Adventure 4, Graduation

Thursday morning there was a lovely brunch for the Graduates parents.  We got up and fed the kids, but Sierra was slow getting up.  As we were about to leave David watched Sierra as she was walking into the hall.  Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell hard on the ground.  She had passed out.  David quickly ran to her, she was unconscious.  He got her awake and she looked very confused.  We got her some food and orange juice.  She was dazed but nothing was injured.  I didn’t know what to do.  Ivy called and offered to watch the kids so we could go to the brunch.  That was a blessing, because the brunch was very nice and we got to celebrate the accomplishment of our children with other parents.  I was glad we got to go but eager to get back to Sierra.  Later that afternoon we went to the baccalaureate then rested for the big day.

Friday was graduation.  The graduation was at James River Church, a very large church with family rooms.  It was perfect for us.  We went to the family room, the kids played and we watched the graduation on the TV in the room.  The speaker was a federal judge who had graduated from Evangel.  He did a great job.  Then we watched as our son crossed the line signifying the end of his college.  We were so proud and excited for him.  Next we watched as his soon to be bride crossed the line also.  She graduated magna cum laude, a very big accomplishment. 

We took pictures with the family and then his friends.  Saying goodbyes are never easy but it was good to see the good friends they had made these past years.  Later we had a party where several of his friends showed up to celebrate the day.  Then it was on to packing. 

baccalaureate day

Isabella in the Family Room

Aidric

Alex getting ready to enter the ceremony

Ivy ready to enter

Alex with the getting his degree holder

Sierra watching the happenings on the tv

Ivy's turn

our family

with the future inlaws

The lovely couple

The happy graduates and some friends

Alex and his roommate

Cassandra got to try on the cap

Adventure 3, Silver Dollar City

Monday afternoon we pulled into our rental house.  It was very nice to have the house for the week.  It was a cute little house that worked out just fine.  I had thought there were three bedrooms but there were only two.  It was a cute little home with personality and was good for what we needed.  Alex and Ivy quickly came over and we enjoyed our time with them. 

The next day was Sierra’s birthday.  We headed to the campus to show the kids where Alex has spent most of his time these past three years.  After touring the campus, we treated them all to Lamberts, the home of the throwing rolls.  Then, just what every 15 year old girls wants for her birthday, we took her to the Bass Pro Shop.  The kids had a great time seeing the sights.  To end our day, we went back to the house for a birthday party. 

Sierra was still not feeling well but Wednesday morning we headed to Silver Dollar City.  This time of year the operating hours are only from 10:00 to 6:00.  We got there as early as possible and took off on our next adventure.  We had our Coke bottles so we got $5.00 off our tickets per person.  Unfortunately Alex was in the midst of finals and finishing final papers so he was unable to join us, but Ivy had finished all her finals and was able to come with us.  There were a lot of retired people there, so the shows were quite full but the rides were very easy to get on.  We basically walked to the front of the line for the rides and could get right on the rides.  It took us a little to figure out where we wanted to go and how to get there.  We tried to get to a couple shows right before they were going and they were already full.  We learned to get to the shows early.  If we had gone a second day it would have not cost that much more and it would have been nice because we would have been better prepared but we needed to get back to Springfield to the Graduation adventure. 

rolling hills of Missouri, very green

The kids checking out the turtles at Bass Pro Shop

Mom and Dad with their baby girls

The party at the rental house

Our first ride at Silver Dollar

Aidric loved the train ride

Lunch break

David got to ride the frogs with Aidric

Danika got to ride with Isabella

Aidric and Danika walking around, but the poor boys pants were a little big
so he had to hold on to them to keep them up.

The end to a nice day.

Adventure 2, Gateway Arch

When I was in Junior high I took a trip with my grandparents to Missouri, where they had lived.  I was so excited to share with my kids some of the special memories I had with my grandparents.  The first was stopping at Mt Rushmore. Now we were headed to the Gateway Arch.  I did not remember how long the drive was from Mt Rushmore to the Arch, it is quite long, but it was worth it.  My kids were awesome.  Poor Sierra still did not feel well, and would have probably preferred to be in her bed.  To top it off we had a choir of coughing that began with Danika and slowly flowed through the car.  There were a couple of slight meltdowns with Aidric but other than that, the kids did wonderful.  We spent the night on the boarder of South Dakota and Iowa.

Sunday morning we hopped in the car and had service in transit.  We sang worship songs, read the Bible and prayed.  It was fun.  I enjoy traveling through the different states. Idaho, with its mountains, canyons, lava flows, and desserts.  Then we went through Wyoming with miles and miles of unsettled land, from jagged mountains, to flat top mountains, to Independence Rock and Devil’s pass.  Next driving through South Dakota we started out with the beautiful black hills, then miles of farmland.  From there we drove through Iowa, about the same as South Dakota.  Then just before we hit Missouri the landscape was filled with lush green vegetation and rolling hills.   I encouraged the kids to take note of all we were seeing.  What a diverse God to fill his creation with such variety, the world is all of full of different types of beautiful landscapes.  It is so hard to understand the whole talk of overpopulation when we saw countless miles of open, unsettled land.  

Just outside of Kansas City the traffic was stopped.  Our GPS found us a new route and we are thankful for the GPS.  Unfortunately this cut the naptime short and we all were getting a little restless.  Time for an ice cream break and that can make everyone much happier.  Back on the road we made it to another hotel with a family suite.  It was nice, but basically was just two rooms connected with only one exit door.  It did have a pool and we finally got a little swim time in. 

The web site for the Gateway arch suggested buying tickets on line.  You can reserve your time for the trip up the arch, on their web site.  The last time David and I went to the arch, we had an hour and half wait. So, I thought this necessary to prebook our trip up the arch.  We were awake and going and left with plenty of extra time.  This proved very necessary as we approached the arch.  Much of the Gateway Arch area is torn up and being redone.  We drove around for over a half hour trying to find a parking space for our Yukon with trailer.  I was beginning to panic that we would miss our reservation.  David dropped us off and continued his search.  There were no signs that we saw directing you where to park.  It was a bit stressful.  I had actually called to find out where to park but the address they gave me was a parking garage and that did not work since we were pulling a trailer.  The kids and I went to pick up our tickets and there was no line at all.  It appeared that Monday morning during the school year is a good time to visit the arch, another benefit to home schooling.

There is a security checkpoint that only took a minute then we were in line for the trip to the top of the arch.  It is a spectacular view and a fun trip to the top.  I am not sure Cassandra appreciated it that much.  She looked out the window and then was ready to get back to solid ground.  With the Gateway arch adventure done we headed to see our son.

A bit of a chilly day at the arch

The kids getting ready to go inside

waiting in line to board

at the top looking down

Shadow of the arch

looking at the baseball stadium from the top of the arch

Getting ready to go back down in the tiny round elevator

Waiting outside for Daddy and Isabella

looking up from the bottom

David and Aidric touching Busch Stadium

Road Trip 2015: Adventure 1

Graduation was upon us and it was time to hit the road.  We decided to make it a sight seeing trip.  Several adventures wrapped up in a nice long vacation.  Of course we had lots of little adventures along the way that we had not planned on, but isn’t that how life and traveling with children goes.  Last fall we decided to see if our motor home would sell.  It gets such terrible gas mileage and sure does slow down our trip, not to mention it is hard to drive in any city.  David put it on Craig’s list at a higher price then we had expected and it sold within a couple days.  We took that as, it was time to move on.  So, as we have been planning this trip for the last several months I have been quite concerned with how we would do, being in a car for over 60 hours of traveling.  Well, I will share with you the ups and downs of our trip in the next few days, along with what we learned about navigating different national historical sites along the way. 

First Adventure. 

Our first adventure took us a couple days to get to.  We have a Yukon XL.  We loaded up Wednesday night.  Thursday morning we headed out, only 10 minutes behind schedule.  We traveled about 3 ½ hours to David’s dad’s house, picked up his up his utility trailer, and found the trailer was a little bigger and heavier then we had expected.  Our traveling time slowed a bit but our first night we made to the middle of Wyoming and spent the night with David’s brother and family. 

The next morning off we went to our first destination, Mount Rushmore.  The weather report had said it was going to be cold and rainy on Saturday, but it must have come a day early and we drove though the rain and cold on Friday.  Friday night we found an amazing hotel.  What I have found on this trip is it is better to prebook your hotel room before arriving to you destination.  We had prebooked a family suite at the Best Western in Hill City, South Dakota.  It had a separate room with a king bed and the kids were in the main room with two queen beds, a sofa, a table, and a kitchen area.  The room had a large bathroom with a sink in the bathroom and a sink out side the room, not to mention a sink in the kitchen area.  It was cheaper than getting two rooms and was large, clean and comfortable.  I would highly recommend it. 

We stepped out of our car and Sierra felt very week, cold, and shaky.  It was late and had been a long day of driving so I just told her to take a hot bath and relax.  The hotel had a beautiful pool but with Sierra not doing so well and we were all tired, we didn’t get to go swimming.  The next morning Sierra was still not feeling well but was a trouper.  The inclusive breakfast at our hotel was wonderful.  A waitress took our order and came out with more food than we could eat.  We headed to Mount Rushmore, only 15 minutes away.  I had been there once with my grandparents when I was a child and as we approached the mountain it was thrilling.  The park was just opening as we arrived and was not busy at all.   What a neat sight.  The weather was beautiful and we were so blessed with a lovely day.  No rain till we left. 

We spent about two hours at Mount Rushmore.  There are a few walking paths, but the path we could have pushed the strollers on was under construction, so we just went to the main picture site and enjoyed the Presidents.  Below the picture platform was an information area, complete with a short movie and miscellaneous relics from the building of the sculptures.  Aidric’s favorite part was the imitational blowing up of the different parts of the mountain.  So thrilling.  It was fun to see.  We then made a few sandwiches, piled into the car and headed on to our next adventure.

nap time

Oil!

Our family at Mount Rushmore

Aidric setting off dynomite

Cassandra taking a turn