We have done some serious road tripping so far this year.  Within three months we put over 3210 miles on our car and spent over 50 hours driving in it.  Our kids are real troopers.  They think staying in hotels are super fun, so I guess its worth it to them.  We have been checking out different job opportunities and locations for Nick.  We really enjoy living in Great Falls and Montana, but the practice here was causing more stress to Nick than it was worth.  He got qualified to buy his own practice, so we did lots of studying and praying about locations, and picked a few to check out.  After all that, he found an opportunity we both feel great about.  It will pay off student loans faster and get us out of debt before he actually buys a practice, which would have plunged us even further into debt.  We will wait a few more years for that!

Here is a recap of our trips.  I really wish I got more and better pictures, but they were all quick weekend trips.  Most of our time was spent in the car, hotels, dentist offices, and restaurants with the dentists.  In February we drove to Twin Falls, Idaho.  We spent a day at the practice, then went out to eat with the dentist and his family.  Since there is a temple there, Nick went to an early morning session, and I went to the latest one in the day.

I took a picture on my way to the temple, then one on my way out, after dark.

That was it for southern Idaho.  It did snow on us a bit there.

Next up, and by far the longest drive we've taken with kids, Fargo, North Dakota. This trip was the end of March, beginning of April, over spring break.  Across the border somewhere in North Dakota, there is this mountain that says "Home on the Range." This is what most of the scenery looked like.  We were blessed with clear roads and great driving weather, luckily.  I am sure it would have been prettier later in spring, though.

 How do the kids survive so long in the car?  Movies, leapster, ipad, books, and lots and lots of dollar store toys. 

Fargo was almost 12 hours each way.  24 hour round trip, in a longer weekend this time.

There was a bit of cool scenery for a brief part of it.

And surprisingly a lot of random sculptures.

When I am booking a hotel, there are two things that are a priority.  A great pool for the kids, and free breakfast for Nick.  I try to find comfortable beds for me, but that rarely happens in any hotel.

This hotel was probably a favorite for the kids.  The best pool yet!

I wish I got more pictures of Fargo, but it was still pretty covered in snow.  I was really amazed by this pile of dirty snow in the Walmart parking lot.  We haven't even seen this in Montana!  Other than the snow, Fargo is actually a really awesome city.  Bigger than I thought, too.  It had every restaurant and store you could really need.  I was ecstatic when we found a Schlotzsky's Deli.  We had lunch there once, and I wish we ate there every meal.  I miss their sandwiches.     

We were in Fargo for Easter Sunday.  The kids woke up to an Easter egg hunt and hidden bags with cool stuff to help them through their drive home.  Then we headed to church.  I wish I got more Easter pictures.  Oh well.

And since Fargo is on the boarder to Minnesota, we made a quick drive over there after church.  Just so we can put Minnesota on the list of states we've been to.  And so Owen could tell his class that he went to North Dakota and Minnesota for Spring break.  Hahaha!!

We spent a day with the dentist and his wife there.  They got a sitter for all our kids so we could check out the practice and spend over an hour driving around town.  They showed us every church, all the new schools, and beautiful neighborhoods, then went back to their home for dinner.  They didn't want us to leave, it felt like.  They invited us to their cabin in Minnesota, but we needed to hit the road.  Fargo is really super nice and a really safe place to raise a family.  I want to say beautiful, but that's because I was imagining what it would look like after the snow melted and everything was green and warm.  If it wasn't buried in snow so much of the year, I think it would be more popular and desirable to more people.  Everything is new and nice.

On the way back home we detoured through Bismarck to see the temple there.  It was really small!  And just a few hours west of Fargo, and no snow on the ground.  

Here is another random town in the middle of nowhere with its name on a hill, and a giant statue of a cow.

Back to Montana.  Nice shot, Nick!  I drove the entire North Dakota portion on the way home because it is all interstate.  Once in Montana Nick drove the little highway road because I don't care for those.

Alright!  Next up in mid April was our trip to Sandpoint, Idaho, way up north in the Idaho "pan-handle."   We took several different routes there and back, so we got a good taste of the scenery and distance.  The Montana/Idaho boarder is really really beautiful, even in early spring.  Lots of green and rivers and lakes.  The pictures don't do it justice.

 

We did hit some rain that evening, but it was even beautiful!

The next day before meeting at the practice, we found a fun park and let the kids play.  Tes was so nice to pose on this train.  Owen refused to since he slipped on a puddle in the soggy grass and got all wet.

It rained most of the weekend, then out came this beautiful rainbow as we were driving around looking at neighborhoods.

Being surrounded by mountains in northern Idaho, this place was much more green and beautiful than anywhere we've seen this time of year.  The dental practice was nice, the people were super friendly, and they took us to a yummy restaurant right on the lake.  It was another quick weekend trip, so we headed home the next day.  But of course there was time for the kids to swim at the hotel pool that night. 

 

Unfortunately, we picked the route home that would take us over the continental divide in Montana, right through a blizzard.  It was bad!  At one point we were standing still on the road for a while because a semi was stuck and cars were sliding off the road.  It was a small 2 lane highway, the kind I don't love.  Let me tell you, I have been grateful for 4-wheel drive several times this past winter, and vow to never buy a vehicle without it.  Unless we move way way south. 

Back home to Great Falls, our car was showing signs of what it had been through!

And our big news.......Nick has accepted a position and we have chose to move to SANDPOINT, IDAHO, next month!  We are sad to be leaving such great friends we have made here in Great Falls.  The ward here has been so good to us as well.  Owen will miss his school and friends too.  I think that is the hardest part of moving, for me.  Watching my kids leave, knowing they have to be brave in a new place and make new friends.  Owen and Teslyn are both so friendly and easy going, they won't have problems with that, luckily.  Here we go!!