Hangin' on!

It's not every day that you get asked, "Mom, can we ride a buffalo?" And only in South Dakota would my answer be, "YES!" Of course it was stuffed and stationary, but what the hay!

This was the Dinosaur Park? Really?

We'd heard all week about a great dinosaur park in Rapid City that the kids would love! This is it! Really! Breven had to pose for a couple of shots, but Brad and I were not very impressed. It did give us few more laughs.

Our Final Hoorah in South Dakota

We decided to start our own band! Check out those boots.
During the show I was picked to "join the band!" Lucky me!
I didn't realize that I would have a stylist too! These hats are native to South Dakota.
Eating our last supper at the "chuck wagon supper show"

One of the only things left to do was to eat chuck wagon BBQ supper. Who knew we'd get a show too? We had a delicious dinner of buffalo, baked beans, baked potato (served firmly so it wouldn't roll off) biscuit with honey and spice cake for dessert. Did I mention that it was all served on a hot metal plate? The supper was served at 6:30 sharp with a bluegrass band that played 'til dark thirty. Does life get better than this. Of course my loud laughter and knowing the words to every Johnny Cash or Merle Haggard song they played made me a perfect target to be picked from the crowd to join the band. More laughs, more singing, and a great way to end our trip! Till next time South Dakota!

PaPa's Not Too Old to Fly!

Birthday Boy in Flight!
Since the boys are already seasoned fliers they decided that it would be a great birthday present for PaPa's 60th, just to make him not feel too old, you know. He did great and so did the boys! Now let's see if we can get him to fly out of a plane instead of in a tube!

Happy Fourth!

Our Fourth consisted of the traditional trip to the ol' homestead. This is the home my great-grandfather, Grumpy, built. My mom now lives there and it has always been the tradition to play in the yard, eat homemade ice cream and lay on blankets to watch the firework show. We started the day by paying tribute to those who have given their lives to protect our freedoms at the Vetrans Memorial. My Paw-Paw's name is on that wall too! What a great day it was!

FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

Exploring in San Diego

The boys aboard an aircraft carrier. They felt like little pilots. They got to get into airplanes and climb all through the giant ship. It was great!

Does the salute look authentic? I don't know, the bracelet throws it off a little.
Enjoying the ocean breeze.
Rock climbers....rock squaters....It's all fun when you're on the ocean.
My first time seeing the San Diego Temple up close! Beautiful!
WARNING: A bit graphic. While exploring San Diego we went to the Museum of Natural History where they had Body Worlds on exhibit. WOW! This was amazing. It really is a must see. The human body is so amazing and truly this exhibit made us all more grateful for the wonderful gift that the human body really is.
On our walk I found myself pretending to be a professional photographer just trying to capture a little bit of the beauty that was surrounding us. From the flowers to the fish, to the architecture and the fountains, this place was great to explore.
Posing for the camera.
They were hoping the museum would come to life after dark!
We were not sure how many days off Bryce would be able to have this summer with changing to a new office and all, so we decided to milk the last bit of vacation for all it's worth. We headed to San D for a quick exploration to some places we've not yet visited. We went to the Maritime Museum and toured 2 submarines, a pirate ship, and lots of fun boats. We finished the tour on an aircraft carrier that was probably the size of Blythe! We found a great Museum and spent half the day viewing "plastecized" cadavers! Now that's an adventure. After a few full days of fun and adventure we asked the boys what their favorite part was and they both agreed it was seeing the Temple. It was a great getaway!

On the next episode of BTBB vs. Wild...

Overlooking the desert.....Where's Blythe?
Taking a little rest.
This was all of us, before dark, getting ready to fall asleep in the tent. Notice: NO PILLOWS!
More shaddow pics! How do you like the mowhawks?
Bros treking over the bridge.
He is such a pro at scouting! check out our camp stove!
Still smilin' at over half way there.
Crazy plants huh?
Yes, they amaze me! This is what happens when you eat your vegetables.
This is my "Man vs. Wild"

I thought the R.V. was "roughing" it, boy was I wrong! We thought that it might be fun to do a backpacking camp trip now that the boys are getting older so we bought tickets to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, strapped on our packs (OUCH!) and headed up the mountain! We started at about 2000 feet and ascended up the mountain to 8000 feet, luckily that was with the assistance of the tram! Once we got there we had to hike over 2.5 miles in to the campsite. We didn't take into consideration however that the 2.5 miles were totally uphill! Our camp was at over 9100 feet in elevation! What a climb! For the record, although Bryce thought he was being a gentleman and carrying the pack with all of the sleeping gear in it plus the tent, I ended up winning the award for carrying the heaviest pack. At the top of the mountain he asked for my pack to unload something and realized that mine was way heavier than his. Real good babe! I was hauling up all the water/food/gear! Breven wins the award for climbing up steps that came up to his waist. We may have had to hike our leg up, but he literally had to climb some of these "steps." He carried his own pack the whole way up I might add. Brad was still recovering from a BMX injury, but he out hiked us all, as usual! Bryce was the pilot of course and I've never been so grateful for his skill in map reading as I was this trip. The rangers gave us a scribbled up map that was practically indeciferable. Who could tell the difference between badger or cougar campsite? All I know was that he knew how to get there and which one was closer! Thank You! We had a blast! What an adventure it turned out to be. No water, no hook ups, NO TOILETS, no fires, and did I mention, NO TOILETS?! We will do it again, but this time we WILL take bed rolls! I've never been more grateful for a temperpedic mattress in all my life!

Tune in next week for BTBB vs. the beach or the spa or something a little less EXTREME!

Sweet Baby Hayden

Isn't she soooooooo sweet!
We Love this lil' girl! Isn't she a doll?
My BFF Kristy just had her first baby making ME the proud Auntie! I can't wait for the spoilage to begin. Congrats to the proud mama and papa. Mike and Kristy, you sure make pretty babies.

Tearin' it up!

Vincent and B-rev!
"Riders ready. Watch the light!"
Love this sweaty face!

Brad, Breven and cousin Vincent went to the BMX track this week and tore it up! Breven rode his little heart out. He had to pedal twice as hard as the other boys. Poor Brad biffed it on the first run out of the gate and he has a gnarley bruise to prove it! The season starts mid July so we'll have to practice up, but is this right up their alley or what?

It's Official!

The "Gang" (not pictured; Chris-"real good, how embarrassing, working during the move" jk)
The boys say good-bye to their fort!
Way to feed the workers-Sugar them Up!

We did it! This is the BIG MOVING DAY! Our family was there bright and early to lend a hand. I think we may have broken the world record for the fastest move in history. From the first box on the truck to the starting of the engines was two hours TOTAL! Thanks to the the Fam, Elders, and all our friends for the help. We never could have done it without you! There were lots of tears, in fact we didn't stop crying until Desert Center, but we were leaving such a big piece of US out in Blythe! We have grown more than we ever imagined and we know that it was indeed a blessing to have lived there. We are already missing the little gem in the desert and all of our AWESOME friends that made the place that way. We'll be back soon. Leave the light on for us!

Rock On!

The VanHornes

Cook and Jess

Singing some SWeEt Tunes!

Brad's a natural. Cade decided to dress up for the occasion!

All the newbies in the Band did awesome!

But no one could beat Julia the Drummer Goddess!

The VanHorne Posse threw us an AWeSoME going away party complete with Oscar's carne asada and cute little decorations with the letter M on every cupcake! Julia you can't be beat on your party planning! Thanks so much for an awesome way to end our time here in the 'hood! Rock Band Marathon was the Best! Keep up your mad skills in drumming and as for me, Penny Twilight, I'll try to challenge myself to move the skill beyond EASY!

Love you all!

There will NeVEr be another neighborhood like this! We will miss you more than you know.

Nice Wheels!

Pops cruised in for a visit in this sweet vintage porshe! Nice wheels Pops! Thanks for the milkshake at Courtesy. We love you!

My Life is in Boxes!

I can't believe it! It's really happening! We are moving! It's the Final Countdown!