Cross Country Trip 2

Yay, we finally made it to the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore.

Up with the sun and ready to go

ready to go but not up with the sun

Finally, it's morning.  She didn't know what to do with no t.v.

I wonder what the pioneers thought when they saw this.

Take the picture so we can get back to the air conditioner

I didn't care about the heat.  I was too busy holding on so I didn't get blown off the cliff

Here it is....Mt. Rushmore.  What do you think?

Just kidding.  Although it did cost more to get a soda from that machine than to see this mountain

C'mon girls - just stick your finger up and look like your picking his nose.
Their response? Mooommmmmm

Cross country trip 1

We returned from our trip this week but I wan't sure what pictures I wanted to put up, or when, so I decided to go in chronological order.  Here's the first day.

Here's Hannah sleeping - the only time of day she is quiet.

Cerah actually got her own little bed.  She was so happy she didn't have to sleep on the floor again

Morgan made a heart out of her map.  Oh well, at least it got used

We made it to S. Dakota and they are all still in one piece.  I think I deserve chocolate for that

Hungry for popcorn?  Just stop here

What a gorgeous sunset

Marshall, Will, and Holly on a routine expedition.....

Sorry

Wow, people actually live out here.

Catch up

Update #1

CJ is feeling much better. You can see the picture of how he looked on surgery day if you look at my last post. This is 10 days post op and he is doing really well. We're just waiting on hair now.

Update #2: We not only had Thanksgiving this last week, we also got early christmas presents from my m-i-l who was here for the week. I got a Sony touch screen reader. I can't wait until I can actually put some books on it and put it to good use.

Cerah got a new computer and a lego replica of the Seattle Space Center. She had it put together in about 5 minutes.

Morgan got a netbook and a set of chemistry experiments. I can't really say which one she was more excited about.

This one leaves no doubt about which present Hannah liked best. She got a Nintendo DS Lite, which she has wanted forever! Well, maybe not forever, but it sure felt like it.

Robbie got a new t.v. It's a good thing he's willing to share too since I would hate to have to go to my room every time he wanted to watch it. That was a lot of "to"s wasn't it?

Last Saturday we went to the circus. It was the first time for the girls and they had so much fun. Morgan told me that it was her best birthday present ever. Saturday night we picked up grandma from the airport. On Sunday we went over to western MI to visit Robbie's aunt and uncle who live over there. My parents arrived on Thursday night and my sister and her family got her Friday morning so we had a late Thanksgiving but it was really enjoyable. On Saturday we had to take Grandma back to the airport and then that afternoon we all went to the farm/orchard and took a wagon ride out to the christmas trees where we got to cut down a tree. We actually made the kids cut it down cuz we're lazy. Then we all got hot cider and donuts and came home. We got pictures of them with the tree and I will post them just as soon as I figure out how to get them from my email over to here. Yesterday was a full day of after Thanksgiving shopping. And today everyone went home and back to work and school. Wasn't that worth the five minutes it took to read this? Yeah, I didn't think so either.

Our trip to Mackinac Island

View of Mackinac Island from the ferry boat

Wow, are we really that far up?

Arch Rock - a natural rock formation on the top of the island that looks down on the water.

The girls and my niece posing for a typical "see where we are" sign

Back on the boat after a long, tiring but enjoyable day

In July we decided to take a trip to Mackinac Island with my parents and my niece. When I heard about the island it just seemed like the kind of place I had to go check out. There are NO automobiles of any kind allowed on it. When you want to go somewhere on the island you either ride your bike or walk. If you have to move something a horse and cart is used. How neat, I thought, to be able to spend a day in fresh, pure air not tainted by exhaust fumes.

The only way to get to the island is by ferry boat or airplane. We decided that since we wanted to have money for shopping the ferry was our best option. It was the perfect day out, sunny but not hot. The sky was blue, there was no wind and best of all, no rain. We had been having rain all week prior to our trip and even went through some on our way to the ferry. Once we paid and were on our way we started taking pictures of the island in the distance and as we came up to it. On first sight of it I just knew it was going to be a fun, relaxing day. That feeling lasted right up until we got off the ferry and actually saw the island up close. Yes, it was beautiful just like I had been told. Yes, there were lots and lots of shops to go explore. And yes, there were lots and lots of people. In fact there were people everywhere - on bikes, riding in carriages, walking on the sidewalks and even in the street. Hmm, I don't know why I thought it wouldn't be crowded in the middle of summer with it being the number one tourist destination in Michigan.

Well, nothing to do but begin our exploration. So off we went only to discover that once you get past the first street on the water where all the shops are the rest of the streets are all situated on hills. Very, very steep hills. We decided that maybe the best way to see the island was not on foot as we had originally planned but by horse drawn carriage. We found the ticket booth for the tours and asked how much they were. After hearing the price we decided to go back to plan A and walk as much of it as we could. I am not sure how many miles (yes, miles) we walked that day but I will say that walking in fresh, pure air does not stop the huffing and puffing that begins to occur about halfway up the first hill. In my defense, did I mention the hills were steep? We did see a lot of really neat things though. We were able to see the fort that was stationed on top of the island. Arch rock, a natural rock formation in the shape of an arch, was interesting. The best part for me was the view looking down at the town and the water from the top.

By the end of the day we were all exhausted and looking forward to getting back on the ferry boat. We will go see it again but this time we are renting a room right on the island and bringing enough money to see the island in luxury - from the back of a horse.