More South Dakota?

Well, I've really been slacking on pictures, so I'll just toss up a bunch of old South Dakota pictures. We went to Reptile Gardens, which is always exciting. The little kids needed a break, so we brought them to the play area. Milena was being naughty, so she got stuck all by herself on a bench. Sad.

The highlight of Reptile Gardens was the alligator show. The guy (we'll call him "Dave"), was extremely entertaining. Here Dave shows the proper way to wrestle a gator. You start by grabbing the tail.

Then, somehow you manage to hop on top of the gator without being eaten. I think the "without being eaten" part is the tricky bit. Dave has done this before.

Dave shows how to shut up a talkative gator.

Michelle needs to pay attention to this picture - Dave shows how a gator dentist performs an examination. Dave was pretty funny. It's really terrible to hear about the accident. Rest in peace, Dave.

We visited Storybook Island in Rapid City. A nice little place for the kids. Here are boys being boys.

Jonny being Jonny.

At Hart Ranch they have a weekly marshmallow roast. It's quite entertaining to watch little kids roast marshmallows. Especially if you have the camera so you can't help. I don't know why that girl barged into my picture. I suppose I could discretely photoshop her out of the picture.

Done!

After the marshmallows it was time for the train ride. Eli and Jorgen in one car...

Milena and Josiah in another...

Mommy and Kelson in another...

And Koleman and Jonny bringing up the rear. Now that's what I call a train.

Boys On Bikes

It's boys riding bikes! Yee haw!

Eli wants everybody to know that he can now ride bikes without using training wheels. Here's proof:

And Kelson can ride a bike with training wheels (and be comfortable in his masculinity at the same time!):

Grandma and Grandpa's Revenge

Michelle and I were lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Lund take the kids while we went to the Pine Cone Bed & Breakfast in Waseca. Despite the heat, Michelle and I had a great time. We got up very early to do our biking, and did cool, relaxing things in the afternoon, like watch "Pirates of the Caribbean" (Larry, I agree fully with your review. I say 85.)

Anyway, we got back today and were waiting for the grandparents and the kids to come home. We were starting to worry about them when we got a call from my dad letting us know that they were just leaving Belle Plaine. I asked how the kids were, and he let me know that they were all doing well, except that Kelson had caused them trouble this morning and seemed tired. I asked when Kelson went to bed last night, and he said 8:30.

Well, that would probably do it, since he normally goes to bed at 7:00. I asked him to try to not let the kids take a nap, so they would go to bed nicely tonight.

A minute later my dad called again to let me know that he wasn't worried about the kids taking a nap, since they had just finished having treats at Dairy Queen. Always good to get in that DQ treat before having supper! But it's alright, grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandchildren.

The six weary travellers eventually make it to St. Peter, and we all have a happy reunion. The kids drop off the water bottles that Grandma got them for the trip - it's hot, and they need to keep hydrated - and go play.

After a while, Michelle calls to me to look at the water that Grandma bought for her grandkids:

If you can't see it clearly, take a closer look:

Yes, that says "Caffeine Enhanced". My mom bought each of the kids 16 ounces of water with caffeine added to it. Thank you Water Joe! So, to recap, the kids are sleep deprived, had Dairy Queen treats, and were chugging caffeine laced water. Amazingly enough, we actually survived the evening.

I know what they're thinking - with a performance like that, we'll never ask them to take the kids again. But you're wrong! We figure that you just need more practice. So, Mom, Dad - are you guys free next weekend?

Our House

In the middle of the street. (No really, it is in the middle of the street.)

Anyway, as some of you know, we are putting an addition on to the back of the house. A growth, or goiter, if you will. I have had requests for pictures of the work being done, but I figured I could do much better than that. Here is my first attempt:

And here is the second attempt:

I think I might have a career as a documentary filmmaker.

More South Dakota Pictures

Don't worry, I'm not out of pictures from our South Dakota trip. If I work this right, I could probably milk four more posts out of my collection - but I won't do that to any of you. After visiting the Flintstones, we continued south to Hot Springs, where we visited the Mammoth Site. It is, oddly enough, a site where they have found the remains of lots of mammoths. Here is one of their best preserved skeletons.

This picture shows about how far down they've dug in 32 years. Methinks they're stalling.

Koleman dreams about how tall he'll be eventually.

Our tour guide, Thok.

Also on this day we saw wild prairie dogs. There's one in this picture - trust me.

More than just Photos?

Will my photo blog start to include more than just photos? Since I am constantly wallowing at the trough of Scooter, I felt the need to keep up. This is my first YouTube movie, which shows Kelson doing a puppet show. Please leave a comment if this causes the page to load very slowly. OK, here's the video (I hope):

Flintstone's Bedrock City

While at South Dakota we went to Flintstone's Bedrock City in Custer. It was an amazing experience. The special effects budget for the place was astronomical, I'm sure. For example, we went on a train ride around the park. At one point the train went between two rock walls, and there were dinosaurs on the wall! Scary, terrifying, frightening, small plastic dinosaurs. Like this one! (Don't look if you have a weak heart.)

The place did provide lots of photo opportunities. Here we have seven cousins all seated nicely, most of them smiling. I don't know why Koleman was in the front seat - he probably should have been in the back.

Here is Michelle's new business card.

Girls being girls.

Koleman and Eli think that something exciting must be happening someplace else in the park.

Uncle Jon scared a rabbit in between the house and the weed planter. Here he and Jorgen are trying to capture it. It wouldn't have been brontoburgers, but it would have been close! Unfortunately, we were told that you aren't allowed to catch and eat the wildlife at the park.

Koleman and Jonny take on Fred.

One of the more humorous events was when the five oldest kids decided to climb on top of one bird. It was an excellent lesson in how to not cooperate, where the children learned that if you keep fighting and pushing each other, nobody gets on top of the bird.

Eventually everybody else gave up, and Jorgen won.

Here is a picture of three dead children, and four living children.

Look how happy the living children are!

That snake is more than seven Cousins long!

Some little ones find a car that's just their size.

Kids on a rock!

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones! They're a modern stone age family! From the town of Bedrock, they're [a piece?] right out of history. [something, and then some more lyrics], [some more lyrics]. [isn't there a Yabba Dabbo Doo at some point?]