I have to laugh when anyone asks what we did over Christmas. Because to be so amazing, I sure haven’t talked about it much. It may not be very well documented, but to us it was kinda a big deal. Our little family of 6 drove to North Dakota. It wasn’t a secret. Not an intentional one, at least. Its just that we spent most of the 10 days fairly unplugged and we arrived back to L-I-F-E.
12 Family members under one roof for Christmas
For years we weren’t together. Between peace core commitments and deployments, we experienced just enough empty spots at the Christmas dinner table to know it wasn’t our favorite thing (like WAAAYYYYY down the list). So, this year when my baby brother (seems weird to say about a Captain in the AF, but still true) said he couldn’t get leave to come from North Dakota to my parents house for Christmas, the choice was simple. Minot, here we come.
We were together. And it was worth it.
11 hours spent at the Mall of America
9 states traveled
This is one of my favorite things about our Christmas. We actually slept in 5 different states, 4 of which I had never been to before. We drove through Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. Shew. I had a great plan to take pictures at every state sign. Which didn’t really happen. But I was absolutely determined to get a perfect family photo at the North Dakota sign. This was worth documenting. So, even though the temps were well below zero, RRL got the tripod set up, we bundled everyone up, set the timer, ran to the sign, did the cutest family pose (sweet Lou in cheerleader position) and then ran back to the car to unbundle, rebuckle and admire the results. Which is why it was both hilarious and so sad that it turned out being only RRL’s backside and the rest of us not even in “ready” position. Camera timer fail. Just like the ND motto on the sign and just like our little trip north- the picture is LEGENDARY. (as runners up, I also really like Cbugs interpretation of SD’s “Great faces” motto and my hubby and i under “the good life” in Nebraska).
8 days we saw snow
Snow is a commodity for our little crew. KJ and Cbug, especially, loved romping in the snow, hiding in the snow forts their uncles helped them build and having snow ball fights.
7 suitcases loaded in the van
Packing for this trip was interesting- especially since we needed everything from swimsuits to snowsuits…times 6. I had a crazy awesome system for packing us for all the different stops so that we wouldn’t have to load/unload the whole van each time.
Unpacking was easy- it all just exploded into our entry way when we got home.
6 People to spoil small children
We spent nearly 4 days actually in Minot and by far the best part of that was watching my kids be so well loved. Between Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents our kiddos always had someone to provide sweet treats, play games, read stories, snuggle…
5 Original Bradfields
And it wasn’t just my kids that were so well loved, I was, too.
No family is perfect. But I sure love mine. For years and years, I’ve loved the five of us…
4 Different hotel rooms
We learned all kinds of tricks for making small spaces work well for the 6 of us, and we actually really didn’t mind most of our hotels at all. We mostly stayed LaQuinta and found them a reasonable balance of well priced and well kept. And bonus, we stayed in so many on this little adventure that our last night was nearly free.
A “we’ve been in hotels too long” story I love to retell was when Cbug yelled “MOM, Tito is pushing buttons on the Ah-Mah-Nah” again. And when I finally figured out what he meant, I thought it was THE FUNNIEST THING EVER. The fact that I found it so hilarious, and even took a picture of it, made me realize- I MUST GET HOME.
3 Huge waterslides at the indoor waterpark
Like I said, this Christmas we gave our kids the gift of experience. Each day, for 12 days leading up to Christmas, they got to open something. Sometimes it was books to read in the car, sometimes snacks, but once it was a hotel WITH an indoor waterpark. Apparently, these are pretty standard in the area we visited in South Dakota, because even our LaQuinta was attached to one. And they were SUPER reasonably priced compared to the one in our town. Our boys were in HEAVEN. Libby loved it, too, but the boys really enjoyed the slides. Cbug would literally RUN up the 70 stairs (one time I made him count them so I could catch up), slide down and do it again so quickly that he swallowed enough water to make himself just about puke. So, he started a new routine of stairs, slide, toilet (just in case), stairs, slide, toilet.
KJ had quite the adventure in the lazy river (which is anything but lazy with boys). He and I were playing bumper rafts (see- not lazy) and he hit is face on the front of his float, knocking out his (very loose) front tooth. It sunk straight to the bottom (which he found hilarious) and he was missing his two front teeth for Christmas (which I found adorable).
2 Crazies playing in the snow at Mount Rushmore
I absolutely LOVED the time I got to spend with Cbug, playing in the snow in the ampitheater that is right at the base of Mountain. Everyone else mostly stayed inside (again with the FREEZING cold temps), but he was determined to play. How could I say “no” to “may I go play in the snow” in front of Mount Rushmore. How many kids can say they’ve done that (or adults for that matter). Not very many. In fact, approx 5000 people PER DAY visit Mount Rushmore in the summer. But only about 100 in the winter. There is a reason for that BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, but its kinda cool that we were among the few this year.
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| Crazy Horse |
1 Detour to see the Badlands
Have I said “my favorite” yet? Well, then this was my “surprise favorite” part of the trip. If I hadn’t been researching this trip like crazy, we might have missed this gorgeous slice of our country. Seriously beautiful. But the main scenic route was under repairs so we had to really work to get ther. As we turned off the main interstate onto a small road which turned into an unpaved road into what seemed like the middle of nowhere, I really doubted myself. You can’t see the spectacularness from the interstate so you might just miss it, but when you do finally arrive- wowzers. And covered in snow- double wowzers. I do wish we had been there sans small children so we could do more exploring, but we all enjoyed the views for a little bit and the visitors center was fun for the kids.
Allison – you write SO well and funny, love reading you! What a blast you guys had over Christmas – kudos’ to you for doing something different! It pays off, doesn’t it? Look at these memories!! — Jen
Increidble post.Epic. I felt like I was there with you. 🙂
We went to Mount Rushmore when I was in high school (I think). That dumb Crazy Horse thing was under construction then…are they EVER going to finish it? Wow! I am totally with you on the Mount Rushmore thing. It was one of my favorite things to see, also, and I can’t explain it. It’s an emotional thing, I guess. You have to experience it. Glad I’m not the only one. I think gifts of experiences are the best things. Those will be the things they remember after the toys are long gone to Goodwill (which doesn’t take too long in my house). We’ve done this as an anniversary gift every year, but haven’t done it for the kids yet. I’m going to have to think how we can incorporate that next time. FYI…I am VERY secretive (on the blog and FB) any time we go out of town. Don’t apologize for that. I think it’s really the way to go. No need to advertise an empty home. 🙂