No Snow

We thought that last night would bring the first snowfall of the season, but no such luck. The temps dipped below freezing for the first time, but we woke up to sunshine and green grass. It'll be cold today, but the forecast calls for the 70's through the weekend. We want snow!!!

Dane, oh Dane

Some tidbits from the trip - it occurred to me that each day included some special and unpleasant event for Dane. Poor guy - he's so fun and bright, but I think the stars were aligned to dish him out some H - E - double hockey stix.

Our first day, after Rushmore, we spent some time at this park to give his highness, Davis, some time to snooze in the car before the next attraction. It was a pretty area, centered around a small lake, with a bridge out to a gazebo on an island. The kids burned some energy running around, and where did they play? Right at the water's edge, of course. And what should occur while Dane is traversing the slimy, bird poopy covered rocks? He falls in, of course. Shoes, socks, pants, underwear, half of his shirt - SOAKED! And with our hotel roughly 17 miles away, we had three choices: 1. Stay soaked and stink. 2. Wear his buddy Sam's pants from the day before that had been peed in. or 3. Find the nearest Walmart or Target and get some new duds.
What did we do?
We hit up the Walmart in Rapid City - hands down the busiest Walmart I have EVER seen. It was like the center of the universe. Everyone was gravitating there and everything revolved around the action. Well I made it out safely with some sweet $3.50 pants, some clearance shoes and some Star Wars undies. Dane was kicking it South Dakota style and lookin' FINE! Here's his new outfit. (not the hoodie) He managed to survive the rest of the day incident free.

The next morning we visited a crystal cave and had a good time going down, down, down and seeing the sights. The boys were a little nervous at first, but nobody fell . . . that is until after we safely exited the caves and the kids were playing on some stone steps near the picnic area. Dane fell down a couple steps and we heard that ugly THUD you hear when a big human noggin hits a too hard surface (cringe). He was a mess and I wish I'd gotten some pictures of his injury - especially a day or two later when it was all scabby and the bruises were at their height of color. Yuck. Well, he was fine - but he slowed down a bit after that. Here he is a mere 20 minutes beforehand, exploring a little side cave with a flashlight.

*Incidentally, when I snapped this shot I was in complete darkness. I took the picture and was amazed at what I couldn't see. I had hit my head a couple of steps before because of course the kids wanted to carry the flashlights.

You may not know, but motion sickness runs strong on both sides of our family and Dane is severely afflicted. He's just like his Daddy. So on the last day when we took a scenic drive on the Wildlife Loop through Custer State Park, it was no surprise that Dane got a little green. We were listening to the Beatles, ironically, and really feeling the lyrics "The long and winding road . . ." when Dane (already prepped with a puke bucket) opened the flood gates. He felt better, but we had to hold on to that puke for WAY too long. I think the buffalo smelled it on his breath and wanted a closer whiff. They got pretty friendly.

But despite all his haps, Dane had a good time and said his favorite part was the Chuckwagon dinner where he rode the pony. He's lucky he didn't get thrown off into a pile of yuck. Aaahhh, I love that little guy.

Rushmore

Okay, be prepared for picture overkill. I took a bizillion pictures from a million different angles, but only posted some - and it's still too many. I just didn't feel like doing a slide show this time.

So Mt. Rushmore was amazing. The scale and scope of the whole thing was unreal. It was our first time there and we were really impressed with it. The memorial is in the Black Hills of South Dakota, about 20 minutes south of Rapid City (a bustling metropolis). The granite is abundant all over the area (it looks just like the granite used in SLC at the temple and conference center) and we discovered that the hills are really like giant geodes because they're all full of crystal caves! (I think I read that 68 of the world's 72 calcite caves are in the Black Hills. ) So we also visited a cave and I'll have to post those pictures later.

Anyway, the clever folks who take care of the area went to great lengths to enable visitors to have some pretty cool views of the mountain from the roads leading to it, especially Ironman Road. We went through 4 tunnels that perfectly framed Mt. Rushmore as you entered them. The whole thing was pretty cool. Here's a view through the trees from the same road on a turn.

It was pretty sunny so the lighting was tough, but you get the idea.

It was interesting to learn why they chose this spot - it had a large expanse of granite, mostly flat, and it faced into the path of the sun. It was very visible.

This is a shot of the valley that the mountain looks down on. Low rolling hills and meadows.

This is a shot from the visitor's center. Good idea of scale.

Here are Darren and Marc (his dental partner) hefting the stroller down some stairs. There's a trail you can take to get some closer views.

Here are our boys and two of Marc and Deb's girls, Ashley and Courtney. Of course, none of them are looking at the camera. BTW - Dalton slipped into his cowboy mode. It all goes back to the Rennaker farm, but it came on REAL strong earlier this summer when we spent about 8 days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Uncle Lee got him this sweet cowboy hat.

An up the nose shot - just to emphasize the undulating surface.

President Lincoln all by his lonesome, as seen from the trail.

Good Ol' George as seen through a crevice in some rocks at the base of the trail. He has such grandeur.

Their prominence in the rock face actually gives them more prominence period.

All four gentleman as seen from the viewing terrace. Classic, right? The pile of rubble at the base is interesting - from the blasting.

The entrance to the memorial is flanked on both sides by all 50 state flags. It was pretty cool.

So patriotic.

Hard to see, but this is Darren, Marc, and the kids at the entrance - just to give an idea of scale.

It was a fun trip and we were surprised at how much the surrounding area offers. Maybe I'll post some pics of the other stuff we did, but for now I think this is plenty.

Off We Go!

Headed with the Cannons to Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota! Pictures when we return.

Smitty Romney

Smith is Dane's new best friend. He lives right across the street and they're in our ward. The boys also go to preschool together. (His mom also went to high school in TULSA! Small world, eh?) Well, Dane and Smith hit it off right away and I've never seen him play like this with anyone except his cousin Benjamin. They are inseparable from morning until dinner time every day. They play elaborately imaginative games with their legos, communicating details of their adventures as though communicating by telepathy. They're totally in their own world.

Well, yesterday was cute little Smith's birthday. And yesterday we found out that his fun family is definitely moving to guess where . . . LOS ANGELES!!!

We are just switching places. Stinks for us, but I guess I am happy for them. Lots of you that I love are still in LA, so I guess we'll have to arrange blind couple dates so you can all be friends.

I just don't know how I'll tell little Dane. He was at the door at 6:30 this morning, dressed and heading to the Romney's before I could stop him.

September 11th

I haven't read any blogs or watched the news today, so I haven't felt inundated with reminders about 9/11. I've just been doing my little family thing and been thinking about how I felt that morning and thinking about how we were all affected by that day. Considering this is an election year - and there is no incumbent favorite, the polls are pretty split, and the climate is tense - a reminder about how unified we can be is so refreshing. It makes a sad commentary about our society that it takes a national threat to bring us together as Americans, and more fundamentally - as humans. I don't want to sound like an endlessly forwarded cheesy, but I hope I never forget that day. I don't mean the horror and terror and devastation, but I mean the compassion it inspired, the love for my unknown brother, the desire to reach out to help and give. Those feelings are usually strong for those in our immediate influence, but not always for those outside. Okay, enough soapboxing.

Croak

R.I.P.

Freddie the Frog

Freddie the Frog

Hi, my name is Stacie and I am not a pet-lover.

This may seem cold-hearted, (I have no problem with other people's pets - I really loved our old neighbor's dog Riley - I just don't really want one in my house until my kids can take better care of themselves) but it’s not personal – it’s completely practical and logical.

Practicality:

I am allergic to cats and most dogs. This means that I don’t enjoy the consequences of most animal encounters, so I avoid them.

Logic:

Animals = mess, mess = enemy, therefore animals = enemy. (it's an occupational hazard as a mom/housekeeper to have a desire to eradicate the source of a mess; I can't get rid of my kids, but . . . you see where I'm going)

Darren's with me on this, too. Growing up on a farm has made him see animals as functional - they all had a purpose (cats kill mice, cows give milk, chickens give eggs, whatever), plus you can't get attached when the animals die at regular intervals. (Some day I'll recount our experience when we were visiting the farm and they slaughtered a cow. ) Anyhoo, my non-animal-lover status coupled with Darren's functional view of animals (companionship isn't enough; they have to pull some weight) leads to circumstances rather unfriendly for pets in our house. I guess we're just plain old meanies.

I only explain this because I think my anti-pet sentiments have created a frenzied pro-pet environment . Perhaps our attempts to postpone the acquisition of a family pet have caused our children to exhibit such enthusiasm around little animals that it's possibly dangerous. And that brings us to this:

Our cute little neighbor boy, Smith - Dane's partner in crime, went on a walk and found a frog. His cute family left town this weekend and let us care for the frog while they were gone. The boys were, needless to say, THRILLED! Darren was not. He was mandating the application of toxic levels of hand sanitizer at every turn, but the boys didn't care. They manhandled that thing constantly, obviously putting him on a motorcycle and a little car and dancing him around all over like the performing frog from the old school Looney Tunes.

I just knew he was gonna croak (hee hee) from the overload, but he's still hoppin'. They christened him "Freddie the Frog"and they're gorging themselves on the fun of having a pet. Truthfully, I can tell they adore this little frog, but they treat it like a toy not a living thing - and that's a wee bit scary. I've given them the countdown. We're releasing him for FHE tomorrow night. Hopefully he'll still be alive amd can return to his family!

Please don't report us to PETA.

TEEF

This just in - 2 HUGE FRONT TEETH!!!

After months of drooling anticipation and sleepless nights, the stars of Davis's mouth have appeared center stage. Their arrival was greeted by an anxious gum exam from Dr. Dad, who promplty prounounced that the chewing show could begin! Applause erupted around the house from nearby family members, eager to see the end of not only the cranky nights - but also the beginning of a whole new world of cuisine for the baby. Immediately following the grand entrance, the central incisors got right to work - creating a beautiful cacophony by grinding heavily on their lower jawed counterparts. All are eager for what lies ahead for these lovely dientes.

Oh Ace!

Okay, don't laugh - and just pause a minute before you think "Whuh? why is this doof front and center?"

Let me explain . . .


Dalton (shortly after returning from school the other day): "Guess who my music teacher's son is?"
Me (rather uninterested and distracted due to my service as a jungle gym for Davis and fielding snack requests from Dane): "Uhm, who?"
Dalton (ecstatically, complete with hand gestures and high eyebrows): "ACE YOUNG!"
Me (thinking fast - trying to remember who the heck that is and why it sounds vaguely familiar): Really? Cool!
Dalton (rather quietly): "Um, who's Ace Young?"
Me (after retrieving a file from my brain labeled "useless tidbits lifted from past reality tv shows" ): He was a guy on a show called American Idol; he's a singer.

Dalton sees the guy's pictures all over his music room - a veritable shrine to Mrs. Young's son - she's so proud! It reminds me of when Dalton found out what his name meant and rejected it completely, insisting instead on being called "Ace". I guess he can give up that dream since the name is clearly taken. Too bad.