One last hoorah - in reverse order

Just got back from a super complicated vacation. I'm going to make it more so by showing you pictures in reverse. Ha!

But here's a quick rundown before we get to the pictures:

Kids and I drove to a campground in Missouri, just north of Kansas City. We camped, swam in the lake, and took a walk in the dusk. 

Next day, I briefly slowed down at Jim's parents' house in SE Kansas to boot the kids out of the car and zoomed off quickly the other way. They stayed there 2 or 3 days and did stuff like fish, hunt for frogs, drive the lawn mower, ride Aunt Rosemary's horse. I spent that time at my parents house reading 3 novels cover to cover. It was glorious.

The grandparents handled a transfer and the kids spent 2 or 3 days with my folks. They did stuff like art, play games, playgrounds, and visit my Grandma. I spent that time in Wichita at a super cheap motel reading more books and shopping. It was glorious. 

Then I picked up the kids and we drove to pick up Jim at the Fayetteville airport (yes, Arkansas), which is not in Fayetteville at all. We went on to Branson (yes, Missouri) to spend a week swimming, riding the Ducks, swimming, playing miniature golf, swimming, fishing, watching all the TV channels that we don't have at home, and swimming. Both sets of grandparents joined us because they just couldn't get enough of us (and we begged them :) )

After that week, we drove to Jim's brothers' house (yes, Iowa) and spent a night in the Easter Egg dome home and did stuff like drive the lawn mower, 4 wheeler, and skid loader, and go up and down in the dumb waiter.

Then, finally, HOME!

And here are the pictures, in reverse order because that's how my computer did it and its a pain to switch them around...

"Can I push that button?"

A swan at the College of the Ozarks

Fish Hatchery

Our favorite spot by Table Rock Lake

Throwing rocks

Looking for fossils

Dam

(ha!)

Kowabunga!

Trout

Adam drove the Duck!

Laura drove the Duck!

Also took a short run while in Wichita. Dad teased me about going to see the Sailboat Museum. Turns out that I ran right past it!

There's a tiny Pioneer Woman statue along the Arkansas river, just like the one in Ponca. (This area, by the way, didn't feel very safe, so I only jogged a short way and went back to my car. Its a shame; it is clear that a lot of money was spent to make it pretty.)

River was dry

Lazy man's marshmallows

Love our new tent!

Dakota County Fair in Pictures

Art House

Laura's been busy this summer too. She went to a Farm Camp at Dodge Nature Center and got to do farmy things like gather eggs, feed pigs, and let the sheep out in the pasture. She also went to a sculpture class at the Eagan Art House with her friend from the school bus, Mason. They made sculptures out of paper mache, melted plastic, clay, and paper. 

Mason in the black on the left, Laura in the white on the right.

Zoo

Please pretend I fixed all red eyes

These last 2 pics are of animals that we rarely see awake. The first is a red kangaroo and the second is a binturong.

Sporty Little Man

Adam tried a gymnastics class, a soccer camp and swimming lessons this summer. The first two have been successful, with a certain amount of stress. He's not great at separation and has a particularly tough time in new situations. Swimming lessons was just more stress than it was worth. But I was proud to see him get out there by himself in both of the other classes after 2-3 days.

The first 2 days of gymnastics, he refused to even step foot on the big trampoline. In fact, the first day he came screaming back to me when the teacher asked him to step on it. We practiced some words to say when he was scared and needed help and needless to say...

he was jumping like a crazy man by the 4th class.

And soccer ended with a smile as well.

Cool shots

These pictures showed up on the camera when I downloaded a bunch of ones I took. I like them both.

I think this one is the temporary tattoo on Adam's forearm, but I'm not positive. Can't figure out how he made it look like this.

 This one is Laura's. I really like the reflection in the water.

Pickles!

 A good friend passed on a ton of cucumbers last week. We aren't big cucumber eaters and I've never made pickles before. But there's a first time for everything! On a whim, I looked for my Grandma's cinnamon pickle recipe and there it was - in my recipe box that my Mom, Grandma and Mother-in-law made for me at my wedding shower. After consulting with Grandma to verify a few directions and literally searching all the southern suburbs for pickling lime and red hots, we have success! (The red hots were at Walgreens, the pickling lime at a Menards in Savage.) They taste just like I remember. I canned them this morning, after a 3 day process of soaking and boiling. It was so fun. These are pretty much the only pickles I would eat growing up and a great treat when I got to go to Grandma's.

And with the other half of the cucumbers, I made refrigerator pickles. This jar was full a few days ago. We'll be working on these  for a while!

Rain Lilies

For 2 years in a row, Mom has shared a pot of rain lilies with me. These have become my favorite plant in my garden. They sit quietly, with pretty green foliage, until it rains. Then, in the day or 2 after, they send up beautiful blooms. Its just so interesting to watch them respond so immediately to the weather. And you can't really trick them with a watering can. It is more than just the water, it must have to do with humidity and/or light as well. I just love checking on their progress everyday.