My dad's side of the family last week had a Wilhelm family reunion in Colorado Springs. It was great to reunite with the whole family! I was especially glad for my kids to meet their relatives; since only Tim's grandma keeps in touch with us from his family, it was important my kids saw and met their aunts, uncles, and cousins. While we were planning the trip, Tim got the idea that since we were going to Colorado Springs that we should hit a couple of other fun places and visit some friends along the way.
The day after we arrived at in Colorado Springs, the whole family hiked "The Garden of the Gods." Everyone "oohed and aahed" over the red rocks and couldn't believe it when Tim and I told them we live just 15 minutes away from the spectacular red rocks in Sedona.
After Colorado Springs we headed to Rapid City, South Dakota. The kids had a ball at Storybook Island. Seriously, the place is so charming! It had Disney themes all throughout and I must have taken about 50 pictures--no joke!--while we were there! I highly recommend the place if you have kids and are ever in the area. Did I mention it is free? :)
Monday night we made it to Mt. Rushmore and had the opportunity to see it at night with the lights show. Since Tim and the kids had never seen it before, it was fun to go. The kids really enjoyed the video about the making of it and the presidents, and asked all sorts of questions about it afterwards.
Making our way back down, we stopped in Gilette, Wyoming, a town known for its mining industry. Here we are in a huge tire (13 ft. up?) and the kids enjoyed seeing the mine.
Our last stop was to see Focus on the Family back in Colorado Springs. We didn't get a chance to see it on the first part of our trip because it was closed for the July 4th holidays, so were glad we could see it on our way back. The kids absolutely loved the whole experience. The highlight was that our family was able to record our own Adventures in Odyssey story on cd! It was so cool--they give you a notebook with your part in it and you read it and then after you do the recording, they give you the cd--for free!
And here's where I have to brag for a minute on Tirzah--I told the lady she would read for the part Jaime, a part that required lots of enthusiasm. The lady wasn't so sure Tirzah could do it and had her read a few lines to see. Tirzah read with great expression and the lady and sound man were amazed at not only her reading skill but her enthusiasm. After it was over with, the lady told me and Tim that Tirzah has a gift and that she should know since she has worked with hundreds of other kids!That was really neat for me--the homeschooling mother--to hear. :)
We really had a great vacation! In one week we put 3,700 miles on the van and lots of memories in our family memory bank. I hope you are having a wonderful summer and are able to make beautiful memories with your family too!
