Day 18

Saying good bye to new friend, Kate, and her dogs :).

Today was a big travel day.  We finished up in Yellowstone, with Harvey and the four older kids taking a brief hike at Yellowstone.  I stayed behind in the car with the baby, trying to organize the car and our papers, as it was a little too cold and muddy for the baby.

The tripod for the camera has definitely been our friend on this trip :)

Hello Prairie Dog!

The younger children finished their Junior Ranger badges for Yellowstone (yes, these badges have kept us busy, but we have learned a lot).  We ate lunch there and then ran into my cousin Joel while he was working.  He was putting out huge hanging baskets at the lodge in Mammouth.  They were beautiful! 

We then drove on to Miles City, Montana. It was a lot of driving, so we decided to go for a swim at the hotel.  We met a really nice family from Wisconsin.  They had a twelve year old daughter who played with Jonathan the whole time we were there.  I found out from her mom that she wants to be a pediatric nurse when she grows up.  She definitely had a gift, and Jonathan picked up on it right away. He had so much fun playing with her, and we enjoyed talking to her parents.  She had a younger sister who is 10 who has juvenile diabetes.  Her mom shared some of the struggles her daughter has had and how she overcomes them.  Meeting new people has definitely been something we have enjoyed on our trip.

What did not work: Saying bye to family & a house with a view...

What did work: The electric pump for our air mattresses that inflates AND deflates (Harvey purchased at Wal-Mart in Charlotte before we left).  It has been a lifesaver!  It sounds like a very loud hair dryer, but fortunately does the job quickly.  Harvey loves the deflating part of it because it enables the mattresses to be folded up very small.  We keep the sheets, two twin air mattresses, the pump, & two sleeping bags in their own suitcase.  We take that suitcase into hotels where we do not have a suite (which has been the majority of hotels).  In Harvey's words, "It's easy to do and we do not look like nomads." Ha!  He's such the comedian :). 

Carried by His grace,