Our 'Cation!!

O.K. time to really blog about our vacation.

Tuesday night we left right after Colby's ballgame. I had the van completely loaded. We drove ....o.k. Vance drove to Brookings, SD and we decided to pull in and sleep. We slept from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. then drove the rest of the way in. We got there around 3 in the afternoon on Wednesday. The kids were so excited to check the chickens and thankfully the Ternes kids had waited.

Thursday morning, Emma and I went shopping and Vance stayed and hung out with the boys. It was kind of chilly, jeans and sweatshirt weather for us Missiourians. Emma finally found the perfect, purple sundress and she's wearing it in her dancing video. We also bought a new barbie, another dress, and I got new boots! I also got the cutest booties for my sister (if she has a girl)!...she already knows about them I showed her! That night we had tenderloins from Missouri for supper.

Friday dawned cold as well. Vance and the guys got ready for their hunt and we just hung out. They left at 11:30 and we waited for my parents and Lauren to arrive. That evening we went to eat at Johnny Carinos (YUMMY) and to a movie, Speed Racer. I do not recommend the movie! Totally obnoxious, but if you like special effects it might be your thing.

Saturday morning, Renae left with the boys to go to the cabin and fish. I waited until noon and went with Emma, Lauren, mom, Laurie, and Kylie. They had a really good time fishing and it was smokin warm! Yes, Lauren even got a sunburn b/c the sun is right on top of you up there! We then went the only establishment in Shields, the bar, to wait for the hunters to come in. Vance and Dwight got their check and then we went back to the cabin with the boys. That night we didn't get home till close to 1:00 a.m.

Sunday, we all slept in and waited for the guys to get home. Then we had a big supper for father's day and Renae made the yummiest chocolate sauce for ice cream. Emma ate it straight, but I had ice cream too!

Monday, mom and dad took the little kids: Emma, Colby, and Colton to the zoo and McDonald's playplace. Lauren and I went shopping and I got Emma the cutest coat at Old Navy. I'll have to take a picture of her in it when she's clean! Then we went with the guys to watch then at a clay pigeon shoot. It was pretty neat!

Tuesday morning we left to come home:( A good time was had by all!

Hmmmm...

Honest to goodness, I did not teach her to dance like this! I don't even like to dance, expecially like this. As of now, we're going to chalk this one up to her dad's fault!

P.S. If you're some creepy stalker dude...quit looking at my little girl!!!

He's a Weiner...I mean WINNER

Yep, Vance won the prarie dog hut. Dwight (his partner) and Vance shot 390 dogs. The 2nd place team shot 280, so they won by a long shot. They also keep track of the dogs they shoot themselves. Vance shot 194 and Dwight shot 196. That kind of deflated Vance's ego by a little, but never fear he bounced right back! This is the second time in three years that this team has won. Must be a dynamic duo! They were very proud of themselves and had a small case of BIG HEAD SYNDROME!

At the start of the hunt.

The chart. Note, my dad is team # 30...they got 44 dogs.

The big winners and their check!

I'm Back

Well, I'm back and not happy. What is it about being gone for 1 WEEK that makes people think that they can make decisions without you? Yep, it happens to me every time we leave for ND. I have taught kindergarten for 5 years and only once have I got to help split the class up. UGHHHHH!!! How rude! So...there are only enough kids for two sections of kindergarten and me being the meek and mild one:) is the one chosen to teach 1st grade instead. I should be excited about this change b/c I get to have the kids I taught this year, but the lack of communication and finding things out through the grapevine just burns me. I am very excited to teach with two, new fresh minds. Also, one of the ladies is a mommy of small children and remembers what it is like to go home to toddlers and not always be on the top of your game. I am not excited about all of the work it will take me to get organized for ONE year of a grade, but maybe it will make me a better teacher. Poor Colby, he probably thinks that his mom is going to follow him through every grade level. I have said all along that this decision is in God's hands and whatever is decided will be fine, but it sure is hard to step back and be thankful when your eyes are full of tears and your heart is breaking b/c no one thinks about the teacher giving up her dream...even if it's for one year. I know some of you think I'm being dramatic, and my husband would agree, but a kindergarten teacher is what I want to be, and I think I'm good at it. I'm sure God is sending me to first grade to nurture that one or two students a little more before sending them on and I'll try to keep that in mind. Wish me luck!

The Saturday Special...A Cowboy In Training!

Somehow, someway Vance talked Jared into riding Bronson's pony. To get the full effect you need to watch the video at the bottom. My favorite line is, "Now, what do I do?" They were hilarious, especially when they came back from the bottom and Jared was covered in mud. Needless to say, I think Jared had the ride of his life!!

What a hunk!Look out world, here they come!
Bronson on Doc.



Emma...a natural!
A little ant on top of an elephant!

Rated R for foul language.

Coming and Going....

The weekend sure flew by...Friday, I went swimming with the 1st and 2nd grade. I made lots of trips down the slide and have pics on facebook thanks to Candy Engle. Got back to the school and discovered my cell phone is missing. I've been making phone calls all weekend, but no such luck. Cindy even walked the picnic area for me today...thanks Cindy! Friday night, Colby had a game at 6 and then the stomach cramps hit me again. Is this flu thing just lingering?

Saturday, got up and felt fine. It was Little League Days and city wide yardsales. Hit one yardsale and got Emma about 6 pairs of jeans and authentic Cinderella shoes from Disney Land...go me! She was in love! Had ball pictures and played two games. Colby had lots of fun, he got to play shortstop (which he's been dying to do) and pitcher. He hit all but one time, which of course he thought about crying. Saturday afternoon, my friend Corin made a surprise visit, which was lots of fun! We talked for about 2 1/2 hours and then went to Buddy's for a late lunch/snack. Saturday night, Vance and I were toying around with the idea of heading to KV to get a new phone. Emma started complaining about her tummy and sure enough puke city...just once though. This morning she was fine. Don't know what the deal is!

Today, we headed off to church and then out to mom's for lunch. I cleaned out the van and then went over to the farm. Vance and my dad were siting (citing...not sure how it's spelled) in their guns for the big prarie dog hunt this Saturday. After they were finished, I decided to give it a shot. I hit the target all 5 times and even hit the bulls-eye once!

O.K. I left out a big part of Saturday, but that is a post all of it's own...coming soon.....

My target
Sexy, huh?
Emma's scared of the noise, so she's hiding!
Colby shot twice and hit the target both times!

Priceless

A girl's best friend...Simpson. He got a new hair cut, but still has a "fwuffy" tail! She drags that dog around everywhere she goes, even if he's not to excited about the idea of mud puddles!