North Dakota Pt. 2

We made it to Bowman on Thursday evening just in time for some dinner. Because of all the rain they have been getting up there, the basement was pretty damp and the sub pumps had been running regularly. We slept upstairs the first night because Grandma and Gramps were worried it might be moldy downstairs. I counted all the years I had been coming there (10 years) and this was the first time I had slept upstairs. The sign, we always forget to take a picture in front of the sign so this trip we did it first.




The boys with Gramps, they love him and his chair so much!

Logan reading Gramps a story about our pictures.

We took picture the first part of the trip instead of trying to do it while loading the car to leave. We got all dressed up to go to church with them, we had a good time.

There is a Museum in Ekalaka, Montana that has a 2 headed cow and since Bowman is a very small town, we had to check that out. It was about a 2 hour drive but North Dakota has gotten SO much rain, everything was flooded and really neat to see.

My boys love rocks!

In this room you can see all the Geodes with a black light.

The 2 headed calf

After the museum we needed lunch and in this SUPER small town there is only 1 diner. And apparently all 300 people have lunch there. It took FOREVER!!! The boys were starving so they started taking pictures. Thus, these....

The food was great though!



Before we left town, we wanted to check out the Cemetery because Gramma's brother is buried there. As we left the Cemetery this is what we saw....

There you go! Mormons are everywhere!!

On the way back we found a place called the Medicine rocks and we stopped in to see what is was. It turns out you can carve on these rocks, although there are signs saying not to. The boys loved climbing and carving. It was cold out so there were no snakes, or we would not have stopped.

They were carved out by the wind.

I can't flip this picture but it's so good. :(

Gramma and the boys. The boys love her so much, she is so good to get out there and climb through the rocks and play on the ground with them. The boys are very lucky to have great-grandparents that are so good to them.

Grandma Linda and Sam

Dave and hiked over to a cliff, it was really neat, you could see forever it seemed.

Dave and I hiked into this thing, I was cool, but bird poop every where and snakes I'm sure.

This is an old school drinking fountain, Dave loved it and wants to find one for our yard.

The boys on the Propane tank.

Bowman's Dinosaur

Dave and Gramps working

We love spending time with Gramma and Gramps.

The weather was really cold, windy and raining most of the time so we wanted to stay inside and be warm and dry. One evening Dave ventured out to go fishing, his most favorite thing ever. By 10:30pm he still hadn't come home so Linda and I went searching for him. We actually passed him on the road, and after a long talking to from his Mom and Gramps, he told us that the fishing was so great. He was catching huge Northern Pike almost every cast. The next day he left before before dawn to get back to those fish. The boys wanted to go see the fish so we packed a little snack and headed to the dam. We ended up staying most of the afternoon, the fishing was great even the boys were catching them.Logan got his face scratched.

Logan catching a fish.

Sam 'fishing'

One of Dave's

Mine

We always have to get a picture of the boys holding the Prime Rib.

I had to put in both, they are just so cute.

I had so much fun fishing I wanted to go back so after dinner we went back and did so more fishing.

I caught a huge one! Dave held it so you could see how big it is. Im not going to touch them, they have nasty teeth and are slimy.

Logan all of a sudden decided that he wanted to be a pirate and walked around with his fingers hooked and one of his toes hooked like a peg leg. He has such an imagination.

This could be my ALL TIME favorite picture. They all look so happy!

Dave and Gramps

Pirate Logan

Gramps is so good with the boys. They love to be around him. I know that Gramps can't understand most of what the boys say to him but he listens and they feel so important around him.

The morning shot.....We always HATE to leave Bowman! It is so laid back andjust slower there. We love so much spending our 10 days there each year. Gramma and Gramps are so nice to let us invade their house and quietness for a week or so. The boys are so excited to go each year.

North Dakota Pt. 1

The day after Sam's graduation, we packed up the car and headed to North Dakota for our summer trip. We always take 2 days to drive because it is a long ways, but this year we decided to take 3. We were so happy to have Linda with us, and we wanted to stop at all the cool places we have seen before on our drives. We love to stop at 'Winter Quarters' and see the temple


Grandma Linda and Sam at the Monument in the Cemetery.

Sam and Logan having a go at pulling a hand cart....I'm in good hands if we ever have to haul our stuff away on one of these, I can just hop in and sleep until we get there!

The Boys were trying to get the cows to move, then they decided we need to have some at these at our house to keep Fred (Josh Mitchell's Antelope) company.

A bronze Exhibit from the Bible was on display...Amazing!

Sam in front of Jesus walking on the water. Make the picture and look at the intensity in Jesus face, the Artist did such an amazing job!

We finished our drive to Rapid City, South Dakota by the evening. We ate a quick bite and then headed to Mt. Rushmore, it doesn't matter how many times you go, it's still so awesome! Someone carved faces into a MOUNTAIN!!! On our way past we saw Moose-lots of them- on the side of the highway in a pen. That was weird, but then, I noticed HUGE bears, in there too! I made Dave stop and what did I see right in front of the van......BABY BEARS!!!!! Loads of them! I rolled down my window and called to them, and they all came over to the edge of the fence. I almost cried, they were calling back. I was not allowed to get out and go and grab one to take home, MEAN! After a while I made Dave turn around and go to the front gate, to get me in there. IT WAS CLOSED!! So we continued on our way to Mt.Rushmore; which was a let down after baby bears, let me tell you!

How cute is that!

Family Pic

Grandma Linda and the boys

A herd of Buffalo, just right there on the side of the road. There were signs everywhere telling you not to get out of your car.

We made it to the Mammoth Site, we have been wanting to go there for years but have never made it down there. It is several hours away from Gramma and Gramps house. We decided this year to go down there for a few days before we headed up to Bowman, instead of going there and then driving several hours both ways. It worked out really well.

The Mammoth Site is a Museum where this people found over 70 skeletons of Mammoths and other animals. They figure it was a water hole that when the animals came to to get a drink they got suck and died. It was really cool, they were all half buried so you could see them but not pulled out of the ground. The boys loved it!

Our tour guide really involved the boys. He asked them to help hold the bones.

The Phones were so we could hear the guide talking from far away. Logan really was interested.

A Mammoth bone hut, the people used to live in.

This showed how the people were able to overpower the Mammoth and kill it. Logan started out very concerned that the mammoth was hurt and then; when he could not get it to stand back up and the people go away, he was MAD! We explained that it was fake, they were just showing how the people killed them so they could eat and have the bones for their homes. Logan was DONE! He was so angry that people would kill them and that no one stopped the bad guys from killing this one. It was really funny, but we had to leave because he was very upset!

In the gift shop, the boys were able to dig and find Mammoth bones. I think Dave liked it too.

When we were done we planned on heading straight to Bowman, BUT to get there we had to drive passed what????? THE BABY BEARS!!! Yeah we weren't going to drive passed. I convinced Dave that 'the boys' would LOVE it and we had to stop. It is called Bear Country and its a huge drive through park that has tons of mountain animals. It really was awesome.

The gate into the bears, yeah its just open.

This bear was patrolling the gate, and was seriously this close to the car. It was great. I did get a little nervous at the closeness of us and the bears but if we wanted to see the babies we had to drive through.

I know the window looks down, but it was up.

BABY BEARS!

It was windy this day, so the bears were trying to dig a hole under the rock to stay warm.

Sam in the gift shop. When we bought our things, I told the park people I was willing to pay anything to get in there with them. I would feed them or just love them, seriously ANYTHING! They said in Feb. they take the babies from the dens, before the parents wake up. Then for 2 weeks they offer for like $70 for 1/2 an hour, you can feed them and cuddle them.....we're going!

Just Sleep!

Bedtime has always been a struggle at our house. We read books, say prayer, and have family hug at about 7:30 and then tuck them into their beds. But they always have to go potty, and they need a drink, and they are too scared or they are itchy. There is ALWAYS something! By the time those two fall asleep it is well after 9:00 (on a good night). I am normally so frustrated with them that I end up telling them, 'I don't care how or where you sleep, Just Sleep!' and they do!! I love checking on them before I go to bed and seeing how they decided to sleep that night, it's always so entertaining. It really is so funny what they deem comfortable. I love my boys!

ONE DAY........

I'll start blogging again! Maybe when we/I have a spare second to sit. But until then here is a picture of the boys on Logan's first day of Preschool! My boys are going so fast and I can't get them to stop.