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| Devils Tower, Wyoming! |
As we were packing to leave today, Robby told me that I was not doing my job appropriately. Apparently, I have stopped taking the coffee, soap and lotion from the hotels and he is having to do that for me. I will admit that I haven't been as diligent this trip because if I take every bar of soap and shower cap my suitcase will be full of soap when we get home. Though I will get better and this hotel room will be amenity free when we leave.
We had our hotel breakfast and then left for the day. It was 9:24 AM and our total mileage from the day before was 178 miles. If you happened to notice, one of our president pictures was with Reagan and her eyes were closed. And that was just not going to work so we swung back by that statue this morning on our way out of town. We didn't tell the kids what we were doing so when Robby told Reagan to unbuckle and get out she was quite confused. As I walked with her to that statue, I told her that her eyes were closed and she said "oh, no" and I could tell that the poor child thought I meant her eyes were closed in all of the pictures she took yesterday. As we climbed back in the car, Anderson moaned "we have to do this again?"
Our first stop was the geographical center of the United States in Bell Fourche, North Dakota. It became the center after Hawaii and Alaska were added so when you look at a map of the 48 states it doesn't really look like the center but I will trust the National Geodetic Foundation. We took a few pictures there and each time we have stopped to take a picture lately, Anderson has sneezed and sneezed. Robby probably has more pictures of Anderson sneezing today than he does of the rest of us combined. They had a nice little visitor's center set up and the flags from all 50 states. The kids enjoyed seeing the ones that we colored for the trip. After running around for a few minutes and passing out a snack, we were back on the road to Devil's Tower.
On our way there, Campbell continued to notice train tracks and every time she sees one she shouts "train track, Anderson, train track." Even if she has just turned her head to look out the other window, when she turns to the other side and sees that train track again, she will again shout "train track, Anderson, train track." Campbell is just as happy as she can be in the car. She spends most of her time playing with her baby doll. Today we heard her sweetly tell her baby "I spank you little girl." Wonder where she has heard that?
When we made it into Wyoming, it was Graham's turn to move our van. He was so thrilled to be able to move it to another state. I have all of the states that we will be visiting hanging around the van. And then we have a red minivan with all of our pictures in the window that we are moving to each state as we cross the border. So far, we have completed Anderson's window and are working on Graham's window. Reagan will do Keaton's window since she sets in the middle and doesn't officially have one.
It sprinkled on us a bit and looked really rainy but we fortunate to avoid the rain. It is a bit chilly since we were wearing shorts today but will be in our pants tomorrow and should be fine. The kids were interested to see Devil's Towel and Anderson shouted that it looked like "Tower of Terror" at Disney World. I had read the legend that the lines on the tower were made by a bear's claws who was chasing some Indian girls up on top of the tower. The boys don't really understand that story was just made up and Anderson kept wondering about the bear and how he could reach that high. We did take a walk around a bit of the base of the tower and let the kids climb on some rocks. We did take one rock picture and the kids were very, very high up. Too high if you ask me-but what did I do but pass them the baby so they could all take a picture together.
We drove down from the base of the tower to the picnic area and had our picnic. It was a beautiful spot and the weather was just perfect. As we were loading up, Robby told the kids to take a good look because they may never be back there. Reagan said that she was coming back and added "I have to take my kids to all 50 states too."
On our way to Casper, Anderson had to potty and since there is nothing around we just pulled over. When he was finished (and might that when he needs to potty, he really means it). As soon as Anderson finished and closed the door, Robby was back on the road. Anderson was still trying to adjust his pants and get to his seat when he said "I know, I know, I am un-beying the rules." It took us a few minutes to figure out what he was saying. He meant to say disobeying but said "un-beying"-not obeying. Smart little fellow.
Soon after, Graham had a potty stop too but I was driving then and at least waited until he was seated before I started driving again. I was driving on an interstate and there were cars but not many. You had to drive over cattle guards to get on the interstate. You could see for miles and miles-just incredible scenery out here.
We made it to Casper and ate supper at J. J.s Diner. It was a cute stop and all the kids enjoyed the milkshakes that Robby bought for them. Anderson declared himself the milkshake king and proceeded to suck every last drop out of everyone's milkshakes as soon as they had finished them. Reagan spent her time coloring the picture on the menu and was so proud of her masterpiece. Graham sat in front of an old Coke vending machine and they all enjoyed opening the door and looking in.
After supper, we drove right down the road to our evening's hotel. It is an older Ramada-the outside is a bit dated but the rooms are nice. Though the bathroom is too small for Keaton's pack n play so she will have to sleep out here with the rest of us. That is fine since Robby is paying 1/3 of what his first hotel booking in this town cost. It is now bedtime and Keaton is wound up sitting in my lap watching me type. Campbell just popped her head up and was whispering something to me about Keaton. She likes to tell me secrets at night time and will just whisper in my ear and occasionally throw in words like "soccer game" or "popsicle." Robby saw her little head sticking up and shouted "Campbell" and she threw herself back onto her sleeping bag so fast. This has now happened a few times and it is like one of those "whack a mole" games.
We are waiting on our little load of laundry to finish tonight. Last night we did one large load and it took forever for everything to dry. Robby eventually had to bring it back a bit damp so we could go to bed. We had clothes hanging from every item in our room. They all dried well and we were able to bag everything up to wear later. (I bag one whole days worth of clothes for all of the kids-socks, diapers, underwear, shirts, shorts-all in one bag so I can grab it and go). Tonights laundry will not take any time but Keaton spit all over her pajamas just as soon as Robby took the laundry down. Why does that always happen?
Oh, I wish that I could explain things like they really happen here. I am so tickled at Campbell right now and am trying to quietly laugh at that child. Back at Devil's Tower today the kids were acting like Indians standing in a teepee and a man who was just getting out of his car approached. He showed them how to clap their hands and make an echo. (Don't worry, he was a nice man and not a scary man). Anyway, it was a pretty cool sound and Robby and I even tried to do it without much luck. The kids tried for a few minutes and then they gave up. Now everyone is laying down in it is all quiet in this hotel room. And then we hear "clap, clap, clap" and Campbell shouts "Momma, I got it"-she is laying over there practicing.
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