A House in Oshkosh

    On day three of our trip Nathan and I made our way to Oshkosh. The main reason we were heading to WI was for Michael and Tammy's wedding the following weekend but we also hoped to find a place to rent, get a feel for the town, and Nathan need to register for school while we were there. We got everything checked off that list. We'll still be traveling with an Oshkosh street map handy for awhile but we have a feel for town. Nathan was most excited to learn more about his classes, getting to chat with instructors and tool venders for awhile, and hanging out in an airplane hanger. I was most excited about finding a place to call home for the next three years. It's a cute, cozy place that is between Martin Luther, the school the kids will attend, and FVTC the school Nathan will attend. The trip helped to make us all a little more excited. :)

Sadie and Buddy

    On day two of our road trip we went up to my parents' house. After a night with the whole family there for supper, Nate and I left the kids with my parents for a few days while we scoped out Oshkosh. In these pictures you see Hans playing a version of fetch with Sadie and Buddy. What is amazing is that he used to be terrified of the dogs. Now he uses the bat and tee or a tennis racket to play with them until their hearts are content.

Five

  Much to his delight and much to my disbelief, Evan just turned five. In Evan's world it's one more thing to cross off his list before getting to kindergarten. In the few days since his birthday he has often been heard saying, "Well, I'm five now so...." What amazes me most is that in five short years we love him 500 times as much. Happy Birthday Evan!

*The pictures is of Evan with the cake Grandma Smith made for him when we stopped to visit them on the way to WI. Thanks Grandma!*

Crazy Horse

        The first full weekend in June is the Crazy Horse Volksmarch. These two days are the only days of the year that the general public can hike to the top of the Crazy Horse carving. Since we won't be in the neighborhood next year and we're still avoiding packing more boxes we hiked it Saturday afternoon with 12,000-15,000 of our fellow hikers (really). It's a 6.3mile hike that meanders through the woods and eventually up the back of the carving until you reach the face.

1: Our destination.

2: We made it!

3: Eye see you.

4: How many mountain goats can you find resting on the rocks?

Un-cole Jo-dan!

      Just a few more pictures from the weekend with Jordan. Can you tell he's a popular guest? And that he's very patient with the kids? :)

Flume Trail with Jordan

        The first weekend in June Jordan came up to visit us for a few days. We used the visit as an excuse to avoid packing and go to the Hills since our hiking days are numbered. The weather still wasn't being very cooperative so we had rain intermittently before we left but decided hiking was worth the risk of getting wet. We started at the Coon Hollow trail head and followed the trail a few miles while working on two multi-step geocaches. The trail lead us to Air Force Vista which was named such since you can see Ellsworth Air force Base in the distance from the point. Most of the hike thunder rumbled in the distance while ominous clouds built in the sky. On our way back to the trail head they delivered and we not only got soaked but also hailed on for awhile. Call us crazy but even that didn't diminish the joy of hiking in the Hills.

1: Evan and Lyd above the flume. Jordan, Hans, and Jenny in the flume.

2: "On top of the world!"

3: Where we were.

4: You can tell we were looking east, flat-so!

Foliage

        As any art student I've had can tell you Geogia O'Keeffe is my favorite artist. Since I can't paint like her I take lots of pictures of flowers and play with editing them to try to re-create her amazing works. Here are a few samples from the last trip to RG.

Critters

        Just in case you're wondering what else you can see at RG here are some animal shots.

Reptile Gardens again

        Yes, yes, I'm weeks behind on blogging. I'm going to try to catch up here. We'll see how far I get.

I know I've written about visiting Reptile Garden's earlier but it's a favorite Black Hills destination of the kids. Also, our most recent visit included the gator/croc/caimen show and some outdoor exhibits areas that are only open in the summer months.

#1: Mini-Mount Rushmore or giant kids. You decide.

#2: I spy a lizard.

#3: How to wrestle a crocodile and live to tell about it.

#4: The croc they got to touch.