USA

After almost 4 weeks on the road we needed some downtime and we got it in Houston.

Can you think of one of those places you always wanted to visit, but never did? It's along the side of the road or maybe a few minutes out of your way. Enter Blue Bell Ice Creamery in Brenham, Texas.

The Texas Hill Country is one of my favorite places on the planet. The people, food, weather and geography are in my soul. Because of this I had to make sure our route took us through the area. I really wanted to expose the kids to this part of Texas. And we did.

Acrobats of Shanghai, the Titanic Museum, a seedy hotel and some acts that probably should have retired at the turn of the century. Sound like fun? We made it fun!

It was a bit magical walking among the grounds of Rocky Ridge Farm and seeing much of what Manly, her husband, and Laura built with hard work.

Ken googled “Things Happening in Kansas City this weekend” and discovered a special event at the Legoland Discovery Center. They were having a special Chima weekend with special guest Laval (Tag's favorite character).

Just outside of Oakley, Kansas we saw signs advertising Prairie Dog Town. Mickelle and I looked at each other and instantly we both knew we could not miss visiting "the World's Largest Prairie Dog". 

In 2009, we were in search of a nanny to watch Elle and Tag part-time. Mickelle posted and ad on Craigslist and we were flooded with responses. Somehow…we chose the right one. Through that posting we found a fantastic nanny and became good friends with her entire family. 8 years later almost all of their family is living in Denver. 

The drive from Moab to Denver was beautiful. At the peak of the drive the phone read an altitude of over 10,000 feet.

On the advice of our Salt Lake City friends, we left SLC one day early in order to spend 24 hours in Moab. It was AWESOME! We'll definitely be back to Moab.

The Mormon Temple, the City's Planetarium, and the Children's Musuem. There's plenty for a family to do (and avoid) in Salt Lake City.

We drove to Park City, Utah to check out the town and meet up with friends. We had a blast! The Olympic Park was incredible and very family friendly. The kids really enjoyed the museum where they got to play on retired bobsleds, luges and other relics then we hit the slope...in Summer.

Flash flood on the Interstate and no detours available. We'll survive.

Two Boise establishments that caught our attention.

We left Seattle, Washington on Tuesday, July 8 and headed for Boise, Idaho where our first Marriott of the trip awaited. Overall, we found Boise to be a fabulous, family friendly town.