On our way home... :(

Well, we are temporarily staying in Rapid City South Dakota right now...
We found out when we were in Missouri helping with SP that our deadline to be home had been cut short by a few days, so we are kind of racing home :( There is about 2" of snow on the ground and Mom is NOT happy about it.
Dad has been running up to the gas station to buy gas to refill the generator's fuel tank so we can keep the heater going.  I guess it is OK coming home early; I would be a lot happier coming home in a few weeks when I know that we are not going to freeze up(!) and life would be more bearable in the RV.  (I'm REALLY missing Florida weather right now)
We are parked in the Cabelas parking lot, taking a day off from driving.  We have been driving for about 8 hours each day for the last three days!  We all are glad for a day off to re-coop :)
Mom is still pretty sick.  She just started to get sick when we were in Missouri, so we thought we could take our time and enjoy the trip home, and hopefully mom would be better by the time we got there. Well... the plans changed, and all this driving has been rather hard on her.

When we arrived in Rapid City it was raining pretty hard, thankfully the snow waited for 5 minutes after we got there. It snowed all night and we got up to over 5" of the "awful white stuff" in the morning.   :(

There is something VERY,VERY,VERY wrong with these pictures!!!!

There should NEVER be a picture where our RV, and snow are together (I'm serious!) I think I'm turning into a Southerner (and it's awesome, LOL!!!)

We are in freezing cold weather trying to stay warm.  Thankfully Dad has found a place to get propane, and the little girls have been watching movies all day. 

The boys are glad that we are parked in Cabelas so they can go shopping. Personally, I like Bass Pro Shops better :)

It's not all bad tho!  We ended our day be wearing everyone out at Watiki indoor waterpark!!(blog to come)

Great Smoky Mountains...

Last Monday we arrived at the north end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We had to park in town; we were not sure if the campgrounds in the park could fit us  :) After we found a place to park the RV, we took a drive through part of the park.

 

The drive was beautiful! I loved all the little waterfalls. 

The day was gorgeous, the weather perfect.

We drove for a few hours, stopping every now and then to take pictures. 

 

 

 

We stopped at one of the historic sites on the Scenic Drive.

There was a table that a few pelts that the Ranger was showing and talking about, (Bear, Otter, Red Fox, Grey Fox and Coyote) The boys liked that :)

 

Cable Mill was a very pretty place, there was a house, the mill and a couple of smaller building around those. 

 

Thanks a lot, Jake! LOL!!!

The boys spotted a snake in this little cabin, Molly and Peanut thought it was pretty neat and would have looked at it all day if Mom had let them!

 Me on the other hand... well, I just like to keep my distance; snakes aren't quite my favorite animal :) and never will be.

After the drive, we went back to the Visitor Center and took the hike to Cataract Falls. It was a nice hike, but only about half a mile round trip.

Everyone loved this tree, especially the hole in the back :) the boys liked to scare the little girls while Mom was trying to take a picture!

I agree with the shirt!   Caleb, you are "toadally cute!!!"

The Falls were about 25 feet high.

Cataract Falls was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!

The girls had a blast jumping on rocks and logs across the creek, "trying" not to get wet... Ya, whatever!

 

On the way back to the camper in the evening, we saw a crowd gathered on the side of the road looking at something.  Well, it turned out to be a bear with four cubs!  So everyone got out to see it and take pictures, (I stayed in the van with a sleeping Caleb)

 

Our trip the the Great Smoky Mountains was wonderful, we all really enjoyed it!

I hope we can come back next year. 

South Carolina...

A few days ago we got together with some friends.
The boys played basketball every day for a few hours, and the girls had been playing with the stray cat that liked to hang around the rv.  (Caspian hated him, mostly because the other cat, which is half his size, chases him! :).

All the guys (except for Caleb) went on a long hike.

The scenery was AMAZING!!!!

I am starting to think that I should have gone with them just for the view! :)

The Guys...

Jake...

Josh and Thomas...(I think)

Daddy...

 Apparently Daniel, Matt and Eli all fell in trying to cross the river!  LOL!  Unfortunately, no one got any pictures :(
They all had a great time!  We heard quite a few funny stories when they got home.

The guys afterwards... they were pretty tired by the time they got home.

Another thing the kids really enjoyed doing there was dying eggs on Easter :)

The big boys got into it too, I just did not put any pictures on :)

It was raining the whole time, but who cares!  They still had a blast :) 

We started with about 9 dozen eggs, tho I am not sure how many we had at the end - quite a few where eaten in the process :)

The girls really had a good time, and got quite creative.

I LOVE this picture!

 

 It was really fun being able to get together and see friends again, but I am glad we are back on the road. :)  We are going to be back home in MT in about three weeks! (I can't wait!!!)

But for now, Great Smoky Mountains, here we come!!!!