So…while we are getting all of the photos ready to tell you all about the awesome event last night we had with Jess Greene from SEEK YOUR COURSE as we were one of her 50 stops in the JUMPSTART CREATIVITY TOUR anyway…while we are working on getting all of that put together…….I wanted to tell you a little about what we were doing last week…….we loaded in the car and went on a roadtrip with our family….covering 5 states……..Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado and Utah…….it was amazing! It was inspiring, beautiful, relaxing, educational and awesome…and there were lots of cowboy hats, cowboy boots and of course….cowboys….

This all started because of my life list in SR2…..one of my top 5 goals was to see the Crazy Horse Monument in progress, and to see Mount Rushmore in person. (if you took SR2, you saw those goals in my life book…so I did it!!!)  I knew this place would be cool…..but they were so much cooler than I even imagined…..the drive was beautiful and interesting, almost always….(some of it was looooong stretches of dusty-ness…it’s own kinda pretty) ….. I especially loved all of the old-school windmills that were out in fields, powering the little pumps that pumped the water for the horses and the cows…they were so very pretty all alone in flowery fields with a big blue sky as a background…

Marq and I were talking about how we live in the same house, we are together for lots and lots of hours working together every day, we are together every night……but that when all you do is work…you forget how fun it is to just BE IN LOVE and to just be together…….sooooo….we had the best time….we have not been alone like this, without working,  in months and months and months…..definitely worth it…

We stayed in a really cool place in Keystone, South Dakota, where a historic old train went by several times a day….it was uber cool….we were there with all of Marq’s family and each of us had our own little log cabins…it was so secluded and beautiful……I hadn’t realized we were going to be deep in the mountains….but we were….the Black Hills……….

We had a big huge yard and a creek……it was really so awesome. Uncle Marq played with the kids and kept everyone busy…in fact, no one can really ever keep up with him….at this point…he was hula-hooping AND playing football at the same time…..(for reals)….

We had our meals together and night and it was super fun…here’s my oldest kiddos after dinner………(they are actually adults now…on their own…..)

Here’s the pretty little creek…:)

Ok…so if you have never been to Crazy Horse Monument…….you need to Google it and learn all about it and then go there….I mean it. It is one of the most beautiful and inspiring projects I have ever seen….in fact, I gained a few new life heroes because of learning about it…….so….really……go find out about it….it will be worth your time….I was in absolute awe the entire time…then I bought several books to learn more about it. One of the happiest things that can ever happen in your life is when you find yourself doing something that you have been dreaming of, wishing for and looking forward to for a long time…when you are standing there right in the middle of DOING IT!!! That feels really good…..especially when it turns out to be even better than what you expected it to be….

The cousins all had a lot of fun together…we had a really great night at Mount Rushmore…we went late in the evening for the flag ceremony. It was very patriotic and beautiful. Mount Rushmore is incredible. (Crazy Horse is many times larger than it, though…in fact, the 4 faces of Mt. Rushmore would fit INSIDE of the face of Crazy Horse!!!) anyway….here’s the 6 faces of the 6 cousins who have grown up together…..my boys are the second and the last cuties.

I was SOOOOOO excited when we finally got there!!! Another dream come true to see it all!!!

definitely definitely definitely worth the trip……..

best part was all the time I got to spend with my kids and my sweet man……..the phones didn’t work very well there and there was no fantastic internet either….so we just had US…just our family….and it was soooo wonderful.

If you know my man…..you know that if we drive past a sign like this….he is gonna have to drive back to where it’s all happening and see it for himself…and we did….we got special guest passes and went to see how the Boy Scouts in South Dakota relate to the Boy Scouts in Idaho………they did pretty darn well and I was happy that he got to meet some more of his BSA brothers….

and you also gotta check out Wall Drug….I can’t really explain it………you’ll have to Google it and then drive there…it’s pretty legendary…

there’s some creepy parts….but………..entertaining……right?

and the boots……..oooooooooh the boots…I found a pair I wanted SO BADLY and if I could have found someone to buy my left kidney…I would have sold it to have them…but I am just gonna have to save up for a while I guess…:)

One of the best parts of the trip was the spontaneous stops to see friends that we have not seen in a long time……..we got to see our dear friends, Liz and James when we were in Wyoming….

And I got to spend a whole entire day with one of my most favorite people on the planet…………..a brave brave brave girl that I met through BGC a few years back…she is a doctor and she has helped our family so much through some tough stuff…I love her so much, I love her heart, her strength and her dedication to love and truth and all things good….she is one amazing girl……

AND she took us to her local gluten-free cafe and we actually got to have SANDWICHES which we haven’t had in forever……and they were so yummy…so yummy that I took a picture because I knew I would crave it for the rest of my life…….portabello mushroom, goat cheese and roasted red pepper on gluten free bread…yummier than you can imagine!!!!

I love this sign in her house….and she delivered on everything it said, for sure……….and may we ALL (I bet you do)

All in all…it was an awesome trip………next goal….California Redwoods….and it just MIGHT HAPPEN next month…wahooooo!!!

Dream even bigger, friends!!!!!! (it works!!!)

Hope you are enjoying summer and living the exact life you want to live….it feels really good and it’s soooo worth it…..

xoxo

melody