North Dakota-Montana-Canada

Today the on 3rd day of our trip to Alaska we’ve seen lots of stuff in Montana and Canada. So first we left our hotel at 8:30 and started driving to Montana. On the way to Montana and in Montana we saw tons of oil rigs. We also saw pretty big hills and lots of farm equipment and a lot of grain-bins. The big hills were called Bear Paw🐾.  We saw a few mountains and they were huge. We also saw a mule deer and a few pronghorn. When we got to the border we crossed after waiting in a 30 minute long line the crossing went great. After we crossed the border my dad and I both forgot we didn't buy anything in Montana. Except for that everything was great. See you tomorrow for more updates.

Devils Lake

Today on the second day of our journey we went fishing & went to a Fort & went sightseeing, now let me tell you about it all. So first we went to the fort and saw a bunch of military stuff and then we found out that it was an Indian school for about 75 years. Next we went sightseeing and we saw lots of farms, machines, a casino, roads, fields, etc in devils lake because devils lake keeps on getting bigger and bigger and every year it grows about 2-3 feet. Then later we went fishing and we went fishing on a road and train tracks underwater. I caught the first fish it was a 20” Northern then we caught about 15-20 Walleye and Northern then we moved and caught 10-15 more fish and we kept 12 of the biggest walleyes, we didn’t keep any northern because they are all bony and don’t taste quite as good as walleyes. The biggest walleye was about 25”-28”. The max walleye was five and same with northern so we could’ve had 5 walleye apiece but we just stuck with the big ones. Our guide on the fishing trip was nice and very good at explaining how to fish for the walleye and Northern. Thanks for reading this and be ready for more updates tomorrow.

Zumbrota to Devils Lake

Today we started our trip to Alaska and got to Devils Lake, ND. On the way we saw like 100 "pocket lakes". Pocket lakes are little lakes that are like half an acre to 2-3 acres and there were ducks all over in the lakes but surprisingly there were very few cabins or houses, even on the biggest lakes. On the way we also saw lots of wheat, canola, barley, sunflowers, and potatoes.When we got to North Dakota the was no real entrance sign that said North Dakota. When we got to the hotel we unpacked and then went out to eat at Hardee's. Tomorrow we are gonna go fishing at 3 o'clock but before that were going to go to museums and forts. Happy Fourth of July take care check in tomorrow for more updates.

Tomorrow is the day!

Tomorrow is the big day to start the trip towards Alaska! Henry is going to try to keep this website updated with pictures and memories from the drive up. I hope that we all find this kind of a cool way to see what Scott, my Dad, and Henry are all seeing and doing from their trip. I also hope that this helps Henry remember some of the cool details from his trip!

Thanks for checking in! :)

Pray for a nice, safe and enjoyable drive and memorable vacation for all the boys!

~Katie

Vacations, Technology, & Celiac’s

TGIF for all you M-F workers! Not so much for me, I worked last weekend and I am now off until Monday. The week just flies by when I am off though!

Over Presidents Day weekend we went up to the cities and had a little mini vacation. We stayed at The Depot Renaissance in Minneapolis. It was perfect for us. Within the hotel there is a restaurant, small waterpark, and ice rink. On Friday night we tried ice skating. Olivia was done with it within about 10 minutes. Every time after that if I tried to take her back out she would say “Mom, I’m all done. Me not like this.” It was so cute! Henry did a bit better, but he too was done after about 20 minutes! Overall, good experience but expensive ($65) for the four of us to go skating for 30 minutes! We ordered Pizza that night. I had the BEST GF pizza from Café Luce. I honestly did not believe that it was GF. I was waiting for a stomachache because it was just like way too good to be true! On Saturday we went to the Childrens Museum in St. Paul with Kari, Ben and Lyla. The kids loved that as always! Then we went to the waterpark in the hotel. The kids had a blast! It was perfect size for Henry. He LOVED the waterslides at this place! Then we went to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which serves GF pasta! On Sunday we went to the hotel waterpark again in the morning then we went out to eat with Aaron and Traci to learn all about Hawaii vacations.

Scott and I will be going to Maui in July! We are so excited, and A and T gave us some great books that we have been reading to prioritize things to do. We have already booked our condo in Kihei. It is right on the ocean, but with predominantly a mountain view. We I debated about beachfront, oceanview, garden view, mountain view, etc. I just could not decide how much more we should pay for a condo with different options. We decided on just a Studio condo with a Queen bed, couch with pullout, full kitchen that is all updated, lanai overlooking the mountains. Looks good, but we will see when we are there if we would have got something different or spent more money!

Olivia does have Celiac’s. She is now on a GF diet and so far is doing pretty good with it. She is very aware of her limitations, and likes to ask everyone who gives her food “Is it Gluten-free???” I am very proud of her and her ability to recognize that she needs to ask! After she was formally diagnosed we went shopping for all sorts of GF stuff. (that was an expensive shopping trip!) It takes a lot more planning and organization for meals at home and on the go when I have to plan for her, and not just me! If I didn’t eat for a few hours it was okay, but she constantly is telling me “Me hungry momma, I really really hungry” she makes it sound so sad….like I have not fed her in days! We have definitely noticed an improvement in her stomach firmness at the end of the day, which is great! She has had a couple ‘sneaks’ ! The other day she wanted goldfish and/or animal crackers. Sadly, there are not any good GF options. I really wish there were, but later that day I did not hear for a bit and sure enough I find her in the pantry eating some crackers! I cannot blame her though!

Right now Scott is on his way to best buy to try to get an ipad. He really wants one, but hates spending money so I am really interested to see if he comes home with one! I told him while he is there he could get me the nook that I want! We will see what he buys! I really want to start eborrowing from the library. I don’t use the library because I always forget to return them, but buying books is SO expensive. So hopefully he gets one for me and I will be on my way to some cheap reading!

Hope you have a great weekend and enjoy the weather! I am hoping for another nice long run outside and maybe getting the bike out next week with Highs in the 60s!

~Katie