This was one of our favorite days! Look at the pictures and you will see why. Woke up REALLY early – we had a BIG day of driving today with a few stops Packed van Left about 8:15 and drove to Doxa Church to pick up bag we forgot – took forever in traffic After we … More Day 16 – 60 Toes in the Pacific

Slept in Picked up Grandma and brought back Went downtown and parked Dad and 3 kids up in the space needle Grandma and 3 kids road monorail to the store and Mom and Dad, CJ, drove and picked them up Got food from the grocery for lunch Ate then went to Uncle Chris’s Watched them … More Day 15 – Monday in Seattle

This was the day of the main event – the whole reason we came to Seattle. Chris and Amy were celebrating their wedding with family and friends. They had already been married by the J.O.P., then had a destination wedding in Paris. The reception was at the Pink Door, where Chris is General Manager and Amy … More Day 14 – Sunday in Seattle – The Big Event!

Headed downtown to shop and drop run an errand for Uncle Chris at Nordstrom’s Went shopping a bit then ate lunch at the food court Rode the monorail over to the Seattle Center Everyone went on the Duck Tour (An hour long tour of Seattle on land and water – definitely a highlight of the week!) … More Day 13 – Saturday in Seattle

Relaxed at our house for the morning Welcomed Uncle Ron and Aunt Diane to Seattle and then walked down the street to eat lunch at a local eatery Came back home then stopped at the grocery for some stuff on the way to Chris and Amy’s Had a fun cookout the rest of the night, met … More Day 12 – Friday in Seattle

It rained all day in Seattle today. However, despite its reputation, this was the only day it was rainy. We actually had great weather otherwise! Woke up Breakfast / work / hanging out at “home” Went to Panera for lunch (lucked out finding parking right in front) Went to the Seattle Children’s Museum Went to … More Day 11 – Thursday in Seattle

Woke up and had a slow morning Dad worked a bit, Mom cleaned the van out, kids watched TV Headed to Seward Park where we played on the playground, took a big walk/hike and played along the shore of Lake Washington Went for pizza for lunch in Columbia City, a few blocks from our place … More Day 10 – Long day in Seattle

  Above is our route, more or less, for the first leg of the trip. It’s pretty crazy to think we drove this whole way (wait till you see the way back!). 8 overnights. 10 states. 49 bathroom breaks. And we only ate at McDonald’s one time. Here are the events from this day: Woke … More Day 9 – We made it!

This day was a travel day. We had a lot of ground to cover. Originally, we had planned to go back in to Yellowstone for part of this day and arrive late at our hotel but after a nice full day before in Yellowstone, we were content to move on and enjoy a longer evening at … More Day 8 – Almost there

Got up early, packed, ate the last of our breakfast type food and left Greybull, Wyoming. Drove through Cody Drove through beautiful mountains and finally reached the East Entrance to Yellowstone. After a few minutes winding through forest recovering from forest fire, we came upon a group of people looking at something far off in … More Day 7 – Yellowstone National Park

We awoke early and started packing – opting to not take showers, though the shower house was remarkably nice While we packed, EB tested out his new slingshot (he bought at Wall Drug) and the kids climbed on a large rock formation right next to our cabin. After a short play at the playground (long enough for CJ to … More Day 6 – Devil’s Tower

The day begins at the Ingalls Homestead in De Smet, South Dakota The night was COLD and there was NO heat in our bunk house so the sleep was not great Woke up to a brisk South Dakota sunrise and it was beautiful After washing up a bit and packing up, we hit the road early … More Day 5 – Black Hills, South Dakota

There were SO many great things about today! Left around dusk because we had 5 hours to drive and many of the activities at the Ingalls Homestead stopped at 2pm. We decided that traveling when kids are tired in the early morning is a MUCH better option Only 4 brief stops along the way – … More Day 4 – De Smet, South Dakota

Today we left Chicago and ended in Rochester to stay with Sarah (Ben’s sister) and Bobby. Woke up and enjoyed a (too) leisurely morning – leaving much later then we should have Stopped at Walmart after a bit to pick up supplies Drove down the highway Kids managed to watch 2 movies in a row … More Day 3 – Chicago to Rochester