We Survived!!!

We did it!!! We survived a SUPER LONG road trip without wanting to kill each other! Our family just got back from a week and a half trip and put 4,324.3 (to be exact) miles on our car. To tell you the truth, I was scared to take on this adventure as I'm not too keen on long stretches in the car and I've never traveled so far in one trip. But we broke up the drive enough, that it actually wasn't too bad! Plus, Dan has been wanting to do this road trip for quite some time now as he Loves road trips. It was actually nice to have so much time to chat with the kids and each other, read some good books, and do something other than the normal routine at home (no dishes or cleaning)! The kids were all really good and surprisingly we didn't have to break up too many fights! All I can say is Thank Goodness for DVD players in cars and the new found love for the cartoon classic 'Tom and Jerry'. They can watch the cartoon and don't need the sound on! Genius!

*Please don't feel obligated to continue reading....this post may feel as long as our trip felt, and may quite possibly cause sleepiness and drowsiness!*

Here is how our trip itinerary went:

Day 1

Pick KJ up from school and head south to Rock Springs, WY.

Days 2-3-4

Drive to Denver and Colorado Springs.

We stayed in Colorado Springs 2 nights. We had a lot of fun there. There were a lot of fun things to do with the kids. The kids' highlight was probably this place called ITZ....a HUGE indoor play/ride/arcade/bowling center for the family. My highlight was the SUPER TARGET that we went to! haha! They were everywhere and MUCH better than Super Wal-Mart! Dan's highlight was finding frozen custard, his all-time favorite treat!

Day 4

We drove to Omaha, Nebraska and stayed over night.

Days 5-6-7-8

The next morning we went to Winter Quarters, had a tour around the museum and temple and the cemetery. It was very interesting and always a good reminder of those faithful saints and their sacrifices.

Then that evening we made it to our destination......GRANDPA AND GRANDMA HOWARD'S HOUSE in Illinois! The kids were squealing with excitement as we drove up their driveway. It's always a fun time at their house. Grandpa had just shattered his lower leg/ankle and had to have surgery so we were glad that we could be there to wish him well and keep him company. Although we had to watch the kids so they didn't jump on him! Ouch! We stayed at their house for a few nights. The kids especially loved their hot tub and a real fireplace to roast marshmallows!

We were sad to have to leave them, but hope we'll see them again soon!

We were able to drive to Nauvoo one day while in Illinois and really enjoyed that! Dan and I had been there before, but the kids had fun and I think KJ learned a lot. It really is a historic place and almost brings you back to the past. Those times were much simpler and everything you really needed was right within reach. Which is always a good reminder of what's really important in life. Many of the early homes, shops and public buildings still stand. They have either been restored or rebuilt and were open for us to see. We went to a brickyard and learned how to make bricks, a tin shop, post office, the old school, the printing press and the Browning Gun Smith shop, and of course the beautiful Nauvoo Temple. It was a fun day!

Days 8-9

Around lunch time we left Grandpa and Grandma's house and we drove to South Dakota, drove around the Badlands

Then stayed in Rapid City at a hotel with an indoor water park! That was a big deal for the kids, they loved it!

The next day we went and saw Mt. Rushmore, something I've always wanted to see, so I can now check it off my bucket list.

We also drove through Sturgis, and Wall (where Wall Drug and the Pee-Wee Herman dinosaur is)!

We thought we better take advantage of those little things because who knows if we'll ever drive that way again.?

Day 9

We drove to Casper Wyoming, crashed at another hotel. (But we did always try to find hotels with pools, so we could keep the kids entertained!) We went to a fun restaurant and ordered fried pickles. They were actually pretty good!

Day 10

We drove through the Grand Teton National Park, and Jackson Hole - 2 of the most beautiful places! This was a beautiful time of year to drive through there. We even saw a moose eating on the side of the road!

We had our last pit-stop at Olive Garden in Idaho Falls and drove the rest of the way back home to Boise!

Pheww....aren't you tired just reading about it?!

Needless to say, we slept really good in our own beds! And after lots and lots of laundry, cleaning out the car, all our stuff is put away and life is back to normal. Then again, our life is never really 'Normal'....but that's the way we like it!

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for the fun adventure!

*and as always you can click on any collage to enlarge*