A/K/A “The Story of My Life.”

We slept til almost 7 A.M.  I woke still feeling wounded from yesterday’s travels.  We all did.  It was stressful.

As we’d arrived too late for the kids to swim the night before, we decided to let them do so before breakfast.  This intentionally late start meant we’d have to sacrifice the Prairie Museum I was excited to see, but it seemed good for our mental health. 

They swam.  We ate.  We left. 

The forecast was chilly so most of us wore jeans and hoodies.   We decided no movies/tablets until after Mt. Rushmore.  It was less than 2 hours to Rushmore and we listened to Adventures in Odyssey.

I was really happy we were going to see Mt. Rushmore.  I remember when the boys were young we got a VeggieTales movie where Larry the Cucumber was talking about South Dakota.  I shared how I really wanted to see Mt. Rushmore someday.  John chuckled good-naturedly as it wasn’t exactly a destination on it’s own and it really wasn’t on the way TO anything.  I agreed, but have very much maintained my interest and have often heard John’s chuckles as he could never understand my interest.  When we decided to go to OR, I realized I would ACTUALLY GET TO SEE MT. RUSHMORE.  Today was truly a day I was looking forward to. 

As our car inched toward this landmark, I sat up straighter and turned to Stewart behind me and giggled how excited I was.  He smiled for me and said it’d be cool to see it.

 

Big fat net-zero of a day folks.

Skipped lunch.  Just ate car snacks.  Got to hotel.  Didn’t take photos.  Imagine one huge room (very nicely appointed) with room for us all, but only one bathroom.  I remember I booked this hotel for it’s provision of a room for 8, and for their pool.

We went to a place called Pizza Ranch for dinner.  It was like a Ponderosa meets Pizza Hut and perfect for us.  It also turned out to be a Christian owned franchise in the midwest.  Loved it.

Back to the hotel for John and the kids to swim and for me to lick my wounds and chat via WiFi with Tara.

Katriel loved the froggy slide.  She’s so like Marie was at that age.  Hanny would have been too scared at 2, more cautious like Stewart had been.

 

 

Stick a fork in me.  I’m done.