#10. We girls conquered our fears of heights on the aerial tramway and alpine slide#9. We had a 3 bedroom cabin at Palmer Gulch (rather than our usual 6 to a room)
#8. Dane and Ashley were able to make the trip from Minneapolis and catch up on some heated wiffle ball
#7. We found the balance of large group, family, and alone time over 6 days#6. The Lears finished strong in the beanbag tournament, dodging waterballoons launched from oversized slingshots
#5. The kids got to finally meet cousin Jack (huggable one-year-old!), my brother, and lots of new extended family...and they were completely themselves at this "over 6 month" point
#4. We got to visit Diana, the adoption coordinator that matched us with Pierre and Ange-Laurette. They amazed her with their English and encouraged her with their healthy happy smiles!#3. The kids climbed rocks, swam in Sylvan Lake, went on a hayride, toured Mt. Rushmore, rode horses, and just plain enjoyed the beauty of the Black Hills
#2. Our awesome teenage daughter did not so much as roll her eyes :)#1. No (carsick) ziplocs were needed for either 8-hour ride or the winding mountain roads!
