South Dakota Vacation Day 1

This summer we took a trip to South Dakota. We had been planning on taking one for a while and I'm glad we went!

The first day was our big driving day. We spent about 10 hours in the car which is not as bad as it sounds. We had to stop a few times and Michael was such a good little sleeper that it was actually enjoyable for me! I even got to sit in the front seat!

One of our big stops was at Al's Oasis in Chamberlain. Scott had been talking about this place ever since we started planning for our trip so I was pretty excited to stop!

It is a huge restaurant/gift shop area. We had buffalo burgers and I had some of South Dakota's classic five cent coffee. I'll let you in on a little secret: it tastes like lukewarm coffee-flavored water. But hey, you can't complain too much when it is 5 cents!

I'm glad we stopped in Chamberlain since Scott and his friends used to head over to the river there to boat in the summer time. It is also a big dividing line in the landscape of South Dakota-it totally changes after you go over the Missouri!

Our next big stop was at the can't miss stop on your Americana road trip: Wall Drug!


I had been here in high school on a trip with my brother and grandparents and I am happy to say it is exactly the same! We got into town pretty late and we had the place to ourselves. It was nice!

Yum...pie.

More 5 cent coffee at Wall Drug. You actually just have to put your nickel in a little box by the coffee pot. I didn't have a nickel so I put in a quarter in. So technically I should have been entitled to 5 cups of water-coffee.

Yum...donuts. These are the best ever!

I actually shared mine with Michael since technically I was supposed to be eating healthy on this vacation. Still, so so good.

Buffalo!

Scott wanted to eat dinner at Wall Drug so he could get a hot beef sandwich. He was pretty excited!

(I think that should be it for food photos in this post...hmm, I wonder what I was thinking about the entire vacation??)

We spent the night at a hotel in Wall and the next morning we were ready to hit the Badlands!

More flower photos...I know, I know. I really like the way the coloring on this day lily came through in the photo. It has been a pretty good bloomer for me this year and it was recently divided. I love love love the different colors or lilies, I think I will try and plant some more next summer. Who doesn't love lots of color for minimal work?

In other news, we are missing our childcare this week! I have Michael all to myself for the whole week and although I love having him home all day, it really has made the week drag on. Even though it is only a few hours he is at childcare, I love that time!

We are keeping busy with library time, pool time, and playgroup time! We also had two special visitors over last night for dinner: my brother John and his new friend. Although I promised him steak to celebrate his birthday and we ended up with brats, I think everyone had a good time. As a special treat after dinner TWO of John's favorite movies were on HBO: Fast and Furious and X-Men:Wolverine. What can make a birthday celebration better than that?

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

July is in bloom!

Things are coming to life around here!

We've had lots of rain and lots of sunshine and my plants are loving it!

So happy! :o)

9 Months

Michael, you are nine months old today!

I am having a hard time accepting the fact you are closer to a year than you are a tiny baby and it sure shows. You are total boy through and through!

You have gotten very mobile with your crawling and go pretty fast, especially when chasing something you really want like Scampy or a ball!

You pull yourself up on everything and anything and can cruise along furniture or around your little activity table. I've even caught you letting go for a moment while you are standing! Your balance is getting very good and lots of times you will play with just one hand holding on. You are still hesistant to take steps on your own, but we try and help you go from one piece of furniture to the next and see if you can do it without going to the ground.

No stranger anxiety yet for you- you love being around people and everywhere we go people say how nice of a baby you are and how happy you are!

Making noise is your speciality and this past weekend grandma and grandpa nicknamed you "Bam Bam" because you like to bang on everything and see what sound it makes! We've been working on signs for "more" and "all done" because we don't want you to get in the habit of just banging on your highchair tray when you want more food!

Food is a big source of joy for you and you have really expanded your palate. You love fruit like mandarin oranges, blueberries, raspberries, apples and grapes. You also love puffs and cheerios for breakfast. You like carrots and broccoli for vegetables and you LOVE yogurt, often eating a whole container of it at one sitting. You still don't have any teeth although I think some might be on the horizon soon.

You are a busy boy and are always on the go!

Lucky for us, you usually wear yourself out with your playing and have been doing a very good job of sleeping lately. You have been taking two long naps during the day and sleeping through the whole night. Your bedtime is usually around 7:30 or 8 and you sleep until 7:30 or 8 in the morning! I fear you are starting to want to put yourself to sleep and not have me rock you anymore which makes me very sad. Rocking a little baby to sleep is such a treat. It is such a treat that when they say in my workouts to go to my happy place, that is where I go! :o)

You love this little blow up balloon because it makes a jingling noise, but you also love your colorful balls grandma and grandpa let you take home from their house.

Your fingers are always busy exploring and you like any touch and feel books from the library. You also like being outside in the grass and eating dirts and rocks.

Michael, you are growing entirely too fast! I can't wait to see how much you weigh at your next appointment. I feel like I am getting stronger but you keep getting heavier!

This little kitty better watch out...

4th of July Recap

Happy 5th of July!

We decided to take a little trip back to my hometown for the weekend to hang out with my family. We had a great time!

Here are some of the highlights:

Saturday in the Park

Scott and I left Michael with mom and dad and we headed to the 20th annual Saturday in the Park music fesitival in Sioux City. It was a beautiful day and the music was great!



However, beautiful day + free event = a ton of people!! We just had to find a spot in the shade and hang out. This is our view of the stage:



See it?

It's like a Where's Waldo photo.



We stopped a bit closer to the stage before we left to catch the last bit of Santana's act. We also saw Steve Winwood and Michael Franti who I thought was great!

Michael had tons of fun playing at his grandma and grandpa's house. They have lots of kitties!



Even baby ones!



On Sunday, we headed to Bronson for the annual family tradition of attending the parade!



We got to see my sister Denise on her float as county fair queen.

Here's a fun fact for you: The first time Scott ever came home with me was when I was in the Bronson parade....only seven short years ago. Yeesh, we are old!!


Of course, Denise looked beautiful as ever. Don't you wish you were 18 again?

(photo from siouxcityjournal.com)


Here is a great picture of our family that I also found at siouxcityjournal.com. My dad just called to tell me it was on the front page of the paper today!

YIKES!

I hope your holiday was a great one also!

Happy July!

Last night at our municipal band concert we played all patriotic music so now I am in the celebrating mood!


I love our Thursday night concerts at the bandshell. It is such a throwback to an earlier and simpler time. Every year there are two moments where I never fail to tear up and last night was one of them.

Every fourth of July concert we play the "Armed Forces Salute" and if you have ever played in a band in your life, chances are you have played it. It is a standard. Anyway, it goes through all the songs of the different branches of the Armed Forces and when the veterans in the audience hear their song they stand and everyone claps for them. It always tears me up to see those old guys standing up and looking so proud. Everyone always claps along with the marches and is having a good time.

Cheesey, I know. But it does it to me every time and this is the 7th season I've played!

photos credit

Veterans, thank you for your service and happy 4th of July everyone!