forest was so steep- 10% grade. (Aaron and I drove through this Forest 5 years ago and just loved it. It's in this Forest that we got to see snow last time, and that's what we were hoping for today when we drove through.) Once we made it up to the top, we started seeing several patches of snow. We kept looking for a spot where we could get out easily and let the boys "play" in it. We found a spot in a shaded area and decided to stop and walk over to it. Aaron put Daniel on his shoulders and Caleb held my hand as we walked through the sagebrush and mushy grass. The snow had just melted on this mountain recently, because it was so mushy around! As we neared the snow patch, we saw some rather large "droppings" and just kept praying that we weren't going to meet a bear! It was probably 70 degrees up on the mountain. Daniel wasn't sure about the snow (especially being in just a onesie and sandals!) but Caleb LOVED it! He was so excited to be in snow! We headed back and drove through the rest of the forest. Caleb kept saying, "there's more snow! I see more snow over there!" It was really neat to see how beautiful it was through this forest.
The boys fell asleep for their afternoon nap as we were heading out of the forest. You come down the mountain and finally to the interstate, and you are only a few miles from the Montana border. Our goal was to make it to Gillette, WY, where our hotel reservation was and attend evening services there. We made it to Gillette by 5:30pm, checked in the hotel, called and got directions to the building, and made it there by 5:55pm!! Again, this congregation did not have a preacher. They were a nice group and had a great building, but no preacher. We got to visit with people afterwards and we were telling them what our plans were the rest of the trip. One of the ladies there is actally distantly related to the Ingalls family! She had been to Walnut Grove recently and she told us about DeSmet, South Dakota as well, which is another town where the Ingalls family lived. So, we found a lot from talking with her.
We went to dinner at Applebee's and had yet, another Applebee's experience. It doesn't matter where we go, there is always some problem at Applebee's. We love their food, but they are always out of something, or their service is horrible. Tonight, we found out that 2 of the cooks walked out today, so they were down 2 cooks- surprise! But, we enjoyed our meal when it came and didn't sweat it.
There was a pool at the hotel, so we all went down to that and the boys had a good time. They are getting more and more fearless of the water and doing more and more in it. We got back and got the boys ready for bed. We head to South Dakota tomorrow!
6/30/07- Day # 11: YELLOWSTONE, HERE WE COME! We got up this morning at the cabin and had a quick and easy breakfast, got ready, got the van and coolers all packed up, and got ready to go. We were able to set the camera on the picnic table and get a great family picture of us in front of the cabin. I had noticed over the months that we don't have that many family pictures, so I wanted to get several on this trip.
On the drive up the gravel/dirt road, we saw several deer and other wildlife, which was neat. We dropped the key off in Alpine and Aaron called and cancelled the camping reservations, which was no problem. Then, we headed north toward Jackson, Grand Teton National Park, and Yellowstone!
The drive was absolutely beautiful. I love coming out of Jackson Hole and seeing the Grand Teton Range. Those mountains are amazing- God has created so many beautiful things for us to see and these mountains are close to the top of the list. There are signs all over the road saying, "watch out for wildlife!" "Slow down!" We were going through around 11:00am, so we didn't see a whole lot, but it was a beautiful day.
Once we got into Yellowstone National Park, we headed toward Old Faithful. That was the main attraction we wanted to see while we were there. Caleb and I had checked out some books about Yellowstone and the other states we would be traveling through on our trip, and when we read about Yellowstone, it said that Old Faithful shoots off (approx.) every 80 to 120 minutes. Aaron and I weren't sure how this was going to work with the boys, if we had to wait 2 hours. But, it couldn't have worked out more perfectly.
We pulled in and couuldn't believe how many people were there! It was like the Disney World parking lot! We arrived at 1:45pm. It took us a few minutes to head toward Old Faithful, and as we were heading toward the Old Faithful Visitor Center, I saw some steam and smoke behind it, and thought we were going to miss it. We picked up the pace and as we passed the visitor center, there was a sign that said, "next eruption predicted for 2:04pm, give or take 10 minutes." Yay! We hadn't missed it! We walked toward this HUGE semi-circle of benches and people standing around, waiting for Old Faithful. We found a good spot where we all could see. Daniel was on Aaron's shoulders and I handed him my camera. Caleb was standing by me with his little disposable camera, and I had the video camera ready. Within 3 minutes of finding a spot to stand, the geyser started to shoot up- it was GREAT!!!! It lasted quite a while, about 2-3 minutes, but then, my dear husband just HAD to say, "we drove 1800 miles for this?" Oh, my husband...
We were so excited how well all the timing went, so we went to get ice cream inside the big Yellowstone General Store. We upstairs and it said, "single scoop $2.25, double scoop $3.50." We debated about getting two single scoop orders and just sharing them and then were trying to decide what flavor to get while we were in line. This lady and her 2 boys, a little bit older than Caleb and Daniel, sat down at one of the tables, and each of them had these huge cups of ice cream with 3 scoops AND a cone sticking up on it! The lady saw we were looking at them and she said, "just to let you know, these are their single scoops!" We couldn't believe it!! She said they were the first in line and had no idea that's how big they were when she ordered each of them a single scoop! So, then we debated about getting one single and sharing it or getting a double and sharing it! When we got up there to order a double, the guy said, "just to let you know, the double has 6 scoops of ice cream." 6 scoops!! Whew! We decided to just get a single order of mint chocolate chip and share it, and Aaron just asked for another cone, so each of the boys could have one. With tax, we got this ice cream to share for $2.39!!! We went outside and ate it under a tree: Aaron scooped ice cream into each of the cones for the boys and then he and I shared the rest. It was great!
We got back on the road and decided to continue on the loop through the geyser basin and head toward Hayden Valley, so we could see more geysers and the buffalo. Within minutes of leaving Old Faithful, we saw tons of cars pulled over and knew that there was something to see. Sure enought, there was this huge elk within 50 feet of the road! Aaron got a great picture of it and I was able to video it from the van. We headed on and Caleb was excited about seeing more geysers. We saw another elk with a rack of antlers. He was farther away than the first one, but you could really tell those antlers were huge.
We saw tons of buffalo and even some baby buffalo through Hayden Valley. Caleb really enjoyed that. And as we drove around Yellowstone Lake, we saw pelican, and at one point, we met some buffalo walking on the road! It was great to see all the wildlife.
We headed toward Cody to our hotel for the night. We were all hungry for dinner by the time we got to Cody, so we stopped at Bubba's BBQ. As we came into Cody, it said, "Cody, WY, the Rodeo capital of the world!" and sure enough, there was a rodeo going on that night and there were cars just streaming into the parking lot for it.
After dinner, we checked into the hotel and brought in what we needed for the night. The boys were glad to get out and run around, since they had been in the van all day. The hotel had internet, so I was able to get the pictures off my camera and onto my computer and upload some of them on the site here, which was nice. We had had a FULL day, but a great day...
6/29/07- Day #10: WE MADE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT OKAY! We woke up kind of chilly, so Aaron got the woodburning stove going. I put the boys' sweatshirts and sweatpants right over their pajamas, so they wouldn't be so cold. I also put their shoes and socks on before they touched the floor, because I knew the floors were filthy.
I cooked up the fish for Aaron and I, along with some eggs. The boys had some oatmeal and poptarts (I came prepared!). We had a good breakfast and played outside and around the cabin most of the morning. I finished all of my postcards and we drove back up to Alpine to their little grocery store to get stuff for S'mores and to mail the postcards. There is a stretch on the dirt/gravel road that is "open range" where the cattle just roam around. On the way back, Caleb wanted to get a picture of a cow, so we came up to one that was right on the side of the road. He looked at us as Aaron rolled down his window to get the picture, because it was on his side of the van, and the cow looked like he was going to "charge" at us, so Aaron pulled away quickly! Aaron didn't want to take any chances!
For dinner, we made stir-fry. We cooked up the beef and the vegetables and then made some rice. The boys really like it. Then, they were ready for the s'mores. It was so cute watching them toast the marshmellows. Then, it was hilarious to watch Daniel try to eat a s'more. He had marshmellow all over his nose and his hands, and he loved the chocolate in it. He cracked me up!
We played hide and seek outside around the cabin for a while, which was fun. It was such a neat place to be, away from the everyday things of life that we take for granted. Aaron figured out that the hot water heater was on "hot" and it had a setting for "extremely hot, " so we all got warm showers and baths tonight, which was nice! We tried to get some things packed in the van, because we're leaving out tomorrow already and we want to get an early start. It's been so much fun here...
6/28/07- Day # 9: MEADOWS CABIN IN WYOMING- NO ELECTRICITY!! At 3:00am this morning, Aaron realized that we had made FANTASTIC time and were running way ahead of schedule! Too far ahead, because we couldn't get the key to the cabin until 10am! So, we stopped at Wal-mart in Idaho Falls so Aaron could go in and get the food and things we needed for our time at the cabin. He spent almost an hour in there and when he came back to the van, I tapped on the window and had a box of cereal in his hands. He was pointing at it with this "Aaron look" of enthusiasm and excitement, and mouthing the words, "50 cents! This box of cereal was only 50 cents!!!" Then, he picked up something else and said, "$1.00! This was only $1.00!" He cracks me up - never a dull moment...
We decided to head north up to Rexburg and then over into Wyoming, instead of going straight from Idaho Falls into Wyoming, since we had made such good time. As we headed up to Rexburg, it was early dawn and you could see the Grand Teton Range in the distance. The drive from Idaho Falls to Rexburg, ID, and then Rexburg on to Jackson Hole, WY was breath-taking. It was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was starting to rise as we got into the Teton Valley of Idaho, and we were just driving straight towards the Grand Teton Range.
We came into Jackson, WY around 7:00am, and stopped at a Village Inn to have breakfast. We still had time to kill before we could get the key for the cabin, so we ran to the post office to get my postcard stamps, and then went by the town square. There were some stores open already, so we went through some and got a Christmas ornament from "Moose-be-Christmas." We went to the square and got a family picture in front of one of the 4 elk antler arches. By then, it was time to head to Alpine, where we were to get the key to the cabin.
It was a beautiful 30 mile drive down to Alpine from Jackson. We crossed over the Snake River several times and saw people rafting. We look forward to doing a rafting trip when the boys are older. Getting the key to the cabin was no problem and there was a bait and tackle shop across the way, so Aaron ran in and got his fishing license and a fly. The guy there told him people were catching fish right and left out of the Greys River, which is the river the cabin was on!
We headed down the gravel/dirt road towards the cabin. 26 MILES down this dirt road to the cabin from this little town of Alpine. The drive was amazing. You went right into the Bridger Teton National Forest. The Greys River was crystal clear and the road (Greys River Road) ran right along it. The deeper we got into the forest, the more beauty there was. Halfway to the cabin, we started seeing snow-capped mountains all around. Oh- it was something else! We kept pulling over and taking pictures and video. We couldn't believe this was where the cabin was!
Finally, we made it to the cabin. Off the "main road" (the gravel road!) we went over a bridge over the river, and saw this beautiful meadow with the mountains all around. Then, we turned and there was the cabin! It was an old U.S. forestry cabin that they used to use and now they open it up to the public. Aaron found it on
www.recreation.gov . It was definitely an old, rustic cabin, but the view around it was GORGEOUS! We realized when we walked in that we were going to have clean first. When you walked in, you had one big room with 3 sets of bunk beds, a wood burning stove, a table with chairs (2 of which only had partial seats!) and a couple cupboards. Then, you had the kitchen and bathroom on the back side. The kitchen had a sink, a propane stove and range, and a fridge. The bathroom had a sink, toilet and shower. So, there was running water, but NO electricity! (Yes, I knew this before we came!)
This place only cost us $35.00 a night, so we knew it was probably going to be rough. The boys fell in love with the place and just started playing outside while Aaron and I started cleaning. We had some lunch and then Aaron and the boys laid down for naps (Aaron had been up for almost 22 hours, since we had church last night and he drove through the night.). While they were all napping, I went out to the picnic table outside and started my postcards. It was so peaceful and so beautiful sitting out there. I was just loving it! There were some little prairie dogs that came near the firepit (we didn't have the fire going yet) and they were just playing around. The scenery was breath-taking and after writing several postcards, I took a little walk back to the "main road," by the river. On my way there and back, I saw so many little prairie dogs. They are so quick and cute, they kind of startle you!
When the boys got up, Aaron chopped some wood up for the fire and got that going so we could get dinner ready. Yes, we had the stove inside, but I wanted to cook the chicken on the grill, and cook the rest of the stuff on the range on the stove. The boys just enjoyed the outdoors while we got things ready. Aaron went fishing for a while, while I got dinner ready, and he caught a really nice 14 inch trout! He was so excited! It was the biggest fish he'd caught in a long time, so he was really happy.
For dinner, I put chicken tender pieces wrapped in bacon through a skewer and did those on the grill. Then, I did some potatoes and corn and green beans on the stove. The meal was great!
After dinner, we took a walk towards the "main road" by the river, and we got to see a couple deer! That was really neat and Caleb was really excited about that. When we got to the river, the boys threw rock after rock in the river and just had a blast. We took a little shortcut back to the cabin and Caleb spotted a deer from far away!
It was time to get the boys ready for bed, so we got Caleb in the shower and Daniel in the sink. (Daniel doesn't like showers) However, the water was not very hot, and they both screamed most of the time- poor things! They went right to bed, though; they were worn out. Aaron and I made some hot chocolate/mochas and sat by the fire and talked. It was really nice to sit by the fire with no TV or anything going on, and just talk. We kept hearing some things in the woods and I was getting a little nervous. Aaron said the fire would scare them away, so we stayed out a little bit longer, and then went in, took cold showers, and got ready for bed! We'll be here for one more day and night! What a place! What an experience!
*One of the things we discussed tonight was about camping in South Dakota and Minnesota next week on our trip. Aaron had made plans for us to camp 2 nights in Watertown, South Dakota, at Sandy Shores State Park, and then 2 nights at Camden State Park, near Marshall, Minnesota. He was starting to have doubts about camping, wondering if the boys were too young and if we had enough camping stuff. We both agreed that maybe we should go ahead and cancel the actual camping, but still do all the things we had planned to do in and around those cities. We hadn't stayed in any hotels on the way out West and we stayed with Mrs. Claudia in Midvale, so we could stay in some inexpensive hotels next week and be okay. Aaron already had a hotel reservation set for Cody, WY for Saturday night and also one for Gillette, WY for Sunday night. We just planned on finding Super 8's in the other towns we would be going.
6/27/07- Day #8: LAUNDRY, PACK VAN, LUNCH AT MIDVALE CAFE, AND CHURCH! Well, we have spent the last 6 days in Midvale, Idaho and loved every minute of it. It has been so much fun and we have all had a wonderful time. "Grandma Holmes" has taken such good care of us!
I caught up on laundry and got everything packed up to go in the van. The first thing to get in the van was the special toy chest that Mr. Tom had made for us (for the boys) and the birdhouse (that he also made) that we picked out in January when we were in Midvale for Mr. Tom's funeral. I got a little teary-eyed when I walked in his workshop to get the chest. Everything has been left just as he left it: organized, but projects in progress, boards with measurements on them... That's something I always remember him carrying around when he was working on something. He never wrote things down on paper, from what I remember; he always wrote things on a board, that way he wouldn't lose it! Anyway, the birdhouse fit in the toychest (along with a couple other things) and the chest fit PERFECTLY in the van! Everything else fit in the van well also, and I was so glad we were able to take the chest back home.
Mrs. Claudia took us to lunch at the new Midvale Cafe. Then, we all went up to the cemetery to see Mr. Tom's gravestone with his cabin etched in. It was beautiful. They did such a great job on it. Aaron headed back to the house to rest, since he would be driving us tonight to Wyoming, and Mrs. Claudia and the boys and I went to the Midvale Park, so the boys could play.
We had a good Wednesday evening service, said "goodbye" to everyone there, and then went back to Mrs. Claudia's, changed and got last few things together. We had such a wonderful visit with her and others in Midvale. We appreciated her letting us stay and fall she did. She is such a special lady. Thanks for everything, "Grandma Holmes!"
We got on the road around 9pm and enjoyed the sunset over the mountains as we drove away from Midvale. We stopped in Weiser (21 miles south) and Aaron stopped at a manual car wash to wash the van. Aaron and I were getting quarters together and Caleb asked what we were doing. We told him we were going to wash the van at this car wash. He waited a couple seconds, and then said, "when's it going to start?" He thought it was an automatic car wash!!!! We laughed a whle about that one.
Weiser is right on the Oregon state line, so we headed to the interstate through Oregon, so we could count Oregon as one of the states we went through! It's not out of the way at all; it runs parellel with Hwy 95 in Idaho. The boys watched a video as we drove; they were just wound up and not ready to go to bed. They finally conked out around Boise, about 100 miles southeast of Midvale.
We stopped at a Flying J gas station around 1am in Twin Falls, Idaho and I ran in to use the restroom while Aaron got gas. They had these cute little Idaho license plate magnets with each of the boys' names on them, so I picked those up for them. I also picked up all my Idaho postcards to fill out and send to everyone at church, and our parents, since we were on our way out of Idaho. Everyone has heard of Yellowstone and most have seen pictures of things in Wyoming, but not everyone knows how beautiful Idaho is, so I wanted to send Idaho postcards. I picked 2 kinds of Idaho postcards and brought them up to counter. I had about 45 of them, and the guy picked them up to ring them, and said, "looks like you're going to be sending some mail!" I couldn't stop laughing when I told Aaron in the van! :)
6/26/07- Day # 7: SOURDOUGH BISCUITS AND TRACTOR RIDING! Well, we had a real treat this morning. The Towells from church (Dwight and Celia) invited us over for breakfast and we had homemade sourdough biscuits, potatoes, and fruit- yum! Mr. Dwight made the sourdough biscuits and they tasted wonderful. Nice crisp crunch on the outside and delicious sourdough taste on the inside. So good!
Mr. Dwight is a knifemaker, and when I say knifemaker, I don't mean he makes these simple knives. He makes these GORGEOUS knives unlike you've ever seen! He is ranked as the #5 knifemaker in the WORLD! Seriously. He attends one knife show a year, and you have to be personally invited to it. One of the knives he just made in the last year was put on the cover of this year's Blade Magazine. And he lives in little old Midvale, Idaho, population 176!! It is amazing what he can do. He and his wife are very special people and we thoroughly enjoyed being with them.
After breakfast and the tour of his knife-making shop, we headed over to meet Gene Mallory from church. He runs a farm and Aaron had talked to him the other day and Gene invited us over for Caleb to ride some tractors. This was so sweet of Mr. Gene. Caleb couldn't wait. He kept whispering throughout breakfast, "is it almost time to ride the tractors, Mommy?" He literally got out of the van RUNNING, ready to ride.
The first ride was on FRANK from the movie Cars. Frank is a hay combine. Aaron went with Mr. Gene and Caleb on this ride; there was plenty of room for all three of them. This was a zero-turn combine and it was neat. Gene went around in circles for a little bit and then they took off to the field to cut some hay. Caleb waved to me while he was up there. He was just so excited!
The second ride was on Johnny Tractor - a regular John Deere Tractor with a scoop in the front. Mr. Gene got it in an area where Caleb could actually drive it and he did great! They even scooped up some dirt and moved it to another area and dumped it. So much fun for a little boy!
The last ride he wanted to do was on the BIG John Deere Combine, "Corey Combine." (All of these names come from movies or the John Deere books, so that's how he associates them!) Gene wasn't sure if it was going to start, but they got up in there and tried. It stalled the first time, but the second time he got her going and pulled it out. They just went around the driveway area with this one, because it was so BIG.
Caleb just had a blast and he thanked Mr. Gene for the tractor rides. Gene said he was a "natural born farmer!" He said he just had it down when he was driving that tractor around. It was so nice of him to do this and we all really appreciated the time he took. Thanks, Mr. Gene!
Aaron wanted to go fishing up at Pine Creek again, this time by himself, and he totally deserved it. The boys and Mrs. Claudia and I all played outside. It's funny, because Tyrell is 8 years old and an only child and Caleb is the oldest, so they had their "moments." But, we got playing some games and then got some buckets filled and they splashed each other and had lots of fun.
Aaron came back with a BUNCH of fish. The total number for the time we were in Midvale ended up being 23. (Don't anybody try to figure that out!) They are just those little brook trout, but they are GOOD!
When I tucked Caleb in tonight, I told him it was his last night to sleep here at Grandma Holmes here in Idaho. He got this surprised/sad look on his face. He said, "we're leaving Idaho tomorrow?" and I told him yes, but that meant we were heading to the cabin in Wyoming next! He got a little excited, but said that he has loved Idaho and the fun things he's been able to do.
We enjoyed our last night there in Midvale. I spent a lot of time outside after the boys went to bed. The sun doesn't go behind the mountain until 9:30pm, so it's so light outside! It was a beautiful evening and I enjoyed reminiscing about the 2 years that Aaron and I lived in Midvale after we were married. Midvale is such a special place. There's no place like it in the world. And the people are the best.
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