Back to Canada

 Summer is half over.  It's impossible and downright WRONG!  I thought that I'd finally get a start on my goal of posting more than I did last year.  One down and two to go and I'll have reached my goal.  I sure do set my goals high!
A few days after school got out, the kids and I set out on a vacation.  Jason couldn't take the time off of work so we had to leave him at home.  It had been since we got married that I last went home.  Sounds harsh, but to drive that far with tiny kids just wasn't in the picture.  My mom would come here or we'd go up to Calgary and meet up with her at my grandmas.  Or we'd drive to California or Wyoming to see my dad and to Vancouver to see my other grandma, but we hadn't made it back to Winnipeg.  We were gone for 2 weeks, drove a total of 3707 miles and had a great time.  The only thing missing was Jason.  He was on a business trip to Denver when we left so we didn't see him for 17 days.  That was hard.

We headed out to Wyoming for an overnight stay at Dad & Gayle's and then headed for Mount Rushmore and a VERY long drive across South Dakota.  There is NOTHING across I-90.  NOTHING I tell you.  It was insanely windy and no where to stop.  We left Rapid City around 10 am and a 2:00ish came to a gas staion in the middle of nowhere (no exageration).  I asked the cashier where the nearest McDonalds or Subway was and he told me it was in Rapid City!  Sorry if you're from there but it was the least favorite drive I have ever made and we have put some serious miles in over the last almost 18 years. 15 hours in the van that day and all 5 kids were amazing.  I couldn't believe it.  I was ready to go crazy but they were great. 

     
                
 
 While in Winnipeg we stayed with my brother Neil's but spent lots of time at Mom's too and when we weren't at her place, she was at Neil's with us.  We visited with people I hadn't seen for 20+ years.  It was wonderful.  I should have taken more pictures in more places and of all the people we saw, but I didn't.  This was at the Museum of Man and Nature (which has been renamed to be more politically correct, but it will never change in my mind!).  I loved going on field trips there when I was a kid.
                                 

 After church on Sunday, we headed out to the cottage for a few days.  It was fantastic.  The kids loved it.  Neil always tells the kids about it so it was really fun for them to see it.  They fished and swam and ate WAY too much food.  That's what being on vacation is all about, right?

 

 When we came back to the city we visited with friends, took the kids to see the "important" places from my childhood and had a wonderful time.  But, all good things must end and we had to head home (which was a wonderful thing too).


We decided to come across the border at the International Peace Gardens.  I loved going there when I was little.  The summer before 11th grade I went to International Music Camp there and had a great time.  How many times do you get to stand with a foot in two different countries?    We also went to the "Geographical Center of North America.  Or as Jason would say, "The farthest you can possibly get from the beach!"  It's true.                                                                

 

 We stayed in Bismark, ND so of course we had to find the temple.  We also saw one mighty big cow.  I bet that could feed our family for a year!

 We stopped at Dad's again on our way home and stayed for a few days instead of just overnight.  It was fun to be there for Father's Day and Dad's birthday.  We went to a beautiful lake to go fishing.  The cute extra little boy in the picture is our new "cousin".  Hopefully one of these days he really will be!

    

 We went to Devil's Tower and boy is that a big rock! We looked but found no alien activity.  There is a big open area called Prairie Dog Town and the kids had a great time pretending to take care of the over population.

On the last part of our journey we stopped at Martin's Cove.  A place where the pioneers got stranded as they traveled to the Salt Lake Valley.  I was there last year when I took the 4 youngest kids to Dad's while Thomas and Jason were at scout camp.  It a great place.  Thomas will get to go on Trek next year for Youth Conference and relive some of the experiences the pioneers had.  On our way home Beth planned out for the "whole big Watterson family" to head up and do a family trek.  I think it would be fun.

As soon as we got home and out of the van the kids all piled onto the trampoline and had a great time.


Since we've been home, we (Jason's family) planned and held a semi surprise 50th Anniversary party for Jason's parents.  It was last night and was absolutely perfect.  Maybe I'll do a post about it and then I'll only have one more post to meet my goal.  But then again maybe I won't!