Gavins Point Dam: First Stop on our Journey

Last week was our trip to Little Town on the Prairie with stops at both Gavins Point and Sioux Falls.  We made what you might call a 'water tour' on our Laura trip.  Considering that the visit to the roaring water sites was my husbands' idea, I think that maybe it was his way to make this girly trip a little more palatable! 

Gavins Point Dam is the Natural Resources Districts flood control mechanism for the Missouri River near Yankton, SD.  Until this spring, it's not something I gave much thought to.  However, the fact that the river is flooding in Iowa and Nebraska due to the increase in water being released at Gavins Point, I've become more aware of its role. 

Driving through the rolling hills of Nebraska, we talked about how grateful we were that we made this trip in the comfort of our Honda mini-van with air conditioning and leather seats.  Sure beats a covered wagon!  However, I think any Pioneer mama would have been knitting away at a blanket just like me.  However, they just might not have had Fox News on the XM Radio and sounds of the girls' DVD player in the background.  If we had brought our old player with just one screen maybe that would have rivaled the pioneer trek.

Gavins Point Dam was awesome and the mighty power of water is absolutely amazing.  They are currently releasing 165,000 cubic feet of water a minute, surpassing any previous record.  Normal is about 30,000 cubic feet.  The Dam Road is currently closed due to the power of the release and we had to view the Dam from both the Nebraska and South Dakota side by traveling the long way around the city of Yankton. 

On the Nebraska side, there is an excellent Lewis and Clark and Gavins Point Museum with lots of hands on exhibits.  The girls loved dressing up in the gear of the Lewis and Clark era and Miss A was especially happy to drive the Steamboat.  I think she was hoping we could go down the river on a Steamboat! 

Because the Hydroelectric Power Plant is on the NE side, you can't get very close to the Water or the Dam, but the views from the Museums' overlook are amazing. We had a little picnic lunch before heading across the river to South Dakota to see the action up close.

Standing right up next to River, the water is spraying and misting so much its almost impossible to get a picture with steaming up the lens of the camera or your glasses.  The sound of crashing waves is LOUD and you can really appreciate the power of water.  Wow!

Witnessing up close the amount of water coming through this Dam, its understandable why it's flooding downstream.  We told the girls that hopefully they will never see this again in their lifetime. At least that is our prayer. 

Gavins Point Dam was an amazing start to a wonderful getaway!

Family Vacation: Going Seperate Ways

We were on a family vacation of sorts last week.  I say it loosely as we all went out of town, but we didn't really spend any of our time together.  Yes, we all still get along.  It just worked out for the girls to spend some quality time with grandparents while Mr C had some male bonding with his uncle while P and I went to a business meeting a few hours away.

Before you think I was at an exotic location soaking up the sunshine on a beach, you might as well know we were in a small town in Indiana. Great quality time spent in the car and over dinner at night, but too bad it couldn't have included a few sunsets with an ocean view.

We did have some great family bonding time before we left including having the kids learn how to make homemade ice cream the old fashioned way by hand cranking it out.  Who knew you could have a workout at the same time you are creating an ice cream taste treat.  Thank goodness we had our new muscle man around to finish the job.  Even if his sister did grab the paddle first for tasting!

My kids had a fabulous vacation.  The girls made memories that will last a lifetime; picking blueberries, making cookies wearing new aprons, and of course a few trips to the pool.  Miss A to keep her streak alive even made a hole in one at mini golf.  Miss M points out that even though she missed an ace, she won the round. 

The girls had some great stories about "birds" living at the pond, the perfect way to feed the hungry fish and how much ice cream they had.  According to Miss A, it's not a trip to visit B & B without a walk around the neighborhood to find golf balls. Grandparent spoiling is the best. 

Mr C had a great time sans sisters and was thrilled to show his aunt and uncle what life with a teenage boy is like.  I think they might have been shocked with the amount of food he can consume and how quickly he can get ready in the morning.  According to C, we've missed out on some of the best parts of Chicago, a park with a fantastic walking trail and canoeing down a quiet river. 

He even got to cross an item off his bucket list by eating a Chicago Dog on Navy Pier. What could be better? Guess you could say that walking around downtown Chi Town with some natives gives you access to great museums, people watching, and train rides.  A perfect adventure for this boy.

All in all, it was a perfect family vacation; memories with those we love, quiet time to read and knit for the mother, long conversations in the front seat, and lots of laughter in the car.

Staycation: Splash Time

 

When you've spent four days hanging out in the water at the Lake, what do you do on the final day of your Staycation?  Go to the Splash Pool of course!  Around these parts, summertime weather is short lived so you "make hay while the sun shines" at least that's what I told my waterlogged family.  In reality, I know that Mr C is outgrowing this outing and I wanted Miss A and Miss M to have one final trip there with the whole family. 

Top Five Things I Love About Splash Station

1. Watching Miss A go across the water obstacle course.  It's amazing to see how much upper body strength she has.  She made it all the way across, and gave me a double thumbs up to celebrate.  Gotta love this sporty girl.
2. Miss M loves water slides.  Her face as she comes down is priceless.  If I were a great photographer I would have a photo of it, but I'll never forget the look, it's seared in my mind.
3. Mr. C will do anything for food, and splash station thankfully has cheap food.  While everyone else had one snack, the pictures don't show C's second snack when the girls were off with Dad swimming.  Yep, a purple snow cone cup bought me an extra hour at the pool without complaints.
4. I went down the water slide and survived.  I love to swim, but I'll admit I can't see anything without my glasses on ; I'm blind (not really, but its a blurry world) so I don't normally get submerged.  The blessing of no sight going down the water slide, I can't get scared.
5. Everyone left happy, tired and ready for dry land.  We had a wonderful afternoon at the splash pool and made it back to our house just minutes before a big storm blew through. 

I think next summer the girls and I will plan on meeting some friends at the Splash Pool and we'll plan another excursion during our staycation at the Lake; I'm thinking of checking out some fossil beds nearby.  Isn't digging in dirt the way to a boy's heart?

Are We There Yet?

We just returned from a week at the Lake. It was fabulous! It was just what a vacation should be: relaxing, refreshing, filled with fun family memories, and a break from day to day life. Of course, no vacation would be complete if it did not involve a child saying, "are we there yet?" Considering that the Lake is only a half hour drive, we had our hopes, but to no avail. Such is a vacation with a family.


This year's stay-cation involved a Lake Party with friends from school, fishing off the boat in a cove, lunch at a "bar and grill" in town with Nana, and a trip to a Water Park.


Of course there were some new adventures as well including making homemade ice cream and dad taking us out tubing on the lake. Who knew Dad could drive the boat with a tow behind and drive fast, too. Miss A even decided that tubing is not so bad. However, she likes it best when Miss M is on the tube with her!


Miss A taught herself how to "surf." Bet you didn't know we could do that on a "no wake cove" in the middle of the country. She was thrilled when M and C pulled her behind the paddle boat. I loved it when she said in all sincerity, " I'm a good surfer. You know this is my first time surfing!"
Mr. C learned to drive the boat. During the week, there is very little boat traffic so my husband took the opportunity to teach C the ropes. He's a pretty good Captain according to Dad. Now the countdown to next summer when he's actually of age to drive the boat. Guess I might need to learn now too!


We played a few mean hands of UNO, had a rousing game of Scattergories, and had a ton of fun roasting marshmallows for S'mores. Jumped off the dock at least 500 times, flipped over the floaties and rafts maybe more and tried without success to catch a fish on our lines hanging off the end of the pier. Next weekend maybe the fish will be biting. Atleast that's what a fisherman would say.


If we could just teach these kids to sleep in a bit instead of waking up at the crack of dawn, it would be perfect. One can dare to dream!


We finished our Vacation with dinner out back at home. After that "long trip" back home, we didn't want to think about cooking. Mexican food was calling our names. However, we think my homemade salsa might just rival the one they served at Hectors'. OK, it's really Pioneer Woman's recipe, but I put the ingredients together and mix!


Vacations are great. Getting back to reality and the fact that school starts in two weeks; not so great!

We Know How to Have Fun

Miss A models one of her Birthday Dresses from Bestemor right before we head off in the minivan back home. There were tears following this moment. All three were wondering when the next time we'd see the Grands would be!

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There is an old wives, tale that says that after three days relatives and fish both begin to smell. We've either been blessed to have a poor sense of smell or some really great relatives because our annual trek to see the "grands" in Chicago resulted in nothing, but pleasant memories and senses filled homemade yummies and sunscreen.

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Bestemor only tried to have the grandkids killed once on the trip. Her good friend volunteered to take the kids on a golf cart ride to the nearby Ice Cream Parlor and drove at record speeds. According to Mr. C, she had the golf cart up to 22 miles an hour and Miss M is sure that her stomach is still reeling from the "cookies" they did in the circle. Miss A, of course, ever the daredevil was just thrilled to get to sit in the backseat with the big kids and feed the ducks at the lake. Oh, and the ice cream was "yummy" especially when eaten just minutes before dinnertime.

Backseat buckle specifically for grandkids-reaches all the way across.

We celebrated an early birthday.
Miss A will turn 6 in just a few short weeks. Cupcakes and Presents.

Dedicated a whole day to the letter "P" just like Sesame Street with Putt Putt, Park outings and Pool time. Dad even used to Pink Golf Ball to Golf! Go P.

Look who got a Hole in One on the first hole! She had another on the 3rd hole and was thrilled that she beat us all with the "highest score" for the day. Guess she still needs to work on her math skills or at least golf scoring. She was the only player that day in our group to get a hole in one though.

Dad and his "pink" ball. What a sport

Mr. C explains to the "girls" how to putt via the "pool method"

Pool Time. Miss A was thrilled to show off her Jellyfish and Starfish strokes to Bestefar.

There was a fabulous new park in the city. Miss M catching some shade.

The next day we Split up Girls/Boys and had makeovers and shopping trips or a visit to see tanks and ammo. You guess which group did which. Big Girl Cousins Really Rock!!

Boys and War Museums.

Miss M and Miss A got makeovers, fancy hair styles and got to try on their cousins "fancy dresses" A real treat and what a great memory. The pictures are too cute. Thanks L2.

Mom finally got to see the famous Wheaton Popcorn Shop and walk back in time with candy treats including Chuckles. Miss A made a hit with a wedding party and got their take home prize, a personalized pom pom, just for being cute.

Candy, Popcorn and a quaint small town, what more could you ask for in America?

Miss A was thrilled to have this Pom Pom... to add to her dress up collection.

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There were water balloon fights in the midst of Bestemor's Garden and tears upon leaving.

These girls look so innocent and sweet, but with water balloons in their hands they are deadly. Poor Mr. C still has some marks from their perfect aim. Don't fear Mr. C is quick and feisty too!

The Car Trip went much quicker with the License Plate Game. 36 States; not bad for never leaving the middle of the country. We were really only missing those "east coast small states" as Mr. C said and a few of those "southern states so far from Chicago they've probably never heard of Deep Dish Pizza."

Photographic Proof that Learning never ends, even on vacation!

Thanks to the Iowa Welcome Center, Mr. C can now identify Soybeans growing in a field. It is the one on the right. Not that he was confused by the huge corn rows in the past, but at least he won't think the "bean" fields are something he might find in his stir fry at a Chinese Restaurant! Who says kids don't learn anything all summer long!

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We even stopped at the Oasis (Gas Station) for Fun! We live where the roads are free, the taxes are just high rather than the roads fees are high and the gas stations are "up high."

All in all just what the doctor ordered for a summer vacation; sunshine, great company, fun memories and rest.

Vacation Re-entry

Lunch Time at Steak and Shake on the way home.... As if there wasn't enough closeness in the car, they decided to share a side of a booth and of course a Hershey's Dark Chocolate Shake.

We've just returned from a short vacation to the Windy City. There is laundry to do, housekeeping to attend to, and, of course, adjusting to being in charge of the daily schedule again.

Re-Entry into the world is tough. Vacations are worth the re-entry time, but I sometimes wish you could stay in "vacation" mode for awhile longer upon returning home. While I know it will be days before we are back in the "real" part, I'm just thrilled that we still have a few weeks left of summer vacation. Too often it seems that once we hit the 4th of July, summer is almost over. This year we are going to avoid back to school shopping and thinking about reality for as long as possible.

Like maybe the weekend before!

Today, Mr. C went to the Eye Doctor and when asked what grade he's entering in the fall, a lump formed in my throat when he said "8th Grade." Wait. Where is that little boy that used to live in our home? Five more years and we'll be packing him off to college.

I might have seen a glimpse of that little boy when the nurse put in the eye drops to dilate his eyes and Cameron was flinching and squirming just like he did at office visits years ago. However, the teenager returned when he put the sunglasses on to walk outside and asked us to warn him if we ran into anyone he knew. He'd be embarrassed to be wearing "old man sunglasses."

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures and stories and funny moments from our vacation, as soon as I figure out what to make for dinner with the few ingredients still in my fridge. I don't want to push re-entry too much by actually going to the grocery store. Too many people and choices.

Minnesota Part Two The Fun Continues

Visiting the Dock Behind Uncle K and Aunt L's Old House. Full of Memories for Mom and Uncle S so we just had to get a picture of "our kids" on that dock

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The girls in our family want to move to Minnesota. Miss A and Miss M are convinced that Minnesotans have more fun, better shopping, greener grass, prettier flowers, and of course, Mall of America. I think in their minds you could go to MOA every weekend to ride the rides, go to American Girl Doll and shop your hearts out!

Coming down the stairs at Stillwater

Hamburgers and Malts at Leo's Malt Shop in Stillwater

Cousins- We missed Cousin L who was back at home for her Prom. I think Mr. C and Cousin A drank a Chocolate Malt in her honor.

They are having a hard time convincing my husband to make the move to this Northern Climate-Frozen Tundra Land. You see he's not easily fooled by the beauty of Minnesota in Spring. He understands that Spring comes after many long months of WINTER. You know those Minnesota Winters where you have to have a roof rake for the snow, where the sun doesn't shine very often in December, January or February, and where when it does shine you know that it is even colder because there is no cloud break. Needless to say, I don't think we will be moving, but we sure did enjoy our weekend in the Twin Cities.

We found this cute little shop with a basement full of Beads. A wonderful Art Teacher was working there and helped the girls make bracelets for the Wedding that night. Perfect!

Proudly showing off their new creations.

We had fun visiting the St Croix river town of Stillwater even if we didn't see the man swimming across the river on a raft to go to work like we did last time. We got to show off this quaint little town to our family, make bracelets in the jewelry shop, climb the stairs outside the cave, and eat great burgers at the Malt Shop. Miss A even got to go the new Teddy Bear Park which she loved and is begging us to take her back too soon.

Miss A and Dad went on an adventure at Teddy Bear Park. Climbing the Big Wall, sitting on a Teddy Bear's Lap and Crossing a Miniature Bridge over the River were highlights. Next time Mom gets to go too!


On Sunday, we had fun with the cousins at Mall of America's Nickelodeon Park. It's hard to beat an amusement park that's all inside with no bugs, no heat and the perfect size lines. Mr C found out he likes Roller Coasters, who knew? In the past, he's avoided the "fast rides," but this trip he tried a few out. Miss M went on the climbing wall with her cousins and made it all the way to the top to ring the bell. She, of course, rode every ride she could, but especially those that were fast, upside down, had steep drops and all. Miss A was tall enough to go on almost everything and seems to take after her sister in her willingness to try them all out. Good thing Dad is a good sport and joined them on the rides as they are really not my thing. I am great at holding things, watching from the sidelines and taking pictures. I figure someone needs to be "that person" right?

Miss A loved Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Blast. She made everyone go on this ride with her-many times. Good thing Dad didn't throw up!

Log Chute Ride. Loved their faces on the "falls" .

Mr. C ready to go on the "Pepsi Orange Crush" roller coaster. He ended loving it. Miss M and Dad went on it many times. Poor A went just once as the strap hurt her ear and she wouldn't go again.
Loved this picture that the "park" took, but wasn't sure it was worth the $10 purchase price, so I just took a picture of the picture. Evidence the Mr. C liked it.

Miss M was having such a great time on the rides that she couldn't be bothered to go to the new American Girl Doll Store inside MOA so Miss A and I enjoyed a little jaunt inside. It's nice, but having been to the Chicago Store and celebrating at the AG Restaurant on Michigan Ave and inside the Water Tower, it's hard to think of this store as more than just a small sampling of what American Girl has to offer. Miss A was thrilled to get her own American Girl Doll Store Red Shirt and had to wear it to Preschool a few days later.

Trademark Red American Girl Doll Bag. Miss A walked away with just a t-shirt this time, but a huge list of "things" she needs for her birthday. It is coming you know. Only 4 more months to go!

All in all we had a wonderful Spring Vacation to the land of 10,000 lakes and enjoyed some fun family time in the midst of this hectic end of the school year chaos. A family wedding, reunion and trips to Stillwater and MOA were just perfect for our family.