Montana Wyoming Trip

Ok obviously I'm not up on blogging much..but I am trying.
So prior to finally taking Hanna (and Chris) to Montana for school, we took a trip over to get them registered.  We borrowed Gramma & Boppa's van so we could accommodate 6 people without too much trouble.
The weather was a bit hot, but we did pretty good.  We arrived in Montana and got to our hotel for the night.  The kids got a kick out of the bear staring in our window--we were on the third floor!
The next morning we took the big kids up to the school.  Hanna, Chris and I spent the day at school going through orientation--they had a student orientation and one for the parents.  The orientation was set for 2 days.  The kids had to stay overnight at the school.  About half way through the day I realized that I wasn't really in need of staying, it was way too hot and everything they were talking about I had already heard earlier in the year.  I caught up with Hanna and Chris and told them I was taking off.  Robert and the kids had gone up to some pillar out at the end of the 'ridge' and stopped to pick me up on the way back. :)
We went back to the hotel so the Robert and Connor could swim while Reanna and I chilled and read books.
In the meantime I get a call from Hanna that poor Chris is sick.  No sooner had I left, it hit him.  Poor kid..he was pretty miserable the rest of the day--the heat was no help. 
The next morning we picked the kids up and headed to Wyoming.  We spent a couple nights in Cody. Everyone really enjoyed Cody. I think that was their favorite part of the trip.  We hit the Cody Night Rodeo, Sierra Trading Post, Buffalo Bill Museum, we took a city tour and also walked through Olde Towne (some of the original Cody homes and buildings).
After Cody, we headed to Yellowstone.  We did see quite a few animals, but not nearly as many as we had 17 years ago when we had been through there.  Chris was feeling better and really enjoyed seeing all the animals--spending most of his life in Hawaii, Elk, Bison and Bear were a treat to see. Hanna spent a lot of time convincing Chris to try wild game at every restaurant we stopped at--he was a good sport and did eat some Elk and Bison while on the trip.
We did the obligatory stop at Old Faithful, spent quite a bit of time looking at the 'paint pots' and other hot springs around the park.  There were several times just Robert, Chris, Hanna and I got out of the car to trek up to the areas to see the hot springs--with the heat so high Connor and Reanna remained in the car with the air on to keep from over heating.
We also stopped at the Lewis and Clark Caverns.  We all went through it and it was absolutely amazing.  I would recommend it!
We only had a few meltdowns during our trip, so I say it was a huge success.
We hope to do a similar trip next year--only this time head further East. The kids are hoping to see Mt.Rushmore.

 

checking out one of the graves (Jeremiah Johnson maybe?)

waiting for Old Faithful to blow

Over labor day weekend we did drive back to Montana to drop Hanna off to school. Chris and his dad rode over and we did meet for dinner on the way.  We headed over on Saturday, unpacked most of the day on Sunday and after we took the kids out to an early dinner, we had to say our goodbyes.  It was hard to do, but we do appreciate that Hanna and Chris are over there together and have each other.  Hanna has a fabulous roommate and the three kids seem to spend their free time together--enjoying college life.  Hanna and Chris will be home for Thanksgiving -- looking forward to that.

Meet the crew

Robert and I have been together for quite some time.  We met back in 1983 and while we didn't get together until 1985--what we hadn't realized was we had already started a family.
Robert was married and a divorced single father by 1985.  I was a teen mom--which didn't hold the same status as it seems to now-a-days.
Robert and I actually met shortly before Robert's first marriage--in fact, I was maid of honor at his wedding.  I do know what you are all thinking, and it wasn't like that at all!
Anyway, my daughter and his son were playmates so I wanted to keep that up.  Long story short, Brandy and Adam's play dates resulted in real dates for Robert and I ;)
And so it began.  Robert and I moved from his singlewide trailer and into Robert's childhood home.  We eventually got married (1989) and added three more kids to the crew.  Brandy (1983), Adam (1984), Hanna (1993), Connor (1997) and Reanna (1999) have kept us extremely happy and proud.

Brandy met a great guy in her senior year of high school. They eventually married, moved to a small house in Rochester and blessed us with two amazing grandsons; Cameron (2006) and Jesse (2009).

Adam shared an apartment with Brandy and James prior to them buying their house, he eventually found a place of his own to rent.  Recently he bought the house across the street from us.

Hanna finished high school and is attending Montana State University-Billings, double majoring in Criminal Justice and Psychology.

Connor and Reanna will still be hanging at the Moody house for a few more years.