Fall Colors at Roughlock

We spent a perfect fall Sunday afternoon touring the Hills to see the fall colors. We were actually surprised to see 50% still green?! Must have been the unusually wet summer? Many aspen trees had turned a lovely shade of yellow... there were many lovely reds in the bushes and vines... and of course the evergreen Spruce and pine. The area around Roughlock Falls was even nicer than previous years, having been added as an official SD State Park. A lot of money was spent improving the walking areas... increasing the viewing areas of the falls, but also protecting the natural area by creating walkways.

The following pictures speak for themselves!!
A small branch of scrub oak... some of the few orange-red colors out so far.

Looking down over the "big" waterfall area.

Daddy and Liv looking down at the creek. She mostly wanted to climb up the railing... not sure where she thought she would go after that??

Looking down into the canyon, the photo barely picks up the large moss covered boulders at the bottom. I remember wading through this water fall in August one year (1995??)... it was freezing then! Imagine how cold it would be now!

Anika was warm enough as long as she kept moving!
These red bushes were really lovely, and many had small white berries on them. Does anyone know the variety?

Looking up at the water fall from a lower area.
Grandpa had to help keep track of Liv... she was pretty busy wanting to get to the water!
This caterpillar was eating away... he'd better hurry if he wants to have wings before the frost arrives!

Anika said...

Hunter was goofing around with Anika and Thor on the ride home and said,
"Don't mess with me boy, I know karate."

Anika replied,
"Don't mess with ME boy, I know ballet!"


At school, eating lunch:
"I love Kyle. Kyle loves me. So we are going to get married."
Mom's eyebrows raise up.
"Well, not NOW, when we grow up."
What it it with being obsessed with getting married??

Happy Birthday to Me!

Thanks Mom Morrison and Grandma Berg! I got a gift of money from Dirk's mother and grandmother... so I took a RARE Friday mid-day to check out the mall and Kohls. I really hit the bargins... so I must have been shopping on the RIGHT day! I got a dress at Herbies for $12; the fall table runner at Kohl's for $9.99 and the Yankee Candle, Pumpkin Spice scent for $12! I was so excited I couldn't wait to get home and set out a few of our fall decorations!

A late summer bouquet with the aspen log candle holder....

My pheasant feather balls (actually Christmas tree ornaments... I just couldn't resist the great fall colors!

And my new "favorite thing"... LED tea lights. They run on a very small battery... because they are LED the little "light bulb" lasts forever... It says 6000 hours?? How long in days is that anyway??


I need to back-track a little in our family current events... I missed sharing the activities of our Labor Day camp out... It was a lovely weekend up at Mystic Hills, near Custer Peak. We took the kids over to the Boondocks to let them have 1 ride each and 1 carnival game each. This is Anika going on her first roller coaster ride!

This picture of Thor is "mid-ride"... might explain the funny face of his friend John, sitting next to him!

Here is Anika's attempt at modern photography... a close-up of dad/Dirk...


Liv just after her bath/shower (not her favorite part of camping) all dressed in her first footie pajamas... ready for bed!

Last but not least, I have to remember our last ATV ride into the Hills, We headed out just after an early-ish supper, for a sunset ride to the top of Custer Peak, hoping to see the sun set as we rode back down the hill. About 1/2 hour into the ride, we came across a heard of black angus cattle grazing. Just after we passed the last few stray cows/calves I noticed a brown body, just on the other side of a tree, about 20 yards off the path we were driving on. I thought... "hmm, that isn't a cow... it's too big to be a deer... could it be an elk?"

It certainly WAS!! and there we at least 2 more elk with him. It was incredible!! Words could almost not express our joy and surprise... we've tried to be in the right places at the right times... and finally, we saw them ... in the wild! I wish I could say these photos were of those elk... but these are the elk we saw the next weekend out at Bear Country (thanks to our season pass, we go regularly, just for fun!).

This week we are looking forward to the 2nd half of Thor's braces being put in (oh joy!) ... more shopping for me to find a dress appropriate for Bethany's wedding!

First Day of School...

Yes, it finally arrived... The FIRST day of school, especially SPECIAL for Anika, as it was her first day of ANY school -- going to Kindergarten!! It was a fun day for all of us!

We started out the morning with all the kids waking up early... Always a good sign right? Breakfast was eaten, cold lunches pack and teeth brushed (a new more involved process for Thor with his new braces!) we headed out the door. We stopped by the front door of school for a couple of quick photos... then into the building to drop off our lunch boxes in the kitchen/fridge. Next we arrived in Thor's room. You can tell his 3rd Grade class was "old" kids... the room was busy, but mostly quiet and productive. The kids found their "lockers" immediately, as well as their new desks!! This is the fist year for a true desk for Thor, the younger kids sit at tables in small groups.
It took about 60 seconds for Thor to get settled in... he didn't even say good-bye, just looked up and waved us on...

Anika and I continued to her new room - Kindergarten #2. There are 2 K classes, each with 18 students... so a busy hallway! Anika also found her cubby (locker) and assigned chair at her table.
She noticed a coloring sheet ready at her seat, so went back to her backpack to get her color crayons. She pulled out a set I knew wasn't hers, so I stopped her and we looked closer at the box. It was marked "Gretchen"... I said, "these are not your crayons, where did you get these?" Anika said they were in her backpack. We turned around to check it out... and what do you know, but the girl with the cubby right next to hers, whose name is Gretchen, has the EXACT same backpack!!


Anika was having fun, and happy to see the only other person she knew coming into school, a boy she knows from MOPS, was seated right next to her.
She and Kyle visited as they colored... soon it was time to line up for chapel.

Liv and I stayed for Chapel - a good, but short message from the Sr. Pastor of the church... then one more round of hugs and kisses for Thor and Anika, we were out the door! Most of my friends asked if I was sad to see Anika go to K... hard to watch her grow up and move on... but I have to honestly say it was so much fun to see her ready for the next step in life.

I have so many friends who have struggled with being able to have their own children, or as many kids as they would LIKE to have... as well as friends who have children with special needs, even disabilities. For so many of them, they way "family" has worked out in their life is not what they imagined. I am extremely happy and blessed every day to watch my children do the AVERAGE things they are supposed to be doing at each stage of life. I rejoice with Anika as she gets to start on this new adventure. Anika was so excited to start school... she is certainly "ready" academically, emotionally and socially (hope the teacher knows good techniques for getting little girls to STOP talking!!). How could I ask for anything more? I would have enjoyed spending more time at home with Anika, if it was the best thing for her, or for our family... as well as Thor. But we know this is the best place for them to be at this season in life.

So... that was our first day of school for this year. Even Liv is OK at home with just me today. She is playing in her room now, making no complaints about getting to play with whatever she wants... and not having Anika around to boss her!! (just a little kidding!)

It was an incredibly fun summer... and we still have one more camping trip planned for the holiday weekend -- up to Mystic Hills for more 4-wheeling. I am enjoying a little more peace of mind during the day-time hours... spending a little more quality time with Liv, one-on-one... and being able to get the chores done around the house without 20 interruptions... In another month I'll probably be ready for the kids to stay home for a week, so we can play and have fun again!

Wagons RIDE!

My Uncle Bill called (my mom) last week to let us know he was coming West with the Ft. Pierre/Deadwood Wagon Train. We had been hearing a lot about the historic "trek" across the SD prairie and hills... but hadn't realized the final day was Friday... ending in a parade through Deadwood at noon.

Grandparents, kids and myself packed the car and hit the highway travelling 75 miles an hour to the festivities! A bit faster than the group travelling 3 1/2 miles and hour with horses and wagons!! If you ever read (and loved!!) the Little House on the Prairie series... this is right up your alley! I thought it would be a good history lesson for the kids too. It would have been a better lesson if they had actually ridden on the trail... but I think Thor understood when I said it took them more than 2 weeks to get here from Pierre... (it usually takes us 3 1/2 - 4 hours by car!). Liv sitting and waiting for the train to arrive.


We ate our picnic lunch while waiting for the train to pull into Deadwood. There were plenty of other's waiting with us... according to the papers, hundreds of people lined the streets. Then we saw them coming... what a picture of mixed up centuries!! Two police cars with flashing lights... cars going out of town, and a Wagon Train (mostly authentically 1800's) coming down the hill into town!


We didn't count, but according to the RC Journal there were approximately 300 people involved, riding or supporting, the wagons, stagecoaches, single riders, etc. This is my uncle Bill riding "shotgun" (actually with a rifle, "guarding" the coach.


Here are some more pictures I uploaded from various websites and newspaper sites...

On the trail in the prairies...


Following I-90 as they leave Sturgis/Ft. Meade area...


A mule-wagon sometime between 1874-1908, from the original Ft. Pierre/Deadwood trail.

Farmer's Market

OK -- this is officially NOT an add for the Black Hills Farmer's Market... and I probably have officially turned into a "city girl" ... (not growing my own, but paying premium prices for home-grown produce).... But it makes me happy... so this is what you get for today!



The kids and I got ready early this morning to make it to Farmer's Market by 9:00 a.m. The sign says they are "open" at 10:00a.m. But another sign says absolutely no sales before 9:00 a.m. A little confusing? We got there at 8:55 a.m. and saw plenty of people lining up at the booth of choice (mostly around the tomatoes). They had their produce in hand, waiting to pay. Not sure what time THEY got there? Seems a little "cut-throat" to me? I'm not used to fighting people over tomatoes. But now that I've tasted one of these... I might be a bit more aggressive in the future.

After last week, I have to limit my shopping to a lone $20 bill in my pocket (plus a little change from my coin purse to pad if necessary). I'm not sure how it happened, but last week I purchased 1 single chicken (Hutterite) for $14.75. I guess the sign that said "Chickens, $2.75 per pound didn't add up to $14.75 in my mind for a 3-4 pound chicken... but the big lug was actually almost 5 pounds... which explains the crazy price of $15 for a chicken! They are really good chickens, but when you buy them from the Hutterites directly, it's more like $7 per chicken. I think I'll stick to that plan for the next chicken. Now I just have to travel east river to find the Hutterite colony!?

Jeannie asked me today what $20 will get you at the market? So, here is how I spent my farmer's market allowance...
Brown Eggs: $3.50
Raspberries: $4.00 (no picture, we already ate them all)
Purple Bell Pepper: $.80
Red Bell Peppers: $1.00
Carrots: $2.00
Cucumbers $1.00
Tomato (HUGE!) $2.25
Beets: $2.00
Chocolate Chip Cookies: $4.00 (also no picture -- yes we ate them too)


Afterward we joined the MOPS moms at Sioux Park -- Liv had a great time wandering and playing. Not sure what she is crying about here? She's not one to sit by mom and look cute (like another sibling we won't mention). It was a lovely morning all around, but now I'm happy to be home in our cool house.

smiles and have a great day!

love my new book

We tried something new this week... the Public Library in Piedmont! With gas prices looking "cheap" at $3.79 our most important summer plan was to conserving gasoline. We are limiting our trips into Rapid City to two days a week, usually Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's been going fine, and the kids have actually found more things at home to be occupied with (adding one small investment on mom's part -- a baby pool for $15)... and neighborhood friends have helped a little too.

Anyway -- the point being... we've been looking for things that are very local (Piedmont, Stagebarn Neighborhood, Summerset, etc.) to entertain us on occasion... and the Library turned out to be a big HIT! They have story time on Thursdays at 10a.m.

I even found a book to read for myself... "French Women Don't Get Fat" It might sound like a diet plan, like the other hundred-and-one diet books out there... but really this has been a great summer read for me. The author grew up in France, moved to the USA, gained 25 pounds... then went back to traditional French principles to get back to her "normal" weight... All while enjoying the high culinary standards of her home culture.

The thing I love most about the book so far is re-training myself to enjoy REAL foods (not processed junk) with full flavor -- sometime meaning full-fat -- but to keep them in moderation. An inch-by-inch piece of very good chocolate is better than a whole box of cheap chocolate.

I've known these principles most of my life... but frankly sometimes I just get too lazy to keep up with them... and kids tend to be a good excuse to "dumb down" the food quality.

This week we made our first trip to the Farmer's Market -- and supper was 95% what we bought from the stands... all locally grown... all organic or nearly.... and all FRESH!! We made BLTs tonight with the most incredible tomato I have ever tasted!! I don't usually like tomatoes plain... but this one was WOW!! (I can highly recommend an heirloom variety for anyone out there shopping!!)

Tomorrow we are having fresh raspberries with yogurt and pancakes!! Can't wait!
smiles
N