Day 15: Denver Part V

It was our last day here in Denver and there is still so much we could have done. But we were not much into driving back to Colorado Springs or into Downtown Denver for that matter. Plus we had decided a few days ago to spend Thursday at the water park, Pirates Cove. (We thought Anna and the girls would be able to join us, but they ended up having to do other things) But the kids were so excited to go that we kept to the original plan and went without them.

We did not leave until about 11:00 as we were waiting for Rachel and Rydman to return from Jan's house. So by the time we arrived at the park it was quite busy. We even considered not going when we saw the large crowd that was there. But the kids (except Rydman-he was willing to bypass the park) would not hear of it. So we parked and went inside. And although it was busy, it was not miserable. There were still places to sit and put your stuff. We even got lucky enough to find a place in the shade! Which was good considering it was so hot-they hit a hundred today! (So if we thought we were going to get a little break from the heat by leaving Vegas, that did not happen!)
The park was fun. They had some big slides Rydman and Emerie went down. Emerie more so that Rydman as she is a little more of a thrill seeker than he is. And there were ample places for the babies to play which was very nice. The last water park we went to in South Dakota really had no place for really small children to sit and play. The only one who might have got the short end of the stick this time was Quincy, as she was not tall enough for the big slides and the small kids area only had two pretty mini slides. But she survived and about 2 o'clock the crowds really diminished as the school groups and day camps left. So if we ever go back we will make sure to go about that time!

After the park we made our way back to Chuck and Anna's and got clean ed up a little. We invited GiGi over for dinner and cake for Mabry's birthday. (We did not get to eat the cake yesterday because Mabry fell asleep in the car on the way home form Dinner and we did not think she would enjoy the experience near as much if all she wanted to do was lay back down!) The cake was still a little frozen when we ate it, which actually made the eating process for the baby much easier. But which also lessened the mess that she could make with it. (Sorry, John I am not sure if it lives up to your standard.)



After dinner we hurried over to Build-a-Bear to get the three youngest a bear. As it is somewhat of a tradition for the kids to get one when they are little. (We were a little behind on Cutler!) We made it just before closing but they still let us come in and make them. Mabry got a really cure light tan bear with a heart patch on its chest, Cutler got a black bear, and Lincoln got a tan bear. Mabry's bears name is still up in the air. It is either going to be patches or Dakota. Cutler named his bear Zach without any type of hesitation, so we are not really sure where that name came from! On the other hand I had no idea what to name Lincoln's bear and he was not much help. So we named him Colorado after the place he got him. Hopefully he'll like that name when he is big enough to care!

We are going to the very last stop of our trip in the morning. And Quincy could not be more excited because she gets to see her friend Jenna. I think she has probably asked every day when we are going to Jenna's house. Hopefully the short amount of time that she will get to spend with her will suffice! If not we might have a melt down on our hands come Sunday morning when we will have to head home!

Day 14: Denver Part IV

Happy 1st Birthday Mabry!!

Today is Mabry's Birthday so we started out the day with a traditional pancake breakfast. Ever since we were small kids my mom used to make us pancakes in the shapes of numbers for our birthday. For example, when we turned 8 we got 8 pancakes in the shape of the number 8. Rachel has continued this tradition with her kids, so since it was her first birthday, she had one pancake in the shape of the #1.

After breakfast we headed out to Colorado Springs. We decided to take the kids to the North Pole. This is once again a place none of us have ever been. Justin and I tried the last time we were here, but it was raining and we did not feel like getting soaked. And after my experience today, its a good thing we did not go. Lincoln is not truly big enough to appreciate it and the both of us are not big fans of the circle type rides.
But that being the case, the kids loved it! They could have stayed there all day long. The North Pole Amusement park was a lot bigger than we expected. There were a ton of rides, but once again the majority of them were built to go in a circle. And although I have never been a fan of traveling in a circle, as I get older I swear my equilibrium gets even more sensitive! So I can not say that I actually rode very many rides.
I did take Lincoln on the Santa Slide and the North Pole Express. But most of the rides he went on were only for kids. So he got to drive a car, ride in a boat, travel in a plane, ride on a carousel and ferris wheel, as well as a race car. These rides were great because all the adults could watch and all the kids could ride! (You had to be at least a year old and under 54" to ride the kiddie rides. So Mabry just made the age cutoff today and Rydman was right under the height restriction. So it was perfect! Any other year and Rydman would not have been able to ride!)


Like I said before it was hard to pull them off the rides. But we needed to get going to make it back to Denver in time for the girls to go with Cody Ann and her girls to the Salon! They were going to get their nails done!


We took the other kids to the park and then went to dinner with GiGi and my Uncle Pete. It is always nice to see family, but sometimes it is hard to try and control a 13 month old that only wants to get down and run around the restaurant!

Day 13: Denver Part III

It is amazing how quickly this vacation is going by. I can not believe how much we have accomplished in so little time.

The first exciting event of the day was the loss of a tooth! Emerie lost one of her top front teeth. It has been loose basically the whole trip. We tried to convince her to pull it while we were at Mount Rushmore. But she would not even consider it! So by today it was hanging by a thread and she still would not pull it out. She was so funny about it, like she had never lost a tooth before! (She already lost the bottom 2 front teeth!) I even tried to bribe her with a webkinz, and she would not let anyone else pull it! But as we got in the car to go this morning, she let me see how lose it was and then she did not shy away when I grabbed on. So I yanked and out it came. She was so funny, she started to freak out that I was going to pull it, after it was already out. When she realized it was already in my hands she got this look like she could not believe that was it! So she has officially passed up her brother in terms of the number of teeth lost! And she got to go around all day with a "hole" in her mouth!

Today we took the kids to the Denver Aquarium. I know, it is strange to have an Aquarium where there is not an ocean! But for an off shore aquarium, they do a really good job of things. The exhibits are all very well taken care of and easy to see. Even for those being pushed along in strollers! They break your experience up into areas, basically grouping all those animals form one region together. The areas I can remember are the Rainforest, the desert, Under the Ocean, The Coral Reef, and the Ship Wreck. I believe there are one or two more, but I can not remember their exact names.

Each area was set up to make you feel like you were actually there. In the rainforest there was mist and a light rain that made it very humid and similar to what you would imagine a rainforest would feel like. And they don't just have aquatic animals here, they had a variety of birds as well as Tigers. We got to see all three of the tiger brothers out in their exhibit today. (I guess they can live together because they have always been together. Most males will not cohabitat with another male, they just fight for dominance)
In the desert they have a flash flood, which is pretty fun. And will get you wet if you are too close! Did you know that flash floods cause more deaths than any other water related natural disaster!

The kids also had a chance to feed Stingrays, although the only one brave enough to even try was Emerie. Lincoln tried to, but he wouldn't keep the fish in his hand so he never truly hand fed the rays. (It was definitely nothing like our experience in the Cayman Islands where we got to truly be out in the water with the rays, but it was still fun!)
Emerie and Rydman also had a chance to try out their climbing skills. They had two "fake" palm trees that the kids could attempt to climb. Cutler and Quincy were too little for this adventure, but that was probably for the better. From the looks of it, it was hard. You did not have much of a foothold, and if you started sliding you tended to slide all the way back down to the bottom.
Rydman was finally ale to make it all the way to the top and ring the buzzer. But he was pretty tired by the time he made it back down. And poor Emerie she tried her hardest, but never did make it to the very top. She got very close though. And she could have kept trying, but she was pretty tired form her initial attempts.

They all got to smash a penny, get a animal balloon, and the girls got their faces painted. So overall I would say it was quite a fun time at the zoo! We even had lunch at the Restaurant there at the Aquarium. It is cool because you are basically eating under water. Huge tanks cover one side of the restaurant and you can watch all the different fish swim by! The kids thought it was fun to try and guess the movements of the "School" of fish. When they did not cooperate with their predictions they would blame it on the teacher calling them back to school!

After the aquarium, we headed back to my Aunt and Uncles. We were having dinner with my Grandma, Uncle and Cousins. It is always nice to hang out with family. But there are a lot of bugs outside, so I was not to keen on sitting outdoors. I think they all know we are out of towners, because they seem to smell fresh blood! But it was still a nice time, even if I got a few new bites!

Day 12: Denver Part II

After our day of rest we were ready for another day of fun! Our first destination was a place called Tiny Town. Once again none of us had ever been there so did not know what to really expect. (We had looked it up online and my Aunt recommended it, but that still doesn't quite get you ready for what you are going to experience!)
Basically, it is an entire town in miniature. Many of the buildings were exact replicas of buildings in and around Denver (built to 1/6 the actual size), others were just buildings they created that housed a specific business for the town patrons, and others were based on famous homes like the Addams Family Mansion! Once inside the town you can walk along and look in the small windows to see what is going on. There was a theater where they had small chairs and small characters viewing the play. (The characters were plastic figurines of characters like bugs bunny) Other homes you could go inside, or at least the kids could go inside and look out at us through the windows.
There was even a miniature train that we rode on that took us into parts of the town you can not walk through. Some of the homes in this area were built in the 1920's! There are some pictures of visitors driving their Model T's to the park. So this place has been around a long time! Which I guess is why they are actually a town you can find on the map of Colorado and not just an amusement type park in another city!


Once we had our fill of living the "Big" life we headed over to Heritage Square! We have been there before, but never really done anything but the Alpine Slide. And we did not even really know what else they had to offer. When we arrived we started out in the ride area. But this ride area is typically what you find at a County Fair. So there were mostly rides that went in circles. Now, if you know anything about Rachel and I you know we are not big fans of going on rides like the Teacups! So the thought of having to ride something like that was not appealing to our sense of well being! We bought each of the bigger kids 10 tickets they could use to ride (most rides were 2 tickets each), the only problem was Cuter was not tall enough to ride alone. Which meant someone was going to have to ride with him. (Adults ride free with paying children.)
My Mom took the first shift and rode two rides in a row with the kids- both of which were pretty much straight circles! Then the kids wanted to ride a snake roller coaster, which looked very similar to the dragon at the Mini Grand Prix in Vegas. So Rachel and I both rode that one because Cutler and Quincy needed an adult. It wasn't too bad other than being quite a jerky ride. (I felt bad for Quincy as I felt like I was pummeling her with my elbows. But if I didn't hold on to the bar then I was squishing her along the sides of the car. So it was a lose-lose situation!)
Luckily for us the tickets ran out fairly quickly! So we could move on to the Alpine Slide. That was also a good incentive to get them out of the Carnival ride area- but we didn't plan that at all ;)

The slide was fun. I rode down for the first time with a passenger. I have never carried a child with me before, and it is a lot harder than riding down solo. To work the sled you have to push the brake forward, which lessens the friction on the bottom of the sled. Well, when you have a child sitting in front of you it is much harder to push that lever down, mostly because you feel like you are bending your partner in half! But Quincy was a good sport and wanted to keep going faster so I did my best to accommodate her wishes! Rydman and Emerie went down solo again and loved it. Emerie left before my Mom on the slow track while my Mom was in the Fast track and she still managed to beat her by a little bit. So Emerie was not afraid of it at all this go round!

After riding the slide we headed down to check out the Zip Line. It was $3 for 3 trips across the wire, and even though we did not think Cutler coudl do it he climbed right up to the platform and decided he was going to. (At least until they attached him to the line the first time.) So they rigged all the kids up in a harness and then started clipping them one by one onto the line. Rydman and Emerie were fine, but Quincy and Cutler were not too sure they wanted any part of this Zip Line thing once they were attached and hanging over the edge of the platform. But the operator just started counting down 3, 2, 1.. and then sent them sailing on their way next to their other siblings. Which was a good thing, once they were past that first drop experience you could not hold either of them back. Cutler got to the other side and exclaimed that he loved it! So they rushed right back up and did it again. They enjoyed themselves so mush we paid for another 5 rides each!

The kids could have probably stayed there all day long, but we didn't have the funds to keep paying for things a ride at a time. Places like this really make you start to appreciate Disneyland a whole lot more!
We ran a few errands on the way home as we needed to pick up such items as Diapers and wipes as our stock has been depleted over the past weeks. we then spent a pretty early evening at Chuck and Anna's. We hooked the Wii up and got to check out the Wii Fit which I now really want even more than before!!! Too bad it is not in stock anywhere- unless you want to pay twice as much at some random online store! (It is supposed to be about $80 but goes for upwards of $150 online!) Maybe it will come back in stock sometime!!

Day 11: Denver

Finally a day of rest! We spent a very leisurely day here in Highlands Ranch with my Aunt and Uncle. We were hoping to go to church with some family members, but everyone was out of town! So instead of driving out of the way to go to their ward, I looked up the ward that my Aunt and Uncle are zoned for. Lucky for us the building was right down the road. So we took the kids and met with a really nice ward. They made us feel very welcome, even with Lincoln rubbing his dirty cracker hands on the lady in front of us during Relief Society!

After church we had pancakes for lunch- this is Chucks specialty- or so he says! Then Lincoln and I took a nap and Rachel and the kids watched a Movie.

We did go out to Dinner at Red Robin because there was not much to eat here in the house. It was good as usual. Although I did go outside my comfort zone and order something new. (Justin would be proud!) And it was really goos, I would probably order it again. Lincoln on the other hand is going through a period that he does not seem to like much of anything. It might just be that his mouth is hurting due to his teeth coming in.

The kids are having quite a bit of fun together. The older kids seem to like having the little ones around and are very patient with them. Lincoln is proving just how non-baby proof this house is. And can I tell you how grateful I am to have my house under control in that area. He is driving me crazy with all the things he can get into and his constant need to climb every stair he can find! He did give himself a big goose egg on his head when he tried to stand up under the pool table, but after a few minutes of feeling sorry for himself he went right back to playing.

So overall it was a nice day to take things a little slower. And everyone knows we needed it after how nonstop adventure up to this point! And form the looks of it we will pick right back up with nonstop fun in the morning, so I am trying to enjoy every last minute of relaxation I can! Hope all is well with everyone at home.

Day 10: Traveling

We left South Dakota today! And let me tell you, if you ever have the chance to go to Rapid City, don't pass it up! It is an awesome place. Tons of things for people of all ages. But even though we probably could have stayed another week, it was time to head out to Colorado!

The drive was long, about 6 hours. But it went well overall. All the kids slept for the first 2-3 hours (Except Rydman he was in the front and engrossed in his DS!). I think they were trying to make up for the lack of sleep and down time this past week in Rapid City!

We stopped for lunch in a little town called Wheaton. And it felt like we were back home. We got out of the car and wanted to get back in. It was (according to the car) 95 degrees outside! I know that is not as a as back home. But we thought we were coming to cooler places than that. Let's just say we were glad to b on our way!

We arrived in Denver while it was still light- which I think is a first for our travel days. Most of the time we have been arriving in the late hours of the night. So it was nice to be there in a timely fashion!

We are staying with my Uncle Chuck and his family. We usually stay with GiGi (my grandma) but she is out of town until Monday. Plus we have started to outgrow her house! I remember when we were coming up here with just Rydman!! Now there are 6 children!

Day 9: Rapid City Part IV

We started our day out at a local park. But this was no ordinary park. It is called the Storybook Island and it was amazing. Basically they brought over 140 different storybooks to life by building and or displaying items form that story. For example, for the Three Little Pigs there were the three different types of houses (straw, wood, & brick) and for Jack and Jill there was a well on top of a water and slides to bring the kids back down. One of Cutler's favorite stories is the Billy Goats Gruff. So he was very excited to see the goats trying to cross the bridge while the troll was on guard! He even drew a picture to show that this was his favorite part of the day! We even got to see a play about Jack and the Beanstalk in the theatre. It was what looked like 5 Highschool kids that are really into drama. But it was really good considering! The very best part of this entire activity was that it was free! It did not cost a dime to get in. We did pay 75 cents for the kids to ride the train, but that was nothing compared to some of the fees we have encountered.
The kids even got to drink Hippo Spit. (A water fountain was shaped like a Hippo and you drank form its mouth- hence Hippo spit!)

After the park we asked the kids what they wanted to do, and it was a unanimous vote to return to Old MacDonalds farm. So we piled back into the car and took off to spend some more time with the animals at the farm. The kids had just as much fun the second time around as they did the first time. They even got to help feed the baby lambs this time. Half the kids rode the ponies before lunch and the other two were going to ride them after- but when we sent them over to take their ride the ponies had just started their hour break!! And we did not have an hours worth of activities to keep us busy, so we decided to head to our next destination which was further up the mountain and then stop back by when we came back down.

...There is more to say but it is 2 am and we have to drive to Denver in the morning, so I will add the rest later.

Okay, we got some sleep and I want to make sure to get yesterday's events down before I forget what it is that we did exactly. So after the farm we put the kids back in the car and then drove out to Hill City. A friend of ours (Brandy T.) just got back in town from a trip to South Dakota and when we asked her what we should make sure to do she directed us out to Hill City where she had taken her kids panning. So we headed out and made our way to Wades Mill. Now we are not sure if this is the same place that she went with her family or not, but it was the only place people directed us to when we asked!
We were a little hesitant upon our arrival as it did not look like what we had pictured it was going to. But my Mom got out anyway and asked about what was available. And they said there was panning and the way they did it every child was guaranteed to "find" gold. Plus they gave the kids a hands on lesson first before the actual attempt at gold panning. So we decided we might as well try it out.
The activity started by each of the older 4 getting a prospecting pan and a vial of dirt. In the vial there were seven pieces of gold that the kids attempted to find using the methods they were shown in he panning lesson. And with a little bit of help, everyone found their "gold". It was nive because we were the only ones there at teh time, so we got the undivided attention of three "miners"!
Once the lesson was over, it was time for the real thing. Each of them placed mill dirt into the pan and then took the pan down to the creek. Once there they removed their shoes and chose a spot on a small low bridge where they could each the pan after it was placed in the water. Each full pan was placed under the water with its natural current and then churned (kind of like kneading dough) to allow for the loose dirt to float away. When quite a bit of the soil was gone the kids had a chance to go through the different rocks to see if they wanted to save any. They found quartz, micah, limestone, etc. It was amazing what some of the "rocks" tuned out to be. The most impressive thing was the number of garnets in the material the kids panned. There were tons. Now these are not huge jewels to say the least, but it was pretty amazing to see how perfectly formed they were!
Lincoln and Mabry did not participate in the panning process. But Lincoln did have a fun time playing in the creek. He started out wading with just his feet getting wet,
but then he moved further in to deeper water that got his shorts wet. And before we knew it he was sitting on the bottom of the creek. And loving every minute of it. He did not even seem to mind how cold the water was. But it was cold and the current was fairly strong! So I took him and Mabry up to the top of the embankment and fed them snacks as the others panned. (I felt like I was a snack for the mosquitos!)

After the gold panning we drove by the Crazy Horse Memorial. We did not pay th entrance fee. I just had them view it from the road because when Justin and I were here before we did not feel like the entrance fee was worth what you got. The sculpture is not near done so you are not allowed anywhere near it. The view from the road is not much different form the view of the observation deck. And it sure does nto seem like they have progressed much since j and I were here before.

After Crazy horse we drove by Mount Rushmore one more time. And I must say it is still as cool as ever. The kids must think so too because they were even willing to hike around the base of the mountain again!

We then stopped by the Farm again and let the kids ride the ponies adn watch the final pig race. After which we went and had diner and then went to Pirates Cove to finish our golf game. Cutler loves to Miniature golf! He does not actually play by the rules, but he still had a great time hitting the ball into the hole as many times as he could.

None of us can believe it is time to move on to our next destination. There is still so much we could do around here. But it is going to have to wait for another time!

Day 8: Rapid CIty Part III

Today we started off the day by going underground! We took the kids to the Beautiful Rushmore Cave. (That's it's name-I didn't make it up) According to the info we found about this cave it was the closest to Mount Rushmore, you did not ever have to crawl, and they offered baby carriers. It was really cool! It was not too hard of a hike which was good when you consider we had 6 children under the age of 9 with us. Mabry and Lincoln got the best tour as they did not have to exert any energy! There was a ton if cool things to see- like Stalactites and Stalagmites. There was also a room they called the Image room, where you could see animals in the rocks. (Kind of like seeing images in the clouds!) Everything was going well until about halfway through all three of the bigger kids needed to use the bathroom-so the way out was a little longer than expected!
After the cave we grabbed lunch- so as not to forget again! Then we headed out to an Indoor Waterpark called Watiki. They were running a special where you can get in for half price but not until 11 and you have to leave by 4. We did not get there until a little after 12, but by the time 4 o'clock came around we had had plenty of time in
the water. They had an entire area for the kids, but once we got the older 2 to ride the big water slides there was no going back for them. But of course for the most part they did not want to ride by themselves, so Rachel, my Mom, and I took turns going down with them. It was really fun, but there were a lot of stairs you had to walk up in order to come down.
Lincoln tried to swim on his own today at the park. I was actually going with Emerie on the slide so I missed his attempt. But according to Rachel, he was playing ball with some kids in the pool area (he would take the ball and then throw it to them)
when he decided he wanted to try it out! Somehow he slipped and flipped over and into the pool. Luckily Rachel was close, but the kid he was playing with was quicker. He grabbed him and handed him off to Rachel. I guess he was really ticked off but not hurt in any way!

After the water park we decided to take the kids Miniature Golfing at a course right down from our Hotel. It is called Pirates Cove which of course answers the question about what the "theme" was! Cutler was so excited about going "golfin". He did not really want to follow the rules of the game but was very excited any time he got the
ball in the hole. The only problem was the weather- it was not cooperating! We only got to hole 5 before the staff made us clear the course. We got rained out!! But we did get a rain check, so we are going to try again tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

Day 7: Rapid City Part II

There is so much to do here! I bet you could spend a solid 7 days and not run out of new things to do! We are having so much fun that we are seriously considering staying an additional day here. But it all depends on the availability.

I guess you could classify today as "animal" day in Rapid City. We heard about a place called Roo Ranch, where you get to get up close and personal with Kangaroos. So we thought that would be a unique experience. And we decided to go today because it was "Wallaby Wednesday" so kids get in for 1/2 price, plus we had a buy one get one half off for the adult admission. And after visiting we were very grateful we had not paid full price!
It seems to be in its up and coming stages, with hopes of one day being a really cool place. As of right now, it isn't much to see. They do have quite a few different breeds of Kangaroos and Wallaby's as well as some other unique animals like Sloths & Possums! They also had a sugar glider- which made the kids very excited as it reminded them of their own Kamikazee back at home. (Rachel now thinks she needs to paint a closet black and give the sugarglider full reign to try and trick it into thinking it is night time when it really isn't!)
The only upside of our visit to the Roo Ranch is that the kids got to pet a Kangaroo named Matilda. They thought that was pretty cool. Lincoln thought it was so much fun he decided to put her ear in his mouth!! Nasty!
we also saw white Kangaroos which was really different. I can not believe how many "white" animals we have seen so far on our trip. We saw a White gator, a white buffalo, and now a white kangaroo!

The adults were a little disappointed with the "Roo Ranch" so we hoped our next stop would prove to be more worthwhile! And I can now saw it truly was an experience that the kids should remember for awhile, for a number of different reasons.

The place we took them was "Old McDonalds Farm" and there was a ton to do there. The 4 older kids got to ride a pony. Cutler loves to point out that he rode a horsey and the horsey had to pee! (Basically, the worker placed the children up on the ponies and started them around the enclosure. When all of a sudden one of the ponies stopped and peeed! It was the pony right in front of Cutler so I guess he had a pretty good view!)
They also got to pet baby calves and feed them with a giant baby bottle, feed chickens, watch a pig race (Oscar Meyer won), pet huge horses, look at baby chickens
and rabbits and watch Mountain goats high over head on a small bridge. And if that was not enough we got our first taste of real South Dakota rain. It started to sprinkle a little during the Pig Race but it subsided enough to continue the exploration of the park and to let the kids ride the train. (Which really isn't a train at all- it is small compartments being pulled by a small John Deere Lawn mower. But the kids liked it no matter what it really was!) We even started to feel like they should have named it differently there at the end- something like Noah's Ark would have been a perfect fit! And it wasn't because there were 2 of every animal, it was because of the downpour of rain. This was no drizzle- it was a torrential downpour! We made a run to a covered picnic table hoping it might let up, but it just kept getting harder. So we made a run for the gift shop/entrance/exit! By the time we made it there it was really coming down, so much that the shop itself was flooding! So we sent Rachel out to move the car closer to the front. Then we sent all the big kids and then my Mom and I made a run for it. But by the time Rachel was done helping Cutler into the car, putting Mabry in, and throwing the strollers in the back, she looked like she had just gotten out of the shower.

But even though we were quite wet and a little chilly we did not let that stop our schedule of events for the day. Instead we just pressed on to the next stop- Reptile Gardens! Lucky for us it was open and the rain stopped. So we got to enjoy the many different shows and exhibits it has to offer. We saw the bird show, the snake show and the Alligator Show. Rydman's favorite show was the Snake Show. He thought it was really cool how the guy handled all the different types of snakes. Cutler really liked the Rattlesnakes. I think the girls favorite part were the Prairie Dogs. They had tons of fun going down into an observation bubble that allowed them to get really close to the animals! They also had a chance to pet a baby alligator and a Giant Tortoise!
Some of the other things we saw there was a giant Alligator called Maniac. He is 16 feet long!! You think some of the other ones are big until you see him. (We felt kind of bad for him though, because his "home" was not much bigger than he was. We also saw a huge Boa Constrictor and Python. Let me just saw they have a lot of snakes I would never want to meet in a dark alley, or a lit one for that matter!!
What is really nice about the farm and the garden is that we can go back whenever we want while we are here! So even though we got rained out at the farm we can go back without having to pay again. (At least not for the admission part- the pony rides and train rides are extra of course!)
There is still so much to do here in South Dakota that we have decided to stay until Saturday! That gives us an extra day to fit in some more fun things!!

Day 6: Rapid City

Well, like I said I knew it would be a full day and it definitely was. We did start our day a little later than we would have liked. Between eating breakfast, getting the kids bathed, and deciding what we wanted to do first it was after 10 before we headed out the door.

We started our day at Bear Country USA, a drive through wildlife park. Basically, you stay in your car and drive through the different animal habitats. And it was a good day to see wildlife. I think we ended up seeing at least one of every animal they offered - except as Rydman pointed out the baby red foxes. But even though we did not see the fox we did get to see tons of Bears, Reindeer, Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep, Elk, Bison (including a white albino buffalo), Porcupines, Wolves, Badgers, Miniature Donkeys, and a variety
of baby animals including 14 baby bears. It was fun to try and pick the animals out, although you usually have a little help in the fact that the car in front of you slows down so you know they are looking at something!

After Bear Country we headed up the canyon to see the main attraction! Mount Rushmore!! And although I have been there before, it was still a magnificent sight. I know Lincoln won't remember it, but at least I can tell him he has seen it! I think the kids were pretty impressed by it. We had them complete the Junior ranger program here as well- which was a little more intense than the program at Devils Tower-but they all completed it and got sworn in as Honorary Rangers!!
We even took the hike around to the bottom of the memorial and visited the small Indian Village there. Lincoln and Cutler liked the fact they they could climb in to the teepee, especially because in there Lincoln learned he could eat the dirt without anyone stopping him! We could not take the babies all the way around as it is not stroller accessible, but my Mom took all the older kids and hiked the entire path. (Rachel helped me push the two babies back to the main terrace, and then went the back way to help the kids with the stairs if they needed it!)

We left the Memorial and headed back to Keystone, the small town 2 miles down the road. We grabbed what I thought was going to be lunch but was then told it was 6:00 at night. (We had neglected to feed the kids lunch!! Poor guys! Good thing we had had a late breakfast!) I don't know where the time went but we filled it again. And we were not done! We fed the children and then decided to take the kids on the Alpine Slide there in Keystone.
It was so much fun. Cutler and Quincy rode with an adult while Rydman and Emerie got to go down all by themselves! The two older kids were a little worried because they were not sure if they would be able to control their sleds, but once they got on and saw how easy the controls were they loosened up a bit! I even had a hard time catching up to Rydman after leaving a spot after him, so he was doing good. And Emerie did awesome for her first official time as a lone driver. They all wanted to ride again, so I think they had fun!

Even after all this excitement we still had one more stop. We actually went back up to Mount Rushmore for the evening program. They hold a small lighting ceremony where they give a 10 minute briefing, show a movie, light the memorial and then hold flag ceremony were they invite all the current and former military personnel to join them on stage. I did not get to enjoy most of these proceedings as Lincoln was not too excited about sitting anywhere. He wanted to walk and would not let me just sit there with him. He was causing such a fuss during the talk that I figured it was not fair to any of the other people around us who were trying to hear, so I left the amphitheater. I tried to let him walk around at the top, but he just kept finding the stairs, so I had to keep picking him up, which he did not like. To make a long story short it was not a fun time for Mom! But we made it and I even got to see the actually lighting of the memorial- they slowly bring the lights up on the memorial itself until you can see it in the night sky. It was pretty cool!

After this we finally decided it was time to take our children back to the hotel. But of course there was still one adventure left. When we tried to get into our room here at the hotel, the security lock was on. So our door would not open! We were a little concerned they had given our room away. But in actuality the dumb lock is loose and when you close the door, it has a tendency to swing shut. Which is not good if you are the one locked out. Lucky for us they have a special tool at the front desk that they can use to push the lock back and allow access to the room! We were very grateful to get into our room!

Day 5: Traveling

Well, we pretty much did a lot of driving today! We had to make it from Wyoming to South Dakota, and even though Mapquest said it was only a 5 hour drive, it still seemed to take twice that long.

We did take one side trip off the chosen route to go see Devils Tower. Now I was a little worried about this detour as Justin and I had a bad experience with a similar monument called Chimney Rock. (We drove through Nebraska to see it and it was definitely not worth the drive!) Anyway, I was worried that this might be the same type of let down. And with 6 children in the car I knew they would not be very forgiving. Luckily, I had no need to worry. It was a really cool place. (It is the nations first national monument. So we have now been to the first National Park and Monument!)
The kids got to complete the Junior Ranger Program and received honorary Ranger status. As part of that we took the hike around the base of the monument and got to learn quite a few things about the legends behind the tower as well as see some of the wildlife the lives there.

Overall it was a good detour. I think the kids favorite part was stopping at the prairie dog town. Quincy loved those little things almost as much as the Meerkats at the Zoo. We stopped there shortly before sundown which was a very good time, The little things were out in droves- they really were everywhere. And they were barking at us and at the other Prairie Dogs- which of course the kids thought was hilarious!

Another amazing thing was how many different animals we counted on our way back to the main highway. On the way we counted 3 alpacas, 4 wild turkeys, and 132 deer near the road! It was unbelievable how many deer there were in the fields. Luckily, none of them decided to do anything stupid, like try and cross in front of the car!

It was late when we arrived, but we made it here to South Dakota. The kids pretty much all stayed asleep, so lets hope they let us rest as well! We are not sure what we are going to start with tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be another full day!