Photo Highlights of our South Dakota trip

We're back from our South Dakota travels. All three of us really enjoyed ourselves, and would definitely love to go back some day. As promised, here's a few photo highlights of our trip.


We drove about 10-15 miles outside of Wall, South Dakota, to a town called Creighton. Kevin's dad grew up here, in this farmhouse. We got the chance to walk all around the farm, looking in the barns, and walking around inside the farmhouse. The farmhouse originally started out with just the kitchen/dining room, enclosed patio and living room. Later, they built on two bedrooms, one for the parents and the other for the four children. It was really something watching Kevin's dad explore the land where he was born and was raised. The Denke family lived on this farm until 1965, right after Kevin's grandpa passed away. Kevin's grandma then moved to a house in Wall, across the train tracks from the infamous Wall Drug Store.


It's fitting that the Denke farm would be located on Denke Road. Of course, it was my idea to have the family line up for a shot under their road sign. The last time all three kids have been in South Dakota together was in 1989.


Wall Drug was much more than I could have anticipated. It is very large, and they keep adding more and more to it. The Wall Drug became famous beginning the summer of 1936 when Dorothy Hustead came up with the idea of advertising "Free Ice Water" along Route 16A. After five years of struggling, Dorothy and her husband, Ted got more business than they could have imagined. Now there's a lot of billboards on the roads coming into Wall not only advertising the water, but everything else the drug store has to offer, including 5 cent coffee, free donuts to Vietnam Veterans and a T-Rex that Brooklyn became very afraid of. The shot above is Brooklyn playing in the Wall Drug backyard. They have water shoot out of the little holes in the ground in correspondence with the music. Brooklyn had a blast running in them, but she just was never quite to sure where it was coming from when it hit her since the water shoots out like a rope and lands quite a ways away from where it came out of the ground.


Here's a shot of Kevin and Brooklyn sitting inside the Wall Drug, along their "Main Street." Brooklyn really got a kick out of all the real-life sized structures. Nothing scared her more than the T-Rex or the buffaloes, though.


While we spent the majority of our time in Wall, we spent some time in Rapid City on the way there and on the way back. On the way back, the whole family stopped in at an enchanted place called Storybrook Island. It's all for the kids. Nursery rhymes and fairytales come to life in animated and real life scenes. Brooklyn just had an absolute blast playing in and around all the characters. This is a shot of her in Geppetto's workshop.


No trip to South Dakota would be complete without stopping at Mount Rushmore. I was really in awe as we turned around a corner, and there were heads on the mountain. Brooklyn didn't really get it, but she enjoyed all the people that were around. We checked out the museum and I was amazed to find out carving Mount Rushmore really only took 6 1/2 years. The idea started in 1927 and by 1941 it was complete. There was a few years and time spent on gaining approval and financial support. We were interested in checking out Crazy Horse, which began in 1948 and is really no where near completion, but the cost was more than what we were interested in spending, so we looked at it from a distance. I was way more impressed with Mount Rushmore!

Free Ice Water, Presidents on a Mountain...here we come!

We're going on a road trip to Wall, South Dakota - home of the famous Wall Drug and their "Free Ice Water." I've never been to South Dakota, but Kevin has many times as his dad grew up in Wall. With all of Kevin's family driving there too, plus all his aunts and uncles from his dad's side, it should be quite a good time.

We're leaving tonight, driving through the night seems like it will be so much easier on the princess. Tomorrow morning, we're stopping in Rapid Çity for breakfast and I have a historical district tour planned for us to let us see all the sites before heading to Wall where we can check into our room and rest a bit before the rest of the family gets there.

I can't wait to see all the billboards advertising the "Free Ice Water" that extend for 200+ miles outside of Wall. From what the family has told me, the ice is a necessary element in the water as the water is taken out of the ground and is like 80 degrees. According to some South Dakota research I have done, about 20,000 people stop by the Wall Drug on a good summer day. This is something I want to witness for myself!

Then's there Mount Rushmore (which I will admit I didn't know too much about), Crazy Horse, The Badlands (which sounded like a terrible place to go at first before I learned what they were) and Storybrook Island (a fun place for Brooklyn and her cousin to play).

We are all looking so forward to it. In fact, Brooklyn was so excited, almost out of control, last night as she helped me pack her toys, books and clothes. She ran very, very fast from her room with an armload of clothes to Mommy and Daddy's room to dump them on the bed, to only return to her room to get another load. She even helped pack her best friend, the puppy's belongings as he is going to grandma's house for a weekend of pampering and relaxation. I'm sure he'll miss her, but I don't think he will miss getting hit over the head with her new golf clubs!

I'll be sure to post some pictures of our adventures!

They're back, they're back!!

Even though I said goodbye to my Gilmore Girls last week, I had excitement by the week's end -- I got back my best friend!

What does this mean? Well, my best friend, Jessica and her family moved back to Colorado from Little Rock where they lived for three years. Her husband applied for an open management position with the same company he has worked for since 1998. He got offered the job and took it! They originally moved out to Arkansas so her husband could further advance his career, with the idea that they would move back once there was an opening back here. It's finally happened, and I couldn't be more thrilled to have them back!

They have two kids - Landon and Brooke - both of which are Brooklyn's friends. We went to visit them shortly after Brooke was born (Brooklyn and Brooke are 6 months apart). And, at Christmas this year, we got a picture of the kids to hang on our wall. When I asked Brooklyn Monday if she wanted to go play with Landon and Brooke, she got a huge smile across her face, said yes and pointed at their picture. She knows who they are!

So, Monday, we had a playdate and lunch that last for hours. Tuesday, we had another lunch date. And, we have a playdate set for next week to take the kids swimming.

It's fun having Jessica back in the same state, and right now as they are staying with her mother-in-law, she is only a 10-minute drive away! And, I know that Brooklyn is enjoying spending time with her friends.

Pillow Talk

We started something Sunday night with Brooklyn. We started putting her to bed with a pillow. And, not just any pillow, Mommy's pillow.

I have had the pillow since I was two. It's hand-filled with feathers and fits a twin pillowcase. At first glance, it looks just like a regular, run-of-the-mill pillow, but it has been so much more than that to me. It's been my security blanket when I was younger and afraid of something under my bed. It's gone on numerous trips, including back and forth from my college town. (In fact, in on of my writing courses in college, the professor asked us what we would save in a fire. I said my pillow, but what he was looking for was our writing portfolio.) It's got that quality to it that on a warm summer night, all you have to do is flip it over and instantly, it's cool and helps you fall deeper into a slumber. No matter how many times I wash my pillowcase (yes, I don't like to change it, just wash it weekly), when I smell my pillow, it smells like my childhood, mixed in with the fresh smell of detergent and fabric softener. When I am using a hotel pillow, I can't wait to return to my bed and sleep with my pillow - I really don't sleep as sound without it.

Knowing how important my pillow is to me, Kevin has asked me numerous times if he can try my pillow out for a night. I have always declined his request. But, on Mother's Day night, as I was giving Brooklyn her night-time massage, something came over me, and I asked Kevin to put my pillow in Brooklyn's bed. He gave me a look. We both know that she thoroughly enjoys sleeping like a big girl with her head on the pillow as she has done it several times in the wee hours of the morning when she joins us in bed to cuddle before having to wake up for the day. I handed it to him and he placed in on her bed. Sunday night, she went to sleep right away when we laid her down and slept all night long - something she does off and on. The next few nights, we tried putting one of Daddy's pillows in her bed instead, but she tossed and turned when we laid her down for bed. Both nights, we ended up putting Mommy's pillow back in, and she was out in less than five minutes and slept all night.

So, now I am in a quandry, and I am feeling a bit selfish, which isn't good. Do I give her my pillow, or do I get her a new one and give her my pillowcase? As a mom, I try and give my baby girl all that she could ever want or need, but I am struggling with this one. For now, she's using my pillow and Kevin's been gracious enough to let me use on of his.

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OK. I just reread what I wrote, and seriously, I sound like a little kid who doesn't like to share!?!

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Side note: We did ask Brooklyn's pediatrician BEFORE we let her use a pillow if it was safe, and the answer we got was yes.

Saying goodbye is SO hard to do

It is with a very heavy heart that I relay this news to you. My absolute favorite, #1 in my opinion, show has been cancelled. Arghh! I just found out and I have to admit it brought tears to my eyes. I also have to admit that I got all tear-eyed during this week's episode.



Here's the article about it...
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Why Gilmore Girls Had to End

In the end, they just couldn't strike a deal.

That, in a nutshell, is the reason Gilmore Girls isn't returning for an eighth season.

Multiple sources confirm that Warner Bros. recently made one final offer to Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel that included sizeable salary bumps for both in exchange for a shortened 13-episode season. As is now obvious, that offer was rejected.

The official statement is below.

"Announcing the final season of Gilmore Girls is truly a sad moment for everyone at The CW and Warner Bros. Television. This series helped define a network and created a fantastic, storybook world featuring some of television's most memorable, lovable characters. We thank Amy Sherman-Palladino, Dan Palladino, Dave Rosenthal, the amazing cast led by Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel as well as the producers, writers and crew for giving us this delightful gem for the past seven years. We would also like to thank the critics and Gilmore fans for their passionate support and promise to give this series the send off it deserves."

Much more to come. In the meantime, post your eulogies below. Stay strong, guys.
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I will have to post some of my favorite Gilmore memories after I get done crying!

The Ride of Life

There are a few things in life that make you just stand back and take them in slowly. And, then there are times when you want to fast forward through time to make them happen faster. Right now, I am somewhere in the middle.

I have this amazing daughter who is a 16 month old going on a 3 year old. She is extremely advanced, incredibly smart and very independent. She goes through life discovering something new every day. She impresses me with how much she remembers and how much she picks up on from what we do with her and what she sees her friends doing. There's not a skill that she isn't trying her best to master. One of these days, all the babbling that she is famous for will turn into words, and then, very soon, sentences. She is growing by leaps and bounds, not only in her height, but in her development. Sometimes I find myself just sitting back and watching her explore her world, and I am saddened that my baby is no longer a baby. At the same time though I can't wait to see what she is like when she turns 2 - what will see be saying?, how much hair will she have?, how tall will she be?, etc.

And, then there are things in life that just make me, a 26 year old woman, feel old.

I have two women in my life that are preparing to embark on the journey of marriage. One is my sister-in-law, Kristi and the other is my cousin, Sarah. Both are incredible women and their fiancees complement them so well and really are the loves of their lives. It makes me so happy to hear the joy, excitement and anticipation in their voices and see how in love they really are. And, I have to keep reminding myself that they are both old enough - Kristi, 23 and Sarah, 23 in a few days. But, I seriously have so many memories of both of them way before marriage was a factor in any of our lives. I remember Kristi riding in the back seat of my car on the way to high school sitting so quietly and almost appearing to be shy (which she isn't) as she never mouthed a word. I remember her telling me on my wedding day, minutes before the ceremony to "take care of her brother." I remember slumber parties with Sarah at our grandma's house where we would play house and try and rule the gamut as we were the oldest girls there, and we felt we knew it all.

And, then, there's my sister, who for the longest time I have seen as my "kid" sister, is turning 20 this year. She is no longer a kid, and really hasn't been for quite some time. She's been faced with some really challenging times, but has overcome them all to be the strong woman she is today. I couldn't be prouder of her. Now she is living on her own, in her own apartment about 30 miles away from our parents and from me. Over the last year, she has taken great strides of maturity and is really working on building a good life for herself. I am having a hard time fathoming her turning 20. I realize that it's a natural process in life to age and get older, but a part of me wants to hold onto the little girl that I grew up with who decorated the walls of our basement and garage, who would slide notes under my door apologizing after we had a fight, who was there to play with at any hour of the day or night and who after having a bad dream or bad day would jump into bed with me to cuddle.

I guess the best thing to do is hold on tight to the memories, savor the present and look forward to the future.

Where has my baby gone??

Yet another sign that our baby girl is really not a baby anymore. She is now a front-facing car-riding pre-toddler. We got her the new car seat (pictured here – baby not included) on Friday night. She wasn't quite sure what to think at first because whoa, she can see Mommy and Daddy now. Her and Daddy enjoyed playing a game of I'll throw everything that you hand me back to you over and over again!
Now, she's a bit more used to it, and she will just sit there so content looking around and dancing to a song on the radio or CD. It's very cute and I love being able to see her beautiful face in my rear-view mirror and not have to worry about positioning the mirror on the back of the seat just perfect. She loves to look around, and now realizes that she can see doggies and people walking along on a sidewalk which she seems to really enjoy. The best part is Daddy letting his girls get the girly-looking car seat!