Lots of water has gone under the bridge since I last wrote, both literally and figuratively. Today I will be sharing about the first big adventure, our family vacation with the Massner family that filled up the middle of June!
We left Friday afternoon on the 11th and headed up to Rochester, Minnesota where we stayed in a hotel to rest up for my cousin Alyssa's wedding the next morning! Everyone was all smiles when we left and they handled the first leg of the trip very well. We got to burn off some energy in the pool that evening before bedtime!
The next morning was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding at the groom's family's home. The house itself was an impressive work of art, full of character! I joined several of my cousins and aunts early in the morning to help set up for the reception. Then we skedaddled back to the hotel, showered, dressed, packed up and checked out in time to manage the gift table before the wedding! The wedding was simple and beautiful with an outdoor adventure theme at the reception, very fitting for the new couple! We enjoyed listening to Aunt Brenda, Alyssa, and friends share their instrumental and musical talents at the reception. The Massner family was also encouraged to sing, so we had our moment of fame as well. By the end, the children were all exhausted and fell fast asleep as soon as the van hit the road.
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| Lil' Miss Emma the flower girl! (Kevin and Nikki's) |
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| Mr. & Mrs. Luke Wass! |
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| We made it this far in one piece! |
Disaster soon struck. We had a leaky tire after the wedding, so Matt filled it up. After a long series of events trying to keep the tire aired up, then patching it, then buying a portable air compressor that came in handy along the Interstate, then having the tire go completely flat and changing to the spare...in wedding clothes...on I90...with four kids...running late to a social event...we were back on the road. We decided to take backroads since we had the spare tire. And soon we started to smell something burning. Which ended up being our spare tire overheating. Matt dumped a couple bottles of water on it as steam rolled off the tire, then stopped a few miles later to do it again. The kids and I started praying that we would make it to Uncle Lance and Aunt Kristi's safely. God answered our prayers. As soon as we arrived, Matt hosed off the smoking spare tire for a good while until it cooled off. We were thankful we had planned a stop with family in Lester so we had the help and resources to get two new tires put on while we were there!
What was left of the evening, we enjoyed spending with a few of the Knobloch cousins! And enjoyed some gracious hospitality overnight and through church on Sunday! It is a blessing to visit other churches after over a year of travel being limited! We hopped back on the road after church and headed to our vacation rental in Lead (Black Hills area) where we stayed with the Massners for the week. After another five hour drive with a couple long grocery stops along the way, we were plenty exhausted and ready to crash by the time we arrived!
On Monday we got settled at the house. There was construction going on next door that entertained the young and old throughout the week. We spent a good part of the day at a local splash pad and city park in Lead, which was the perfect place for free entertainment for all ages.
On Tuesday, we went hiking. The kiddos and parents went on a short hike close by while the four young men traveled to some cool hike that must have been a little more engaging.
The hot tub was a fun amenity at the house!
Tuesday night we all went to Mount Rushmore for the lighting ceremony. We rushed to arrive in time so everyone could try the famous ice cream from the shop there, and all claimed it was worth the rush! We walked the presidential trail and through the visitor center. Levi and Micah earned their Junior Ranger badges while we were waiting for the lighting ceremony to begin. They were pretty proud of themselves!
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| Please take a moment to appreciate this picture. |
Wednesday was kind of a house hangout day for us. Later in the afternoon, Matt and I got to do a downhill bike ride that was super fun and relaxing! It ended in Deadwood, where everyone else joined us for an evening of entertainment in the park.
Thursday was another day at the splash park, a tour of an old mine, and a chuckwagon dinner show in the evening! The kids were entertained by the different old workshops to visit beforehand.
I had a fussy baby during the show, so Russell joined us outside and I was entertained watching him chase a baby rabbit around in circles!
Friday our little family went on our own adventure, visiting a historic fish hatchery in Spearfish. It was well worth our time as the children were entertained, fed some fish and saw an old boat and train, and we learned some things too. Another plus to the day was a super fun playground next door, so we were set for a picnic and afternoon play!
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early for a four-hour drive north to Medora, North Dakota for another cousin's wedding. After the first three and a half hours, my expectations were pretty low for the place we were headed. But about ten minutes from Medora, the scenery becomes absolutely beautiful and the little town of Medora is so neat! We about could have just vacationed there for the week! We stopped for a picnic and tried to stay clean in our wedding clothes while playing on another fun playground. Then headed out to another beautiful outdoor wedding and enjoyed being there for Ross and Lindsay's special day! Between the two weddings, we were able to see quite a few of my Schmidgall cousins, aunts, and uncles! All of the original siblings and spouses made it to the second wedding and we all got pictures taken.
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| Soon-to-be Mr. & Mrs. Ross Ascheman! |
After getting pictures taken, the six of us left before the reception to get a head start on the fourteen hour trip home. The kids were exhausted and slept the first few hours. We stopped around seven to change, eat, and play for a bit, then hit the road through the night and arrived home just as the children were waking up around 7am! It worked so well because they slept most of the drive home. And we managed to get some good naps on Sunday (along with going to church for the afternoon service) so the sleep deprivation didn't hurt us too much.
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| Matt captured the sunrise during his driving shift! |
We had a nice time and enjoyed being with our family for the week. A special part of the week was doing a VBS/Bible Study each morning as a family after breakfast. It was called Nurturing a Caring Heart and was a nice start to each day!
As a mom, vacation kind of loses its glamour and becomes more of a big survival adventure. But I do always love traveling, the change of scenery, and making memories together as a family!
Another update on the next month will follow soon...hope you are all having a great summer!
