Many years ago, Granddad & Boppy started a tradition of taking each grandkid on a special trip for their twelfth birthday...and this year was MY TURN! I turned 12 on 7/7/2023 - nearly a teenager!
Planned since last year, Granddad & Boppy took me on an unforgettable trip to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Buffalo Bills Rodeo, Mount Rushmore and MORE! We spent 9 days together, initially meeting in Sacramento airport, as Dada handed me off through security. We flew directly into Jackson Hole and spent the night at a lovely lodge. Bright and early the next morning, we rafted down the Snake River. The water & weather were COLD & rainy, but thankfully we didn't go over. The water was pretty bumpy, but it was fun being with my grandparents and some other families on our tour. We spent the next few nights at Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone. My favorite parts of Yellowstone were Old Faithful Geyser, the steam vents, huge herds of bison, and the the other smaller geysers. We then headed to the Buffalo Bill Rodeo, and got to see how real cowboys rope and ride cattle. We even got to go into the ring and chase some cows! We finished up at Crazy Horse & Mount Rushmore - which I found to be fascinating. When at Mount Rushmore, I got an alert on my watch from the National Weather Service warning us that baseball-sized hail was coming straight towards us. We went back to our hotel for that night and it started raining cats & dogs. Lightening happened every few seconds and the rain was pounding. We had dinner with the group, and the rain finally started to clear up. Still no hail though... There was a light show happening back at Mount Rushmore, where they played a short movie about each of the four presidents, and then the monument would light up as the National Anthem played. When we got there, there was no rain but the wind was howling and dark storm clouds loomed above us, and lightening flashed. I face-timed Mama & Dada back in California to tell them about the past few days. Just then, I heard a kid shout "HAIL!" I looked around and saw a wall of what looked like rain coming right at us. Then, tiny sized hail started to hit the ground...a few seconds later, the hail became grape-sized. Soon enough, we were in what seemed to be a blizzard! We luckily were able to take shelter and were not harmed at all, but we were warned! Needless to say, that was an amazing and memorable end to our trip. We made it back to Napa after making memories with Granddad & Boppy to last a lifetime.
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Grand Tetons with Granddad & Boppy
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| Middle of South Dakota... |
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| In the pool with Granddad |
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| Learning how to be a real cowboy |
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| Rodeo in Cody, Wyoming |
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| Learning about different weapons at a museum |
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| Rumikube at Old Faithful Inn |
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| Loving Yellowstone |
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| Also learning cribbage from Granddad |
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| Mount Rushmore in the hail... |
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| Crazy Horse |
The same time that I was traveling, Gee & Grandpa took Keevah & Cousin Rinnah for three nights to Safari West, a Safari Park in Santa Rosa. They spent the days touring around all the animal enclosures and really getting to know the animals. They even did a report on their favorite animal - and Keevah's was the ring-tailed lemur. She gave a little oral report on it! Keevah & Rinnah LOVE hanging out with eachother, especially since they live so far apart, with Rinnah living in Jordan. Keevah says her favorite part of Safari West was watching the giraffes - there were some babies!
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| Gee reading Keevah & Rinnah a book |
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| Mama & Gee with the girls |
We had one last hurrah with Uncle Ben, Auntie Aubree, Rinnah, Providence & Antalya in Tahoe before they headed back home to Jordan. We are so very lucky to have seen them several times this Summer. I can't wait to visit them again in Jordan, while also trying to convince them to move to Napa!
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| Me paddling Keevah & Rinnah |
A few random pics:
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| A special sunshine cake for Grandpa's 29th birthday! |
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| Keevah made the beasts very handsome & proper |
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| I don't even think of messing with my sister |
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| Labor day at the pool |
