I am a paleontologist

We decided to enjoy some local fun today.

If you know much of anything about the Black Hills, you know our area is rich in history – dinosaur history! The Boy loves the “Dinosaur Museum” in our town. So today we took him to see another. This one has been around for a long time and is on the campus of Josh’s Alma Mater – South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Wait, check that. They’re trying to be just “School of Mines” now. (That’s fine. That leaves MY Alma Mater as Da Tech.)

Back to the business at hand. On campus is the Museum of Geology.

Manny! Sorry to see you this way…

There are also a variety of fun historic fossils and rocks and bits gathered from around the world. All of which kept the littles entertained.

Or at least they tried. “Nigh-nigh!” Yea, someone missed her afternoon nap.

The artwork kept the “adults” entertained.

Dude! My head!

Josh was happy – his favoritist display from his youth was still there. (I told you this place has been around for a long time! *snerk*)

They appear to be a number of unassuming rocks. In a rather dark room. Until…

Oooo! Magic!

We colored a few stencils for the Boy. The girl ran around and created a ruckus. We even managed to leave the gift shop without spending a penny and without any fight about it. Good thing too. Because the rest of our trip to the Big City was spent visiting Big Blue and Maynerds. Yup. Spring might just be on it’s way, so it’s time to get to work on some projects. Some wood to finish off the mudroom project. Some lattice to cover the bottom of the porch. Trim pieces to cover the posts on the porch. Some fasteners to fix our dining room chairs (the screws don’t want to stay after the recover project). Wire fencing for my garden gates to keep the !)@*# deer out. Oh and some sonic spikes for the pocket gophers. Yes, landscaping is the order of the day (summer). Also on the list: a sandbox for the Boy and fixing the swingset that took a tumble in an early storm.

And before I forget – a wonderful song for you (and your kids) to enjoy! Caution – it’s addicting and you will likely catch yourself singing it at odd times.

Hoppy Saturday!

Another update of the frames for you. This one took a bit longer than the last few. Probably because there were so many cool options out there.

So what did I end up with?

1. From the Girls at eighteen25 again. Love their Subway art.

2. From the Graphics Fairy. She also has blue and purple

3. This one’s all me.

Hope you have a happy weekend!

Road Trip – The End

Can you believe it? Our 11 day trip is coming to a close.

Saturday I once again sneaked a workout in first thing in the morning. Hey, after all that food? I needed it. Of course I spoiled it all with a trip to Starbucks on the way back to Quentin’s. But that was worth it too.

The plan for Saturday was quite simple: enjoy time with our family and then hit the road. Also, take many photos of the kids.

Here all 4 kids show off the pillow pets my Uncle gave them for Christmas.

One of my favorites from the whole trip. Reminds me of this one. Hard to believe that was only a year and a half ago.

Cuties with pillow pets on stairs.

Cuties on Miss A’s bed.

Our Rock Stars.

The delightful Miss E.

My brother and I both have one of these horses from when we were growing up. Mine is currently a step stool in the Boy’s room.

Grandma and her Grands.

Since the rest of the trip was spent driving, I’ll spare you the details except the following: we almost ran out of gas in Minnesota, we did make it to Sioux Falls Saturday night…but it was almost Sunday morning, the hotel in Sioux Falls was very uneventful and rather disappointing even after considering we were only there for less than 8 hours, we finally had our Shamrock shakes…in Rapid City on the way home. They are not as good as I remember from my childhood. In fact, it was rather gross and I’d rather make my own than do that again.

Josh’s parents came over to enjoy some quality time with two tired cranky kids on Sunday evening so I could go to tap class. And with that, our vacation has come to a close. It was a wonderful time and I’m so glad we had the chance to see so many of our friends and relatives.

And now, all my photos are processed and I just have to pick one for each day for my Project Life album. Ha. Hahahahaha. As if I could only pick one. I suspect I’ll be adding pages for that week.

Thanks for letting me use you though. I sure appreciated the push. : )