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

Participating in: Share Your Cup, Wined Down Wednesday, Our World Tuesday, Grand Social

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 Social, Seasons, Share Your Cup

Traditions

     "Tradition - noun - the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation." I think most families have some traditions for the holidays. How and when you decorate the Christmas tree; what you have to eat; special ornaments and decorations, etc. With the holiday season in full swing I've been thinking about our family traditions. When I was a child we always set up a train set that went around in a circle under the Christmas tree. The train set was my father's when he was young. My brother displayed it at Christmas for a number of years. He has now passed it on to one of our nephews and his young sons are enjoying it.

Here's my brother and sister in the mandatory in front of the tree picture.(1960)

     On Christmas Eve we would place our stockings by the fireplace and leave cookies and milk for Santa. The next morning we were up early, excited to see what Santa had left us. After breakfast we would pass out the presents. We would then go around in a circle taking turns opening a present. This way we could also enjoy the gifts that others received. We always knew which gifts were from our Dad, because he wrapped his in the Sunday comics. He did this his whole life for every gift giving occasion. He was of the opinion it was going to get ripped up so why use fancy paper.

     My mother's parents lived in another state so they would mail our gifts. It was always fun to receive a package. We would take out each gift, read who it was for and place it under the tree. Every year they sent my Dad socks. It became quite the joke. We'd open the box, pull out the wrapped gifts, " Oh Dad, here's your socks."

     My husbands family didn't have a lot of traditions so he was fine with using most of mine as we started our family together.

This is our daughter's second Christmas (1969) (She was 6 weeks old on her first.)

Our daughter and son, for his first Christmas (1971)

    I know some families do Christmas eve church, then presents. We've always done everything on Christmas day. As our son and daughter got older they were in charge of passing out the gifts. We continued to open gifts one person at a time. It not only makes the fun last longer, you also get a chance to enjoy the person's reaction when they get to your gift. 

     Every year I like to buy one or two new ornaments for the tree. Over the years I've collected quite a few. Some I've already passed on to my children.

One year we had an exchange student from Switzerland. She had the opportunity to learn our traditions and we got to learn about how she celebrated the holiday. Exchange student in the center (1985)

     Now that our children are both married they carry on some of the same traditions with the addition of a few new ones from their spouses. It's nice to see them carry on our traditions but I also enjoy seeing them develop their own.

      This picture was the year our daughter and family came to Wyoming for Christmas, when her daughter was 15 months old and our grandson was 6 months.(2007) See A Ready Made Friend

  

Grandson 16 months (2008)

Granddaughter 2 years (2008)

The grandson enjoys making cookies and gingerbread houses with his Mom (2013)

       Both the grandchildren have a new tradition that they enjoy. A visit from the elf on the shelf. 

Last year my granddaughter's elf decided to hang out in the refrigerator. When she found him she made sure he got warmed up.

Here she is last year, all snugly watching a Christmas program.

       Traditions of course don't have to be written in stone. They might change as life circumstances change. But I know I have fond memories of my childhood Christmases. And I hope my children and grandchildren will too.                                                           Being with family I think is the best part of the holidays. Sometimes we can't always be in the same place. But with today's technology you can still enjoy their company with Skype and Face time. I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season, full of love and laughter. Whatever your holiday traditions, enjoy them to the fullest.

A thought to ponder: "Tradition is not to preserve the ashes. But to pass on the                                    flame."                                     Gustav Mahler

Participating in:Grand Social, Share the Joy, Mingle Monday