Homeward bound

the last vacation post.

the trip home. 

we left in the evening again after dinner so we could go through the night. 

all ready to hit the road

with the traveling gnome (one of these trips he is going to actually travel in the van, along with the green man -inside joke between my sisters)



wishing Grandma D could have traveled in our van too.

saying good bye makes us a bit crazy

the trip went super smoothly again.  the girls loved going through Seattle at night (as did the parents, such a beautiful city!)  we drove straight through until mid afternoon the next day when we stopped in Buffalo, Wyoming.  Buffalo boasts an amazing and huge city park and free pool.  while we did not utilize the pool we did hang out in the park while waiting for our cabin to be ready. 

there was this cool tire swing thingy

which they all loved

talking on the phone to Grandma D, she misses her.  A LOT.

no fear in this one

so the cabin we stayed at was "interesting" to say the least. nothing like our KOA experience.  the girls thought it was pretty cool.  the parents were less than impressed.  i will refrain from naming the place cause maybe i was just over-tired and a smidge cranky.  the important thing is that it functioned for us as a place to rest our heads and that is what we needed.  i just wouldn't recommend it as a "vacation destination" as i would the Missoula KOA.

anyhoo, moving on.

the next day we promised a trip past Mt Rushmore.  we figured our lunch stop would be there and we could eat our packed picnic lunch nearby and view it from the road. 

wrong.

this was our view:

yep.  we are the lame-o cheapy parents who didn't want to pay the money to go in the parking lot to get the full view since we would be staying only for a quick bite to eat.  we did drive by it three times hoping to find a place to park along the road with a better view. that state of South Dakota is rather smart though and has almost all of it blocked off by cones and the places that could maybe work were filled up with Sturgis attendees on motorcycles.  we managed to get a few pics from our moving vehicle.  nice, right?

i promise someday we will allow our kids the experience of actually going in and seeing the whole thing up close.  this particular day was just not that day.

onward through South Dakota we drove, amongst many motorcycles and RV's hauling motorcycles.  that certainly makes the drive across what could be a very boring state much more entertaining. 

and then

home sweet home.  the last pic of vacation:

time of arrival

can't wait for Road Trip 2014!

I {heart} Swummer time

If you watch Phineas and Ferb then the title of this post will make sense to you. 

If you do not watch Phineas and Ferb (a.k.a. the funniest cartoon on tv right now and possibly ever) I will explain:  in one episode the brother duo decide their "to do" for the day involves winter activities but in the fabulous warmth of summertime... behold, Swummer.  Now go watch the show. 

On a gorgeous sunny warm Sunday afternoon we headed up to the mountain with the fam.  (a real mountain that stays snow capped all year long... everything else is a "hill" in my book)

The highest point one can drive to is called Artist Point and that area does not open each year, depending on snow fall and melt.  This year it had just been opened that week we went up after three years of not being open.  (yay!)

WARNING:  reeeeeaalllyy heavy on the pictures on this post. 

proceed:

miss baby had a hard time at first walking on the snow

 

but she caught on quickly and was loving the snow (i do believe she may have thrown the first snowball)

this is what i get when i tell her to smile for a picture. niiice.

secretly she is not loving swummer and sort of stays off to the side and away from the upcoming snowball fight

 

this girl loved swummer. and fully embraced it.

 

straight to the top

 

so i asked my sister to take our picture and she is "snapping away"  later i look to see if the 10+ pictures she took were any good and this is the ONE and only picture she actually took.  thanks so much yvonne.  ha ha.  (and again, Chad with his inability to smile normal)

 

 

cousins and Grandma D

"INCOMING!"  (that would be a snowball flying in overhead while we are forcing them to sit there nice for a picture... yeah, that's what kind of parents we are)

 

snowball fight... i tried to use my camera as a defense, my sister is not buying it.

 

picnic lunch

sledding! my eldest is finally getting a little more accustomed to swummer

 

double trouble

this girl didn't even bother with the sled.

 

breathtaking views that move your soul

i love my family.

oh yes i do.

 

 

We are Fam-i-ly

all my sisters, sisters and me. 

(apparently vacation posts require song lyrics as titles)

hanging out with the fam on vacation.........

lots of time on Grandma D's patio, coffee, knitting, reading, bubbles, relaxing.

 

hanging at my sisters.  my nieces and nephews are pretty awesome and despite the big age difference they entertain my kids and love up on them.  Miss J had Tonka pretty much wrapped around her finger ;)

my mom plays boccie ball twice a week so we went to cheer her on (for a few minutes and then the kids found the playground nearby)

we had a short lived bbq at the bay with extended family.  the one day we had yucky weather was the day we had this planned.  not to let a few raindrops hinder our plans we stuck it out for awhile but when the thunder and lightening came right over top of us we made a mad dash for the vehicles and headed back home. 

my family is completely normal.

and i love them :)

and friends are friends forever....

do you now have that Michael W Smith song stuck in your head?

your welcome.

we spent a day with some very good friends.  i have to say this special couple are amazing fantastical hosts and we really enjoyed spending time with their family catching up, relaxing, sliding down a giant slip and slide, eating yummy food and drinking yummy coffee drinks, the guys went golfing (took aaalllll afternoon) and the girls went shopping after dinner (honestly the fasting shopping trip to the mall i have ever been on in my life, only one store, as quick as i could get around it all and then back to their place) we also had a bonfire at night (after returning from said fastest shopping trip ever).

some of the day in pics:

ice cream break

the mom's spots for the afternoon

the gorgeous mountain view from their home
sigh, i miss this sight

so i asked my friend to take our picture while relaxing on their deck after dinner.... this is what happened.  my dear dear husband apparently lost all ability to take a normal picture.
seriously. 

Thanks guys for a wonderful day!

Vacation all I ever wanted....

Vacation, time to get away.

Vacation, meant to be spent alooonne.    

So that old Go Go's song doesn't apply to us I guess, cause our vacation was spent full of time with family and friends.  That is what made it so great though.

One of the first things we did was visit a cheese farm.  Not just any cheese farm, but the one that my family used to get cheese from growing up, before it was really an official cheese farm  Just a dutch couple from our church who made cheese on their dairy farm.  Not just any cheese though.  The BEST cheese.  It was such a treat when we had a wedge of cheese from the Appels.  Long story short, it is a special cheese farm.

their old farm sign

my "town" girls loved the farm and the cows

they even loved the fake cow

 

words

We brought home several wedges of fantastic cheese.  The favorites were the smoked Gouda, bacon cheddar, and the raw milk aged Gouda (most like the original cheese that Jack would have made.)  Mmmmmm I love cheese (as does everyone else in my family as it is looonng gone!)