Oregon Trail

The next leg of our trip included a drive through northern Colorado, eastern Wyoming, and South Dakota.  We hooked up to the old Oregon Trail, where thousands of covered wagons once headed West to find gold, jobs, and new land.









Coming from the mountainous Rockies, we were surprised at how quickly the landscape changed into the vast grasslands..

 There were herds of buffalo everywhere, even one herd crossing the road.  It was at this point where I was glad we were forced into our rental "upgrade", because it had a retracting sunroof.  Everyone was fighting over who got to stick their head out for the best picture shot!




We ended up playing a game on who could spot the next herd of wildlife.  We had a package of gummy coke bottles with us, and the first one to spot wildlife got a gummy.  The package was empty by the time we got to our hotel.

During one of our pullover spots to read the historical markers, the kids wanted a picture on top of the car.  It was during one of these stops that we also decided to run on the prairie.  It didn't take long for us to get winded, though.  But, we had fun dodging the buffalo poop.







Eric was often the first to spot wildlife and get a gummy coke bottle.  His favorite wildlife was the pronghorn antelope.  They are like small deer with 2 straight antlers.  We finally found some fake ones on the side of the road and had to take his picture with them.

Rocky Mountains

Hiking in the Rocky Mountains gave us quite a few memories (some quite scary!), but everything ended okay, thankfully.


The little one talked all the way up and all the way down the 5.2 mile round-trip trail.  Whomever was with her usually brought up the rear.  She was often carried, or complained about her legs having to walk if she wasn't carried.

The two littlest cousins had a great time in front of the camera.  The taller one in the picture was later swept away by strong water rapids, but mom Teresa was quick to jump in and save her, and has a large gash in her leg as a lasting reminder of the event.













The scenery was gorgeous, and the little one was still a ham on the hike.  Want to guess which one fell asleep before we pulled out of the park roads?











While taking a break to rest, the cutest little chipmunk wanted to share in our snacks.  It was so precious, and preferred peanuts over anything else we had to offer.  So, we all gathered up whatever peanuts we could find and the little creature just shoved it all in its cheeks.  As we left the park, it was only then that we saw a sign not to feed the animals, specifically chipmunks.  That would have been helpful to see earlier.




Back at Aunt Marty's house, the little ones (now rested and dried out) decided to play in her hat collection.  They became best buds while everyone else scarfed down an entire ham, 15 baked potatoes, 15 corn-on-the-cobs, and 2 loaves of french bread in a matter of seconds.  The 4 gallons of ice cream were demolished as well.  Although we didn't want to leave, we had to continue our vacation.

Red Rock Ampitheater

Our summer vacation began with a trip to Colorado to see family.  Our first tourist stop was the Red Rock Amphitheater just outside Denver.

The views were amazing!  We all got our exercise running the steps, doing push ups, or simply climbing trees!

Father's Day Outings

Daddy misses his beloved GattiTown restaurant (see earlier post).  So, he looked up the next nearest one on-line and found a similar one about an hour away in Spartanburg.

After the mid-morning road trip, a huge buffet lunch, the drive back, and a 2 hr nap, the family was ready for fun!

With the oldest at work, the rest of us went to the 7th Inning Splash, a county waterpark.  Although the normal price is $8 per person, it drops to $3 after 4pm.  We pull in at 4:01pm and stayed until closing.

The kids wanted a few under water shots with the camera!

While the "big kids" enjoyed the water slides and toilet bowl flush, the little one had fun in the kids zone.











The temperatures started getting a little cool, so we stayed in the sun where it was warm.


Happy Father's Day!

Waffle Weekends

Our weekend tradition is morning waffles.  It's sometimes on Saturday, and other times on a Sunday, but we usually try to have them each weekend.  The kids get to pick what ingredients go in their waffles.  Our choices include pecans, blueberries, butterscotch chips, and chocolate chips.  It's not a fancy breakfast, but one the kids look forward to.  And if we go even one weekend without it, I really hear the complaints!

First Tooth

Our little one lost her 1st tooth yesterday!  Although she requested that the tooth fairy bring her either a bunny or a kangaroo, she would be okay if they also left $3.  Quite the negotiator already!  Well, she must have had the same tooth fairy that her older sister & brother had, because she only got $1 left under her pillow.



Now she can't wait to tell her new teacher about it in August so she can move her clip up on the tooth chart!  (Apparently it's a big deal to the class.)