Lange Visit - Week One

Aunt Meegan is here, Aunt Meegan is here.  And Zachary.  And McKenzie.  And we are having a ball!~

In our first 24 hours, we aclimated to each other, figured out sleeping arrangments, took naps, drove the "Old Oregon Trail", hiked the trails at Scottsbluff Monument, ate at TDO,and went racing!  

Over the weekend, we introduced them to Courthouse and Jail Rock, but ran out of daylight to get to the top, drove around town, saw the Bridgeport State Lakes, went to church, and packed the camper.

We have since returned from a trip to the Black Hills the night before last and I spent much of yesterday going through the 600 plus photos that we took.  If Meegan snapped one more photo of a Bison, I was going to take the camera from her clutches.  They are pretty neat; however, after the 1st dozen or so shots, they all start to look alike.  She swore that one was smiling at her at one point.  That was the point where I took the camera away.  

Zachary took to the hills in the form of climbing.  And climb he did.  All over.  Up. Higher and higher and higher... around hills, over rocks, down slopes, up shale and would get in the car and ask when the next climbing stop was going to be, before going back to reading his book.   

Kalli came with us for the 1st half of our trip, and her and McKenzie became fast friends, setting up tents together upon our arrival, taking the kids to the park, and hiking and climbing and scavenging together till they were weary. 

We drove all over the Black Hills, hiked the Needles on Needles Hwy, hiked up a steep hillside in the National Forest, hiked down some steep terrain at a pullout overlooking the faces of Mt. Rushmore (Or Mountain Russian more, as Lars insists), we hiked at a roadside picnic stand near Coolidge lookout, we strolled through a field with a herd of antelope being stalked by a coyote (see pics of Meegan standing on top of the car), and drove past the sites of Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park, and others.  

We visited Wind Cave and decided that was the point we needed to start tracking license plates.  We snapped all but 3 different state or providence plates that we saw and had a fun time stalking people when they drove in the various parking lots we were in.  We never saw a Hawaii plate, but looked for a long time....

The day that Allen & Zachary went back to go spelunking for 4 hours at Wind Cave National Park, Meegan, kids and I walked all around Hot Springs, finding a local secret on the hill side, a natural spring fed river, free for the swimming.  After a dip in the springs, a short climb up the rocks, and a well deserved snack, we came back into town for a walk up to the VA, (where Lars got stung by a really nasty looking hornet half way up the step-way), and went for ice cream at Gus' with the boys upon their return, a treat from Grandma and Papa.  Then it was time to head for home.

Yesterday was 'clean up day', which is the first day in a week we picked up toys, clothes, newspapers, crumbs, shoes, pillows & blankets, and the like.  I did at least 14 loads of laundry, most of which needs to be folded, and cleaned out both vehicles.  Meegan and kids made chocolate chip muffins, Kenzie and Eden & Elia went to the library for craft time and Elia fell asleep on the library couch for an hour.  I ran errands in town, getting Eden and Lars' B-day cake pans in at the post office, something very exciting! Kenzie and I made baking powder biscuits while  Meegan cut up vegetables for the beef stew I was making.  She hitched a ride to the gym for a couple hours and worked out enough for two bowls.  For dessert, McKenzie and I made peanut butter ice cream, which went over very well for all.  

I didn't put my feet up until it was time for bed.  It's nice to have company.  

Today's plan is to hike Chimney Rock, but the pager keeps going off and I keep running out of the house. (However: this morning's early morning call garnished us a dozen donuts, however, so it was worth the trip to town!)  The weather is perfect and seems to be getting better as the days go by.  With any luck, we'll be sitting at the race track tonight, and planning our next day's adventures...bull riding!~

Aunt Meegan is coming!

Aunt Meegan is coming, Aunt Meegan is coming!

Eden just brought me out the calendar.  

Eden: "How many more days is it Mom?  6 or 5?"

Mommy: "Well, let's just count the days.  Today is the 6th and they come here on the 10th.  How many days is that, Eden?"

Eden: "OH!  Just three days and a few hours more plus all day today, right??"

Mommy: "Good deal, we better get to cleaning that toy closet out so that the toys can get put IN it so I can clean the carpet in the living room.  How does that sound?"

Eden: "Um...like work"

Mommy:  "Welcome to my life..."

RAIN

My children are in no way deprived, nor do I shelter them.

However, rain is hard to come by in these parts, so when a burst of a Thunderstorm blew to the area this afternoon, they ran from the garage to the front yard to wait for puddles to form.  When they did, there was no stopping the curiosity of three children. 

Lars grabbed a couple of his Cars cars (Rusty and Fred, I think) and headed to the curb.  In a matter of minutes, the poor vehicles were being swept away in a torrential flood, into the storm drain and out to sea. 

Eden took to the gutters to run as fast as she could up and down the moving water, Elia closely in tow, doing as big sister did.  Every once in a while (though not caught on film), her hands flung out to both sides, her head tipped back and her mouth opened up to the sweet, wet feel of the drops. 

Thank you, God, for the rain.  A men. 

Now to be with the slew of firefighters out there dousing the lightening struck fields that are now burning up the prairie in every direction of Bridgeport..... water and sandwiches, anyone??

It's Hot Here

Is it just me or is it really hot this summer? And I mean hot all over.

In Michigan, surrounded by lakes that are bigger than many of the states on the Eastern seaboard, we could swelter in 85 degree heat with humidity that is unmeasurable except in the lungs of the asthmatics, and we'd wish we were someplace that boasted a 'dry heat', but accept the fact that we were just tougher than the rest and could handle it.  

In Western Nebraska, surrounded by the sandhills and no trees,  we are that 'dry heat' that is most certainly measurable by looking at the thermometer and saying, "wow, that's hot" and we wish we were someplace that was humid with a needle below 104 degrees.  Yet, we can also brag about being hot and arid and being able to stand the test of 100+ degree days with no problems what-so-ever, and accept the fact that we are just tougher than the rest and can handle it.

Funny how life is when you look at it from different perspectives. 

And even with all that heat experience, both humid and not, it's just plain hot all over.  My flowers look dehydrated, with shriveling vegetables to match. The kids are lifeless when not dressed in a swimsuit. The grass is dry and pokey with dead patches all over and if you look around and can't find your neighbors, it's because many of them have shriveled up and taken to the indoors themselves.

What did the pioneers do without Air Conditioning?

What are you doing to beat the heat?