Wisconsin!

 We had such a great trip with Jordan and Amber. I can't believe how much we packed in.  Jordan and Amber are "get out and doer's" too, so it made it a lot of fun.     

We got to go to Madison's Art Fair and Farmer's Market.  They had the most to die for cheese bread and some Chicago Style Kettle Corn!  I wish I had gotten a picture of it, but it was gone too fast:)  We saw the views from the Monona Terrace by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  It was a beautiful day.

Madison's Children's Museum

We bought passes that got us into several museums on our trip.  The kids loved this place.

Henry Vilas ZOO

After the museum, we headed off to the Zoo in Madison.  If you can believe it, it is FREE, even parking!  The family donated the land for the Zoo as long as it would always remain free to the public.  Pretty cool.  We got there a little late, so most of the animals were in for the evening, but we still managed to catch a few:)

Mount Horeb... aka Troll Town, WI

We spent an afternoon walking the streets of Jordan and Amber's cute town!  It has a lot of Norwegian and Scandinavian history/descent, so they call it Troll Town.  Throughout the town, they have trolls everywhere. They also have the neatest little shops and buildings.  They have a restaurant called the Ugly Troll, but we never made it over there.

 We were able to stop by this fun chocolate house before it closed and get some yummy treats though.  

 

                        We also were sure to get some Wisconsin custard and fried cheese curds one night.  

It was fun to have the cousins together too!  One night we played in an Ultimate Frisbee Game and the kids were great fans:)  Another night, Jordan and David watched the kids so Amber and I could go to a Broadway Musical.  It was pretty impressive!  Jordan and Amber and Katalyn were such great hosts!               

On the Road

Here we go!  I'm posting pictures of our way out to Wisconsin first.

Good Ol' Wyoming  

I thought the saddle seats at McDonald's were so clever and the windmills were quite the sight.   

We even saw a real coal mine working.  I know it doesn't seem like it in the picture, but that truck was HUGE!  We saw so many trains too along the way which the boys loved!

MOUNT RUSHMORE

Keystone, South Dakota

This really was a fun stop.  South Dakota was beautiful and had so many fun things to do!  We just wished we had more time to spend around the Black Hills area.

The night program was really neat.  They showed a patriotic film and then asked anyone in the audience who had served at any time in the military to come up.  They took the time to introduce/honor each serviceman/woman and then had them help take the flag down for the day.  It really was touching.  Then they turned on the lights to see the mountain.  We could even see bats out flying around in the spotlights.  Ashley shrieked throughout the whole program.  It was so quiet and respectful and then you heard her:)  I took her up to the top of the amphitheater and David said you could still hear her.  I guess she wanted to give her salute somehow:)    

Stopping for lunch along the Missouri River

We drove an extra 1 1/2 hours just to "hit" North Dakota, so I wan't going to let that sign go by... but I didn't quite get it either:)  We stopped to eat dinner long enough to see a good ol' mid western storm roll in and roll out just like that.  It was pretty crazy.  

Of course we had to get a picture of Brandon:)  We stopped their for gas.  Cute, quaint town in Minnesota.  

MALL OF AMERICA

Bloomington, Minnesota

This place was crazy!  It was so huge, we didn't even touch a quarter of it.  We really enjoyed the Sea Life Aquarium though, and spent most our time there. 

Touching the Starfish

I thought the Jellyfish were so cool...

...but the sharks topped it all!   

This part of the aquarium was just awesome.  I know it doesn't look like it with sharks about to eat us, but it really was just so peaceful standing there feeling like you were in the ocean a part of it.  I loved it!

We also stopped by Lego Land which was pretty amazing too.

The amusement park was behind us, but we didn't do much there.  The kids were thoroughly

  entertained with everything else, which was nice.

This picture is made out of Legos.  Pretty crazy!

They had an arcade, and the boys had so much fun "playing" all the games. Isn't it great when they don't care if they are really playing or not? H/H!

Well that was the first leg of our trip.  We got to Jordan and Amber's in Wisconsin late that night and we hit the ground running:)  More to come with that adventure later! 

Cross Country Journeyings

Our Trip of the year!

We headed out in July to see my brother and his little family in Wisconsin. We were gone 10 days and went through 11 states.  As of this trip, David and I have been to 32 states together, Adam 30, Brandon 18, and Ashley 14.  

You may ask how we handle road trips like this with little kids?  Well, with a few more road trips under their belts, let's just say they have become more accustomed to it.  H/H!  Here they are from this year...  

...as opposed to this, 2 years ago on a trip to Yosemite and Oregon:)  

At this point of our trip, we just had to laugh.  There was nothing else we could do.  I guess Road Trips have their ups and downs, but overall, the memories we have are what matter most! 

We'll post pictures from our trip this year later.  It was so much FUN!

4th of July

 My mom made this yummy, yummy popcorn.  Oh it was so good!

 We ran in the Freedom Run again which is always a fun race.  Soon we are not going to be able to do it together:)

 The Freedom Parade

 Day at the Lake

 Fireworks at our house with family and friends

It was a busy day that started early and ended late, but it was so much fun!  

With all the parades we went to this year, Adam and Brandon were so good about saluting the flag any time they saw one.  They would catch them before I ever would and would put their hand on their heart and say, "Mom, come on, there's a flag!"  It was cute.  I hope I can teach them to honor their country and those who fight for our freedom and to be grateful for the many freedoms we enjoy.    

Motorcycling With My Sweeties!

It has been over a year since David has gotten his motorcycle, and if you can believe it, this was the first time I have gone out for a ride.  David got me a helmet right when he got the bike, but I have had every excuse not to go for a ride.  Well I went and it really was not that bad!  I think being a mother and wife or getting older or something has made me a little more reserved about some things, but it was a fun date and I loved being with my sweeties doing something that he loves.  

SO... HERE'S TO MORE RIDES IN THE FUTURE:)    

 We were supposed to go up the Alpine Loop to Cascade Springs, but the Alpine Fire closed the canyon down.  I thought I was going to get out of the trip (H/H), but we went around Utah Lake instead and saw the valley views.

 David's motorcycle is a duel purpose bike, so we can go on the road or off road which made it fun.