Summer Adventures

So we just got home from our mad dash to South Dakota for the 4th (I am still singing the song Dakota from the Family Band Movie). It was pretty fun. Our huge highlight ended up being a major low-light though. Mt. Rushmore does this huge firework show on the 3rd. It rained all day but we were fine with it. Cleared out about 4pm. Yes! Opportunity of a lifetime! We hike up hill about 3 miles with all of our junk so we would be able to get a good seat to see the fireworks. We really had awesome seats inside the park. The weather was beautiful (we did have our jackets, a little chilly) and we waited around until 9:20 to see the big event. At 8:45 a huge fog rolled in and didn't ever leave. Seriously? They tried to do the fireworks anyway but the only show we got was a colorful sky with background music. So bummed! We even left early but had to wait in the road with about 1000 other people until they were over for safety reasons. So, we fought a crowd of 30,000 people with our hungry, tired, cold kids (who really did do awesome considering the circumstances) for a low-light! However, still super cool and we decided someday we will try again!

Now, it wasn't all disappointing. In fact, I learned some really cool things. We toured the visitors center and this plaque tells the reason for these four presidents. Pretty cool. I got the chills when I read it. Since I just realized you probably can't read it on this blog I found this. Not the exact wording (I don't think) but the gist of it anyway.

Carving began on Mount Rushmore National Memorial in 1927 and was finished in 1941. Initially, the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, selected George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as subjects for the carving. Thomas Jefferson was quickly added to the project followed by Theodore Roosevelt. Borglum created Mount Rushmore not only as a monument to the four men depicted, but also to the American ideals the four men represent.

Borglum chose these specific presidents because they commemorate the founding, growth, preservation and development of the United States. They symbolize the principles of liberty and freedom on which this nation was founded.

George Washington signifies the struggle for independence and the birth of the Republic; Thomas Jefferson represents the territorial expansion of the country; Abraham Lincoln stand for the permanent union of the States and equality for all citizens and Theodore Roosevelt exemplifies the 20th century role of the United States in world affairs and the industrial growth of the nation.

After a little let down at Rushmore, we were still revved up to go so the next day we headed to Bear Country. It was pretty cool. You drive through this park with lots of different wild animals. The kids loved it and after I relaxed a little (as much as I love the mountains you'd think they wouldn't scare me) I started to really enjoy it as well.

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Elk. A bunch of them. Seth was so excited about the racks on these things. I don't know much about elk but I was impressed too.

Okay, these bears were crazy! There were TONS of them! We let the kids sit on our laps to see better and it made me a nervous wreck! They would just roam around your car, stop and look and keep walking! At one time Logan knocked on his window and one turned and like growled at him! It was super cool though!
They keep the babies in a separate little area with other little animals. They were so cute! Again, tons of them and they were just hangin' out in that tree. Seriously, I don't know how they were staying up there. The tree looked so flimsy!

We had a great trip. Highly recommended. The kids did awesome on the drive and while we were there. I didn't get a picture of any of the beautiful drive but I did want to mention one thing that Seth and I talked about on the way to and from. As we were in our comfortable car during the rain, driving across the plains of South Dakota and Wyoming we were talking about how fortunate we are. We thought of the pioneers and their struggle to make it across in the snow none the less. It was such an eye-opening experience as to how much they really did sacrifice. As my babies slept in the back seat I wondered how many mothers cried as they pushed on while their babies were buried behind them. We have such a strong heritage and it really strengthened my testimony of the gospel and the faith those people had.

I hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day and took some time to recognize what it means to be free. I know that our appreciation for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has increased! Love and miss you all!