Camporee Days

We have been running like crazy for our first days here at the International Camporee. We walk several miles each day going back and forth for meals and to the programs or activity centers. We're just thankful it isn't raining! Having a blast running into friends from all over the country! Trading pins is a favorite pasttime for kids and adults. Sarah and Ben have their trading pins on their floppy hats.

Here is Sarah when we found her cousin Elizabeth outside the talent tent (in tan shirt with backpack). We had tried for days to call, but Heidi's phone was dead and we couldn't find them for most of the week. Another shot is with friend/neighbor, Charmaine, waiting for the main program and drama to begin. One more with lifelong buddy, Kelli, from Michigan (in maroon shirt).

Stopping at Wall Drug

How great to watch for the signs for Wall Drug over the past couple of days. Once we got there, we had time to check out some shops and even try our hand at mining! We ran into a couple of other Pathfinder clubs while we were there, and took time to search for a geocache before moving down the road.

South Dakota Views

After leaving Mt. Rushmore, we headed off to our KOA Campground. We lost the bus at one point, so decided to enjoy the scenery a bit along the way. It worked out great because we ended up pulling into the camp at the same time. Sarah is standing in front of the Crazy Horse Memorial.

Clint and Becky have been through here a couple of times since his folks used to live just north of Rapid City. We shared a lot of memories as we drove around today. A lot has changed! One thing that didn't change was the beautiful views, especially of the wild animals.

Mt. Rushmore

What a blast to go to Mt. Rushmore with our kids! So many great adventures already on our trip. We explored by groups, so Sarah was with a group of girls and Clint was with his boys. Ben and I quickly worked on earning his Jr. Ranger badge. It was fun when we would run into each other. Everyone is easy to spot in these yellow shirts! We enjoyed looking at all of the interesting displays and videos. Ben tried to sketch the view in his sketchbook.

They didn't give us enough time, so we raced through the gift shop, grabbed some group photos and ice cream, and cruised on our way.

Devil's Tower National Monument

This was the first time for our whole family to see Devil's Tower National Monument. We camped right outside of the park, and enjoyed gorgeous weather. We're enjoying our cooking crew and appreciating the well planned meals. They arrived ahead of us and had our food ready for us last night.

Ben and I slept in our own tent and were quite comfy. Sarah was squeezed into a tent with a pile of girls. Clint benefited from having teen boys who could quickly get their tent up and down. In the morning we heading up for a quick hike around the tower. It was more grand than I imagined. We enjoyed reading about a lot of the legends surrounding the history of the tower. Today we go to South Dakota and Mt. Rushmore.

Cruising across Montana and Wyoming today. Stopped for lunch at Custer Battlefied Museum. Got a family shot, plus Clint with his boys. Yes, they are mostly taller than he is, but he remains in charge. :)

We had time to pop in the shop and find they had a smashed penny machine! Luckily, Becky was prepared with a roll of quarters and pennies to help with our souvenior penny collections on this trip.

We were later captivated by the facinating Wyoming wildlife along the freeway as we returned from a visit to a petrified forest area.

Thompsons in Idaho

We heard the Thompsons were traveling to Idaho, and couldn't resist the opportunity to spend a couple of days with them! What a great adventure. We got to travel through some new territory along white-water rivers and through scenic mountains. Once we were there, we enjoyed some great hiking, swimming, games, boating, and ice cream! The mosquitos were certainly inclined to welcome us at every opportunity, however...

Our boating afternoon was a load of fun with tubing, wakeboarding and skiing options. They had to leave to catch a plane back home, and we enjoyed a drive home - stopping to see the sites along the way. We made it home in time to catch up with friends and see our local fireworks.

Their kids are growing so quickly, and it is truly good when we can be together. We lift each other up in prayer and encourage each other to follow God's leading. Hopefully it will not be long until we are together again!

Disneyland Day

We surprised the kids today with a trip to Disneyland. They had never been there before, and have often talked about how much fun it would be to go. We were not disappointed! The weather seemed questionable with predictions of much rain, but we just tucked an umbrella in our backpack and went anyway. The rain ended up discouraging a lot of people, and we spent the first half of our day breezing through lots of rides with no lines! It would have been fun if some California friends or family could have joined us, but maybe we can work it out next time. The park and the characters were decorated for Christmas.

One of our first stops was a sidewalk show in front of the Golden Horseshoe, and they pulled Clint from the audience to be part of the performance. He had to repeatedly yell out, "Ba Humbug!" He was a natural and we were so proud. We later enjoyed one show with some hilarious bluegrass performers.

There were lots of new rides since Clint and Becky were last there (more than 10 years ago). Some favorites were the Pooh ride in the Hundred Acre Woods, the jungle boat ride, It's a Small World (Christmas style), the parade, Dumbo's ride, and teacups. We probably should've skipped the Matterhorn and the monorail. Nemo's ride wasn't really worth the long line.


We have been collecting the smashed pennies on our travels for about a year, so we added to our collection with several neat coins here. We missed the princesses despite our plans to see them, but managed to squeeze in some yummy giant ice cream cones. It was certainly beautiful with all the Christmas decorations. There were several opportunities for "snow" to fall on us. Sarah couldn't get over how pretty the castle was with all the lights, and everything was so "enchanting."

Disneyland was so much fun we could hardly break away! We slapped a set of mouse ears on each kid and headed out, wishing for just a little more time. It was pretty close to midnight when we made our way to the car. It would have been nice if we could have just let a magical elephant fly us back home!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

To Grandmother's house we go! We're off on our Thanksgiving adventure starting at Clint's mom's house. We arrived late last night, and made it to most of Sabbath School and church.

Then we came back to her home for the first of our Thanksgiving celebrations on this vacation. We had more food than we could eat (of course) and enjoyed some of the new recipes she tried. It is a challenge to make a vegetarian Thanksgiving without nuts out of consideration for Ben's allergies, but she really pulled out all the stops.

After lunch, we were so stuffed we needed to have some activity, so we went geocaching! What a surprise, I know. Anyway, we had some fun with searching for caches in her town and went to a park in town which was a blast for the kids.

Tomorrow we leave her and drive to the airport to catch a plane to Vegas for the next phase of our Thanksgiving adventure. Thanks to Grammie for a wonderful weekend!

Meeting the Candidates

Today the kids were traveling with Becky on our way to Ithaca, NY. We had a layover in D.C., and took the opportunity to meet the two main presidential candidates. We thought they both seemed likeable, but frankly, they were a bit stiff. Perhaps political life will do that to people. It was just nice of them to take time out of their busy schedule to meet with travelers at the airport.

In any case, we tried to be friendly and represent our home town to them. Hopefully, they will be more open to our concerns in the future. Clint was confused since he thought he had just seen them on the news speaking in other parts of the country, and we tried to explain the magic of television to him.

Anyway, once the excitement of this encounter has passed, we are on our way to Ithaca for a long overdue visit with our friends. The kids were great travelers as usual!

Texas Pool Party

What do you get when you toss five cousins, two aunts and an uncle in a pool? Well, it's a party! It was a great day to be in the water. We went back to the same pool since we'd enjoyed it so much last time.

Clint went with us this time and slid on slides, floated on the lazy river, and splashed kids when necessary. We'll miss this pool when we go home, but it wouldn't be as much fun without the cousins anyway.

Frame Artists

Today is Sarah and Steffanie's combined July birthdays. We are doing activities both today and tomorrow to celebrate with them. The kids were thrilled today when we surprised them with frames to paint. Both Sarah and Steffanie enjoy any art project!

We printed off a bunch of photos of the cousins all together during this vacation, and let the kids paint their own canvas frame. Then they can keep the frames in their rooms to remember how much their cousins love them.

Sabbath Family Worship

We gathered at the end of the Sabbath for another special worship. We sang songs, watched a facinating science display with a spiritual lesson (thanks to Elizabeth), and played more charades.

The charades have been very popular with the kids. Tonight's charades included Lazarus (James) with his mourning sisters (convincingly played by Heidi and Becky) and Jesus (Clint, who else really?).

The kids did a great job with their charades too.

Lego Land in Texas

There was a burst of building happening this afternoon. Lots of creations did not survive for very long, but Steffanie demonstrated a great deal of patience to complete the details of her building. Ben made a house that you could drive and live in it too.

Sabbath Family

After church we made everybody stay in their Sabbath clothes long enough for a bunch of family photos. A couple turned out pretty well. Lots of smiling faces helps for great photos anyway.


We tried to duplicate an old photo of the cousins to include Christopher in a circle.



Then Ben & Christopher posed with their nearly matching bears.