Blue Bunny!

It began as another quiet day around the house.

 Kids played, manicures happened, then...

 We decided to go to LeMars for some Blue Bunny ice cream!

The kids were all fascinated with the ice cream video.

Time for another grandkid photoshoot!

But wait, we're missing Apple! 

Um, here she is...

The kids decided that we needed another adult photo too!

Auntie Brenda & I contemplated getting matching shirts.

Water & Rhubarb

After all the excitement of the Zoo, we decided to have a relatively quiet day at the house.  The kids spent the morning riding bikes & playing in the yard.  In the afternoon we headed to the pool.

It was such a nice day that the adults joined in the fun too!

After swimming it was time for dinner.  

...and apparently cat catching.

The kids spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where 'Peanut' was!

We happened to be in town during fair days, & when in a small town, you must participate in small town activities....

 This night happened to be the annual rhubarb toss.  You read that right.  You take a stalk of rhubarb & try to toss it into one of 3 buckets to win prizes.

Chancery won a prize!

And she finally lost her tooth!

Omaha Zoo

We chose the hottest, sunniest, most humid day to go to the Omaha Zoo.  There were a lot of air conditioned buildings to go through, so it ended up working out ok, but perhaps if we go again we'll check the weather report first!

We checked out the globe, & set it right side up.  We even found PEI on it! 

With 8 kids & 7 adults we managed to keep everyone together (for the most part).  The few times we lost someone it was usually not a kid! 

Granola Bar break! 

 Chancery & Lion found a nice spot to wait.

Mapping our course was not the easiest thing to do.  These maps were old & there are several new buildings that are not on the map yet.  Also the names & 'You are here' indicators are broken off most of the maps we found.  Good thing Auntie Sharon knew where we were going! 

I think the kids enjoyed the vines most of all! 

When you get the kids together, you better take a photo!

Especially if they are all in matching shirts! 

We had a great day, followed by burgers at Red Robin, which we all enjoyed!

I taught the people in my vehicle the flag game that we play.  You split the car into sides, then everyone looks for flags.  If you see a flag of the country you are in, your side gets 1 point.  If you see a different flag (State flag, British flag, etc) your side gets 2 points.  It was all going well until we passed a school & Uncle Kurt scored 27 points!

Sunday in Iowa

The second picture was the best, but dad took 9 more just to make sure...

 Then, due to some photobombing, Dad decided to take a picture of all the boys...

 And all the girls...

 After lunch it was time for a bike ride to the park!

Uncle Brian picked the smallest bike.

I think he was going for the Bear-on-a-Bike look

When Dad's around you have to always be ready for photos!

Grandpa & Grandma did a fine job of watching the kids

while the parents caught up with an old friend!

Cousins ReUnited!

Well, we made it to Iowa!

 Within minutes the cousins were asking Uncle Kurt to pump up the bike tires

& riding around the neighbourhood.

Then off to the backyard for a swing & a chat...

The older kids decided it was the perfect night for a craft...

 and Apple supervised.

After awhile the play structure looked like it was crawling with ants!

Corn Palace

The Corn Palace was another new stop for me.  I had been to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota, but I had never stopped at the Corn Palace.  Every year they put murals up all along the outside, as well as the inside made up of all different colours of corn. 

Just chillin' with Mr. Corn 

Inside the Corn Palace there was a children's activity area, & Chancery decided to build herself a fort of giant lego. 

Asher tried his hand at being a grocery store checker.  He enjoyed it quite a bit, especially when Grandpa gave him real money! (but Grandpa did ask for it back)

All in all the Corn Palace was a hit!

Devil's Tower

Day two we drove from Missoula to Gillette, Wyoming.  Just another day on the road,  We tried to stop in Buffalo, but the hotels were all full because it was "Longmire Days".  We had no clue what that meant, apparently we are not up on our Netflix, so we pressed on.

Day three started with Starbucks, then on to Devil's Tower which I had never been to before.  It is a ways off the interstate, which is why I'd never been there, it just isn't the most convenient place to stop, so you have to make it a destination!

Here we are getting our first glimpse of it.

Asher is getting a granola bar.  Priorities!

 We made it!

The first bit of the trail, you are allowed to go 'bouldering' below the tree line.  The kids had a great time after being in the truck for 2 solid days!

We hiked all around the tower, choosing the short trail.  It was a pretty hot day, & when we were almost at the end of the trail, Chancery declared, "Sheeshamoly, I hate hiking!"  Good times were had by all.

We did see some wildlife along the way.  There was a deer on the trail & we crept quietly towards it, & managed to snap this photo of the kids with it.

 On our way out of the park we saw a field full of prairie dogs, which the kids had never seen before.  I agreed they were cute, then told them all the reasons they are a menace.  That's the farm girl in me coming out!

We carried on our way & made it to Oacoma, South Dakota for the night.  We enjoyed dinner at Al's Oasis, another place I'd never been, seems like a smaller version of Wall Drug.