Road Trip - Long Entry, Sit back and enjoy!

We were supposed to be flying up to Kalispell, renting a car and driving to South Dakota via a night in Billings, driving back to Billings and then flying home.  Was a decent plan but for some reason I got a bee in my bonnet to just drive the whole thing and for a brief moment of insanity Mister agreed (I'm pretty sure he is still questioning why he did that).  So we left two days early and arrived back home two days later, making it a 2 week trip and over 6,000 miles.  Whew.  Mister's insanity continued on for the first complete day by deciding to just drive straight through -- what was he thinking?  The drive was good though (except for a small blizzard in Wyoming as we went through) and the snow peaked mountains in the distance were magnificent to see.  We arrived up at Moms house Sunday afternoon (instead of the Monday  night we would have flown in) and were able to help get some things done since we had a little more time.  The weather was so varied while we were there and so we were treated to snow as well as sunshine.  We were also able to get together with Sis, Joe, Zach, his new girlfriend, Rebecca to celebrate Mom's 70th birthday.  Sis got her a beautiful pair of opal earrings and Mister and I had taken her to pick out a new camera earlier in the day.  Congratulations Mom -- what a milestone.  They were days filled with work, good conversation, and fun -- its Mom's turn now to come down here again.

 

After four days in the beautiful Flathead Valley, we were on the road again.  We drove to Billings with a quick stop in Butte to check out the Quarry, one of the few microbrews we missed last summer on the tour.  Mister pulled out the computer again and we enjoyed our time there getting to know the brewmaster and his wife.  We got to Billings in time for me to help Rhiana get Miss Elena's Halloween costume almost done (a flower fairy - too cute) and then took Matt's and Rhiana's family's out to dinner for a treat before crashing at Matt's house for the night and heading to South Dakota the next day.

 Elena is watching closely before her turn comes.

We arrived at the base around 1 and after getting all "registered and checked out" arrived at Jen's house where pumpkins, tools, and smiling kids were waiting to see how big of a mess we could all make.  Within minutes of getting there, we were literally up to our elbows in pumpkin.

After the pumpkins were finished, the crystals cleaned up, the birds retrieved, the cage put back together (long story, but funny), the boys were dropped off at a sitters and friends and we were off to Bekah's Black Belt Test.  She was amazing and so deserving of it (and I'm not prejudiced at all).  She handled everything they threw at her, never lost her composure and five hours later was awarded her belt.  It was a very long, wonderful and interesting day.  We crashed.

 Halloween Day!  Jen was up and dropping of the three oldest at Tae Kwon Do workshops and so when she returned, we  loaded up the two little ones and headed to the Journey Museum, an excellent museum on South Dakota history which was very hands on and enjoyable for all ages.  The boys were busy looking at rocks, learning about dinosaurs, and digging for fossils.  

 

From there we went and picked up the kids for lunch at DQ and then back to the workshop while we made a quick dash to Mount Rushmore.  Mister hadn't been there since he was quite young and noted how many things had changed.  Jared was working on a Junior Ranger program and so we were busy finding all the things he needed to mark off on his assignment sheet.  One of the items was to draw the different wildlife we saw and we were actually lucky enough to see several mountain goats along the  path.  It was a beautiful day and Mister was able to take some great pictures.

 

 

We then went back into town and picked up the boys and Jens van (another story, lol) and everyone went back to the house to start getting ready for trick or treating except Jared who stayed with us while we waited for Bekah to finish her black belt workshop.  We made a quick stop for some fresh brewed root beer which gave Jared the giggles big time and the Mister took us on a Roller Coaster car ride up to Dinosaur Park -- wow.  After getting Bekah, we headed to the house for a quick dinner and then time to costume and make up all 5 kids.  The kids and Jen and Mister headed out the door for some serious candy gathering and I stayed in to hand out candy.  That itself was quite the chore as sometimes it was not more than a minute between doorbell rings and I stood there with a constant stream of kids for up to 10 minutes at a time.  Amazing.  Upon their return, the dividing of the spoils and the big trades began -- a tradition that never leaves.  Another long day and I was ready to fall in a heap.

 

  November --- where has October gone?  I know!  it went with a trip to the office in Montana, a visit from Matt and Becca, a tip to Ohio, and the adventure that I am in the middle of writing about.  Oh my.  There were very few down days last month.  I wonder what this month will bring.  We slept in a little Sunday morning and then decided to go to Canyon Park and feed the ducks and geese and fish.  It was a good time and nice to just relax for awhile before heading over to a picnic area and making a quick lunch.  When the boys were finished eating (this includes Mister) they were off to play tag and climb on the play equipment until Mister lost his grip and fell to the ground with Jared as his cushion.  No one was hurt (although Mister did complain of some soreness the next day) and much laughter was heard.  Afterwards, we made a stop at an indoor miniature golf that was all in the dark with black lights and since we were the only ones using the course, took our time and had fun -- not too competitive.  We then went back to the house and several of us went down for naps (me included) while others watched a movie and dinner cooked.  We spent the evening playing Apples to Apples and just talking and visiting.  It was sooooo nice.

 

 

That was the end of our time in South Dakota, but are fortunate enough to have them coming to visit us for Thanksgiving --will be fun times.  The next morning we were off and back to Montana so that I could actually work for a couple of days (nice to pay for these trips now and then, lol) and spend a little time with family there.  Becca was getting ready to go to Brazil with Hyrum for a couple of weeks and so we enjoyed our time with them -- Mister even babysat while Matt and I worked and Becca ran errands.  Time with all was great and on the last night -- Matt and Rhiana were doing all they could to stay awake once Elena gave in.  Time for bed and the long drive home the next day.

 

Slight head chop off in this pic, but the expression is priceless.

 

While we were up there, Mister picked up a new camera -- the first picture taken on it was this:

How perfect!!

We then headed back home but I stopped the insanity and we spent the night in Pueblo, Colorado.  Back home on Friday -- a great trip, a lot of miles, and lots of fantastic memories.