South Dakota Vacation – 3

This is the final installment of our vacation trip. On Saturday we did get back to Custer State Park. Of course, the wildlife was not in abundance like before. We did have some buffalo greet us when we first got to the park and we did get to take a few nice walks. We still enjoyed showing things to Trent and pointing out what we saw where. Tyler is good for remembering the exact spot that we saw something.

We stopped for lunch in Custer at Baker’s Bakery. They make their own buns for burgers and it was amazing. I would recommend this place to anyone who enjoys fresh homemade bread. We saw these huge cinammon rolls and consider one for dessert, but were too full.

We headed back to Hill City and let Tyler play on a playground there (they have things to dig – which is his favorite) and took the pup on another walk. Then we went to the Black Hills Museum of Natural History. They have dino bones and fossils. The most exciting thing is that they have the original bones for “Stan” the T-Rex. “stan” is the 2nd most complete dino after “Sue”. The also have “Billy” a Triceratops skull that was the real bones. It was an interesting place.

Trent & I then decided that we would do a grown-up thing, even though we had Tyler with us. Prairie Berry Winery had been recommended and we had driven by it. The building is so unique from the outside that we wanted to check out the inside. That was amazing as well. They also have free sampling. You get to chose 5 wines to sample. I had 5 and Trent had 5 different ones. It was fun. The server, Jack, told us about the wines and how they came about. It is a whole experience. We ended up getting 2 bottles of wine to bring back, Black Currant (Trent’s top pick) and Juneberry (my top pick). They are both reds, which I usually don’t like as much (not that I’m an expert – having alcohol only 2 or 3 times a year disqualifies me.)

Then we drove up the road to just look at more scenery before it was dinner time. We found an awesome looking lake, Pactola Lake. It is north of Hill City and since the water level is down, it makes some interesting markings on the rocks. Then we drove back to Hill City for a final meal at Alpine Inn. We had the same thing as the night before. It was still wonderful.

Here are the pictures from Saturday: Click here

Sunday, we were up early (even with the time change) and on the road. Trent decided to stop in Custer to get one of those huge cinammon rolls from the bakery and it was really good. We made it home without incident and picked up Nea from the vet. They were sorry to see her go and her report card shows that she’s been good. We don’t have to give her any pills and she doesn’t have to wear an elizabethian collar (think cone head) as long as she leaves the sutures alone. They are the dissolving kind so we don’t have to take her back to get them out. She did pretty good on coming home. She’s not used to all the space so I left her carrier out and she did get back in it a few times. She couldn’t sit still and kept hitting her tail into things – I’m sure it will take her awhile to get used to it, the fur is starting to grow back where they shaved it so I’m sure that itches and she might be a little sore still – quite a combination. It did start bleeding a little so Trent held her down while I put some gauze on it. She was not happy about that. I tried to be fast and gentle, but that’s hard with a struggling kitty. She then proceeded to go under the bed and hasn’t come out yet. I’m hoping she got some sleep last night. Trent is going to stay home to keep an eye on her today since my day is packed and then we will see about the upcoming days.

Well, we are back home and have started the chores. Life returns to normal.

South Dakota Vacation – 2

Here’s the updated things from yesterday (Friday.) The vet called first thing and Nea was reacting to some of the meds so they had to give her another one. She should be done with mos tof them by the time we pick her up on Sunday – which will be nice since have you ever tried to give a cat a pill??? It is tough and I don’t know if I have that much blood to give. Anyways, she is doing fine and the staff all love her there so I know she still thinks she’s been given a great vacation as well. We started out by going to Bear Country USA. It can highly recommended and I’m highly recommending it. There is a 3 mile road through all the different animals habitats. You have to stay in your car and keep your windows up (well, we didn’t – you don’t get as good of pics that way.) Each animal’s area is seperated by a cattle guard and they have added electric wires to the ones where the beer and wolves are because they are smart enough to figure out how to step on the bars going across. All the animals have been hand-raised so they are used to humans (and I’m sure cars with the amount of traffic the place gets in the peak season.) Right now is rutting season for the deer families (elk, reindeer) so we got to see some of that. At the end of the drive, they have a parking area so that you can get out and see Babyland. Yes, they have babies now. After that we toured the gift shop and then had to head back to the hotel to get the pics off the camera so I would have room for the afternoon pics. Here are the pics from Bear Country USA: Click here

We were going to go for a hike along a converted railroad in the afternoon, but the wind kicked up so we decided to head down to Hot Springs and go to the Mammoth Site. So we headed to Custer for lunch (not a lot of open places here in Keystone to eat right now and most of the hotels are shutting down this weekend.) We ate at a little deli/coffee shop that has Tim, the parrot, for entertainment. He whistles and talks. Trent and I had buffalo chili. It was hot and spicy, just like we like our chili. We are enjoying eating so much buffalo. We eat it at home, but we are viewed as health nuts for it. Here it’s on every menu just because there is so much buffalo in the area. Tyler opted for a ham sandwich and chips. The ham was piled on and it was real ham – not the kind you get from the deli. Then we were off. We has to drive thru Wind Cave National Park to get to Hot Springs. The prairie dog colonies there are huge. They were everywhere and they are fat little things. We didn’t see many buffalo even though they are supposed that have one of the largest herds in the area. We got to Hot Springs and walked along the Freedom Trail in the downtown area. Then we were off to the Mammoth Site. This place is amazing. The mammoth bones are still there onsite. They have found a total of 55 mammoths – 52 Columbian Mammoths and 3 Wholly Mammoths. Columbians are bigger and look more like elephants do today. They are all male – they think because the females were the leaders of the herds and the young males got kicked out of the herds and took more risks. This area was a sink hole that was filled with warm water so it didn’t freeze in the winter, but the sides were slick and the mammoths couldn’t get back out if the fell in. They have also found skeletons of llamas, horses, coyotes, wolves, rabbits, frogs, toads, etc all from the same time as the mammoths. It was interesting to think about llamas and horses being native to this area at one point in history. In the summer they do have people doing digging there, but we were the only ones there yesterday so we basically got a private tour. Here are the pics from there: Click here

We did head back to the Alpine Inn in Hill City for dinner. We just can’t get enough of this place. The menu is steak (6 oz) or steak (9 oz) with baked potato, texas toast and a wedge of lettuce with the house ranch dressing. The kids menu is gourmet hot dog with fruit. However, the desserts are wonderful. Trent can get the bread pudding (which doesn’t have raisins – since he doesn’t like raisins) and we can get it a la mode. To die for!!

We are going to head back to Custer State Park today. Trent was jealous of all the wildlife we got to see on Tuesday. So we are hoping that we see lots today for him. I’ll update this again after we get home.

South Dakota Vacation – 1

Alright, I have a few minutes to catch up on what’s been going on with us. We are in day 3 of our vacation. The husband and puppy are taking a nap and Tyler is playing. I am uploading photos from this morning, reading friends’ blogs and finding out how much snow we are missing in CO right now. Tyler is a little upset about missing the snow, but was are doing cool things here so hopefully that makes up for it.

Let’s start back on Monday evening – the night before we are supposed to leave on vacation (and some work for the husband.) I was at work when I got one of those calls, you know, the kind that sends you into a panic about one of your kids. Trent tells me that Nea (our beautiful Calico kitty) is missing her fur on the last 2 inches of her tail (he had taken the puppy out and came back to this situation) and he’s taking her to the vet (luckily our vet is also a hospital so it is open later and can do everything.) Through various phone calls and agonizing waiting (Trent had the truck and I just had to stay at work or take the bus home – no way to get to the vet), we find out that she has to have surgery to amputate the last 4 inches of her tail, there’s no other choice. So now decisions have to be made on do we go or stay and vehicle situations, etc. It turns out that because of our kitty’s age – she’s 12 – she has to stay at the vet for a few days to make sure she comes off the medicines without complications. It was a tough night. It turns out that this happened because Tyler was trying to shut her in the bathroom cabinet and since he didn’t really understand all the big words from the vet office, I had to explain things to him. Then he got really upset, but I hope he learns some lessons from this.

So Tuesday morning we got up early and were on the road by 6:30am heading towards Mt Rushmore. Around 8:45am, we got a call from the vet that Nea had made it through surgery just fine and that she was awake. They would call us if there were any changes. We were excited to hear this. We figured that Nea probably thought she was having kitty day spa time because she loves going to the vet and meeting new people. Sure enough, they told us that she is a joy to have around. We made it to Custer, SD around lunch time and ate at a wonderful little restaurant named Sage Creek Grille. We all had buffalo burgers that were so fresh!! I would recommend this place to anyone. Then we headed to Custer State Park for some hiking (after the long drive) and taking in of the sights. Towards evening we headed to Keystone, which is where we are staying. Here is a link to the pictures that we took from today: Click here

Wednesday we had breakfast at Mount Rushmore and walked around a little with Trent before he had to go to work. Then Tyler and I walked around the trail at Mt Rushmore. After Mt Rushmore, we went to a different area in Custer State Park. There were even more wildlife around than the day before, as you will see from the photos. In the evening we went to Hill City and had dinner at The Alpine Inn. This was a recommendation and they were right on the money. Great food from a really reasonable price. We liked it so much we will probably go back there again before we leave. Here is the link to the pictures from today (please be patient with the last picture – it is actually a video of the buffalo surrounding our truck and is awesome!!!): Click here

Thursday (which is today) we went to Rapid City. We visited the Museum of Geology on the South Dakota School of Mines campus. Lots of pictures from there. Then we went to Prairie Edge Trading Co, which has Native American arts and crafts. It was amazing!!! I could have spent a lot of time in there, but the boys got bored. So we went next door to The Firehouse Restaurant (another recommendation that was on the money.) The food is really good. Then we came back to the hotel, which finds me here. Trent has to work again this evening (5pm-10pm) so Tyler & I will probably hang out at the pool. Here are the pictures from today: Click here

We have another 2 full days here in the area to play. Then we leave early Sunday because we have to pick our precious kitty up from the vet. I called the vet today to see how she was doing. They told me that she is just wonderful. Everyone enjoys being around her, she’s eating well, etc. See, she thinks we’ve sent her on her own private vacation to the spa.

I will update this more after we do more exciting things!!

Our week

Monday we had the Art Show Co-op with CCHFS. Thank you, Leise, for organizing this!!! We really enjoyed it!!

Tuesday we had the JungleQuest Co-op with CCHFS. Tyler didn’t do much. They had zip lines and climbing walls. And all he did was climb up and slide down the slide. There are times when I wish Tyler would be more comfortable getting out of his box and try new things. Oh well, maybe next time. Thank you, Jen, for organzing this!!!

Tuesday it also started snowing. We got about 3 inches overall, but it was gone the next day. We did get Tyler a new winter coat and snow pants (both in gray camouflage because being an army guy is really important right now.) He got to try the coat out, but the snow didn’t stay long enough for the pants.

Wednesday and Thursday were a quiet days. Wednesday, we did grocery shopping and Trent made up math problems for Tyler. When we finished 1st grade he was adding single digits together. I had done some work with him on adding 2 double digits and adding a double digit and a single digit so that he could get used to the fact that you have to add the ones and then the tens – which is the opposite direction from reading. Trent made up problems that had triple digits and carrying. He got all the triple digits ones right, but missed his first carrying one (Trent had thrown it in as a trick question.) So then Trent explained carrying to him and he did good with those as well. Not worried about his math ability at this point. Thursday, Tyler & Trent watched movies in the afternoon while I was at work.

Today will be quiet as well. I’m trying to catch up on things here (paperwork, etc.) Then we have to get ready this weekend for our trip to Mt Rushmore next week. I have a long list of places to go so I’m sure that we will have lots of fun.

Anderson Farms

***This is the fourth post today so please scroll down.

We went to Anderson Farms (Click here for website) on Friday with the Homeschool Support Group. We had a lot of fun!!! I have included 2 pictures here, but will also include the link to the rest of the pictures.

Here is the link to the complete album in Kodak Gallery Click here. ENJOY!!!

What Tyler’s birthdate means

*** Third post of today so make sure you scroll down.

I couldn’t leave out Tyler since this blog is about him as well. Now I know you will all laugh when you read the “rock solid stubbornness” part, but try to contain yourselves. We might hear you all the way out here in CO!!!

Your Birthdate: March 4

You have an extraordinary character – moral, responsible, and disciplined. Your sincerely and honesty shine through in almost every situation. Driven and focused, you rarely let your emotions get the better of you. You’re level headed and rational. People count on your to look at things objectively. Your strength: Your unwavering loyalty and ethics Your weakness: Your rock solid stubbornness Your power color: Navy blue Your power symbol: Shield Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

What my birthdate means

*** Second post of today so don’t forget to scroll down.

This is what my birthdate means and oh, how true it is.

Your Birthdate: May 11

Spiritual and thoughtful, you tend to take a step back from the world. You’re very sensitive to what’s going on around you, yet you remain calm. Although you are brilliant, it may take you a while to find your niche. Your creativity is supreme, but it sometimes makes it hard for you to get things done. Your strength: Your inner peace Your weakness: You get stuck in the clouds Your power color: Emerald Your power symbol: Leaf Your power month: November

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

What kind of American English do you speak?

I took the quiz and here are my results. Makes sense since I was raised in IN and have lived in IL, CO and TN. I’m a little bit of everything!!

Your Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

10% Dixie

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Midwestern

5% Yankee

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I’m free!

I did it today. I withdrew Tyler from Connections Academy and notified our school district that I was homeschooling again. Tyler & I discussed it this morning and came to this decision together. Tyler liked 2 things about Connections: that someone else was doing the scheduling (had to burst his bubble on that one) and that he got to play games on the computer during Technology. So I asked him how he would like to do school. He wants to decide what to learn, when to learn it and how much to learn at a given time. Basically, unschooling, which is where education is kid-led. I agreed to try it this way, but laid out that if he falls behind that I would have to start scheduling some lessons again. We also plan on letting him play games on the computer so that he can still have that fun. And I am free!! Free to make my own decisions, free to do school when we want and take off when we want, free to go at his pace of learning, free to decide what to learn. It is very nice.

He’s happy because now he’s in charge of things. So in charge that he’s taking today off. Well, he thinks he is. He is currently setting up a book buying club in his room. He has an office with a computer that he made out of a shoe box (the lid is the keyboard and he drew a keyboard on it by copying it from his computer and the rest is the screen.) He has stacks of books that you can buy at different levels and different reading interests. You place your order for books (don’t worry, he gives you the money that you have to use to buy the books – poker chips) and then he delivers them to you. After you read that stack of books them you return them to get the next books in the series. You have to buy 4-5 books at a time and they are only $3 per book, so I’m getting quite a deal. He is very detailed in these things.

I’m sure this will be an adventure, but it will be worth it if he is learning and he’s happy.

Electives at Connections

Yesterday was the day that electives began at Connections. We’ve known it was in October sometime since the start of school, but never had been given a date. So yesterday, our teacher sent out an email after 1pm telling everyone that she was going to be calling them in the afternoon to sign the kids up for electives and she included the rules for electives. They have to be in good standing, etc and they only get to do 2 electives per semester and you can only do one language per year (they offer Spanish, German, French and Latin – so you can’t have your 2 electives be 2 different languages.) Tyler and I had already talked about electives and not knowing all these rules had picked out 4 electives according to their curriculum guide. He wanted to do Spanish, Home Life (projects revolving around things in the household – like planning a meal for the family or doing a sewing project), The Journey North (this class was a web-based class where you got to do class with scientists that are tracking migratory animals and you got to do tracking in your area and report it to the scientists) and Chess Club.

Now I was already upset after reading the email that they couldn’t plan ahead enough to do the sign up before the first day. It’s not like this was a last minute thing. They’ve known about it. Plan ahead. I was also upset to read that we could only do 2. No where in any of the paperwork did it tell us that we could only do 2 or any of the other rules associated with the electives. So Tyler decided that he would do Home Life and The Journey North as his 2. I talked to him about it before the phone call so that we were prepared. The final aggravation came during the phone call. It turns out that even though The Journey North is listed in the curriculum guide, Tyler’s grade doesn’t qualify for that class. So then he wanted to do Chess Club, but it turns out Chess Club is for 5th-10th graders so he can’t do that. His consolation was that he has to do Intro to Chess before he can be in Chess Club. I was told that Intro to Chess will teach him how the board is laid out and how the pieces move. Hello!!! Tyler has already been playing chess with us and is to the point where is even starting to use strategy (like sacrificing a piece to take a better piece.) So I don’t know what he will get out of this elective, but if he wants to get into Chess Club in 5th grade he has to take the Intro class. To wrap up, his 2 electives are Home Life and Intro to Chess.

I’m telling you right now that there is no way Tyler will be making it to 5th grade in Connections. He will be lucky to make it through this year without me yanking him out. He doesn’t know that though. I have been working really hard to not have him know my frustrations about the program so that they don’t taint his experience. This gets really hard when I want to really get on the teacher about why things are in the curriculum guide (which we were told to look at to decide on the electives) if they aren’t available and why can’t they plan ahead, etc. But since Tyler was standing there during the phone conversation, I have to put on my nice voice and not say anything bad.

Later this week, I have to have a phone conversation with the teacher about my long-term goals for Tyler. This is what I want him to accomplish over this year and next in Connections. What am I supposed to say to that??? I’m generally not one who will just make stuff up and go along with things (been that way all my life – just ask my parents.) I’ll have to figure out something to say. But I also have to keep in mind (as she reminded me yesterday) that if she doesn’t agree with my goals for him (too hard or not hard enough or not practical), she will just make them up herself. Like she knows anything about my child and his needs.

Well, it’s school time again. Off to go do some educating!!