The House Portion of the Trip is Complete

Today was a very bittersweet day! This morning I had to hug my favorite Kelley's goodbye! Today is also the day that all the DeKelSki's split up and go our own way. We had so much fun. We played cards, fed 12 children more food than I even want to remember, we laughed, we cried and we built memories that we will never forget with our family.

The house was in an ideal setting and I am so thankful that for the second time we found a great house for a great price and it was not misrepresented to us in any way. The kids were great, although, it was very obvious to Jason and I that our "little girls" are definitely closer to their way out than they are to being little! Jason really freaked me out when he pointed out that Rachael only had five summer vacations left until college! Aggghhhh! So thankful for the time she wasn't hiding from us in the basement with her girlfriends :-)

The sweet part of today was all the laughter and fun we had traveling through some of our favorite movies. For those of you that know Jason and I really well, you can attest to the fact that our entire family, even the kids, talk in movie lines. Napoleon Dynamite is one of our favorites. So today, we toured all the major haunts from the film in Preston, Idaho. We even got to go in the high school, even though they thought we were there to register Rachael at first :-) Again, freak me out! We laughed so hard as we recalled all the funny scenes as we toured the town.

We stopped randomly in Logan, Utah at a Chic-Fil-A. We were so excited to find a place with sweet tea, we could barely stand it. It was really funny, when the manager that had taken our order asked if we were traveling and where we were from. Turns out, he grew up in Katy, TX and worked for 9 years with many of Jason's students at the Mason Road location. He and his wife moved to Utah in May when they became proud owners of the Chic-Fil-A location where we ate today. When I asked, what made him ask where we were from, he told us that anytime somebody orders sweet tea as confidently as we did, he knows they are traveling from somewhere in the south! Amen, brother!

We then headed to Salt Lake City, Utah. It is pretty, all nestled in the side of the mountain. We went to Tabernacle Square, the State Capital, the Salt Lake and our favorite spot was East Salt Lake City High School where High School Musical was filmed. We were just excited to take pictures in the front of the school but then a janitor came out, invited us in and gave us the tour and then left us to roam the school and get as many pictures as we wanted. It was really fun. The funniest part is the fact that Sharpay's locker is still painted pink :-) Those made for some cute pictures.

We were able to come back to the hotel pretty early, have a great pizza party in our room, veg out and watch some tv and now the kids are heading to bed. Tomorrow is a long day to head into Denver. We're excited to see some snow up in the Rockies before heading back to the heat wave of the century!

Thanks for sharing our trip with us. Can't believe that we're almost done! Just four more days!

Ruth

Ruth "The Nerd"- Sup!? I am having a blast on vacation! I can't believe it's almost over. So far one of my favorite parts was for sure our trip to Jackson Hole. Although we didn't meet Harrison Ford, we think we saw his private jet taking off! ;). I absloutely loved Seven Brides for Seven Brothers! It was the best musical I have ever seen! It was absolutely amazing! I loved our seats! Lauren bought some of the songs on I-Tunes and now we are listening to them NON-STOP! I think today's song we have been singing the most is Sobbin' Women! The best song in the musical! Yesterday we went on this amazing float trip and we finally saw our moose! 3 of them! We saw a mommy and little baby moose! It was pretty amazing! We have been playing lots and lots of Minnesota Rumy (which is almost like Phase 10) with Indiana Jones playing cards. I absolutely love Idaho! It is so pretty out here! I am going to be very hot when we get back to Houston, considering the high to day is 80. I am looking foward to the Olympic Training Center! I am so excited to go and see where my favorite Olpymic athletes train! Excited to be home and see everybody, but until then
Pufi Out! *PEACE!*

What's Been Up

Hey friends! We have been having a fabulous time. The weather here is the highlight of our trip. Its is about 50 degrees right now compared to the 150 in Houston. Since we last posted, we have been to Jackson,WY. WE LOVED THE TETONS! We had the best bbq lunch ever at Bubba's. We had a Sloppy Bubba, which for those of you that are curious is bbq brisket mixed with bbq pork served on garlic toast. We crossed Jenny Lake by boat and were told that the water was only 56 degrees. We then hiked up to Hidden Falls and it was well worth it! Jena Grace got a little light-headed but otherwise all the kids did fabulous. We left the park and headed back into town for the GREATEST musical ever! Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. The cast owned it! They were super animated and really entertaining. The boys loved it when the fight scene was done in total slow motion, including one of the actors "falling" on Isaiah. Rachael loved it when Adam sang to her as if she was one of the girls in town who was a possible marriage prospect. We have been begging Jason to take us back the three hours to Jackson so we could see it again! Yesterday, we went to several places of entertainment. The St. Anthony Sand Dunes where Napoleon Dynamite's Grandma went on her date. We spent the whole day with just our family and it was really a fun special time for us. We also went to Harriman State Park, twice. We went once during the day and toured the Railroad Ranch, which was special since my Dad worked for the Harriman's and even had lunch with one of the founder's grandson. It was gorgeous and the tall evergreen trees made us ready for Christmas to arrive. We went back at dusk to hunt for moose. We found 5 beavers instead. We did get a fabulous picture of very fresh moose poop. But alas, the moose evaded us. Another highlight of the day was taking the kids for their ice cream award that they won a few days ago for finding all 50 license plates! Yeah! Today, was a fabulous day of card games, talking and eating great food here at this gorgeous house. Please pray for Jason as he has been in a lot of pain from his neck. Otherwise, we have been blessed with healthy and happy kids! We are going to go back to the park one more day but not sure which one. I also want to get up early and do a day a bird watching as there are some fabulous creatures here that I'd love to learn more about. The kids are loving spending time with their DeKelSki siblings. We only see them around meal times :-). Can't believe we just have a few more days at the house and then we head on to the final legs of our trip. Hope ya'll are enjoying the trip with us! Thanks for following along! Jana

Rachael's blog!

I am scared of rabbits to begin with. We saw one while Emily and I were running yesterday and it scared me to death. But not as much as the ghost stories we told each other last night! We did not meet Harrison Ford but I got quite a few pictures of his land that he owns in the Tetons.
We went and saw a 7 brides for 7 brothers play and it was amazing! I loved it! We got front row seats too which was awesome! We've been playing lots of Rumy and drinking lots and lots of water.
We have been having like and awesome time and the weather here is so nice. It is a little cold and rainy but it is really nice to sit out on our porch and look out at the lake. I saw the third Pirates of the Carribean:At World's End and it was horrible. I did not like it at all! Just like an F.Y.I.
We had party potatoes last night and Emily and I probally downed a whole pan ourselves and we had Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner and it was so good. Those are two of my favorite foods. Another F.Y.I.
Also I noticed that in Idaho my hair stays curled longer than in Houston. I like that it stayed curled like all day while in Houston it goes flat as soon as I walk outside
I have lots of good pictures although they do not capture how beautiful it really is here. I will post them on Facebook when we get home!
Good-Bye

Tonite's Post.

Yesterday we got our first look at Yellowstone National Park, and it was spectacular! It is amazing just how big this park is. One of the highlights was seeing Old Fatihful erupt. It seems that no matter how many times we see these things on TV there is no substitute for actually being there and witnessing it. There is just SO MUCH to see in this park that there is no way to catch it all in one visit. Even the best photos simply do not do it justice. We spotted several Mule Elk on the roadside, but are holding out for a bear this trip! Stay tuned to find out if we capture the ever elusive bear on film. . .

This part of the country is simply beautiful. Every mile provides a fresh view that is unlike anything before or after it. Every turn is a new sight to see.

Across from the house we are staying in is a mountain view that is breathtaking. Especially at dawn and sunset.

The kids are having the best time of all, finding that the imagination opportunities are nearly endless. Today, for example, there was a construction crew working on a house down the road. To the children, however, this was a group of white settlers bringing noise and pollution to their native lands. They were playing Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. Ki and Eli built a boat out of wood that they found, and Ki insisted that this was not a pretend boat, but an actual boat that will float. We will soon see if it is . . .

Shopping for groceries also proves to be an adventure here as well, seeing that it took over an hour each way just to get to the grocery store. But the trip 'into town' has been made and we are stocked up here now!