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Showing posts with label cousins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cousins. Show all posts

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Great Way to Start the Summer

     I haven't posted anything in quite a while. Other things kept getting in the way but mostly I haven't been in the blogging mood. The daughter and granddaughter were here for an end of school visit. So I thought I'd share some of the fun things we did in the short time they were here. 


     A morning walk along the city pathways was a nice way to start the day. Besides the lovely scenery,


we spotted a deer.


I also had the opportunity to take a group photo.


     One of the days we went to lunch at the Bradford Brinton museum. Look at the view we had while eating. 


This is the art museum where the bistro is located.


Here is a shot of some of the grounds and the house (taken a couple months ago). You can tour Mr. Brinton's house with all it's wonderful western art. It is worth a visit if you're ever in the neighborhood.


While driving home we passed an alpaca ranch. So of course we had to stop and say Hi. The kiddos really enjoyed looking at them.




A visit to the local nursery means you have to sit in the giant chair.


We of course made a visit to the park swimming pool and to the ice cream stand afterwards.





Sunday brunch with all the family is always nice.

The visit wouldn't be complete without a water fight with balloons and the hose.



And to top off the visit the grandson had a baseball game.



As with most visits this one was way to short. But we did manage to pack some fun activities in and make more memories. 


A thought to ponder: "Take care of your memories, for you can not relive them."
                                                                                                  Bob Dylan


Saturday, October 8, 2016

Summer Memories

       I can't believe it is October already. I never did post anything in September. I guess I was too busy preserving the bounty of our garden and fruit trees. Also working on fixing up a used popup camper we bought, that's a topic for another time. Today I thought I'd go over a few fun happenings during the summer. 
   In June my sister and her husband stopped for a visit on there RV adventure to North Dakota and Canada. We enjoyed seeing them and exploring some of our local scenery.


The brothers-in-law

This is what they were perusing. 

     In July our daughter and family came for a visit. Also her 30th high school reunion. Wow, were did the time go. The cousins were happy to get together again and had a wonderful time hanging out.




Just a simple walk was an enjoyable way for us to spend time with them.



     One of the big events here in the summer is the rodeo and carnival.  So of course we had to take advantage of the activities. Here's a photo of our rodeo princess. 

The kids had fun on the carnival rides.


Also tried their hand at winning a prize. And of course carnival food.

I enjoyed watching the grandkids enjoy themselves and catching the fun with my camera.

     August is the month we like to take the grandson on a little trip. A last hurrah before school starts. This year we took a camping trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota. 




The campground had lots of activities for kids.

    Something fun we did while in the area was take a ride on the 1880's steam train which runs between Hill City and Keystone. 





The trip takes an hour one way. They have a recorded commentary that plays during the ride that tells about the history of the train and the area. If you're ever in this neck of the woods be sure to visit and have a fun and informative ride through the Black Hills.

We also paid a visit to Wall Drug in Wall, SD.  The drug store was started in the early 30's and became a must stop for people traveling through the Badlands. They promised free ice water to all travelers passing through. See full story at Wall Drug history. It's a little kitschy but a fun place where you can sill get a free glass of ice water. Here the grandson is riding a "jackalope" and waiting for the T-Rex feeding time. 


     And just to make sure we got a little education in, we visited a small but very nice natural history museum in Hill City. Black Hills Institute of Geological Research


     The summer went by way to fast, but we made many wonderful memories. The best part was having both our children and their families together.  Because of this and also the fact that this August marked our 50th wedding anniversary we had some family pictures taken. Credit for the following three photos goes to Melanie Araas of 3 Willow Design





A thought to ponder: "Memories are special moments that tell our story."


Participating in: Grand SocialSeasonsShare Your Cup

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Out of the Mouths of Babes

      Young children have a tendency to say whatever is on their minds. They don't really have any filters. That's why many times they say things that are funny and even profound. Now days you can find parents posting all over the internet the things their children have said, sometimes to their embarrassment. When our grandson was around four we were at the bank and he said he needed to use the bathroom. I said, " Ok, we'll ask the lady over there where the bathroom is." As we walk over he says in his loudest voice, "Hey lady, do you have a bathroom in this place?"


     As I've mentioned in another post, A Ready Made Friend, Rex and his cousin really enjoy each other when they get together. Another bathroom incident that happened later that year when she came for a visit, was at a very nice restaurant. He and his parents had gotten to the restaurant first and were waiting for the rest of us to arrive. He had to use the bathroom, so his mother got up to take him. About half way there he turned around and hollered, "Daddy tell Mimi I'll be back, tell her I'm going poop."


     One thing I wish I'd done when my kids were young was to write down more of the funny and interesting things that they said. I've tried to be a little more diligent about writing the words of my grandchildren. But even so I know I've missed some gems.


         When Miranda (aka Mimi) was visiting us she saw a picture of herself, at a little over one year old, in my bedroom. She looked at it and said, "I'm so adorable". What could I say, I had to agree. When she was four she went to a school carnival. Her mother asked her if she had fun, "yes, but I got cotton candy on my hands, it was a sticky situation."


     Rex had been learning songs for his preschool Christmas concert. On the day of the concert all the children got up on stage to sing. Rex was in front, but he just stood there and never sang a word. When his Dad asked him afterwards why he didn't sing when he knew the songs; his reply, "my brain got sick."


     Although the grand kids are getting older they can still make us laugh. When we were visiting our granddaughter this past January, we saw her newly decorated bedroom. When my husband told her he thought it was very lovely, she said, "I'm glad to hear the big guy likes it." 


     Our grandson really wanted his Dad to receive a certain video game for his birthday (because he wanted to play it of course). So he tells me, "I want to get the video game for my Dad." Me: "Do you have any money?" Him: "No, that's what you're for." He didn't get the money. So he went to his grandfather. Him: "Poppy can I borrow $40." Poppy: "No."  Him: "I didn't think so, but just thought I'd ask." 


     When I retired I was given some frog statues for our garden as a gift.


      Technology pops up everywhere now days, as shown by the frog with the cell phone. It also affects the way kids view the world. After looking at these frogs our grandson said, "Hey Poppy, this frog doesn't have any apps on his phone."
     Take my advice carry a notebook with you at all times. You never know what is going to pop out of the mouths of babes. You think you'll remember but many times you don't and it would be a shame to miss a special remark. You might want to look into Little Hoots, it's an app you can get for recording what your child says. I haven't tried it but it might be worth checking out.


A thought to ponder: "While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."                          Angela Schwindt