Get a piece of the rock....

The family L to R----Jason, Sam, Ben, me, Rob, Becca, RG, Lynnette


Aren't they cute?!!



Now you see her....Aunt Lynnette was posing the kids and then popping down out of the way. It reminded us of Hee Haw !!!!


Sam, Ben, Becca, and RG this was one of the last pictures we took...they had a fun
time being silly.

By the fish orchestra...

I'm not sure why that 'jingle' keeps going through my head...
Today we went to The House on the Rock in Dodgevill, WI. We meet Rob, Lynnette, Becca and RG there--we actually tried to get a hold of each other before going in but there was no cell phone reception! So we bumped into each other there.
Anyway, house on the rock is...interesting. If any of you had the chance to go to Ms. Betty's house and/or barn it would become clear that she and the house on the rock man were very alike! I'm including some pictures (you know we HAD to have a photo shoot;)

I will give one word of advice...when they say house on the rock is air conditioned...they don't mean it....we were all so hot, sweaty, and smelly when we left....definetly a place to visit in the fall...or maybe even the dead of winter.

Catch up

The boys enjoying a ride in the 'chivy' that grandma and grandpa bought them.

The boys after their backyard haircuts. We got a new pool for them... now the don't have to yell 'get outta my way' in the water.
making cookies

"I'm wearing a purple hat."

I've been really behind in posts...I've taken the pictures but haven't gotten them posted. I've been sick and just feel blah...is it just me????

new toy

Ben counting the pieces of track.



Jason (always the kid at heart) decided that the boys should have an electric train set. They worked hard last night to get it set up.

Flowers...for me??

After dropping off Ben and Alex (a friend) at day camp, Sam and I headed downtown to the farmers market. We got kettle corn, peas, cheese curds and flowers. Sam had a great time chasing the pigeons that were hanging around the park. We also bought a Christmas present.

Playing with cousins

I can't explain this picture. I think you need to be be a sausage loving McCoy male for it to make sense.

Erin and the 1st present she wrapped. Nice job isn't it?

Relaxing by the pool~ L to R Connor, Sam, Chris, Ben, Emmett

Sam LOVED sitting in this bucket full of water! Chris and Emmett wanted to move it and they had to carry it with Sam and water in it. Must have been mighty heavy.

Yesterday we went to Elmhurst to visit with Jeff, Maureen and the kids. All the kids (Ben, Sam, Erin, Emmett, Christopher and Connor) had a super time together. They splashed and played in the pool for a couple hours.
I got to see Jeff and Maureen's new house for the 1st time. It's very nice...maybe they'll let me move in;)

And the Winner is....

DRUMROLL PLEASE....
The number of Wall Drug signs--from the Minnesota/South Dakota border (along the interstate) is 91.
The winner is Grandma June!
Second place goes to Gabe and ??? Someone who forgot to leave their name.
There might be a second place prize also.
Grandma June is going to take a picture of her prize and we will put it on the blog!
Congrats to all!!!
**ok so maybe I'm a dork--but I thought this was kind of fun! Who's going to do the next contest?!!!

CONTEST REMINDER

Just a reminder about our Wall Drug contest. We are encouraging you to enter your guess NOW!!! We'll just say that the number of signs might amaze you. We'll stop taking guesses on Monday (whatever date that is...7/11?)

The boys had a good time 'pumping' water.



Ben and I had a fun time touring the Ingalls site. Thank goodness at least one person in my family thinks that history is important:) We left De Smet today...due to the wind/dust storms. We are at a hotel in Minnesota tonight...it's never felt so good to be dust free.
Tomorrow we're heading home...and stopping the Spam museum on the way. I'd also like to stop at an Amish place--if Jason will stop the car long enough.

In DeSmet

De Smet is a very small town- that is also very dusty. We arrived yesterday (a day late- we like the Black Hills so much we stayed an extra day) we stayed on what what once the Ingalls land. It was very wide open and VERY windy. We were afraid the camper was going to break (seriously) due to the wind. We decided to leave a day early, stay the night in a hotel, and get a good shower. We can't believe how dusty we are. Everything in the camper is covered in dust!


This is the sunset from our night in De Smet.

New campground

At Storybook Island....

This is from Custer State Park...cool huh?


At Storybook Island
The 1880 train

At Custer State Park...this was a one lane tunnel we drove through
After being awoken at 5:55 am... we decided to go to a new campground. We LOVED it and highly recommend it to anyone.
On Tuesday we rode the 1880 train...AWESOME.
On Wednesday we went to Storybook Island. It was a really cool playground that had different scenes from stories for the kids to play on and in.

pictures??? Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Waiting for the rain to stop...so we can go to the fireworks! The boys at the fireworks.

At the dinosaur museum. It was AWESOME...and free:)
Fireworks!!!

Pictures---FINALLY:)

no pictures yet..what is up with this site?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Yesterday was an exciting day. We went to a local dinosaur fossil museum. The kids loved it. Since Sam thinks he's a dinosaur he felt right at home:)
We had HUGE rainstorms--and were fearing the worst of the fireworks. Luckily the rain stopped and we were able to go.
We boarded the bus to Mount Rushmore at 7pm. Traffic was really light and we got there in about 10 minutes. We found a place to sit- where we could see the faces and the fireworks. The fireworks started about 9pm. They were just AMAZING. I'm going to add pictures but I know they won't due them justice. After the fireworks we went back to our bus and unfortunetly sat on it for about 1 hour before moving about 1/2 mile. We sat at the next spot for about 45 minutes and FINALLY we were on our to the camper. We got into bed about 1 am. Because of our yucky campsite I was awoken at 5:55 am (an RV driving by)!! We packed up and got the heck out of the KOA. We are now camping at the Horsethief Campground. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is amazingly beautiful, quiet, and I can't say enough. Aside from the fact we got a chance to ride the KOA bus to the fireworks, we wish we would have stayed at Horsethief the whole time. Tonight we are riding the 1880 steam train. Tomorrow probably going to Custer State? Park--hopefully to see wildlife (other than what is in our car:)
Hope everyone is having a fun and safe 4th. It's funny...without the parades, news channels talking about it etc. it doesn't really feel like the 4th.
***I CAN'T GET THE PICTURES TO DOWNLOAD...I'LL TRY VERY HARD TO GET IT DONE TOMORROW- so check back!!!***

At Mount Rushmore

Yesterday we stopped at Wall Drug. An AMAZING amount of people were there---crazy!!
We made it to Mount Rushmore and our campground. We are NOT in love with the campground (a KOA). Our campsite is RIGHT on the the crossroads---so the car noise (think big trucks and campers) is pretty loud. Needless to say we are up bright and early at 7:23 (6:23 here).
We drove by Mount Rushmore--so the pictures here are of Mt. Rushmore as we sped by.
Jason is in line as I type for tickets to get on the bus and ride it to see the fireworks. He's been there since 4:30 am!!! I'm guessing since we haven't seen him that he got a good spot in line!

Contest

One of the ways we passed the time through South Dakota was to count the number of Wall Drug signs we saw. We each picked a number and the prize was $20. Ben won!!!!!
So...we would like to challenge you---how many Wall Drug signs do you think there are from the Minnesota border to Wall, SD?
The person with the closest guest will win a prize (not $20 but a prize none the less)
Leave your guess in the comment section.

Good Luck!!!

ON THE ROAD

I got a little bored in the car!!

Sam sleeping with his new pillow from Grandma Jan.

So we're a little corny:)

The boys at the first South Dakota rest area.

Way too early this morning! As we were leaving town.

We got up early this morning (even though Jason and I were EXHAUSTED) and got ready to head to South Dakota.
We stopped about a million times to use the bathroom. The good news is that Sam stayed dry the whole way here!
We are staying the night in Mitchell, South Dakota home of the Corn Palace (or the castle as Sam calls it).
We are getting up early tomorrow am to head to Wall Drug and then on to Mt. Rushmore.
Hopefully the boys will go to sleep so Jason and I can rest!!!

Aelia and Beth come to visit

On Friday, Aelia and Beth Russell came to visit. They are in town, from Maine, visiting Beth's parents. Aelia is just ADORABLE!!! It was so good to sit and talk to Beth and compare mothering stories:) For some reason, I don't have a picture of Beth but here is one of Sam and Aelia.