Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Crazy Horse and Volksmarch
We woke up bright and early from our first night in our cabins in Custer, SD to head to Crazy Horse to take part in the Volksmarch. Never heard of the Volksmarch? What exactly is it?
"The bi-annual Crazy Horse Volksmarch (an organized hike) is a 10K or 6.2-mile woodlands ramble to the world’s largest mountain carving in progress in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. The Crazy Horse Volksmarch is the most popular organized hike in the United States (15,000 walkers in a record year). This family event is sponsored by the Black Hills Chapter of the American Volksmarch Association (AVA) and hosted by Crazy Horse Memorial."
So, the majority of our group marched the 10K... (including Neil and our 6 big kids!!)
While I stayed back with my parents and the babies and toddlers...
Now it's not a race. It's a march where you start anytime between 8am-1pm and go at your own pace. I don't even remember about how long it took our group? I'm guessing 2-3 hours?? So, I definitely had some time to kill with my littles. Thankfully there was a movie on the history of Crazy Horse, multiple museums to walk through, a beautiful deck area to view the Crazy Horse Mountain. We also grabbed a little snack, as I was in the first trimester of this pregnancy and needing to eat quite often just to feel decent. There was also a teepee, so the littles and I played around in there for a while. Thankfully with a "Barney-type" mom, I was able to keep these two little birds entertained and happy during the March.
Here are some shots of the marchers during the initial part of the march and before they got to the mountain...
And, now some shots from right up by Crazy Horse's head and WAY up high...
At the FINISH line!!! Yay!! Great job, crew!!!
I was pleasantly surprised what an awesome attraction and march this was. I totally could see us going back in 10 years as a large group again, just to see the progress of the mountain and to do the Volksmarch again. Maybe I'll get to march then too!!
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Click the image below to see all our destinations with details
and pictures from our trip Way Out West....
Monday, June 27, 2016
Wall Drug
Five Cent Coffee!!!!
Homemade Donuts!!!!
If you have ever traveled through South Dakota, then chances are you've seen those signs advertising Wall Drug. We were hoping to make this a quick stop for our whole family, but after the 3 hour drive and an awesome visit to the Badlands, we had some tired, pooped, sleeping kids. So, I stayed in the van with the sleepers, and Neil took a few kids in to get some coffee and donuts. And they had to pose for a couple pictures while there....
My parents and sister and her family stopped here on the way home. Here are some of their pictures....
My dad was so cute. When I asked him about Wall Drug and what he thought. He said it was such a neat place, he would have liked to have spent all day looking around, and he is not the shopper-type of guy either. So it was even a winner for him!
All in all, it was a really neat place. Another "thumbs up"!!
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Click the image below to see all our destinations with details
and pictures from our trip Way Out West....
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Worthless Wednesday??
Do you ever have a day where you feel worthless? Like you accomplished nothing? Made no real impact on anyone else's day. Disappointment around every corner. Yeah, today was one of those days for me.
**Late start to my day, since Pookey was up coughing all night long. Third day of fever and croup for him. Both Rose and Yoda had to be checked often throughout the night to make sure their fevers weren't getting too high. Not to mention the rain and storms all night. This momma lays in bed, while her hero husband gets up regardless to go work for the family. Just call me a lazy-bum, taking full advantage of the flexibility of being a stay-at-home mom and all plans being canceled today from having sick kids.
**We didn't even go anywhere today. Didn't even leave the house.
**Didn't get anything done.
**Dust bunnies are taking over multiple flat surfaces around the house.
**Ceiling fans are also covered in dust and needing a good cleaning. But, thankfully, I learned you can mask this by keeping your fans on. Shhhh - don't tell anyone my secret.
**No home-cooked meals.
**Canceled activities and sad kiddos because of it.
These items left undone and the let down can really weigh on you. I can hear that voice, "you are worthless". "You have so much to do, and didn't get one thing done" "What a failure of a day"
SNAP OUT OF IT!
BEGONE SATAN!
MASTER OF LIES, GET, GET, GET!
PRAY AND LEAN ON OUR LORD!
++Lord, I need you. I know you planned this day. Your grace and your presence is here. Somewhere. Help me find it. Help me see You++
I did what I was supposed to today. I tried my best.
**I loved my kids.
**Took care of sick ones. Took temps. Gave meds. The great Ibuprofen and Tylenol rotation.
**Fed kids two meals and cleaned after them. Granted they were not home-cooked meals. I just warmed up pizza from the night before. But the tables got wiped, and dishes got rinsed.
**I showered. Four kids got showered, even though they are the ones who can shower themselves.
**I brushed my teeth. Yes, this is a HUGE thing!!
**Let my kids get the rest they needed. TV may burn out by the end of the day. Only got a break when we were eating meals. I did introduce the kids to Cupcake Wars and we watched and enjoyed multiple episodes. Now we are joking about how hungry we are for cupcakes!! (cupcake delivery anyone??)
**I kicked up my feet and took a nap with little Yoda. Ahhh, the pure sweetness of that resting time and baby lovin's.
**Believe it or not, I did do two loads of laundry.
**The house remained tidy and neat. Mostly because we were all glued to the tv - lol!
**Got today's blog post up for a blog that I help run. (Go read it!! These mom authors are awesome and so very inspirational!!)
So, was today a worthless day? Should we just fast-forward and skip to tomorrow? No way. We are called to live in the moment. Not wish your worthless day away. Embrace the suffering and all that doesn't go your way. Turn the disappointments into prayer. Look for joy. Find joy. Create joy.
**Late start to my day, since Pookey was up coughing all night long. Third day of fever and croup for him. Both Rose and Yoda had to be checked often throughout the night to make sure their fevers weren't getting too high. Not to mention the rain and storms all night. This momma lays in bed, while her hero husband gets up regardless to go work for the family. Just call me a lazy-bum, taking full advantage of the flexibility of being a stay-at-home mom and all plans being canceled today from having sick kids.
**We didn't even go anywhere today. Didn't even leave the house.
**Didn't get anything done.
**Dust bunnies are taking over multiple flat surfaces around the house.
**Ceiling fans are also covered in dust and needing a good cleaning. But, thankfully, I learned you can mask this by keeping your fans on. Shhhh - don't tell anyone my secret.
**No home-cooked meals.
**Canceled activities and sad kiddos because of it.
These items left undone and the let down can really weigh on you. I can hear that voice, "you are worthless". "You have so much to do, and didn't get one thing done" "What a failure of a day"
SNAP OUT OF IT!
BEGONE SATAN!
MASTER OF LIES, GET, GET, GET!
PRAY AND LEAN ON OUR LORD!
++Lord, I need you. I know you planned this day. Your grace and your presence is here. Somewhere. Help me find it. Help me see You++
"Prayer is the place of refuge for every worry, a foundation of cheerfulness, a source of constant happiness, a protection against sadness"
~St. John Crysostom
I did what I was supposed to today. I tried my best.
**I loved my kids.
**Took care of sick ones. Took temps. Gave meds. The great Ibuprofen and Tylenol rotation.
**Fed kids two meals and cleaned after them. Granted they were not home-cooked meals. I just warmed up pizza from the night before. But the tables got wiped, and dishes got rinsed.
**I showered. Four kids got showered, even though they are the ones who can shower themselves.
**I brushed my teeth. Yes, this is a HUGE thing!!
**Let my kids get the rest they needed. TV may burn out by the end of the day. Only got a break when we were eating meals. I did introduce the kids to Cupcake Wars and we watched and enjoyed multiple episodes. Now we are joking about how hungry we are for cupcakes!! (cupcake delivery anyone??)
**I kicked up my feet and took a nap with little Yoda. Ahhh, the pure sweetness of that resting time and baby lovin's.
**Believe it or not, I did do two loads of laundry.
**The house remained tidy and neat. Mostly because we were all glued to the tv - lol!
**Got today's blog post up for a blog that I help run. (Go read it!! These mom authors are awesome and so very inspirational!!)
So, was today a worthless day? Should we just fast-forward and skip to tomorrow? No way. We are called to live in the moment. Not wish your worthless day away. Embrace the suffering and all that doesn't go your way. Turn the disappointments into prayer. Look for joy. Find joy. Create joy.
"I cannot be downcast, since in everything that happens to me, I see the loving hand of Jesus"
~St. Therese of Lisieux
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Have a Fourth Grader?
Then go here and have your fourth grader follow the directions and print your pass to get in free to ALL national parks!! We just went on an awesome vacation Way Out West and our sweet Ariel saved us loads of money because all the national parks we went to were free for our whole family. Wasn't she so sweet?
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Click the image below to see all our destinations with details
and pictures from our trip Way Out West....