Time Together Isn't Ever Quite Enough

Sunday, June 19, 2011
   We left my sister's house early this morning.  We packed out stuff in the car, and shoved the kids in before they were even awake.  We were on our way to Rapid City, South Dakota.  We decided to stay there and drive to Mount Rushmore the next day.
    Yesterday, we finished the laundry we started, and went to Target.  We got some things for lunch today, and some snacks.  We also watched the final Pirates of the Caribbean movie of our trilogy.  We had been watching them each night because Michele's kids had only seen the first one, and we brought all three for the boys to watch during their drive.  The kids really liked watching them and eating dinner.
   On our way out of Minnesota, we had to make a stop in Blue Earth at the Jolly Green Giant statue.  It's just this cute, 55 foot statute of him.  It was cool, and the kids liked getting out of the car.  I saw a frog in the marshy water by the statue, but Kaleb scared him away before I could take his picture.  It was an accident, so no big deal.
   For lunch, I had to stop in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  There is a place there called Falls Park.  If you are ever passing through there, take the time to stop.  It's totally worth it.  There are many places to take pictures of the falls, and to explore.  You could spend all afternoon there, but we only stayed an hour.
   After that, we pretty much only stopped for gas and restroom breaks.  We were twenty miles away from Rapid City, and Zach declared that he couldn't wait to go to the bathroom.  He had just asked us to stop two hours before and had to pee on the side of the road, but this time, there was no where to stop.  I looked at Kurtis, and said tentatively, "Well, he is a boy.  He can just pee in a bottle."  And so he did.  Kurtis made him hold it the rest of the way, and throw it away as soon as he found a garbage, but still.  That's just gross.
    It's good to finally be here and to have a place to stay.  I'm so excited for tomorrow.

 He's cute.  I'd date him. ;)

 Kurtis actually took my picture!  So now I have proof!  I was there!

 South Dakota!

 Falls Park

The boys loved this place.

 South Dakota is lots of farms and cattle ranching.

 It reminded me of Little House on the Prairie, but I suppose this is where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived.

 A few of the rest stops in South Dakota look like this.  I think they have to tepees when they have some historical significance because the one we stopped at was on the Lewis and Clarke Trail.  It was cool.  There was a little mini museum in it.

I really liked these clouds.  They were so fluffy!