We rolled into Ohio Wednesday morning.
All in all a great trip!  We drove through lots of rain.


We did hit Mall of America as we drove through Minneapolis.  I was somewhat surprised.  Not as crowded and chaotic as I expected.  The boys thought the indoor amusement park was cool and loved the Lego store.  Not sure how they did the acoustics of the building, but was amazed that you did not really get much noise from the amusement park.  Once you figured out the layout, it was pretty easy to maneuver. 

One of our other stops along the way was 2 nights in Bismarck - where we met up with two of my friends.  We spent one day exploring the parks there.  We came across a great climbing tree and a fun little amusement park. 

Some pictures......

It started dumping rain...but it did not deter the boys for long.

We are 4 nights into our trip. The boys are doing awesome. I have finally figured out how to download pictures on the laptop, but not yet figured out the photo program.

The first night in Billings we stayed in a hotel with a pool playland. The boys had a great time crossing the 'floating' logs.

JB enjoyed shooting the water 'guns'.

I bet they crossed it 3 dozen times. B had more fun falling than crossing. We figured out later in the evening, that JB was just tall enough to stand up and reach the rope netting. Boy, was he so excited when he was able to cross with minimal help.

The next two nights were spent in Bismarck, ND. We saw rain most of the time. One morning woke up to fog at the campground. (We stayed in KOA cabin). It was very nice.

Two of my friends met us there and spent most of the time with the kids swimming or outside playing at the park.

Tonight is the first night of the trip that I might actually be in bed at a decent hour, so will save the rest of the pictures and journey for next blog.

But the boys are doing well.  We have had a lot of rain but way more fun (and safety)

Countdown is here!  Around 3:30 tomorrow hopefully we will be pulling out for our road trip east. 
The fact that it is 9pm the evening prior and I am considering getting in bed to read is amazing.  Most everything that can be done is done.  Mainly the food in the cooler and the toiletries are left to pack.

Of course I do anticipate things to fall a part at some point and I end up rushing at the last minute!

B went back to the orthodontist yesterday.  The Doc is really working on his two front teeth and getting them together so the other teeth can come in.  B is finally experiencing some of the pain of 'braces'.

The older two boys wrapped up soccer today in the rain!  They loved getting all wet and dirty.  I just have to vacuum out my car again :-)

JB continues to impress his therapists.  They continue to comment about how much fun he is to work with.  Today at preschool they celebrated his 'school' birthday (it is in August).  Such a hard concept for the young ones to grasp!

Nothing more.  Traveling with a laptop hopefully will mean I can upload pictures along the way.  We are planning on a night in Montana, 2 nights in North Dakota, 1 in Minnesota, 2 in Wisconsin, 1 in Michigan before hitting our final destination in Ohio.  For the first time ever, we are taking our time getting out there.  I think our longest day will be 7 hours in the car.  Compared to our usual 12-14.

***sigh****
After 9 long years, my computer and I have parted ways. IT.WAS.NOT.NICE.
It appears that my computer, in retaliation for me trying to speed it up, found a virus. Not just any virus, but a fatal virus.
The tech guy could not even restore my data. It was all gone. He said he had never seen anything like it.  I told him I was glad I could give him a 'wow....I have never seen anything that crazy before' experience.  
Ah, but I back it up. Obviously not as often as I think. So, I totally lost everything since Dec 2012. Never again will I go 4.5 months without backing up.
Now the fun part, re-entering everything financial for the cub scouts! And to think, I have to have it all done before our trip - in 7 days!
Fortunately it is all documents and a few pictures.  Nothing like 2 weeks worth of pictures on our Europe trip gone.  (Yes, the tech guy has seen that and photographers losing pictures from weddings)

I now have a nice new laptop, that I have to try to get acquainted with.
***sigh***
Well, signing out...any idea what I am going to do tonight and tomorrow and Friday!!!!

I got the 'email' from a family member that it had been too long since I posted :-)
Busy week. It was teacher appreciation at the school and between that, wrapping up other stuff before the trip and cub scouts, I was pretty pre-occupied.

The cast is off. The PA saw us yesterday, instead of the doctor. He told J that he probably stills need some support so better to use a brace for a few weeks. He told J to wear it when he needed it. Silly PA, what was he thinking, J needs it all the time. He is so kamakaze! I told J that he had to wear it until we left for our trip. He could take it off for a shower and to sleep. J did not like it. Then the PA saw the error in his statement and told him mom was right. He had to wear the brace all the time or he would put another cast on it for a few weeks. He opted for the brace.

Here are a few pictures!
JB was eating outside as we waited for the bus. (Just love the snow boots and sleeveless shirt)




One reason it is so hard to believe that we have just now experienced our first broken bone. The younger two are very daring.


A cast did not slow him down.


They were so proud of themselves that they could both flip at the same time.


JB will even go to the parallel bar at school, swing his feet up and flip over!

Soccer has started again. The boys are in a soccer academy, instead of the traditional soccer league. Lots and lots of drills with throw together 3 v 3 or 4 v 4. The kids are divided by ages. J has gotten the okay from the coach to play up with the 7 and 8 year olds.

The other day B could not find his soccer socks - no surprise there. So, he grabbed some of his dad's gray wool socks and wore them over his shin guards. Then the next day for school he could not find socks - no surprise there, on any given day I can find 10-20 socks laying in odd places around the house. So, he grabbed a white ankle sock and one of his gray wool socks. The following day, he still could not find socks, so grabbed another pair of wool socks - wearing them with shorts! My eldest...he cracks me up. Glad he is not too concerned about what others think of his attire. I imagine it is only a matter of time before that changes.

Quiet weekend in store...

Pictures from the week.....
The water in the local irrigation ditch is now flowing.  They have had a ball throwing rocks, floating sticks and  and diverting the flow of water with small rocks.  (Notice how wet he is...)

Random picture of them sleeping.....

Took the younger two to the river.  Notice JB has on no shoes below.  I believe the best way to learn sometimes (if safety is not a huge issue) is the hard way.  He would not put his shoes on!  At one point we were walking down a little path.  Jbird was in front, then JB, then myself.  I noticed a small snake slither into the grass in front of me.  I made a startled noise.  Of course the boys asked what it was.  I told them a snake and then told JB he probably stepped on it or right over it.  It took a second for it to register and then he let out a blood curdling scream.  He was full on hysterics.  Screaming and crying.  He lifted one of his feet up and refused to put it on the ground.  After a few minutes I finally got him settled down.  He was terrified of the bottom of his sock.  He would not put his shoe on with his sock - so we took the sock off and wore just the shoe.  I think the boy is cured from not wearing shoes at the river.

They loved finding big sticks.

They found a small dam to walk across.  They loved seeing all the trees the beavers had gnawed.

A view on the drive home.