HHHOOOMMMEEE!!!!!

Home. I can't belive we're here! We drove from De Smet to home in two days. We got home around dinnertime and we were all tired and just wanted to go to bed.

The past two days we have spent getting ready for family to come. Only five days......I am SO excited!!! I hope to keep posting on the blog but it might not be for a while because of family.

Well, this is weird... I can't think of anything else to say...... wait give me a minute......I might think of something......no, never mind...nothing came.

I guess this is goodbye to the 2010 RV trip. But again, I will TRY to post about my daily life.

Well, how did you all like this Awesome Adventure with Abigail. Did it live up to it's name?

Playing Catch-up

Well guys, I am going to play ketchup-I mean catch-up :) Here I am headed home in the RV. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

We drove from Mt. Rushmore to De Smet, but got to see some cool things along the way. Our first stop was Wall Drugs drug store. It started out as a drug store but now it has expanded and is like a mini-mall. It is famous because to boost business, the owners put up signs every couple hundred feet apart, starting over a hundred miles away. They also advertise for free ice water.

Yes, I did get a hat if you didn't know....

Our other stop before De Smet was the Mitchell Corn Palace. It is a huge place covered in designs made with corn. Here we tasted samples from the Corncessions and watched a video about it.

Now, if you are not a Little House fan, you might as well go play on Facebook or look at another blog, because this part is for fans only.

Once we got to De Smet and arrived at the homestead and got settled, we went to look at some of the things that they have there. Emma and I got to do some really cool activities like doing laundry, making rope and corncob dolls. (do you fans remember Laura's doll Susan?) The ladies there also showed us how to make hay twists like Pa and Laura did when they ran out of coal.

Making hay twists

Our corncob dolls. Emma named hers Susan and I named mine Charlotte.

We also got to take a covered wagon ride to the school and got to experience what school would be like back then. When we explored the barn we saw a momma cat and three babies. One white, one black, and one grey striped. Here is a picture of the little black one.

So we are headed home and I am happy to know that I am going to sleep in my OWN bed tonight. Expect another update as I finish up this Awesome Adventure With Abigial!

Mt. Rushmore!

I just HAD to post this adorable pic of a baby bison. I don't even know where the pic is from!

Sorry for the belated post, the laptop can be very, very, VERY picky when it wants to. (Which seems to be whenever I have a turn.)

But let me tell you about Mt. Rushmore. We left Cody and drove with Mt. Rushmore as our destination. Once there, Emma and I gladly got to get another unexpected Jr. Ranger badge. Here is a pretty good picture of Mt. Rushmore.

Emma and I were curious to why these specific four presidents were picked. Click on the picure of the sign to find out.

Well we drove back into town and had dinner. (Why, why, WHY is there absolutly NO Honey Mustard in the West???? I NEED HONEY MUSTARD!!!!!)

Anyway, Mom had heard about this really good pie place in town so we tried it out. It had the BEST peanut butter pie I had ever had. (I don't think I have ever had peanut butter pie before but it was GOOD)

Well, was that a good update on this ongoing Awesome Adventure With Abgail? (I hope so!)

Calling all Cowboys and Cowgirls! (and readers of this blog)

Well last night we got to see a really cool thing. Show, actually. We got to see the Cody Nite Rodeo. (No, I didn't spell that wrong.) None of us had seen a rodeo before so it was especially fun. Now I will tell you the different events that they had.

The first thing was calf roping. Well, actually there were three different kinds. The first was called Tie-down Roping. There they would have to catch a calf using a lasso and then tie it's feet together so it can't move. The second kind is like Tie-down Roping, except it is called Break-away Roping. Some idea except that they only had to catch it and then let go of the rope. The third kind is called Double Muggin'. There are two people. One races and catches the calf and the other then tries to pull it to the ground. Then the first person ties the calf's legs together. Here are some pics.

Also, there was barrel racing. There the riders ride around three barrels and try to get the best time. Here is a pretty good picture.

They also had some clowns that told jokes. They were pretty funny. Another event that they had was bronc riding. The cowboys would try to stay on a bucking horse for seven seconds. I know, that doesn't sound like long, but it is. Here is a picture.

Well I had fun on this ongoing Awesome Adventure with Abigail and I hope you did too!

Yellowstone!

Sorry I haven't posted sooner- there wasn't a signal for a while. But now I'm back, happy?

Well, we have left Yellowstone (sniff, sniff, tears) but we did have a great time. Now to tell you about Yellowstone, I don't know where to begin. We did see a lot of wildlife, including Bison, Mountain Goats, Bears, Coyotes, and Elk. Here are some pictures of them.

( a momma Bison and her baby, very cute!)

( a baby elk, one day old!)

(not the baby's momma but another elk)

( not sure if this is a boy or a girl bear but it's cool anyways)

We got to see a lot of thermal features too. Some versions that we saw were, Hot Springs, geysers, and fumaroles. We got to see Old Faithful erupt to... and right after that we saw Beehive Geyser erupt which is cool because it only erupts once a day, and we got to see it!

We also got our 5th Jr. Ranger Badge, and we got all of the stamps for the whole park, all nine of them. We did our shopping as well. I have decided that I am going to try to collect charms for a charm bracelet. I just got one for Yellowstone, a silver pinecone. Attatched to it is a little flag that says Yellowstone National Park. Cool, right?

Speaking of cool, the temperature is freezing up here. Coming out of the park, we still saw a lot of snow on the ground! We have had to use the heater in RV some nights. I also have been wearing my flannel PJ's. That's how cold it is here.

Well yesterday we left a little early and went to Cody, Wyoming. Here, we got to sleep in and are still here. I don't know the whole plan, but it's good to be surprised sometimes, right?

I hope you are having fun on this ongoing Awesome Adventure with Abigail!

The Grand Tetons

And they live up to their name! Tuesday we drove from Lander, Wyoming to the Grand Tetons. We stopped for luch in Jackson, Wyoming at a pizza place called Mountain High Pizza Pie. Cool name, right? Another thing that we did there was ride in a stagecoach. Emma got to ride up front with the driver and that just made her day. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun too.

Well once we got back to the Tetons, Emma and I got our papers to do the Jr. Ranger Program. We also got our passports stamped again. Then we started to drive toward our campground. On the way we stopped at Jenny Lake and took a ferry and did a hike to Hidden Falls. To show you how beautiful it is here, here are some pictures.

We have seen a lot of wildlife so far, including this litte guy. He is called a marmut, which is a reletive of the woodchuck. Here is a picture of the cute little guy.

Well today we are driving to Yellowstone, YAY!!! I don't know about the signal or wi-fi there, so it may be a couple of days before I can post again.

Hope you all are having fun on this ongoing Awesome Adventure with Abigail!!!

Thanksgiving!

I know what you're thinking, is this girl crazy? It's already past Thanksgiving. Well I know it's past Thanksgiving, but I had to post about my Thanksgiving. Every year my family visits my grandparents in Florida. We had a lot of fun.

Here are just a few of the things we did:

We went to a Magic game. (The Orlando Magic are my grandparents' favorite basketball team.) Emma and I made signs to wave, and they worked. I was on the JumboTron (a big four-sided screen up above the center of the court) 6 times! We also got our faces painted at this thing called Fan Fest. It is before the game and they do things like face-painting and balloons etc. etc.

Another fun thing that we did that I will remember for a LONG time is my first visit to the Melting Pot. For those of you who do not know what the Melting Pot is, I will explain.

(loud drumroll)

The Melting Pot is a restraunt. But not just any restraunt. It is a fondue restraunt. The minute I figured that out I couldn't wait for, you guessed it, DESSERT!!!!!!!! Here is a picture from a memorable time. It was taken when we got dessert. We got a kind of chocolate called Flaming Turtle. It is chocolate with nuts and flambed at your table.

The last fun thing that I will list is a memory that my sister will remember for a long time. She has been wanting a guitar for a little while, and while in Florida, she got one. It is pink (of course) and plays very well. The only downside is that you have to tune it often. Here she is playing out on the porch at my grandparent's house.

Well that was a very Floridarific ( pronounciation florida-ri-fic) adventure with Abigail right? See 'ya next time when we get our Christmas tree. (Don't worry. It will be here on Friday)

Fall!

Well fall is finally here 'yall. Those pretty trees, pumpkins, and of course, HALLOWEEN! This year Emma and I decided to dress up as Egyptian Queens.(well I was a pharoah but nobody is being technical, are they?) Emma was Cleopatra (familiar?) and I was Hatshepsut. She was the first Egyptian queen to proclaim herself pharoah. Pretty neat, huh? Anyway, my wonderful mother made our costumes. Yeah, MADE them. Here are some pictures of their majesties.

(Yes, Mom DID use black hair spray. Yes, we DID shampoo it three times to get it out.)

Enough about Halloween. Let's talk about the beautiful weather and the TREES! Ok, I know the weather hasn't been totally great, but hey, at least we've had some nice days. Right? My family went to the lakehouse recently and for those of you who don't know, there area LOT of trees. Emma and I played in our leaf pile until Jake (our dog) had to mark his teritory which happened to be OUR leaf pile. Ewwww! Emma, Mom and I went on a walk while there and got to feed a few cows! Here are some pics.

(Yes, that cow's name IS Wendy. Hungriest cow i've ever met.)

Looks like even Jake had fun at the lake. Well hasn't that been an awesome fall adventure with Abigail? See ya next time!

P.S. Please pray for Emma. She has had a cough lately and she went to see the doctor today. Keep her in your prayers.

Finally!

Whew! Finally I have time to sit down and blog. Sorry to all of you guys I have just been a BIT busy with school starting and all.

Well, we started school an August 5th and it is going very nicely. I have finished my quilt and I am knitting a couple of headbands as well. Our garden is booming even though the zucchini has died. We have had at least 20 pounds of tomatoes and mom has been making sauce and canning like crazy!

Here are some pictures.

Guess who else visited? No, not any more tomatoes, our cousins! We did a lot of fun stuff like going to the zoo and Mayfield dairy.

Look at this funny picture of Chloe! She is a little chatterbox now and is growing, growing, growing!

Wasn't that a fun catch-up adventure? See ya next time!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July everybody!

Today we had a parade at my neighborhood. Emma and I decorated our bikes and helmets and went along. There were also some golf carts.

After that we headed back to the pool to swim and eat. We had little "burgers" for dessert.

Mom made them out of cupcakes, brownies, and icing.

The cupcakes are the buns, the brownies are the burger, and the icing is made into ketchup, mustard, and lettuce.

Here we are in the pool with friends.

Well that was a fun 4th of July adventure right? See ya next time!

Crafts and Hats

On Tuesday Emma, mom and I attended a knitting class. It was mostly for Emma and I but mom also picked up some needles and tried. Emma was REALLY into it and has been knitting ever since.

Here you can see the little worker at work.

The almost finished product

I have picked up a new possible hobby. Making quilts! One of our neighbors has offered to teach me how to quilt. I had my first lesson last Monday. I am making a doll quilt and have found it to be a LOT of fun. I am learning to machine quilt so now I know how to sew on a sewing machine.

Here it is. ( It isn't finished yet)

One last thing, we are going to my friend's VBS ( vacation bible school). Last night was wacky hat day. We had to wear our wackiest hats we had.

Here is my creation.

It consists of the following:

1. A long blue hat from last VBS

2. My Tinker Belle Mickey ears

3. An Orlando Magic baseball cap

4. A yellow lei

5. That alligator thing was my craft that we made

During the begining talk a man took me and two other people onto the stage and said that we had the wackiest hats! We also got one dollar each.

Whew, that was one crafty wacky adventure 'yall. See ya next time!