South Dakota: Week 1

Somewhere, in the depths of some stack of paper, I jotted down a quick outline of what we did on our SD trip.  It was to prevent the EXACT situation I find myself in, which is that I am blogging about our trip 2 months after the fact and can't remember anything.  My memory (along with my patience--see previous post) is not one of my best  features. 

So instead of going into great detail about the fun things we did (and you are all saying "thank you" profusely, aren't yout?), I'll just give the highlights so that when I print this little blog into a book, we'll know we went. 

Well, would you look at that?  I got up to just see if I could find my little outline and it was in the very first place I looked.  Who says miracles don't occur every day?

Week 1:

** In our first few days there, I remembered what exactly it is that I LOVE about dry summers: very few mosquitos.  It was hot and humid and the mosquitos tried to suck us dry every instant we were outside.  And yet, outside we went.  I spent a little time mowing the lawn in the rain while the kids played with Woody the Wood Troll in the Enchanted Forest, built sand castles at the playset, and went swimming. 

**Lucy, Maddie and Maja spent an afternoon at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead in DeSmet with Gma Tina, my Uncle Bob, Aunt Anne, and their daughter Amelia.  As the Homestead is on a Big Slough, they came back with so many mosquito bites they looked chicken-poxed.

**We joined the Brookings Ward for the annual 24th of July picnic and no sooner had we eaten than a real, true-blue, bonafied SD summer thunderstorm blew in.  And I mean BLEW!  We ran for cover under the pavilion, gathered our stuff as quickly as we could and headed home to watch the show.  There is nothing I like better than watching a storm across the prarie.  It's absolutely beautiful . . . and a little terrifying.  (It happened to be the same storm that produced the largest hailstone ever found in North America.)  FYI, a SD thunderstorm looks a little something like this.

**Dad, Dave, Ben, Spencer and Zach spent the next day helping ward members clean up downed trees after the storm.  Luckily, the tree they made into firewood didn't damage the home it fell on too much.

**Gpa Ron-the-Brave took it upon himself to sleep out in the camper with whatever children wanted to join him.  Everyone 4 and up took him up on that offer and we parents got ourselves a fantastic night of sleep.  Gpa Ron-the-Brave?  Not so much.

**I realized I'd lived in Utah too long when I thought it was interesting that the Bishop had to explain what the July 24th celebration was for (as well as what the Book of Mormon was and who the pioneers were) during Sacrament Meeting.  I love being surrounded by good people who are all striving toward the same goal as me, but sometimes I miss living where people are constantly asking questions about what you believe.  (When I shared this sentiment with Zach, however, he may or may not have told me I was crazy.)

**After our traditional ginormous Sunday dinner, we enjoyed naps, games and visiting together with the family.  Wonderful Week!