Camping: Stump Lake, ND

 

While the kids spun around on an old-fashioned (read: super fun) merry-go-round, my mother took these photos:

In order to get said photos, she did this:

I’m nearly positive it is the first time I have ever seen my mother on a merry-go-round. Go Mom.

 

 

 

 

In other stories, Charlotte gave it her best attempt in learning to ride a bike. She was marginally successful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And since Sterling learned how to do this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and do it fabulously well, Ruby decided to do this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

although she’s not quite so fabulous at it. Give her some time. She’s not about to be one-upped by her older brother.

It’s a zoo.

Since the friends we went to the zoo with here in South Dakota are far more on the ball than I am (While I took pictures, my camera still holds them captive.) I’m going to steal her photos and share them all with you. Thanks, LC.

My kids love the head boards. Or whatever you call these things.

I just want to know what was going through Eden’s mind when she made this face. Close up, for good measure:

Oh, dear girl, you make me laugh.

Pierce really enjoyed the zoo. He took in most of it from this position:

Yep. Thrilling.

Once I get my camera back into my parent’s house from the van and our most recent trip to North Dakota for camping, rain bathing, and mosquito blood donation, I’ll share a few more. In the meantime, half a dozen loads of laundry a bit of calamine might be in order.

Farm education, wooly style.

On my parents little sheep farm























near a small town in South Dakota

the kids got to watch the sheep sheerer
























one rainy morning in June.
















Educational stuff, to be sure.


(Can I just throw in there how bad my back would hurt if I were bent over at such an angle for hours on end each day? Ouch.)

On Friday morning, bright and early, I throw a week and a half worth of clothes for seven people in the van (7x12 = 84 outfits. Be still my beating heart. We’ll take less and wash laundry. I’ve learned to limit them to packing in their backpacks or our gas mileage will suffer from the weight they attempt to bring.) and we drive ten hours to South Dakota to my parents’ home.

Pray for me on Friday?

It’s a trip we’ve made many times. The kids are champion travelers. We’ve exacted our technique to a science. (Except there’s no Taco John’s on our trip until the miles past lunchtime. That would make it perfect. I haven’t had Taco John’s in months and months and months.)

It still fills me with a bit of dread. The worse case scenario, followed by a multitude of other scenarios, fill my brain each time we go.

But, when we get there, I get a day of rummage sales shopping with my mom. A day of sheep shearing that the kids get to be a part of. A visit with good friends whose children fall into friendships with my children like it hasn’t been months/years since we’ve seen them last. A camping trip to North Dakota is on the schedule, and the kids are beyond excited about that.

Ruby tells Blaine he needs to tell the teacher at his work that he needs some days off so he can come with us. If only it were that simple. (Where the teacher idea comes from instead of a boss, I haven’t figured out. For weeks she’s been calling the awful wormlike seed structures falling from the trees ‘mancha’. We couldn’t figure it out. Found out friends told her that’s what they are. In the end, I think she’s saying a version of ‘mulch’. Cheap entertainment, I tell you, when we all sit around and try to figure out what Ruby means. Fun times.)

When we get back, we potty train Pierce. Posts to come that will be greatly anticipated, to be sure. A battle of wills may ensue, knowing this boy.

Lamb feeding photos.

 

I’m not sure words are needed here. They had fun. The got to experience lots of things. It was really, really cold. Really cold. The difference in temperature between there last week at this time and the temp today here is 90 degrees. It’s pretty incredible.