Tour of America Day #9

Saturday, July 22, was Ryker's birthday and we had so much fun spending the day boating on the lake. We would ride on the tube and in the boat and then when we got too warm we would stop and jump in and swim around for a bit to cool off. 

 Getting my baby fix, thanks Baby Pyper! 

 There was an island that had 2 rope swings on it. We stopped and played for a bit. Samantha was hands down the bravest child especially after she figured out how to let go at the right time to fall in the water. She initially would only let go if Peter or I were in the water to catch her and then she became so brave she did not really want help. 

There was a bigger rope swing that Peter did great on and not to be out done by him I did too. I screamed the whole way and closed my eyes too, which I regret because I did not really get to see how high I went. I was not brave enough to do it a second time. The platform was not bad but you had to climb up on a wobbly board that was like 18 inches long and 2 inches thick, partially split, and twisted down about 2 inches when you stepped on it. I can do crazy things! Samantha was the daredevil of the day for sure! 

That night after some dinner and birthday cake the kids were super excited to watch the new Descendants 2. It was so much fun to end our great trip with some quality cousin time. 

I hope that we will be able to have many trips where we spend time with friends and family! 

Tour of America Day #8

 We again woke up early and hit the road. 

We had a destination- Huntsville, AL where our cousins the Wood's were going to meet us at the Space and Rocket Center. 

We made really good time and did a little miscalculation on the time zone time change and made it there a bit earlier than planned.

 No problem, we went to a park and ate lunch and simply spent some time out of the car or in a different car. 

It was so hot! That is when I knew we had made it back to the South and some serious humidity! 

 We had a great time at the Space and Rocket Center. It was Space Camp Graduation day and it was pretty cool to see all of these kids dressed in space camp uniforms walking around. My kids used to love to watch the movie Space Camp. 

 We loved the hands on exhibits and it was not too busy so we were able to try so many of them. 

 My astronauts! 

 The rock climbing wall was so much fun! 

 Lindsay is a serious climber! She has skills! 

 Brady, Lindsay, and Peter. 

 Peter just missed on his first attempt but was successful the second time. 

 The whole gang! 

 Our family

 After the rockets, we went to a yummy taco truck/bus for some great mexican food. Then we headed to Guntersville and the Wood's house for some relaxation and swimming time. 

Happy, happy children. 

The soap suds on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath was so much fun, we have done it a few times at home since. 

Tour of America Day #7

We had to leave early and so we said our goodbyes to the Wankiers.

This is a good looking bunch of kids! 

 Oh how I miss this sweet friend of mine. She understood me and viewed the world in much the same way I do. I love her testimony, strength, passion, talents, and reality. 

 We thought we would leave Hartford and drive down to New York City and glimpse the Statue of Liberty which was supposed to be a 2 ish hour drive and after 1 1/2 hours we still had 2 hours to go so we said sorry kids and headed to Gettysburg - the main destination of the day. 

 We made it to the visitor's center and museum with 2 hours to see it all. That proved to be a perfect amount of time for our little brood.  The cyclerama painting was magnificent. The detail was breathtaking. There are 2 men holding each other just above the wagon on the right. They are the Bird Brothers who spoke with the artist about their experience at Gettysburg in an effort to help him portray the events. 

 These are some good looking soldiers. 

 What is crazy to me about Jon in this picture is that many of the men were not much bigger than he was and there were plenty of boys who lied about their age to join so they were not much older than Joseph. 

 After seeing the museum and visitor's center, we drove around and saw a few of the landmarks. Sadly, due to our time delays in getting to Gettysburg, we missed the ranger talks at these locations. It was still a sacred place for sure. I am so grateful for the freedoms we have in this country and for the terrible price that was paid to maintain it. 

We had a long drive to Roanoke, VA after Gettysburg and it was late when we finally arrived but we were grateful for a place to sleep and to be out of the car. We drove through this really cool old, one way bridge. Both Peter and I, could not help but think of Beetlejuice.

Tour of America Day #6

After our goodbyes with the Boyers, we headed to the Priesthood restoration site. 

It was quite peaceful but our kids were not in the mood to tour one more old house and we were not in the mood to fight them so we made it a quick visit. 

 We then made our way to Connecticut to visit our friends the Wankiers. 

 Our kids were so excited to see their old friends. They  happily played, laughed and ate dinner together. I was so happy to see my dear friend Emily! 

They took us to see the birth place marker for Wilford Woodruff and the beautiful Hartford Temple. 

We all went out for some delicious ice cream and then back to their house for some much needed sleep.