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Wordless Wednesday 03/10/2010

Summer Vacation 2008

We set out on vacation August 10th 2008. Beth's grandmother blessed our family with a trip to visit her sister, Jennifer, in South Dakota. Jennifer's 4th baby arrived in June (early), so most of our family headed to see baby Lucy and the rest of her marvelous family.

I really didn't realize that my sister lived in such a beautiful place. I guess I just pictured her being snowed in all the time. lol.

The picture to the right here is obviously our family at Mt. Rushmore. There is very little you can do at this rock other than marvel at it's magnificent craftsmanship. Nonetheless the children found many things to do... Like trying to climb where it says "No Climbing", or playing tag on the trails, trying not to knock over visitors along the way. With 10 children it is not easy to keep them from being kids, even if it is at a national monument.

Fun Fact: 90% of Mt. Rushmore was created using dynamite!!! The other 10% was the finishing touches. Also, no one was critically injured in the making of Mt. Rushmore. Amazing considering it was done with so many explosives!

For those of you visiting the Badlands with children.... Pack lots of water and be prepared to carry a straggler or two. Jarod, being very funny and dramatic in nature, dropped down on the trail and exclaimed, "Go on, just leave me."

Grandpa with all his grandkids...

Sisters! Yes. Our husbands are wonderful men of which there would be none of our beautiful children without them, however Kraig was working today. We thought it would be fun to get a photo of us sisters with our wonderful children. All 10!!

So thanks for sitting this one out Chad and Jim.

Education in the Garden

We are so thankful for warmer weather. This winter was a hard one to get through. It is far greater to educate out of doors than behind them. The kids are excited to be growing fruits and vegetables in our garden. It is definitely full of great learning opportunities.

We crafted 4 raised beds a couple years ago, and this year we brought in fresh soil (mixture of mushroom compost and topsoil) to yield a good crop. The kids all helped to till and weed the garden in preparation. Their job is to help in planning out the garden. They read up on spacing and assisted in the selection of seeds and plants. Their job after preparation and planting is to remove weeds, water when needed and harvest when the plants are ready (the strawberries don't make it into the house).

This years crop includes a Strawberry Patch, Rows of Green Beans, Summer Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Watermelon, Tomatoes, Grape Tomatoes, Green Peppers, Peas, Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach and Romaine! We're not too fond of the Romaine selection we've picked, and the corn does not seem to be doing all that well in the clay soil. Everything else is appearing to be a success so far. We're really hoping the corn improves. It was a long 8 hours that we spent prepping and planting somewhere around 800 seeds!

Here's some pictures of the families hard work.