Day 2 (Wed. July 9th)--Pictures I Missed Posting

 More pictures at Storybook Island

 One of my most favorite pictures--Jack & Jill.  (Ben had a fit because we got after him for running ahead of us so he didn't want to do anything we wanted him to do--so we just let him pick where he wanted to go next)

 Zane & Pinocchio must be brothers--same grin/smile.  Brienna also had a great smile too!

 Drinking fountains

 This is Crazy Horse.  We decided not go in (it was a long day anyways & we needed to get going)

 We drove by Flintstone land--but after Storybook Island, no one was too disappointed that we were skipping this one.

 We did get to see Dino (I think that's how you spell his name)

 Made it in time to do some mini-golfing.  Zane has been a great help with Ben & Emmalee.

 Emmalee played a couple of holes, & then wanted to go swimming. Pamela too her back to the room but ended up sleeping & having a pretty high fever.

 It was a lot of fun!

 Ben couldn't quite remember how to hold the golf club.

 Pamela didn't finish playing so she could stay with Emmalee.

 I think Rusty & I need to go miniature golfing sometime!

 Ben jumping in.

 and now callum!

 a few more pictures of golfing

 We stopped at Hill City to see the biggest collection of teddy bears.  She has over 8,800!!!

And she remembers their stories.  A lot of them are donated.

It has been relatively cool in South Dakota & we have appreciated that.

More about the weather since North Platte, NE--the weather has turned humid, so it's quite muggy.  Ben wanted to stop & stretch when we were about 45 minutes from our motel, so we found a gas station for a potty/stretch break.  He got out but that lasted about 30 seconds because it felt like we were stepping into a hot sauna!  (I'd say a hot oven, but we could definitely feel the moisture too!)

Pamela & I got the "sleep-deprived-laughter" this afternoon (on the drive to Kansas City).  It was about 90 degrees with humidity of about 60 %.  I keep offering to drive, but Pamela doesn't want to be the navigator (especially in any traffic or cities), so she drove all of today

Day 4 (Fri. July 11th)--Nebraska, Iowa & Missouri

 Woke up in North Platte, NE to a thunderstorm/rainstorm/down-pour.  But as we left, we drove out of the rain.

 Great Archway across the interstate near Kearney, NE.

 Rest stop in Nebraska--had to stretch & take a potty break.

 lots & lots of corn fields in Nebraska!

 Made it to Omaha, NE--to the Mormon Trail Historical Center (Winter Quarter's Visitor Center)

 The kids got to dress up as pioneers while we went on a little tour.

 Love the flip-flops on the kids ;)

 They were excited to wear the pioneer outfits

 They were able to load up a wagon with all the provisions needed to travel across the U.S.

 Everyone had to take a turn--who has their momma's gene's (aka--ability to pack a lot into a little space)

and they're still at it!

the older kids had to try out the bunks 

replicas of the bunks on the ships that came from Europe. 

 

Look at my cute pioneer kiddos! 

and Callum is taking a turn loading up the wagon. 

 the statue in the cemetery across from the visitor's center & next to the temple.

the area was very green & beautiful. the trees are green & very bushy/thick. 

 it is very humid here along with being quite hot.  We are below 1000 feet (elevation).

 we drove a bit in Iowa, but never saw a sign to take a picture.  WE almost missed this sign (Pamela was passing a semi-truck).  So Minion & Toothless didn't get a picture :(

Not much on the TV for the little ones so Emmalee picked a movie & Ben is playing on the iPad.

Poor Ben developed a fever & so he slept through dinner (Arby's which is across the street from the hotel).  I hope he feels better tomorrow.

Zane also is not feeling well (we figure it's because all 5 kids shared 1 water bottle when they hiked the trial by Mt. Rushmore).  He fell asleep shortly after we ate dinner (and Pamela & I missed having him help us unload the vehicle & take everything into the motel!!!).  Hopefully this illness is just a short-lived one!

I also did 1 load of laundry tonight.  We need to pick up our own laundry soap, because a small box (for 1 load) cost $2, the wash also cost $2, & the dryer starts at $2.  Most of the clothes were dry--just a few of the pants/t-shirts weren't quite dry.  So we just hung them up in the rooms.  (didn't have enough clothes for 2 loads, so I hope to do laundry in a couple more days).

Day 3 (July 10, 2014)--Custer State Park, Needles Highway, Chimney Rock & Nebraska

 our "adjourning" doors

 Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park

 Wild Burros

 Buffalo

 Tunnels!  (there were 6)

 Great view of Mt. Rushmore again

 Brienna's crown ring.

 Needles Highway

 Where we stopped for lunch

 Made it to Nebraska

 Chimney rock

 we found a WiFi hotspot

 We forgot the time change would be today--so we made it to the motel around 10 (instead of 9)

 since Emmalee hadn't swam yet, we let the kids go swimming for 30 minutes. 

 So it was another late night.

I'm running out of time to blog/journal much, so I'll try to catch up when we actually get to a motel earlier :D