a dream come true

This morning Nathan took these pictures while out flying with his good friend Kim (married to the Denise I'm always mentioning :) He's had the opportunity to be in the air with Kim a few times and hopes to start working on some official training with a flight instructor soon.

1: If you look between the braces for the airplane wing you can see a little bump on the horizon. That is Devil's Tower Nat'l Monument over in eastern WY.

2: To the left of the wing brace you can see the shadow of the airplane on the snow, the upper left corner shows the runway and taxiway.

If you want to view the pictures larger you can click on them and be able to see more of the details.

Have a great day.

Wishing for Snow

The snow here is sporadic and short-lived but that doesn't make it any less fun. Yesterday was beautiful and I made the remark that the snow would disappear again. The kids wanted the chance to play in what little was left. In the picture of Hans you can see how we just have a patch that is in the shade all day. Today it is 50+ so it's sweatshirt and bike riding weather. We'll see if the possibility of snow that's being forecast for Monday actually turns into anything.

Seven Smiths Climbing and Caching

Over President's Day weekend we had company! "Uncle Matthew and Aunt Kristi" came to see us all. Saturday we took advantage of the 49 degree day (gotta love the "tropical" Black Hills) and went on a few short hikes in Rapid to find a handfull of geocaches. Saturday evening Matthew headed south to Colorado to find Jordan, the mountains, and the ski slopes. They skied on Sunday while here Kristi and I spent some time shopping and hanging out just the two of us. Monday Matthew came back and we enjoyed lunch out before they hit the long road home. Like all weekends with family, it went to quickly but was wonderful. We love you guys! :)

Picture 1: Hiking partners Aunt Kristi and Lyd taking a break on the trail.

Picture 2: Evan and Aunt Kristi uncovering one of the caches.

Picture 3: More hiking buddies, this time Hans and Uncle Matthew on the trail.

Picture 4: Matthew & Hans, Kristi & Lyd, Nathan & Evan heading back to the van.

Rob the Builder

Our good friend, Rob, is launching his own business and going to be working as a handyman/contractor. His wife, Robin, planned a surprise party for him so a bunch of friends could have the chance to wish him well with this adventure. Robin asked that I bring dessert so this is what I came up with for the party. It got a lot of laughs and was taken apart sort of like a gingerbread house. :)

More Sheepdog Trials

What is being displayed in the picture?

a. my friend Denise

b. a couple of happy fans

c. Hans' new picture face

d. buds

e. two people close to my heart

f. all of the above

The Stock Show, Mutton Bustin', and Sheep Dog Trials

The last weekend in January through the first weekend in February is the Black Hills Stock Show. It's the biggest thing in Rapid City every year with the exception of the Sturgis motercycle rally. For a week ranchers and other interested people come from all over the region to check out the latest and greatest in ranching. There are lots of fun things to do over that week from rodeo, to bull riding, to sheep dog trials, to sales/shows of cows, bulls, steers, and horses, an animal nursery, to mutton bustin', to a giant trade show, to the Cowboy Bar, to....

This year the kids, my friend Denise, and I decided to check out the sheepdog trials. The first event has nothing to do with dogs but more the sheep. Kids from ages four to seven took turns trying out mutton bustin' (riding a sheep like it was a buckin' bull). I had thought about seeing if Evan would want to try it but hadn't followed up on the thought and gotten him registered. He loved watching it and can't wait to try it. Since the rodeo in August he has decided he's going to be a cowboy when he growns up and now he wants to practice by riding sheep. It's a "kid rodoe" according to him. All three of the kids thought it was just great to watch. The second picture shows one contenstent about Evan's age and size. We might just have to find some mutton bustin' in WI or come back for a visit next year about this time.

For Denise and I the highlight of the night was the actual timed trials. They were amazing. These dogs are highly intelligent and highly trained. They have to start in the chalk cricle on one end of the arena (pic. #4) while the sheep are released from the pen at the other end. They then race to the sheep and, following voice or whistle commands from their trainer, get the sheep to make a figure 8 around the barrels (pic. #3). Next they have to get the sheep to pass through the funnel gate and go into the pen that the trainer closes. The fastest time we saw that night was 1:18. By the end of the night the kids were getting restless but it was fun and I'm glad we took th time to go when we had the chance.

In the Gym

After years of hoping, planning, dreaming, saving, working, volunteering, and finishing St. Paul's now has a gym! A week and a half ago we hosted the first home games ever to be play at St. Paul's. It was great fun.

Things to note in the pictures.

1: The ref in the background graduted from St. Paul's and has since then sent his three kids. He has been dreaming of playing in the gym since he was a student. He got to officiate the first game and his son got to play in it. It was a great day for them both.

2: We don't have a scoreboard and one isn't really in the budget but Nathan found a free one online that can be projected onto the wall. Can't beat that.

3: Jon in another one that has been dreaming of the gym for years. While taking his turn officiatinging he enjoyed showing off his three point skill druing quarter breaks.