October- The Month for Visitors!

We have had the pleasure of welcoming three sets of visitors over the last week and a half. First, was my good friend from college, Coleen.

She flew out and we took a road trip to see another good friend of ours, Lisa who is now living in Iowa. It was so wonderful to be together again.

I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We definitely need to make our reunions an annual event!

Lisa decided to take us to one of the "hot spots" of Davenport, IA. She took us to this piano bar that was... hopping! I know I do not get out much, but this was hilarious and strange. First of all, there was quite an age range. From middle aged women and older donning their pumpkin embroidered vests and candy corn earrings to the, "Are you sure you are old enough to be here?' College students. If that weren't enough to make us stay for a few drinks, there were the dueling, yes I said dueling, pianos singing everything from Elton John's, "Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza I mean Private Dancer" to "The Devil Goes Down to Georgia" by ...Garth Brooks? My favorite, of course was the beat box included version of "I like Big Butts" by Sir Mix A Lot.

I was actually pretty amazed at how many opportunities they found to throw in a little beat box. Needless to say, it was a night I won't soon forget. I have to say, I was impressed with Davenport. It is a cute little city with a lot of charm.

After Coleen flew out on Monday, Jake's friend John arrived Wednesday night on his road trip to his parents in Iowa. It was fun to visit with him and hear how things back in Pullman are going. Then, on Friday, my parents arrived and were here until the 4th. We had a great time. We drove out to where my dad lived until he was 11 (about 2 hours from here). It was so amazing to walk around my great grandparents' farm and put all the stories I have grown up hearing into context.

My dad was able to walk around and tell us things like, this is where we had family parties, one of which, when he was 7, he and his cousins got a hold of the keg and became intoxicated for the first time.

We also met many relatives still living in the area, like my Dad's cousin, who was the first to escape from the town jail. He and his friends hit a police officer with water balloons and once thrown in jail, found that they could just pick up the wall of bars and move it to get out. We are talking some serious lives of crime. We saw my dad's old school house, where my grandpa also went. The old outhouse is still original, even after my grandpa and some friends knocked it over with a security guard inside. No, my family is not a bunch of hoodlums, but these were the stories that made me laugh the most. All of this to say, it was a very special trip for all of us. Even though it isn't his side of the family, Jake said that it was so amazing to watch our kids play around on their Great Great Grandfather's farm. Very cool.
My mom and I also took the boys on a walk through this park down the road from us. It was a beautiful day and the trails were covered in leaves. We just had to take some pictures...



I will stop there and post Halloween stuff another time. We have had a wonderful time visiting with family and friends and look forward to future visitors as well! Come on out everybody! South Dakota- Great Places. Great Faces. That's our motto.

Jingle Jangle

I don't know what it is about this place, but there is an obsession of sorts with jingles. Remember when we were kids and you would get a commercial stuck in your head? Well, those days are back. Even the news has a jingle..."Get in on the action with Action News!" Oh, if you could only here the music! Maybe I should just watch less tv. Probably, but until Project Runway and the whole network of Bravo go under, that is going to be a challenge... I know, judge me, I am a tv watcher. What a waste of time, right? But those darn jingles, I can not get enough!

Updated Home Project Pictures and others

I thought I would update the blog with some pictures of projects we have been working on. I was waiting until I had finished things, but let's face it, it is going to take too long to finish it all.

This is a dark picture but here is our green kitchen. We just did one wall but I am entertaining the idea of painting one more. I love this color, it is called Happy Camper. :)

Here is our bedroom. I still need to put up some art on the wall above our bed, but I am happy with the way the color turned out.
I started on a garden this weekend. All I need to do now is plant some seeds and hope i can get them to grow. I am going to plant asparagus and some herbs I think. Apparently, they can take the cold so it is a good time to plant them (don't I sound like I know what I am talking about?). If it weren't for my neighbors, I would not be doing this. They are teaching me everything I know.
Here is my red room! It is our office and although it is a small room, it doesn't seem to dark to us. We really like it.
We refinished our deck this past week. I think it looks so much better than it did. It had a paint-like stain on it before that was totally peeling off. I like that you can now see the wood.

The rest of the pictures are just some we have taken over the last few weeks.







Ben loves to read books. He often reads them with lots of passion and volume.

Sunday proved to be just too much for Ben. I think it is time for a nap.

Obviously, Ben is a fan of mashed potatoes.

This past week was an Open House at the fire station in town. Kids could try their hand at putting out a house fire if they wished. Here is Lucas' attempt. He actually moved the whole house in the process. Of course the flames were just wood painted to look like fire, but i am sure painted wood flames are pretty dangerous too.