South Dakota Extravaganza 2012

We left on Friday the 22nd with a planned stop in Chamberlain.  When we were almost to Chamberlain, we decided it was too early to stop and everyone was doing so well that we decided to keep going.  Arriving a night early after a great drive was an excellent start to an awesome week!

Some travel tips for long car drives:

License plate check off printable:You can find lots of them on pinterest.  We got all but Mississippi, Delaware, and New Hampshire.  However we did see 6 Canadian Provinces and Washington, D.C....not too bad, huh?

Cookie Sheets for lap desks: Great for all the normal stuff like coloring, etc., but you can also do magnets.  If you use a jellyroll pan with a deeper edge, the colors and other items don't roll away as easily.

Color Wonder paint, markers and paper: mess free, enough said

Black Construction Paper books (home made) and chalk:  The novelty of it makes drawing a little more exciting.

Books on CD from the library and a portable CD player


Movies from the library or Redbox: Getting new things to watch for cheap or free has loads of entertainment value.  We looked up Redbox locations before our drive and we were able to watch the movie and return it at the next stop.

Melissa and Doug Travel Matching game: I found ours at Hy-Vee for 10.49. It is about 5 dollars more at Michael's.

Felt boards:  I found some at Michael's for 8 dollars each.  They have a bunch of different themes for boys and girls.  I was surprised how much both my kids liked these.

Bead Necklace kit: From Michaels again.  Lots of themes for boys or girls.  I had a princess and a pirate:) The cookie sheet was great for this activity because the beads couldn't roll away.

Even if it adds to the drive, stop at fun places along the way.  We had a great time getting up and moving and learning a little history at the USS South Dakota exhibit in Sioux Falls.  After this stop Joe used up most of the Color Wonder paper recreating what he saw at the exhibit.  We also stopped at Wall Drug because you just have to!  It was a great place to look for new license plates.  If I recall, I think we saw 5 or 6 to check off while we were there.

All those things made the drive great.  Then the fun really started!

Friday night- got to see my Uncle Dennis before he headed for home

Saturday-made Banana Bread with Gma- ate it all before Tuesday
-put up the tent and the kids camped out with Papa Doug

Sunday- played in the sand pile, got some horse rides in, had the "Un-Birthday Party" which Joe calls the "fake" party.  Joe got a 3-in-1 Lego plane set, Lynn got Polly Pockets, I got a Sarcasm T-shirt and a ring, and Dan got a wallet and pocket knife.  So much fun!!

Monday- went to Deadwood (not so fun for the kids), decided to drive to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower.  We saw it and took pictures from the road.  We decided not to pay to get  into the visitor's area because it was just too hot to walk around there.  It was very cool to see though.  I suggest the drive over there if you are visiting the Black Hills area.

Tuesday- Hot Springs Mammoth site.  Awesome place for the kids!  They got to be Jr. Paleontologist's and dig for Mammoth fossils (call to schedule a time for this).  Joe found a mandible (lower jaw) and Lynn found a rib bone, which she called a ribbon:)  After buying stuffed animal mammoths, I went with my parents and Dan went on to Mt. Rushmore and the Hill City Dinosaur museum with the kids.  This gave me a chance to get back to Hay Creek for a trail ride with my dad.  It was the hottest day they have ever experienced there, but the ride was shaded and breezy the whole time.  It didn't feel like 107 at all.

Wednesday-lazy day playing and watching movies (Gma had Megamind:The Button of Doom.  The kids watched that about 15 times)  Who knew the $5 bin at Wal-Mart would be such a hit!?  In the evening we all went to Tomahawk Golf Course for dinner and then Dan and Joe went golfing.  "Boy Night" was a success.  Dan lost 9 balls, Joe lost 0!

Thursday- more playing outside and riding Skip.  I got to do a short ride on my own while Gma and Dan entertained the kids with yard games.  Everyone had a blast with that.  Lawn darts and the bean bag toss were great hits.

We packed up and left on Friday morning after I officially turned 34.  It was the first time I had been with my parents on my birthday since my 21st.  (And yes, I spent my 21st Birthday with my parents.  We went to the restaurant in Ogden, and I had a Fuzzy Navel.)

We stayed over night it Omaha and went to the zoo on Saturday.  The last hour before reaching home was horrendous!  I must say though, 27 out of 28 hours of good travel time isn't bad!!  Dan's favorite part of that bad hour was watching the Happy Meal toy roll down the road behind us after I chucked it out the window.  I told Lynn that was where it was going if she asked for it again after she didn't eat her meal.  Well, I had to do what I said I would do, right?

Other fun parts of our trip:
Eating with some ladies in the camp ground and being introduced to Rum Chata Pudding Cups.

Playing with the kitten that Joe named Killer.  (My 5 year old gets irony!)  He tried to tell us there was a mountain lion cub in the office that someone had as a pet.  We went to look.  It was the kitten...he got us:)

Camp fire and s'mores nearly every night.  Joe held his about 3 feet above the flame for 10 seconds and called that good, while Lynn just ate the marshmallows straight from the bag...whatever.  Dan and I had our fill of the real deal.

Lynn and Joe both love my dad's mule, Sally.  She was at a neighbor's on the pasture.  Lynn kept telling people that Sally, the "camel" wasn't there.  I don't know where she comes up with these things!

It was a great week that went way too fast!  We are looking forward to another week with my parents in Arizona in March.  They are starting up a camp down there for the winter.