Day 3

Day #3 leads us into the scenic route though the Badlands. What a beautiful way to start a day!


We continued on to the infamous Wall Drug and did enjoy that 5 cent cup of coffee while the kids enjoyed ice cream!
Maybe that ice cream was not such a good idea....or a bug has entered our vacation. Jenna is sick. Oh, she is pretty sick with vomiting and a high fever. Cross our fingers she is better tomorrow. Since she was not feeling good, she only seemed to be happy in the car (we rented one) or me holding her where she could sleep. So we did some scenic driving again. Off to see Mount Rushmore.And then Crazy Horse.


Our day is ending at a KOA here in Rapid City, SD. We have lots of fun plans for tomorrow, but we need to see how peanut is feeling. Fireworks are starting! What is today again? I have a feeling we will see our share this year!

Day 2

Good Mornin' South Dakota, and fellow RV travelers in the Cabella's parking lot! Easy place to stop and free! We pulled in around 11pm, so it was simple to park and crash. Day 2 started with RV life. We did a little unpacking got organized, showered, breakfast and we were off. The convenience of living in your vehicle - very nice so far! (so far, we are on day 2 of 14!)

Our first stop this morning was the Mitchell Corn Palace. We stopped, we saw, we left. 5 min and we did not even go inside. It was on our way to our next stop, Prehistoric Indian Village. It was very neat and we saw an archaeological dig taking place by British college students. Very neat to experience.

Here are the kiddos playing at a park Our RV is in the background.

Back into the RV for a couple hour drive to the 1880's village. You wander though a village of buildings and of course the kiddos wanted to dress in costume from that era. Hailey and Jackson were both cowboys/girl and Jenna was a little girl. We called her Little Bo Peep - with red cowboy boots on! Obviously, we let her pick her own costume.

And on our way, we did stop and feed the prairie dogs. They did not really want the peanuts we purchased to feed them, but they entertained us anyway!

Our last and final destination for the day is the Badlands. What a way to end your day. They are a spectacular sight.

This evening we upgraded from the parking lot and are staying at a KOA near the Badlands. We took a little swim and are now settling in for the night.

Day 1

And we are off! We picked up the RV, packed it, and started heading down the highway. On our first day of travels, we drove about 7 hours, ending in Mitchell, SD and parking in a Cabella's parking lot. We tried to make frequent stops at rest stops allowing the children to play at the playgrounds. I even gave driving this 30 footer a try -- through SD where there is nothing but straight rodes. Not too tough, but I prefer riding over driving. Plus, I need to continue my role as waitress and go-fer. Yes, today I made coffee for Stuart while on the road. Started the generator and everything - okay, it is just the switch of a button - but we are getting the hand of things.

So far in day one, we have soon realized that even though our rental only had 1,880 miles when we started, it still shakes and rattles. But if you shove a sock here and there the rattles stop! And speaking of rental, it states that several places on our RV so everyone knows to stay out of our way -- newbies here!

One one tourist stop today. We stopped in Blue Earth, MN to visit the Jolly Green Giant.

A dress for Jane.

Our niece Jane, turned 4! And for her birthday a dress was in order. I love this Oliver & S pattern. And even more, I love the fabric. Sometimes is nice to stray from the typical girl colors.

The wooden buttons are fantastic.

But even more, I love the tag and the font!

Teacher Gifts

Another school year has ended. BUT It seems like it just started! Jackson is now finished with 1st grade and Hailey is finished with kindergarten. WOW!

To thank Jackson and Hailey's teachers for all their hard work this year, we created notebook holders/organizers for each of the teachers and assistants. That is 5 total. Then the kiddos wrote a note to each of the teachers.

Baby Quilts

I asked for some help photographing the quilts. At least they kept them off the ground.....

Fishing Opener!

Some folks actually look forward to fishing opener here in Wisconsin. My family, we celebrate a little differently - by baking cupcakes! (We will, however, love to eat Papa's catch!)

You see we got this new book last week. The first book was excellent, the second is even better!

Hailey selected the goldfish. And I set out to find Circus peanuts. There is a reason they are hard to find - yuk! After a visit to our local grocery store and Target, they were finally found at Menards.