Kenzie is 17!

Kenzers had marching band practice the morning of her birthday, and in the afternoon we visited Lowe's to let her pick out the flowers she wanted for the deck.  All smiles.

She got right out there and transferred everything to the deck pots before a little summer thunderstorm quickly blew through.

When Chris got home it was time for presents!  Cameron had been hiding that giant stuffed pineapple in his room for a week, and he was beyond thrilled to finally present it to her!

Genuine happiness for the tomahawk Daddy picked out for her.  She's well rounded, since the Lego flower bouquet also got a big "Ooh!"

For dinner, we visited Gourmandise in Draper.  Kenzie had wanted a turkey and avocado sandwich, and we figured she'd be happy to pick a treat out of the bakery case.

The elegant fruit tart could really only accommodate a single candle, but she was fine with that.  This busy kid is sure growing up!  When she's not at marching band, she's at work, but still finds time to mother her little brothers and help me keep things cleaned up.  She gave a lesson in her Young Women's class this week and her leaders mentioned several times how well she did.  She does well in school and has a good sense of humor.  We are so glad she came around 17 years ago, even if she didn't prepare us at all for her brothers!  Happy Birthday to Kenzie!!

 

So Far This Summer

The day after we returned from South Dakota, we went to Camille's mission farewell.  Had to take a picture since Chris convinced Cameron to wear a bowtie!  

Camille left Wednesday for the Philippines for the next 18 months.  She was beyond excited and ready to go!

We'll see how much taller the boys are by the time she returns!

Then Grandma Susan came by for a quick visit.  The kids wasted no time challenging her to yet another round of Uno, which is quite the tradition.

Kenzers got a new job!  She's working with her best friend, Kiera, over at Costa Vida, which is pretty close to our house so that's nice.  She was very nervous at first but already has been figuring it out better and is having fun earning some money for Marching Band trips this fall.

The weather was not cooperative this weekend at the lake, but Cameron didn't care!  He was one of only a few brave/crazy souls who jumped in.

Finally, yesterday we dropped off Kenzie and Parker at BYU for the week to attend FSY.  They were both a little nervous, and the check in process was a bit chaotic, but hopefully they will have a fun week!

Mammoth Site, Scotts Bluff, & Chimney Rock

Friday morning we checked out of the cabin, much to everyone's sadness, and were on our way.  We stopped in Hot Springs at the Mammoth Site.

Basically a building was put up around a giant former sinkhole where many, many mammoths sunk to their doom.  I thought the kids might think it was interesting to see all the real bones.  Cameron was actually the best - he followed me around and we read the brochure together.  Parker said he had a headache and Kenzie acted bored, so it wasn't as much of a hit as I'd hoped.

Once we'd made the loop around, we passed out ibuprofen and snacks and headed on our way again.

Our next stop of the day was Scotts Bluff in Nebraska.  It was actually toasty here, and Parker was wearing sweatpants and didn't want to go for the short hike.  We simply took the scenic drive to the top via a couple of fun tunnels, took this picture (where Cameron decided winking was the way to go), and then called it good.

We did take a detour to see Chimney Rock, another big landmark on the Oregon Trail.  Again, we could go even closer and hike, but the road was getting rough and our traveling companions were not overly interested, so we stopped here and then continued on.  We stayed in Cheyenne for the night, and then the following day simply drove straight home, only stopping for gas and bathroom breaks.  It was a long, fun week!

The Rest of My Birthday

After Reptile Gardens, my hope was to have a picnic in a park in Rapid City.  I managed to forget plates, so it was a bit tricky to hand out chicken wraps, and then it started sprinkling on us, so it was a very quick lunch!  Took one picture and headed back to the car.

Then we stopped at the Chapel in the Hills, a replica Norwegian stave church.  It was just down the road from the park so I thought it would be neat to briefly see.  It stopped raining after a few minutes, at least, so we didn't get too wet.

We went inside for a bit and then were on our way again...

...for some ice cream!  After this everyone was sufficiently worn out, so we returned to the cabin for a bit to rest.

I got a kick out of the differences in these pictures.  We drove back over to Hill City for some pizza, and here were the kids before it arrived -

- and they perked up a bit once the pizza made its appearance! 

Across the street from the pizza place was the World's Largest Smokey the Bear.  Just too random not to insist we take a picture!  It was a great birthday, and I wore the kids out thoroughly!

Reptile Gardens

I've said it before, but a good portion of my bucket list is animals I need to encounter.  Petting a giant tortoise was a great way to spend the first part of my birthday!  We went straight there when we arrived at Reptile Gardens in Rapid City.

There were several tortoises just wandering around.  This one was Peabody.

The kids had fun, but nobody was quite as excited as I was.

All the turtles posing on the rock almost looked like a bizarre statue!  We had to wait until a few moved a little bit to be sure.

The best smile we got of Cameron was ironically in the little western jail area, pretending to be a Sourpuss!

Kenzie's always excited to see a barn owl.

I've heard the gator show is neat, but we missed it and didn't want to wait another hour.  We did watch the snake show, which was interesting.

Checking out some little tortoises.

Inside the dome was very pretty, even if all around were snakes!  Even one up in the tree as you walked by.  Snakes are definitely not as fun as tortoises.

Cameron was so excited to see the prairie dog area.  He spent a good amount of time in the dome with a big smile on his face.  

Then we stopped back by to say hello to Hugo the tortoise one last time.  I really enjoyed getting to meet the giant tortoises.  Not cuddly, sure, but it was obvious they enjoyed their neck being pet because they would all raise their heads.  Super fun.  I wish we could have one just wandering around our backyard!

Wall Drug, Missile Silo, & The Badlands

Wednesday morning it was finally going to be a sunny day, so off we went out to The Badlands.  On our way we made the required stop at the tourist trap of Wall Drug.

Sadly the Jackalope had just been painted, so the kids couldn't sit on him for a picture.  

This face cracked me up - Cameron wasn't sure what to make of the singing gorilla!  A lot of really strange things everywhere you look.

We spent some time perusing the shops, although only Cameron bought something.  He found a panda travel pillow, and used it the rest of the trip!

Then we continued on and briefly stopped at the Delta 09 Missile Silo.  I had printed off some facts about how many missiles had been hidden in plain sight in the Midwest and the damage those missiles could do.  As expected, the boys were then quite interested in looking at the (replica) missile!

Then it was on to the Badlands.  We did not stop at every viewpoint by a long shot, but we stopped a few times to explore a bit and otherwise just enjoyed the scenic drive.

The only "hike" we did was the Cliff Shelf Nature Trail, which was an easy loop around.

I thought it was pretty!  Kenzie was getting a headache and the boys were not as interested as I was, so after this hike we only stopped a couple of times.

Cameron agreed to stand directly in front of the van for a picture and then he hopped right back in!

Nobody was at this stop, because it was nothing but flat prairie.  It was novel to us, though, coming from the mountains, to be able to see so far off into the distance!

Finally, this is pretty random but did you know Rapid City eats the most quarter pounders with cheese of any place in the world?  McDonald's commemorated that with a giant statue.  We had to drive right past it on our way back to the cabin, so we stopped and giggled to ourselves taking a picture with the giant hamburger in the parking lot.  After a long day, it was actually kind of nice to sit in the large, relatively empty McDonald's.  (I'm sure you're wondering, and yes Chris did his part to keep Rapid City's distinction alive and ordered the quarter pounder!)

The Ghost of Jewel Cave

Tuesday it was pouring down rain, so we were glad we had reservations for a tour of Jewel Cave National Monument, as the weather's pretty consistent down underground!

You can take the elevator down into the cave, too, which was a million times easier than the crazy hike to Timpanogos Cave!

The cave bacon was all lit up.  Really did look like a strip of bacon in person!

My phone has a night setting, but it takes longer than a regular picture. If everyone were to hold still, it would actually have turned out pretty neat in the cave!  Cameron cannot hold still, however.

Looks like a ghost had joined us!  Oh, well, at least he had a fun time!  Everyone enjoys checking out a cave.  We lucked into a really strange tour group, but the cave itself was neat!