From the Kids' Perspective

Rachael "The Awesome" -Hello, my name is Rachael the Awesome DeKelSki. I am on vacation. Lauren is on a sugar high. And I am having a blast with my family. We went to Wyoming today. Summer home of Harrison Ford. Walked around Devil's Tower, where Steven Speilberg has been. Those were the highlights of my day. Cannot wait to meet Harrison Ford. Oh and I finished Lord of the Rings on my portable DVD player, which is purple. I like vacation. No school. Or math. Those are even bigger highlights. All right, that is all!

Ruth "The Nerd" -Because Nerds are Awesome! Today, we went to Devil's Tower and it is basically an all things movie field trip (ATM). Yesterday, we hiked at Sylvan Lake, they filmed National Treasure II there. Also a fun ATM field trip. Mt. Rushmore is pretty legit. I got a cool snow globe and a post card for Adam. We had fun at lunch at Subway today. Lauren could not stop laughing. That is all have a good night.

Ki "the Peacemaker"- In South Dakota, we went to Mt. Rushmore, which was beast. ha ha and I've dreamed about going there my whole life. We, me and my brother Isaiah, got four document souvenirs. We went to Crazy Horse which wasn't as cool as we'd thought it would be. I've been getting cool pictures so far. That's it.

Jena Grace "Miss Pretty Pretty"- Um, ha ha ha....I don't know what to say to people. Ummmmm. I like Mt. Rushmore. It was really cool. In the car, we've been doing fun stuff with each other like travel bingo and the license plate game. We only 7 plates left to find. And ummmm, when we saw the three deers fighting it was really cool. And I have had a lot of fun with Elisha. Tomorrow I am looking forward to getting to Yellowstone. And I hope we get there before it shuts down. Bye.

Isaiah "The Moose"- We have watched a lot of fun movies. And, it has been a long time in the car. (35 hours so far) We got cool documents that Dad got me and Ki. The Declarations from National Treasure the first one. (Declaration of Independence). And ummm, we ummmm, we saw really cool things and then climbed really cool rocks. And ummmmm, we did stuff really fun and stopped at Bucees on the way. And ummmm, we we we ummm, we left from our house and now we're all the way in Montana. And, ummmm, we saw the Blue Brothers where we eat. (Fuddruckers in Billings) I'm looking forward to seeing a bear in Yellowstone. We had a lot of fun seeing Mt. Rushmore with our friends. We saw Prairie Dogs. We are at a hotel, bye.

Jana "The Mom"-Well, as you can tell. The kids are having a great time and we are loving seeing the country. My favorite part of today was Little Bighorn. Love that time in history. Yesterday, I lived out a jr. high dream and stood where Kevin Costner stood in Dances with Wolves. We are laughing alot and learning alot. So blessed to be able to see this great country with our kids and friends! Thanks for all the prayers for safe travels.

Hey ya'll! We entered Kansas about 20 minutes ago. Weather is beautiful but hot! 9am and already over 90 degrees. Yesterday in Denison, Texas we saw 111! Crazy! The kids did awesome yesterday. We didn't even turn on a movie till after Dallas. It was so great to get to the Kelley's house and hug their necks. The kids are so glad to be all back together too! 4am came as a shock as Jason and I were awoken to Ki crying uncontrollably on our bed. Turns out he had jumped off the back of the couch and hurt his foot but hid it to keep from getting in trouble for couch diving. We erred on the side of caution and left to go to ER. We snuck out the back door so as not to awaken anyone. The Bartlesville ER was fast and kind. After praying that it wouldn't be broken, we were very relieved that it is just sprained! Thank you, Lord. So since we were up and couldn't get back in the house to sleep lol we gassed up the car and hit Starbucks. It was so relaxing to sit and watch the swans, geese and ducks play from the back porch until the house started to stir. At 7, I sent a text to whoever woke first to let us in. Gayla came and saved us! So now here we are on the road again! Praying for no more drama of any kind! So glad you are on this journey with us.

Who are the DeKelSki's??????

I just realized that ya'll might not know who the DeKelSki family is! This is actually the second roadtrip we've taken with our precious friends Barry and Brenda Debor, the "De", and Steve and Gayla Kelley, the "Kel" and Jason and I are of course the Ski's. We traveled together 3 years ago to Colorado and everywhere around and in-between so we're kicking it up a notch this time. You can follow the Debor's blog at http://adventuresinthesilverbullet.blogspot.com . Not sure yet if the Kelleys are blogging but if they are we'll let you know what their address is! Thanks for the prayers and talk to you soon!

One More Sleep Until Vacation

We are SO excited! We just put the kids to bed. I know its midnight but we want them to be tired and sleep in the car :-) They just finished watching the clean and edited version of the Blues Brothers. They are their father's children for sure, it was so cute to hear them belly laughing while I finished printing our hotel confirmations out and our tickets for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers while we're in Jackson, Wyoming. I am so excited to see that play in a real live saloon!

I can't believe we've been planning this trip since February and now it is finally here. Tomorrow is going to be an easy day for us. We're going to get up around 7 and hopefully be on the road no later than 9am. Tomorrow's stops might include a few letterboxes in Texas BUT DEFINITELY one of our favorites, say it with me-BUCEES!!!! We'll get our icees and snacks and do a little shopping. Isaiah is begging for a walking stick because he is the only kid that doesn't have one. What can I say? We got the other kids theirs before he was even walking. We'll keep you posted lol. Tomorrow night we'll meet up with the Kel part of DeKelSki in Bartlesville! Thanks for following us! Get some sleep because tomorrow we hit the road running!!!!! Please pray for safe travels for all three families and of course NO CAR OR KID DRAMA!!!! :-)

This Just In

So, the committe (that would be Jason and Jana :-)) has met and we have just added a day in Salt Lake City to the schedule. I am super excited for this last minute addition and have a HUGE surprise in store for the drive into SLC from the house in Idaho. Many of you may recall our last adventure, when we went to Winslow, Arizona just to stand on the corner. (Sing it with me) You know, Standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine site to see. You may remember that we put our children on a flat board Ford for pictures. It is stops like this, that the kids laugh about to this day and the suprise we are planning is going to be a riot!!!We've got another cult classic in store for this trip and you will not want to miss the fun. I can't believe that we leave in 9 DAYS!!!!! So, I guess I better go find a hotel to stay in while in SLC. Can't wait to float the kids in the lake! Can you do that??? Or do you just look at it? Better look that up too....

20 Days and Counting

20 days and counting!!!! Okay, so the last few days have been spent making lists, making menus, putting together the kids travel books, and researching last minute destinations and adventures. We are so excited and are looking forward to so many things! I don't even know what I'm most looking forward too. The thought of driving to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore seems daunting. After watching every National Geographic and special on Netflix about Yellowstone, I don't know how we're ever going to have enough time to see it all or take enough pictures. I am also so ready to just sit and relax and unwind from this crazy past year. So as we're completing all our preparations for a smooth relaxing road trip-what are your tips for having the perfect vacation?

Three weeks and counting!!!!