Said good bye to South Dakota. I was surprised it was
such a beautiful state. I’m sure I’d think otherwise in the winter when it’s
-20 outside. So today we crossed over into Wyoming. I totally forgot to get the
kids their souvenir t-shirt from South Dakota so one day I can make them a
t-shirt quilt from all the places they’ve been. I waited too long then forgot
then remembered & it was too late. Shoot. Guess I should get their shirts
as soon as we enter the state so I don’t have to worry about it later.
Our first stop into Wyoming was at the Buffalo Jump. The
big pit was founded by accident when they were going to build the highway.
There are thousands & thousands of buffalo bones in this pit. It’s a
natural crater size hole in the ground that Indians used to corral & chase
buffalo into. The buffalo would fall into the deep pit & either die from
the fall or they would be killed by the Indians while trapped in the hole. This
was used before horses came into play & made it easier for the Indians to
hunt the buffalo. The Indians would then use every part of the buffalo for
food, clothing, shelter, toys & more. It was very interesting to see &
learn about. They had a couple kid activities, which was pretty neat. The kids
got to build a small teepee then they went digging for arrowheads in a sand
pit. Of course we didn’t stay long enough & the kids didn’t want to leave
(as usual). Dalton had to be carried out kicking & screaming without his
shoes on & Annika had the long pouty face with tears in her eyes. What’s
new right?
We had a short drive to our camp & we were kind of up
on the side of a small mountain with a nice view. It was too cold to go
swimming, but we got into camp early enough to eat lunch, relax a bit then head
on over to Devil’s Tower. Of course our day wouldn’t be complete without an
injury. The kids were acting crazy & I had to tell them multiple times to
calm down. I had just finished changing Emry’s diaper & turned around to
once again tell the other 2 kids to calm down, but Emry is fast & she took
a dive off the bed. All I heard was a thud then screaming. Ugh! My heart felt
like it was in the pit of my stomach. She was flat on her back, but she was
fine. I scooped her up & she stopped crying once I fed her mama’s magic
milk, but that didn’t keep me from feeling guilty. You’d think after baby #3
I’d learn my lesson on how fast babies can be.
After that traumatic experience (for me) we drove over to
Devil’s Tower. I kept thinking about the movie “Close Encounters of the Third
Kind” when I saw it. It was amazing. We saw 2 climbers on one side, but no
aliens or space ships. We always forget our binoculars, but they had a couple of
those viewing scopes you could see thru that were situated on a pole. Annika
tried to pick up Dalton to help him look out of the smaller one, but he was too
heavy for her & the scope was just a bit too tall. Still it was cute
watching her help her little brother. She may say how much she doesn’t like her
little brother or how he’s not the best brother ever, but she does love him
& they have their moments. Well I’m not sure what sparked it this time, but
the kids were fussy. I have a nice picture of both of them pouting with the
Tower in the background. Ahhh special memories. There was a nature trail to the
base of the tower that was 1.2 miles, but hubby was not interested & with
the kids being in such fowl moods, we decided we were done. I’m sure Annika’s
poopie attitude had to do with the visitor/gift shop. Booo with the party
poopers. I told her we were going to a
different gift shop down the hill, but she was fixated on the small one nearby.
Sheesh. Of course when she finally saw the bigger gift shop I was talking about
then she was all bright eyes & smiles. I got the t-shirts, postcards, a
patch for Annika’s holy pants (she chose the Texas patch) & some ice cream
for our ride back to camp. We were only staying one night at this camp because
most of what we wanted to see in WY was on the west side.
As we were leaving Devil’s Tower there was a big area of
white puffy clouds rolling in. It looked pretty neat, but turned out to be a
big storm & the radio was interrupted with the national weather service
mentioning a tornado was seen inside this storm. Yikes! I thought we were out
of tornado country, but I thought wrong. It was going to miss us according to
the weather radar, but the whole way back to camp we were right there next to
it & it was eerie looking. The temps dropped 6 degrees pretty fast & it
got really windy. I was pretty nervous & remembered about the emergency bag
that I emptied out & put away. I kept my eyes out for possible shelters
along the road. Hey I may sound paranoid, but when I have 3 babies to think
about, you’d better believe I’m looking to be prepared to keep them safe. They
may drive me up the wall, but they are my world. Thankfully the storm did pass
us, but you could see lightening & hear the thunder rolling. There was a
beautiful rainbow inside that big storm cloud & it made me think about the
beauty that follows.
I had to get some laundry done & took the kids with
me. They played pool while I got things going. They were funny to watch as they
tried to use the big pool stick to hit the balls in the pockets. Dalton kept
saying “I did it I winner” & holding his pool stick up & Annika would
jump up & down when she got a ball in a pocket. So cute. When we got back to
our trailer hubby had just finished grilling the yummy pork chops, but Emry was
crying & in meltdown mode. She sure misses me when I’m gone. I stayed inside
only long enough to make my salad & feed baby girl before going back to
switch the laundry (other people were waiting). I was gone a bit longer than
planned bcuz I had to wait for a dryer to open up. When I finally made it back
to the trailer both kids were in trouble & hubby looked not so happy. I
asked him if he still wanted to be a stay at home dad, but he didn’t say
anything. I’m gonna say that’s a “no”. I’m so glad he’s here to witness it all
24/7.
Before I could finish the laundry there was another storm
rolling in with some major lightning. I got drizzled on by the rain, but
thankfully it wasn’t a total down pour. Everyone was tired & Dalton pretty
much put himself to sleep. He insisted on wearing his new souvenir shirt. It
has a wolf howling at the full moon with Devil’s Tower in the background. At
first I didn’t know what he was trying to tell me because he was making a
sound. I thought he was whining then it hit me. He was howling like the wolf.
He’s so funny.
Annika (my night
owl) wanted me to color with her & I felt bad for putting her off. I did
manage to color a canoe before having to get up again. My sweet girl just wants
mommy’s attention & it’s so hard to give each one my undivided attention
& be hands on with them because the other 2 are always in to something or
needing something. I really need to get better at spending quality time with
each one. I think it’ll be easier once Emry is a little older & not so
needy.
I finally crawled into bed & tried to fall asleep
fast, but the constant lightening kept me awake, not only because it was
blinding but because I was worried about the weather & kept wondering what
we’d do or where we’d go if worse came to worse. I worry about my babies &
since I’m out numbered I worry if I’ll be able to gather them all up & get
them to safety (in any situation). Yes I have my hubby here to help, but I
always think about the “just in case I have to do it on my own” situation. I
know I’m not the only mom that worries like this. Darn storms.
No comments:
Post a Comment