It's Been a LLLLLLOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG Time...

Well, the blog hasn't been updated in a llllllooooonnnnggggg time.  But, I am back on track and I thought everyone would love to see some new photos of the Crazies!  These photos will be part of our Christmas card.  The kids were pretty cooperative.  It was a nice change to years past.  No crying.  And minimal fake smiles. 

Badlands National Park & Minutemen National Park - Saturday July 15 - Sunday July 16

 

Second stop, Badlands National Park and Minutemen Missile National Historic Site.  The Badlands were beautiful.  And the kids were excited to find out that they are a fossil rich area.  We even spent our first full day in the park on a fossil talk with one of the rangers.  After the talk, the kids looked everywhere for fossils.  And Rylan in particular found fossils everywhere he looked.

 The bridge adjacent to the campground was a breeding ground for some kind of bird.  Their nests lined the bridge.  And there were so many of them that they looked like a bunch of bats.

Kids with the sky full of birds

Prarie Rattlesnake that was almost stepped on by Emilie!

Bird Nests

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is the smallest national park museum that we have ever encountered.  It wasn't even really a museum.  Just a small trailer with a video about the cold war and the work that was done on the site.  It was a nice to hear about the history of the Badlands from a different perspective.  I had no idea any thing like that had taken place in the area.  Apparently there is a tour of the missile silos and the grounds, which sadly we missed.  It was late in the day and they were getting ready to close when we stumbled upon the museum, which was located in the gas station parking lot.  Interesting find.

Vacation - DeSmet South Dakota Thursday July 13 - Saturday July 15

So I am really behind with the blog.  Very busy summer.  Lots going on.

Our now annual BIG vacation with the Humes family commenced on July 13, and ended way to soon on July 29.  These next few posts will catch everyone up on our best vacation so far.

So here is the vacation re-cap posted on a location by location basis.


Vacation Stats:

New States: South Dakota, Wyoming & Montana
National Parks: Badlands, Wind Cave, Minute Man, Mt Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons
Photos: 1732

After leaving home early on Thursday, we traveled from our home to Council Bluffs Iowa.  Council Bluffs was not a new stop for our family.  It is minutes from Omaha, Nebraska, where we have stayed several times while Wade worked.  We have even spent Thanksgiving Day at the movie theater which was in walking distance from our campsite.   So even though it wasn't new, we were still on vacation, so the kids and I walked over and explored Bass Pro, and Wade hit the Casino.

The next morning, we left at dawn for DeSmet, South Dakota. 

The Laura Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet was our favorite spot for stop number one.  It was the original site that Laura and her family settled on as a claim in DeSmet and it is the subject of the majority of her books.  It was a very kid friendly, and was worth the admission price.  Everything was included.  The kids rode ponies, drove a team of mules on a covered wagon ride, made rope, made cornhusk dolls, etc.  Definitely a great stop.

Covered Wagon at Laura Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet, SD

Sofie and Rylan making cornhusk dolls at the Ingall's Homestead

Sofie and Elise making rope

Noah

Noah "playing" the piano

Sofie riding the pony

Rylan taking his turn riding the pony

Laura's School

In the town of DeSmet is the original home they lived in as well as the school Laura attended.  It had a few kid activities, but was more along the lines of a museum.  The kids enjoyed playing school in one of the replica school houses.  We also walked down main street and saw the bookstore from the books.

Rylan teaching school

Sunset in DeSmet, SD

The last few weeks before vacation...

Noah O'Fallon Grand Prix

Noah raced in his first bike race, The O'Fallon Grand Prix,  on Saturday, June 18.  He was very excited to take part in the race.  He was the only ten year old in the group.  Most of his competitors were at least 16 years old.  He did very well and completed the entire 11 mile course in about 20 minutes.

Before the big race we had doughnuts from Woods Bakery.  Yum!

Noah was the only 10 year old in the race.  This photo illustrates how much smaller he is than his 16 year old competitors. (Far Left White Shirt)

The following weekend we spent at Lake Shelbyville.  We toured Rockome Gardens.  We stopped and browsed through quite a few Amish shops, and spent a day at Lake Shelbyville playing in the sand.  The Crazies loved seeing all the people with horse and buggy.  And were endlessly mystified by a lifestyle so different from their own. 

Noah at Rockome Gardens

The Crazies under one of the stone arches at Rockome Gardens

Rockome Gardens

The end of June brought to a close Khoury League baseball.  Rylan's coach had a water balloon practice for their final practice.  I spent an hour filling up a cooler with water balloons.  I thought I had permanently lost feeling in the tips of my fingers from tying so many balloons.  But it was well worth it.  The practice was a huge success.  The kids loved every minute of it.  They stayed cool in the oppressive heat, and had a wonderful time playing with their friends.  The final activity was to bat with water balloons, instead of a baseball.  Most of the kids hit all three of their pitches.  None of the kids missed more than one. 

Rylan carrying a water balloon under his chin.

Batting practice with water balloons. 

We leave on our long vacation in 2 days.  I will try and keep the blog updated in our absence.  We will be back in August, and then we will immediately return to the madness of two working parents and three active children.  Sofie will be starting soccer for the first time.  Noah and Rylan will be returning to their previous fall teams.  We are also adding another level of difficulty by allowing Noah to try out for the school's baseball team.  As well as the trumpet he has committed to playing in the school band.  Fifth grade is looking to be a very busy year!

When does rest become a part of the weekend?

Branson Scenic Railway Train

Shockingly enough, we were with the Humes family last weekend... It was a very busy weekend, so I was quite wiped out on Monday.  Actually it's Tuesday and I am still worn out.

But, that is what Summer is for.  And it was well worth it.

So here goes with our weekend wrap up...  Wade, the Crazies and I headed to Branson on Friday morning.  The weather was nice in STL, but by the time we arrived at the campground it was raining and cold.  Blah!  So we drove around and looked at all the tornado damage from February 29. 

On Saturday we started our day at the Titanic Museum.  It was a nice museum.  Not worth a full price ticket, but definitely worth seeing with a hefty coupon.  The kids loved it.  I am fascinated by the Titanic, but I had seen the exhibit when it came to the Science Center, and there wasn't much more to it.  Still fun.  But, if you are going to go, purchase the tickets through a discount retailer.

After lunch at the campers, we caught The Branson Scenic Railway.  It is an almost two hour ride into the Ozarks.  We had boarding numbers 14-30.  So we got fabulous seats.  Our seats were in one of the glass top double decker cars.  Do they call train cars double deckers?  Very neat.  And warm.  The kids had a great time, and now they can officially say they have been on a train.  Of course, I am not counting STL's Metrolink or Chicago's L...

Noah and Rylan on the train.

And here is the promised photo of Rylan and his mohawk...

Sofie trying to nap on The Branson Scenic Railway

On Sunday, we visited Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.   Our trip to Wilson's Creek started out as a side trip.  We purchased National Park books for the kids last year on vacation, and since then the quest to get their passport books stamped has been all consuming.  Well maybe not all consuming, but it has definitely fueled the fire to visit more National Parks, especially the smaller, less well known parks.

Here's what wikipedia has to say about the park:

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield at 6424 West Farm Road 182 near Republic, Missouri, preserves the site of the Battle of Wilson's Creek. Fought on August 10, 1861, it was the first major American Civil War engagement west of the Mississippi River. The Confederate's failure to exploit their victory here resulted in keeping Missouri in the Union. Major features include a 5-mile automobile tour loop, the restored 1852 Ray House, and "Bloody Hill," the scene of the major battle. The site is located just southwest of the city of Springfield, in southwestern Missouri.

Rylan especially loved the park.  He was really excited to see the battlefield, and even wanted me to print out a few photos so he could show his friends.

After Wilson's Creek we visited The Laura Ingall's Wilder Homes in Mansfield MO.  It became clear that my kids need to read the books and watch the TV shows, because they were clueless as to why we were there.  So I have four weeks to make them love LHOTP before we visit one of her childhood homes in July.

Posing for a quick photo on the porch of the Ray home at Wilson's Creek

Hail May

The Lobby of the Conrad in Tribeca

Wade and I celebrated our ninth anniversary with a weekend in NYC. Wade sees the city on a regular basis for work, but I had never been. And Wade had never been as a tourist. We started the weekend with a city tour. It was a great overview of the city. The tour even included a ferry out to see the sights on the Hudson River. We stayed in Tribeca at the Conrad. It is a beautiful hotel. And since the Tribeca Film Festival was in full swing for our visit, it was a great choice.

Hudson Bay

New World Trade Center

The end of April brought with it a lot of deductibles.  Swansea sits in a storm free area.  Tornadoes prefer Edwardsville, Shiloh, Granite City etc.  So when Wade called from Shiloh and said a storm was on it's way to our house.  I took it with a grain of salt.  (Whoops!)  I had plenty of time to move the red car in the garage.  But, I just didn't believe it would reach our house.  So this summer we will be under construction.  The hail damaged the roof, siding, windows, camper, sheds and all the cars.  It was the largest hail I had ever seen.  So photos of our "new" home will be coming late Summer 2012.

One of the bigger hail stones the kids found.

Our Golf Ball Size Hail

Rylan's favorite sport is finally up and running.  He is having a great season so far.  He is a great hitter. And is anxious to try his hand at pitching like Noah.

Rylan batting.  He's a great hitter.  But notice the ball behind his back. 

Rylan's Team

Noah is having an amazing season as well.  He makes the rounds between pitching, catching and first base.  And when ever he doubts his own ability, I have simply to ask him "When was the last time you were on the bench for an inning?"

Noah

Kindergarten tradition consists of Mother's Day Tea.  This year it was Sofie's turn.  The kids performed a bunch of cute little songs including dance moves, and we had tea, punch and cookies.  Very fun!

Mommy and Sofie

Wade and I took turns chaperoning the Crazies field trips.  I went with Sofie and Noah.  Wade spent the day with Rylan at the zoo.  Rylan's field trip photos are stuck in the abyss that is Wade's phone, and Noah's are MIA today.  But I will try and fix that soon.   Sofie's class went to Rainbow Ranch and Swansea Fire Station.  You may remember this field trip from last year with Rylan.

Sofie and the Girls

Sofie's Kindergarten Class

Sofie and her BFF

For Memorial Day weekend, we spent the weekend in Marble Hill.  The Humes family, and my sister Kris's family were also in attendance.  We swam, fished and lounged.  It was the perfect Memorial Day!

Jake and Noah

Morgan, Sydney, Rylan, Caleb, Jake, Noah, Emilie, Sofie, Chloe & Elise

The Princess

And Rylan got a mohawk!  Better photos of that soon!!!