Week 3 & 4 - Can I Get a Little More

We started the week by stopping in to Wyoming to visit Travis, see the drilling operation, and our newest family acquisition, a camper, where he temporarily lives. We went to the Gillette Rec Center which was the most fabulous and outrageously cool Rec Center I have ever seen. He says it's the perk of having one of the nation's largest coal companies in that town, donated money can make awesome city attractions. This Rec center featured a gargantuan rock climbing walls, a great fitness facility, more than one actually, an indoor track, basketball, and tennis courts. Additionally there was an indoor water park complete with multi-story water slides, lazy river, lily pad crossing float ponds, and spray areas. The town itself is much larger than I expected but when considering some of the residents the general feeling was hairy scary, further confirming both the kids and my notion, that likely we wouldn't want to live there. From there we dipped down into our second home.

For weeks 3 and 4 we spent our time in Utah.  And although we still own a home out there, my brother and his family are currently living there and it's not big enough to house us all comfortably, so I decided to spend the time with another "bestie", Candice.  They own a house big enough to house her family of 6 as well as ours with a little room to spare.  Suffice to say, her newish house, has garnered a lot of attention because of its size which I find hysterical.  I teased her that I would take pictures of big clocks, tall ceilings, and weird ginormous features and put on my blog to embarrass her.  But in the end I love her enough and was too distracted by our playing to actually get any.  But instead later I will feature her hubby's butt in picture form because that's how I roll and he endlessly teases me so I think it's fair game, and his teasing has nothing to do with the fact that he may have caught me flexing and checking out my own muscles.  I don't really know why he teases me.

In Utah I have tons of family and friends and so despite spending almost two full weeks there, I feel like I didn't see everyone as much as I would have liked to {I'm still not sure why you have to work for a living, Elizabeth. Definitely could have used more time with you}.  We had a cousin sleepover in Tooele, hiked Arches National Park, Travis ended up coming for my birthday weekend too and we had a family party which helped.  Not only did we celebrate my birthday, but Allie's, Candice's daughter, birthday.  It is the day before mine.  Additionally we celebrated Pioneer Day and because they know and love me we celebrated my visit with stops to or takeout from some of my favorites - Bajio's, Jamba Juice, Jdawgs, and Apple and Raspberry Fritters from a local bakery.  Have you caught the theme from my vacation posts that I am a total foodie, aka Food addict.  Yeah it's an issue.  We'll work on it later.

As for Candice and Scott well I can't begin to explain all the good things about them because the list is limitless.  And I love Scott practically as much as Candice.  And a testament to our friendship is that Sunday morning, the day after I arrived at their house, Scott and I started talking at the kitchen counter - it too is hugocious.  Several questions into the conversation I found myself openly weeping, not a common sight for me.  And to put it simply Scott has a way of boiling down all my bull crap, he has a ton too so he knows all about it, and getting to the real part of me including my feelings on a slew of things that I wouldn't share with just anyone.  I like to tease him that although he was an Accounting major and quite fantastic at it too, that he secretly wishes he would have majored in Psychology.  And together with his wife, well they are a power house couple and family.  Their life hasn't been filled with all bubbles and candy, but you would never know it if you met them because they are some of the happiest people you will ever meet.  Case in point, Candice takes the sad stories of her life and the stories of those who surround her sadnesses and turns them into inspirational music.  She has a CD, Silver Lining, and will soon be recording a second one.  Note:  Buy it, it's awesome.  Shameless plug I know.

As for Candice, she is one of the most beautiful people I have ever known in my life.  And although she is physically very pretty that's not what I am talking about.  When I think of her I think of the 13th Article of Faith.  She embodies it and when I think of the last phrase I think of her..."if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."  It's why no matter how hard in life she might try to shake me, it will never happen, since I'm seeking her like a heat seeking missile to some really hot object.  Note to self:  Department of Defence analogies no good.  Anyway...even after two weeks of living with her and being constantly together we still cried as we hugged and said our goodbyes.  We weren't annoyed with each other at all which considering that Scott, Candice, and I all have strong personalities is a testament to their awesomeness level.  Plus let's be honest, I'm pretty sure I'm still the most difficult of the three of us and in their greatness they would never complain or let on that they were bugged by me.  So we'll just go on believing that none existed whatsoever.  And the thought of spending another year without seeing her is the quickest way to bum me out, so I try not to dwell on it. 

In addition their kids are amazing.  Brilliant, little - okay they are actually not little at all. {Side Note:  Scott is 6'6" and Candice is 5'9" compared to Travis's 5'6" and my 5'3" we call ourselves the Giants and Midgets. Their kids make my kids look minuscule.  Case in point their 4 year old is the height of my 8 year old.}  Going back their kids are brilliant, very fun small adults with more proper grammar than what I possess.  Another example of kids getting along flawlessly helping the friendship reach another level.  Anyway...she/they are amazing.  Love you guys and loved playing with you for so long.  I miss you and can't wait to see you again soon, even if it means I am driving to New York, Utah, or even Ushuaia - put that in your book Scott. 



Lemonade Stand

My kids, today are hosting their first ever lemonade stand.  Dakota is the driving force in starting and carrying out this operation, Bella is the one with the skills to set it all up and mix up beverage, Wyatt is our money handler, and Issac is the marketer.  He is riding round the neighborhood on his scooter, Paul Revere style, yelling that we have lemonade.  He targets the other little kids out and about.  At a nickel a cup, 16 oz I might add, who can refuse.  The neighbor kids have joined in and we parents are laughing ourselves silly.  I love kids, especially mine :)

North and South Dakota (vacation time)

Let me be honest, you better like nature or this is not the place for you.  Sure these states have a rich cultural heritage, Native Americans, and they have the Black Hills, the Badlands, and lots of underground caves, but there is not a whole lot of anything else, and although we had a very fun vacation, that is that and I cannot tell a lie.

Travis flew into Chicago, I picked him up late, and the next morning we drove to Sioux Falls/Mitchell, South Dakota.  There we went to a museums, the corn palace - where they were changing out the corn art, and the Drive In Theater, a family vacation favorite.  I sure wish there were more around the United States, even just for nostalgia's sake.  The next day we went to church, more museums, and local attractions.  We headed out early to our next destination city, Watertown - no where - SD.  We used it as much needed downtime.



The next morning we hit the Fargo/Moorhead, North Dakota/Minnesota area hard going to Bonanzaville, like Landis Valley Museum but not as cool or interactive.  We headed to the Hjemkomst Center where they have a Viking ship, and to "Historic Downtown" this was neither historic nor townsy.  But I did find a mall and score some great shoes and a cardigan on clearance.  From there we headed to our next no name city, Valley City at the AmericInn Hotel - super nice recommend to anyone traveling there.  You see I love small towns, there is where you get a feel for the state and the people. 
Bismark, ND was next on our list and the capital city.  It was the first real city we had encountered on the trip since heading into the Dakotas.  The capital building was beautiful and I wish we would have had more time to explore that.  But we ended up spending an entire day in another museum.  My family really loves museums, especially science related interactive ones.  There were endless logic puzzles to solve and we got to work on them.  We ate at Texas Roadhouse and stayed at a very mediocre hotel.  It wasn't until I headed to the Hotel next door, Country Inn and Suites - where they have all night cookie service and a borrow a book program - that I saw they had an indoor water park in the hotel, thus making me envious. 

From there we went to Medora, North Dakota.  Seemingly it is nothing, population 112 at the 2010 census, but it is the recognized birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt and in the middle of the North Dakota badlands and my personal favorite stop of our North and South Dakota vacation.  There is a national park with wildlife, there are tons of free parks - fancy park, horseback riding, golfing, and family fun activities galore.  The town exists for the summer as a tourist trap, that I would gladly enter time and time again.  Some online reviewers were bothered by this, but I found the town cute and energetic, paying homage to history and Roosevelt while likewise making if fun for kids and filled with modern amenities.  Here is where we played on the world's largest inflatable - a several story inflatable water slide where my bathing suit and I lost a fierce battle with gravity and Travis was there to photograph it for posterity.  Take my butt and like it :).  Also we attended the Medora musical, filled with no plot but a retelling of the history of Medora and North Dakota through the eyes of residents and Theodore himself but with current pop and country music throughout that kept the kids entertained and half singing along.  Super fun plus Wednesdays and Sundays kids are free to this musical making it a very affordable option for our family.

From Medora we headed to South Dakota once more to see Jewel Cave - worlds second largest underground cave and largest disappointment, not the cave itself, because we never got to see it because of how flawed the national park system is run there.  Example:  Call for reserve tour tickets a week in advance, it fills up fast.  I heeded this advice and called a minimum of 5 times a day for one week without every talking to anyone, half the time with no recorded machine service, and once getting there was unable to get on any tour for a day and a half.  Great if you have no other plans or reservations, but if you do - oh no.  Their excuse, high visitor demand.  They have four phone lines and only two phones being answered.  Can anyone say dumb, hire more people, have the tours closer together, and make more money.  There is our government hard at work again making things overly complex, functioning at half their potential, and doing a much poorer job at it than if the private sector were to own and operate it.
In the same area though is Mt. Rushmore - largely anti climatic and Crazy Horse, an unexpected surprise.  The story of Crazy Horse was somewhat emotional for me as it sheds like on our government's shady dealings with the Native Americans through history.  Additionally it is a story of capitalism at it's best - refusing to take government money and to stay private.  And although the blasting has been going for many years and is still not finished, when it finishes some day it will absolutely blow Rushmore out of the water in the Wow factor.

Overall it was a fun vacation, not so much because the area itself, but because being with family exploring is my favorite past time.  And although I may never have a burning desire to return to the Dakotas, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride from the citizens, especially in Medora, who love their state, lands, and rich heritage.  Their love of state made me love it too, despite not being able to find anything so spectacular to set it on a pedestal.

Homage to Friendships

Along with trying to finish visiting all 50 states, this year's vacation was a homage to friendships I have made.  If you know me I use the word best friend to describe about a half a dozen people in my life.  The truth is once you are my "friend" you do so for life.  We may not talk everyday, write, email, or even make facebook comments on one another's walls - I understand that their lives are as filled and busy as mine - but when we reunite it is like a day has not passed where we haven't talked.  We fall into old habits and patterns.  We share anything and everything that has happened and we lay endlessly in bed or half cuddled on the couch together recapping our lives.  So these vacation posts will be as much about the people as the places.

Stop 1 was Chicago Illinois, home of Kristy, old college roommate, this term is also loosely used on anyone who I spent enormous amounts of time with during college whether we actually lived together or not.  Originally from Arizona we were at Ricks together.  Even once I was married, she was still confident enough to come play at my house with me and my hubster without having the third wheel mentality that created undue awkwardness.  I tried to get her to marry my brother without success and I guess that's for the best because her now husband is awesome too and we are still friends without actually being related, which was my biggest concern.  She lived in Pittsburgh for a while and when she did we saw each other more often, but I know that wherever she lives - I'll always track her down - I still think it should be PA, but whatever :)

While in Chicago, we spent most everyday at the beach, Lake Michigan.  The kids played and she lives so close we walked each day.  Personal Disclosure about to happen:  After arriving in Chicago, much to my chagrin I had popped a hemorrhoid.  This has never happened except for after having my babies.  I don't know if it was a result of 12 hours of driving or a pretty intense night of partying it up with friends two days before I left, regardless I was really bummed, in a lot of pain, and struggling to remain optimistic.  I felt like the least cool friend ever and worst house guest, but she let me lay in bed when we weren't at the beach laying and she laid beside me talking the days away, which later became a concern for Billy, aka husband, when he said every night I come home and you guys are in bed together and all the kids are in front of the TV.

Kristy understands so much about me.  In my opinion we have similar body types, have almost always been able to share clothes, not an easy task for someone with my body type and she is ridiculously strong.  Once doing a push-up with Travis laying on top of her, which then sparked my competitive spirit into doing said push-up too.  But in so many ways she is better than me - she is warm, kind, loving and generous in crazy amounts and I can't leave her house without acquiring so much stuff.  In that way she is like her mother who also always sends me on my way with assorted items I never knew I needed.  She is the penultimate All-American mom of snuggles and positive reinforcement and total support.  I love this girl and my time with her was unforgettable.  Last our kids got along fantastically.  I love when that happens.  I miss her tons and seeing her was amazing.

Homeless Tour

As many of you know our family recently went on vacation.  Many have teased me about the length and extremes to which I vacated calling it the Homeless Tour, The Stay-cation: Stay away from home vacation, and other catchy ones.  Regardless it was the experience of a lifetime.

Vacation Name (as deemed by Whitings): Tour the Nation Vacation
Length: 5+ weeks
Number of states traveled through: 20
Number of states visited: 7
Hotels stayed at: 7
Number of family/friends' homes stayed at overnight: 5
Number of total miles driven: 6086
Events participated it: We swam, walked, wake boarded, pseudo bungi jumped, ate, cuddled, explored, tubed, celebrated, played, slid, visited, shopped, climbed, watched, hiked, lit, boated, read, stretched, caved, posed, built, sang, and floated. 
Number of pictures taken: 1600+
Number of pictures downloaded: 1495
Total Cost: $3137.49
Number of memories made: Priceless

The main question we are asked is What was your favorite part? No one in my family has yet to answer it. It was very overwhelming the whole vacation and although while planning the vacation I did so by segments of the trip, it really was a wholistic experience that is hard for my kids to seperate mentally. More easily they can tell you what they didn't like or what was a disappointment to them. But more about that as I blog more specifically.

Irony

So recently we have gone through the testing process to enroll Dakota in Kindergarten, technically, a year early because his birthday is one day past the cut off date.  The final part of testing was an IQ test.  The day of the test he decided forthrightly not to participate, not even a little, not at all.  Those of you who know Kody - know that this boy makes up his own mind.  Suffice to say his scores were not in the percentile they needed to be and therefore he was ineligible for early enrollment.

I contacted the school about putting him in the Pre-K program.  Note: Our district Pre-K program is phenomenal, I can't say enough good things.  After reviewing his file - I was called back with this report.  "Based on looking at his Kindergarten assessment [stage 1 testing],  I am sure you know Dakota did very well.  In fact he knew everything he was tested on.  At his current ability he would likely be able to pass Kindergarten.  Due to this, he would not qualify for our Pre-K program."  Now keep in mind that this is the same woman who just yesterday called and told me based on his last set of testing would not qualify for Kindergarten.  Crazy how he is too dumb for Kindergarten but too smart for Pre-K.  Does it not seem crazy to anyone else that I have a child who could pass Kindergarten requirements today as is, but due to one test cannot go.

So all that I keep chanting in my head is, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths."  Because this was something that had been turned over to much prayer and fasting as to how things would turn out,  I need to trust that he is directing our path and be at peace.

Note: (8/20/12) Shortly after this post, I got a return call telling me the decision would ultimately be mine.  Please note that there were many more details that I spared you, but ultimately love that the call was placed in my hands.  And we have decided to send Dakota to Kindergarten this year, 2012-13. 

You Always Do the Funnest and Craziest Things

This is what a friend of mine said when I explained to her that I would spend the upcoming extended weekend on Pioneer Trek.  Of course what she originally said was, "What is Pioneer Trek?"  So I gave her a little briefing which consisted of, originally the east coast was settled by those English escaping tyranny.  While some were content to stay there, others headed west either for land, gold, or to escape religious persecution, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aka Mormons were the bulk of that last group.  As we headed west it was under the strain of threats to life, property, and family.  So it was that the trek was made usually in poverty or next to poverty, in less than stellar traveling conditions, and with groups that traveled together known as Handcart Companies.  For more detail on this historical part, read here.

So what I was doing was reenactting this bit of history with the youth from all around this area.  Our church opens this experience up every four years to the youth ages 14-18.  They are then divided into pseudo families for the week, with handpicked "Ma and Pa's".  Adult members of our congregation who, when asked, willingly give up modern comforts and conveniences to teach the youth appreciation and respect for their Pioneer Heritage.  It is a very physically exhausting and emotionally intense weekend.  Both lead to great bonding oppurtunities and huge leaps of growth and maturity, even if temporary, of the youth.

Well Travis and I were asked to be Ma and Pa of a family. We had 12 children who also dressed in their period clothes wearing them for two days at a time, with no bathing, and making their own shelters at night and cooking their meals over a fire. Although now we do it so that no one is starving, freezing to death or generally in grave danger of anything. And we keep a doctor on sight for any health concerns. We then learn skills like: candle making, bull whipping, milking cows, pioneer games, rope making, ice cream making, etc...you get the point. And although I had done a Pioneer Trek when I was younger, doing it as an adult was so much more rewarding. Below is the picture diary of my family, the best family of course, and our experiences. 

Waiting to get our family assignments

Building our Handcart

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the bag of flour wrapped in a blanket, center,
is our sick baby which someone had to hold the entire time

Getting Clean/Washing Hair 

Our Pioneer Family 2012 - The Fighting Whitings'