This Is How I Roll

Stayin' Cool at the Pool

Today we went to my absolute favorite place, McKennan Park. The place is smack dab in the middle of town, surrounded by these beautiful old houses that I would love to live in (you know, if I had a million dollars).

The park has this cool old band shell, a sunken garden, and amazing flower beds. In the middle of the park, there's a small wading pool that's free to anyone. (It's only a foot deep, so it's perfect for little kids.) If only we discovered this place sooner! Our little fish loved the pool!

While we were swimming, we ran into some neighbors from the subdivision. Their little girl is only 2 months older, so we'll have lots of play dates as the girls get older!

She's going through this thing now where she loves to touch kids' hair. I don't know what that's about.

(For those of you that are very observant, yes, this is a different swim suit. She grew out of the old one already!)

By the time we got home, she was pretty tired. (To be fair, so were mom and dad.)

And yes, this is how she always sleeps! :)

Fourth of July

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We sure did! Lots of food, family and of course, fun!

Here's our weekend in pictures:

We made delicious M&M cookies using the best cookie dough recipe ev-ah!

We wore red, white and blue.

We ate popsicles (and man, did we love 'em)!

We went swimming - and it went a lot better this time! ;)

We ended the day watching fireworks from the deck...that is, until we got completely eaten alive by South Dakota's state bird (mosquitos, in case you didn't know). I love the 4th of July. Maybe it's the fireworks. Or the picnics. Or the balmy summer day. Or maybe its the proximity to my birthday... In my world, it's the best holiday.

Ode to a Summer Storm on the Prairie

It's one of my favorite sights: a white farm house, surrounded by lush green fields, against the backdrop of a blue-black sky. Stunning.

Yesterday, the air was so thick it felt like walking through an invisible wall. It just felt like something was building.

Sure enough, around 4 p.m., it started building. It started with a shift in the wind. Then those blue-black clouds appeared on the horizon. The TV weathermen and Emergency Alert Service started breaking in on the baseball game my husband was watching. Soon, it was as dark as night and the sky had a greenish tint. A summer storm was approaching, and it was going to be bad.

For the next 20 minutes, the we watched as our lights flickered, deck furniture toppled and the grill slide from one side of the deck to the other. It rained and blew so hard that water blew in between the windows. The streets flooded and garbage cans cartwheeled down the street.

As quickly as it came, it left.

Luckily, we didn't have much damage - just some wet windowsills and a broken post on the deck.

That was the worst storm I've seen in a very long time. While it's scary to hear hail pounding on the roof and feel your entire house vibrate, there's also something very beautiful about a storm like that. The grass gets greener, the air turns cooler, and everything smells fresh.

Sometimes I feel sorry for those who don't have the opportunity to witness the beauty of a storm gathering. It's really something to behold.

The flooded creek behind our house.

Our broken deck post.

The field behind our house. (and my poor flowers)

Flooded streets.

Swim Lesson

The first time we gave CJ a bath in the adorable little whale tub I registered for before she was born, she screamed. She hated it. I thought maybe she was like our dog, who also hates the water. (By the way, he's a lab. Aren't labs supposed to love the water? Not ours. Ours freezes up and acts likes he's being tortured everytime he gets a bath.)


She hated it until Mom and Dad got smart and started using the kitchen sink as a bathtub. (So much for the whale.) And now that she's graduated to the tub, bathtime is even more fun. She kicks and splashes and douses us as well. I assumed she's love a pool.


We bought a brand new yellow pool, swimsuit, and tons of sunscreen in anticipation of her first swimming experience. All day I waited for the little yellow pool to warm in the sun. I was so excited, I could hardly wait. I anxiously waited for her to wake up from her nap. As soon as I heard those first little peeps, I rushed in. We covered her with sunscreen, put on her swimsuit and took her out to the deck.


Her reaction: eh.

The only thing she was excited about was her rubber duck.

Hmmm... (Not the reaction I was looking for.)

Look Mom, I'm Blogging

Once upon a time, in an old life, I was offered an opportunity to voice my opinion, as often as I wanted, in my hometown newspaper. I turned it down - multiple times. You see, I didn't feel I had found my "voice."

Fastforward 5+ years, and by George, I finally think I've found it. So here I am.

I'm a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend. I lead a simple life on the plains of South Dakota. I don't have anything revolutionary to say, and I certainly don't claim to be an expert on anything... Except maybe burning cookies. Or stressing out. Hmmm...

I'm simply someone who wants to share our lives with our friends and family back in our beloved home state of Iowa, and our new friends here, and of course, anyone else who reads this. That is, unless I decide to make this blog private. ;)