The Perfect Pillow

Doesn't Finley look like he's enjoying himself?

Adventures of Mount Rushmore

Jeremy fulfilled one of his childhood dreams over the Memorial Day weekend when we traveled to South Dakota and saw the great Mt. Rushmore. We arrived on Friday night and stayed in the town of Custer.  The weather was rainy and cold on the drive up and we were crossing our fingers and toes that it would be warmer on Saturday.  We must not have crossed enough fingers and toes to please Mother Nature because we woke up to 40 degrees, rain and thick fog.

 

 

 

 I didn't mind the weather that much because most of the day we were in the car, driving through Custer State Park.  I told the boys that whom ever saw the first wild animal would get a milkshake.  With that incentive, the boys' faces were plastered against the car windows.  We saw two buffalo, then several antelope and deer.

 And then, Bridger spotted the first "John Deere" - a rare, beautiful green creature sitting quietly up on the hill in his natural habitat.  We slowed the car down for a good look and Bridger shouted, "Whoo hoo! Now I get a milk shake."  Well done, my boy.

 

We were commenting on our good fortune of getting to see not one, but two buffalo out in the "wild", when we came upon this sight:

 They were crossing the street in front of us and coming right up to the car.

As we drove through the park and headed toward Mt. Rushmore, I kept hoping that the fog would lift, just for a moment, so we'd be able to see the mountain.  When we arrived at Mt. Rushmore, we couldn't see a thing.  There were crowds of people milling around, waiting for the fog to lift, but no such luck.

We had better luck on Sunday.   We were able to hike around the Memorial, check out the museum and since they didn't have milkshakes, the poor boys had to settle for enormous ice cream cones.  They muddled through some how. :)

We also went to the Crazy Horse Memorial.  This is a small scale model of what the mountain will look like when it is completed.

 

This is what has been done since they began in 1998.  Hard to see with all the fog, but it was very impressive.

 

There's gold in them hills, and the boys each have a vile with gold flecks in them to prove it.  We toured the Big Thunder Gold Mine and Jeremy and the boys tried to win their fortune by panning for gold.

Gannon wasn't that interested in finding gold, but was captivated by all the cool-looking rocks.  He filled his vile with his rock treasures and 1 tiny fleck of gold.  He was a happy man.

 

Trying to keep Bridger from falling out of bed at night was a full time job.  He was restless and whimpering in his sleep and I kept waking up to push him away from the edge and to cover him back up.  Even with a wall of pillows, he fell out once, but thankfully didn't sustain any injuries. :)  While I had bags under my eyes in the morning, Jeremy slept blissfully through the night, unaware of it all and was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Ah, the thankless job of a mother.

I have to comment on the continental breakfast, since when we asked what their favorite part of the trip was, the boys all shouted, "Swimming at the hotel! And Fruit Loops!"  In that case, we could have saved ourselves a whole lot of time and money by just cracking open a box of cereal at home.  I'll make a mental note for next time. :)  I think they cleaned out the hotel's entire supply of Fruit Loops.

Here's Bridger, all set for the drive home.  All in all, it was a great trip!

The Graduate

I'm a little teary-eyed as I write this...Gannon has now officially graduated from Kindergarten.  Sniff, sniff.   He's on to bigger and better things like full-day school, lunch in the cafeteria and the most importantly...RECESS.  Since he was in half-day Kindergarten, they were only able to have recess on Fridays, in order to get all their required learning in during the day.  That's tough for little boys who love to run and play.  He is thrilled and therefore, I am trying to be, too.  I have really enjoyed having him all by himself for a few hours each day while Hayden was in school and Bridger was asleep.  I love my sweet Ganny Man.  He is getting big way too fast.

This is Teagan, one of Gannon's best buddies in class.

Mrs. Teeples was a wonderful teacher.  We will sure miss her!

There were only 6 boys in Gannon's class, so they had to stick together. :)  This is John and Blake, 2 more of Gannon's friends.

Intergalactic Love

I always feel the love on Mother's Day with lots of extra kisses, homemade cards and pampering.  But this year, I found out that not only was I loved by my family, but I was also loved in...wait for it...Outer Space.  Here's Hayden's card...

I can't tell you what this has done for my self esteem.  Aliens like me.  That is the ultimate seal of approval. :)

Hayden's Birthday

Watch out, we have an 8 year-old in the house!  Hayden has reached the age he has been pinning for his whole life.  Well, at least for the last 8 months and I'm sure it will be his favorite age for a few more months until he decides that he MUST turn 9 immediately because that's where the fun is at. 

Every year since Hayden has been in preschool, he has wanted me to bring cupcakes to class on his birthday.  I enjoy doing it and I loved that it made him so happy.  So this year, I was planning on bringing in the traditional birthday cupcakes and I mentioned it to him and he, feigning nonchalance says, "Oh...that's ok, Mom.  Don't worry about it."  Hmmm...since Hayden would give his right arm and probably even an eyebrow for a cupcake, I was immediately suspicious.  "You don't want me to bring cupcakes?  Why?"  I ask.   His face gets red at this point and he can't quite look me in the eye. "I just don't need any this year."  What?!  I thought I had at least one more year before he got embarrassed of me but apparently, he's already embarrassed.   Ouch.  My poor heart.  Oh well, since he's already embarrassed I might as well play it up and give him a big, wet, slobbery kiss in front of his friends.  Maybe I'll forget to brush my teeth and comb my hair when I drop him off at school.  This could be really fun....

Easter

Here's a few pictures from Easter morning, with the boys in their Sunday Best. Their clothes were only technically their "best" for about 2 minutes and then the wrestling and rolling all over the ground began.  I guess I'll take what I can get. :)

Aunt Kaisa

We love Aunt Kaisa around here.  The boys get so excited when she comes to visit and unfortunately for Kaisa, it's a little hard for them to calm down. (Thanks for being patient, Kais!) We took her to the Homestead park for a picnic and a hike.  And of course, when we go for a hike, it wouldn't be the same if the boys didn't collect sticks to use as weapons to protect themselves from bears or whatever enemy might be lurking in the forest.  Safety first.

Another reason we love Kaisa...she graciously asked if she could babysit for us, while Jeremy and I went out on a date.  Did you catch that...she ASKED us if she could babysit.  What an awesome sister!  It was so nice to go out and know the boys were well taken care of and having a blast at home.  We love you, Kais!