Tuesday, April 29, 2014

South Dakota, Day One!

I cannot believe I am actually posting about a family trip.  We have never, ever, taken a family trip, with just us. When you have a baby every year and a half, and your husband doesn't even like road trips with little ones, and your tax refund usually goes to things like braces, piano lessons, trips to see relatives, and car repairs, well, you get the picture.
But last year, our two oldest boys went up to Rapid City, South Dakota for a speech and debate tournament.  And after hearing of the trip, I decided that I really wanted to take the family up there the next year.  And this is that next year!
So we planned and shopped and got people off work and did about 40 loads of laundry and cut many heads of hair and prepared tournament suits and found a cat-sitter and cleaned house and loaded up this poor Suburban and off we went!
The trip up was really not so bad.  Except that there is NOTHING in Wyoming.  'This is the longest day of my life' and 'Why Wyoming?' and 'We can't even play the Find It game out here, there isn't anything!' rang out from the kids.  But then, we turned into South Dakota and came into the pretty Black Hills.  And as Danny gave us all the history of the area, we came in to Rapid City, where we would stay in a tournament host house for 5 days.


Yes, there really are eleven people in this vehicle (Sammy rode with a friend on the way up and we used his seat for food!).  And there are three suitcases.  And three backpacks.  And two large carriers of food.  And water bottles and activity books and pillows.  Don't ask me how.  According to my husband, 'It's the man's job to pack the car'.  And he did!
And if I may brag just a bit, we hardly had a fuss the whole trip.  That, my friends, is the grace of the Lord.

Going nuts in the front seat, and we hadn't even left home.

Danny and Hannah look thrilled, don't you think?

Joey, looking like he is being shipped off to prison.

Sarah entertains the baby.  Thank the Lord for children with big imaginations!

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