Adrik, Jantzen and I left at the end of June to go to South Dakota and Nebraska for almost two weeks. We stopped in Livingston on the way to Rapid City and had lunch with my Aunt Judy--Adrik is still talking about the "cool, star-shaped peanut butter sandwich" that she made for him!! We also saw my cousing Jennifer when we stopped for dinner in Billings. She offered to let us stay with her, but I decided the boys could easily do another hour and a half in the car to Sheridan. Little did I know that the hotels in Sheridan were all full, as were the hotels in Buffalo. It was midnight by the time we got to Gillette, where Keil had called ahead and saved us a room. We had the same thing happen to us in Boise in the middle of June because of asoccer tournament; you'd think I'd have learned my lesson about reservations!
When we got to Rapid City, we got in the motor home with my parents and drove to Aberdeen, SD. My grandpa and his wife, Gerry, live there so we spent 3 days "camping" and visiting relatives. My great-aunts hosted a big family reunion picnic in honor of the fact that we were there (Almost all of the other cousins live there) There was over 80 people at the picnic! It was a good time. Here are some pictures from that weekend.
The kids LOVE riding in the motor home. Grandma and Grandpa know how to spoil them (and keep them all quiet!!)---just give them each their own tv and movie!
"Camping" We weren't exactly 'roughing' it!!
Adrik and Jantz with Great Grandpa Dialo
Four Generations: (l-r, starting in back: Me, Dad, Jantz on Grandpa's lap, Adrik, Matte on Gerry's lap)
4th of July was at my parent's house, with Amanda and Jonas there too.
Here's Manda, Adrik and Matte letting the confetti fly!
Matte was having just a little bit of fun.
Adrik had some fun, too.
Jantz, however, did not like the fire or the noise. He cried most of the night, except when we broke out the poppers. He loved throwing and stepping on those!
Then we were off to Nebraska. We bought Adrik a preschool digital camera, and many of our pictures from Nebraska are on his camera! I was busy trying to make sure he was taking "good" pictures, and didn't get any of my own snapped! I still need to load the software for his camera and then I'll upload some of his pictures. He's actually doing a pretty good job!! We had a good time with Grandma and Grandpa Fisher. We went out to Fort Rob and got to pet horses and see the stage coach. We also went to the museum and saw the mammoth fossils. Adrik thought that was great, and taught grandma and I all about the animals whose bones we were seeing. The weekend of the 7 & 8th of July was my 10-year class reunion in Chadron. It was a lot of fun getting to see all of my classmates and their families! This picture was taken Friday night at a picnic in the park. On the left is my friend Sara, then me, and then my friend Lori. Don't ask, because I'm not exactly sure what happened to my hair between the time I left the house and the time this picture was taken. LOL
Our class also had a float in the parade. Adrik and Jantz thought it was pretty cool to watch mommy in the parade! I'm 3rd from the left of people facing the camera.
When we finally returned home, we had a big week of Bible School starting the next day. Adrik attended with the PK 4 class, and I taught the games for the preschool kids. What a challenge! The week was, shall we say, slightly chaotic. I think everyone had a great time though. Jantz hung out most of the week with our sweet, sweet neighbor girls and had a blast. On Friday of that week, a good friend and I left for her cabin at Sun Valley. Her son was in Adrik's preschool class and the two of them are the best of friends! We spent the weekend cooking and cleaning as hostesses for the boys' preschool teacher and her family. The weekend at the cabin was the class gift to her in honor of her 20th year of teaching. There were 6 adults and 7 children there (not counting Dana and I) and we planned some VERY nice meals! It was a LOT of work, but I know that Marie and her family appreciated it!
This picture was taken sometime in the middle of July. Whaddya know---Jantz does have some Schmidt blood in him!! LOL Grandpa Schmidt or Great Grandpa Dialo must have taught him this--eating peanut butter straight out of the jar!
About a week or so ago we spent the afternoon at the American Falls Reservoir with the Gassetts. The kids had lots of fun on the beach, but it was HOT! Mandie and I had the kids practically bathing in sunscreen, but somehow both she and I ended up sunburned. Go figure!
Last weekend, Keil and the boys and I tried to escape the heat by heading up to Scout Mountain. Scout sits right at the southern edge of the city, so it's only about a 20 minute drive and is a favorite camping spot with the boys. We didn't camp, but we did have a great water fight! Here's some pictures.
Daddy and Jantz loading their water guns.
Mommy and Adrik battling it out.
"Watch out, Daddy!"
"I'm going to get you too, Dad!" (You can see the water droplets on the camera lens!)
Here's a goofy self-portrait of Keil and I. We decided that IF we ever take a picture like this again, Keil should be the one holding the camera! As it is, his face looks about twice the size of mine, and it's really not!! LOL
My parents had one of those goofy "Billy Big Mouth Bass" things, and let the boys bring it home with us. Jantz just LOVES to push the button and dance to it. Here's a video.
And, finally at the end of the month there was some bad news. We spent most of last weekend (except for the trip to Scout Mountain, which was really planned as an attempt at distraction) clicking the 'refresh' button on the Chadron radio station's website and fielding phone calls from upset friends. Last Friday night, Chadron came very close to going up in flames. A wildfire started south of town and quickly advanced toward town. It came right down the front of 'C' Hill which sits at the southern edge of town, right on the back border of the college campus. Two of my highschool classmates families lost their homes to the fire. Half of the town was evacuated, and even from 700 miles away, it was a very scary situation. Our hearts go out to the community of Chadron, and especially to the Miskimins and Hagman families. The stories of the heroic firefighters battling the blazes are incredible and very moving. Many thanks go out to them! Here are some pictures from the fire and the following devastation.
This is the eeriest picture. The building in the middle is the highrise dorm where I lived while attending college.
This is from north of town, looking south.
This picture is from west of town, looking south east. This is one takes my breath away!
After, looking south down Main Street at 'C' Hill.
A closer one of 'C' Hill.
And these were taken from the air. This first one is from the north, looking south toward town and beyond. You can see how close the fire came to the edge of town.
This is closer up of the college campus. The fire burned right to the edges of the football practice fields. It has been said that the fact that the sprinkler were running on the field is what saved the town.
And finally, this is the Hidden Valley loop, directly behind 'C' hill. Three homes were lost in this neighborhood.
That was our month of July. Hopefully I'll be better about updating more often in August!
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