We're home!

Hey everyone! The last few days before we got home were super fun! After we left Cody, Wyoming, the next day was a longggg day of driving! We had to go from about 7 am that morning to 5:30 am the next day! We parked in the parking lot of Wal Mart and were so tired that we couldn't pop up the camper. So we just slept in the van that night. That was definitely one of the more boring & family bonding times of the trip! The next day we drove about 3 hours to Plum Creek, Minnesota to a festival celebrating the family of Laura Ingalls Wilder. There was a guest speaker there, Alison, who played the evil character of Nellie in the Little House on the Prarie tv show on TBS. She was really interesting to listen to and really funny! After we heard her speak, we went to a play of the story of Laura Ignalls and her family as they moved around the West. It was really good and made us realize just how hard life was back then. After that really amazing day, we drove to Chicago and went to a restaurant called Giardianos for some classic Chicago deep dish pizza! It was sooooo good, i wish we could move it to Holland! Then we walked around and saw the waterfront (: The next day, we went on a tour of Notre Dame college, where my cousin will be playing basketball on a full scholarship! And then we went to stay at my Grandma and Grandpa's house in Erie, PA for the night. Now, we're home! The trip ended up being about 9,000 miles, 30 days, and we went through 23 states! The trip was absolutley amazing, and thanks everyone for following us!

Hey eveyone! The past few days have been very fun and memory-filled! Yesterday, we spent the day at Yellowstone National Park and saw some really cool sights! Yesterday, we went to Mammoth Springs and saw all the steam coming from the rocks, and having it change the color of the rocks to orange and many others! We also saw the famous Old Faithful geyser and were awed by its..well...faithfulness! After that, we went to the Old Faithful Inn to have dinner, which tasted really good after all that camping food! Today, in the morning, we went to some hot springs in Yellowstone to go swimming! These were really different and unique! There was only one spot that you could sit in because the one side was freezing cold water and the other was boiling hot! So those were very neat to experience. Afterwards, we drove to a lookout point and saw the upper and lower falls of the Yellowstone Canyon. That was absolutley breathtaking! Then we continued on to take a dip in the Yellowstone Lake, with black, sparkling sand surrounding it (: We didn't stay for long though, because the water was cold and we needed to get to the main attraction of the day: a rodeo in Cody, Wyoming! We saw barrel racing (some by kids 12 and under), bull riding, and lassoeing (if thats a word) It was a lot of fun and something we will always remember! The home stretch of our trip this year is finally here, but before it has ended completely, we've had some really good memories!

Heading back east (:

Well. the last few days haven't been too exciting as far as the days go, but we've had some funny family moments! After Yosemite, we drove all day until we got to Medford, Ohio and stayed in nice Homewood Suites hotel, which was a very deserving break after roughing it at yosemite! Then today we drove yet again all day and saw Mount St. Helens and Mt. Rainier, the highest point in Washington! we also ran into some snow and had a snowball fight (: And now are currently in Idaho camping in the backyard of Tom Elliot, yet another friend of my dad's from college with her husband, Erin and their really cute 2 little boys! We're staying here for the night and then tomorrow heading to Yellowstone where we will be able to settle down for a few days and stay off the road! But we're making great memories and having a great time!

Hey everyone! We just bought a new computer so i will be able to update the blog a lot more now! We just got into our Homewood Suites Hotel in Medford, Oregon after our 3 nights in Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is a absolutley beautiful place where basically every picture you take is perfect! We also got to visit with our Grandma and Grandpa Schmidt for the 3 nights and had a great time with them! The only downfall was that we didn't get the best campsite around, apparently lights in a bathroom is too luxurious! The first day we stayed there we got to go hiking up Vernal Falls, which included going up about 600 steps, some of which are slippery and wet because of the mist coming from the falls! But once we got past those, the view at the top was absolutley breathtaking (: After the hike, we found a really nice beachy area with a creek whose cold water felt very good after a long, hot day in California! The second day we were there, we decided to rent some bikes & go around Yosemite on those. It was really nice because we could go to some places that you couldn't get to by the shuttle, like Mirror Lake. It was really nice there, with a great view of Half Dome in the distance. We also got to see some really big Sequoia trees, like the Giant Grizzly and the California! And then, afterwards, we warmed up to a blazing campfire and some marshmallows! So, our experience in Yosemite was a very enjoyable one, and now we're on our way to Mt. Rainier!

The Lawrence Family in Malibu

Shopping Day!

Hello again everyone! Today, sadly, was our last day in Malibu with Don Lawrence and his family, but it was a fun one! In the morning, the two daddys went golfing and everybody else went to the huge outlet mall! Little Darien and the other younger boys were getting a little cranky and hungry, so we had the dads come and pick them up after they were done with golfing, which by the way, Don won. So, after the boys were gone, it was a girl's shopping day till we drop! We stopped at the Gap, Juicy Couture, and a bunch of other places! After we couldn't shop anymore, we came home an had a nice spaghetti dinner with everyone. Now, we are just hanging out, and all the girls are doing makeovers! (: So, tomorrow we will head up to Yosemite National Park for 3 nights, so there might not be a post for a while since we still don't have our laptop fixed. Until then, can't wait to get home & keep following!

Tom Cruises' shirt!!!

Hi everyone this is Lisa and I just had to add something that my daughter Abby forgot to tell you. On our tour of 20th century fox studios we went to the wardrobe department! They were packing up the clothes that were just used in the new Tom Cruise movie "Knight and Day". The guy saw that I was quite excited about that fact and he proceeded to show me the rack of clothes that Tom actually wore!!! I was able to get a picture holding a Dolce and Gabana denim shirt that he wore quite a bit in the movie!!! I will post the picture when I get the chance-- Needless to say, I did ask him if I could buy it, but he said it was not for sale! If it was George would have definetely had to get out his wallet! Having a great time in California! But we do miss Holland and are looking forward to heading home! Bye!