North Dakota

I think after a year and half it is about time to update the blog. Over spring break I took a little road trip up to North Dakota to visit Marc and Krisi. I took a little over 12 hours to drive there. I thought it would never end. Krisi's kids didn't know that I was coming, so she had them do a little treasure hunt to find a surprise. They ran all around the house and at the every end they came outside to find me standing there. There were lots of hugs and tears. Defiantly made up for the long drive. Over the next few days we played around and went to see the sights of North Dakota. We took a drive down the Enchanted highway. It is a stretch of road that has huge metal sculptures along the way. At each one has a little playground you can crawl through or on. The only bad thing was that it was so cold! It was a good thing there was a few miles in between so we could warm up between sites. The other big thing we did was the Badlands National Park. There were a few little hikes we stopped at and walked around. Over all I had a great trip and enjoyed the good company.

Live Nativity

Last Monday I went to the live nativity with Kristina, Tori Maddocks and their kids. We started the off with a walk through ankle deep mud and manure to a hay ride and then got to go through and pet the different animals that were there. I was disappointed that the camel wasn't there this year, but there was a zebra so that made up for it. The girl that was playing Mary let the kids hold the baby Jesus doll. The kids thought that is was a real baby, it was pretty cute.

San Diego

I had the opportunity to go to San Diego to see Brenden's graduation from the Marines. We had a great time while we were there. I was hoping for lots of sun and warmth, but with my luck it rained every morning. By afternoon it was usually nice and warm.


The first day that we got to see Brenden was on his Moto run. It is the last run that they have to do. It was a little hard trying to pick him out of the group. They all had the same hair cut and clothes on. After his run, we had a family day on the base. The rest of the day Brenden got to show us around and share a lot of crazy stories. Brenden had to be back by six, it was really hard not that he couldn't come with us.


The next day was his graduation. It was a really awesome experience to see all the Marines marching in the graduation parade. After that we finished see the rest of the base and we were off to the beach. Before we could head to the beach Brenden was dying to get out of his uniform. He lost 30 pounds in basic and let just say that is clothes he worn there didn't fit so well. Good thing he had a belt.


The beach was really cold. We didn't bring our swimming suits because no one planned on getting in the water. They the end of the night most of use were very wet espesially all the kids. They were out pretty much wet up to their necks. The ocean was so much fun.


The last day in California we went to Sea World. We watched most of the shows and saw most the park. They were having a Halloween weekend, so there were different stations that trick or treat at. I think that Tori and I went to more of them then the little kids did. After Sea World we decided to drive as far as we could. We got to Mesquite at about one or two in the morning. Thank goodness that Marc was driving because I slept most of the way. Overall it was a great vacation. I got to see a new place and even better was being able to see and support Brenden. I am really proud of him and his decision to serve our country. In the short three months that he was there, I can tell a huge difference in him. He is a lot more confident and has grown so much.

Road Trip

Last week Colton, Tori, and I went on a road trip to Mount Rushmore. We only had three days, so it make for a lot of driving. But we still had a great time! Our first stop on our trip was to the state prison in Rawlins, WY.

Colton in the gas chamber

Have to get a shower in where ever you can


HELP!!! They finally caught me

Second stop was Mount Rushmore. It was raining and cold, so we were pretty much the only people there.




The next morning we went back up to Rushmore and then headed to Devils Tower.