A Byootiful Rainbow

There was a thunderstorm on the way down to Glendive. It had passed over the road by the time we got down to it, but I had to park for a few minutes anyway and admire it. To the right of the storm was sunshine and a full rainbow, and to the left was dark, grey, and lightning. I wish I could have gotten a shot that showed both at once!

Fun Week, Part Deux

We left Friday afternoon a little later than I'd planned, but I'm so often running later than planned that it becomes sort of a plan in itself. Heading south, we were able to knock one more thing off the Fun Week list, a trip to Brush Lake. True, there were thunderstorms about, but not very close. They say if you can see the lightning you shouldn't be out, but I think there may be an exception when the land is so flat you can see the lightning 50 miles away!

After a refreshing dip in the lake, during which Finley stood on the shore and yodeled unless he was allowed to come in with me, we were back on the road again. We got into Glendive right at sunset, but I still had enough light to find the campground. Until I missed the stupid exit, and there is no more for miles. "Let's go to Wibaux," has become the clarion call of driving distress from drivers (mainly me) that find themselves waving a mournful good-bye to a town they can see disappearing, but can no longer access.






The first night I camped at Mikoshika, if it can be termed camping. We parked the van and slept on beds laid out on the floor. Laura set up the tent, but decided not to sleep in it by herself after all. Funny how that worked! The setting was pretty, and in the morning I got to see the place where we'd hiked back in December. Much nicer in the summer!







The view of our campgrounds, taken from a near-by vista point.I decided not to camp there additional nights because I found out they charged $23 a night for non-Montana residents instead of $15. Besides, with all the kittens and their messes, I was feeling in need of a little hygiene! A little frousled and just a little bit sniffy, Laura and I went to the church to get our assignments for the mission part of the trip. Laura worked on a bridge-painting team and I helped put up drywall at someone's house.

In the evening, there was a whole/raw foods tasting fair and demo at the local hall. It was my first experience in modern raw food dining. The food was beautifully presented, and a good share of it tasted delicious, too! I was excited to see that there were kale chips, which is something that I've wanted to try. They were OK, if a little odd to get used to. A couple of the recipes were absolutely delicious and I would gladly have them often. Most of the rest were not my favorite things in the world, but food I could easily eat.

My plate!





The next day was Sabbath, so I spent it at church, feeding kittens, resting in the afternoon, and hanging out with the kittens in Laura's tent. The cuteness got so thick in there I finally had to come out for air!





In the evening, Laura and I headed back to Makoshika to visit Noni and Jack's campsite. They had a beautiful spot back in a much more secluded area; while driving back there, I got to see a rattlesnake! I was so excited, since seeing rattlesnakes is one of my traditional California summer activities. I was even more excited because it slithered into the bushes just before Noni drove by, so no pictures for her. Awwwwww! Sad face......

The campfire was burning briskly, while Devon tried his best to immolate himself. Thankfully, the only burnt offerings of the night were marshmallows and the occasional hot dog, but you never know when there's a Devon involved.

The next morning, we met at the church early for breakfast and worship before getting assignments. I ended up working on a team that was helping to paint someone's house. I love painting, so it was lots of fun, particularly when Noni's crew got there. The owners had chosen a pretty shade of lilac for the exterior. A bold choice, but not bad looking. Until the home owner came out and said, "My, that has a purplish tint, doesn't it?" (Honey, that's a lot more than a tint, let me tell you!" Turns out they thought they were picking a light grey. House paint colors can be so tricky!

After lunch, Laura and I headed out, getting home around 5:00. What a fun time we'd had, and what an experience to be a part of such a good event, but how nice it was to see our own house again. The first place I went was to my garden, and it didn't disappoint me. From just a few squash, we've come a long way! These last few days of warm weather have made a big difference. My flowers are getting more and more beautiful, too, though after seeing some of the gorgeous gardens in Glendive, it's hard to remember how grateful I am for what I have!





My garden bounty. Still no tomatoes ripe, but there is the promise of good things to come.

Adventures of Random Bear

Who is Random Bear? I'm glad you asked. Friday, as we were heading out of town, Laura and I stopped off at the thrift store. They always have free stuffed animals in the box outside the door and I like to check it out when I'm there. (I've gotten a few items for the VBS store that way, but don't tell anyone!) This time there was a rather appearance-challenged vintage toy bear. I'm a sucker for anything vintage and grabbed it out.

"What are you gonna use THAT for?" Laura curled her lip in distaste. "It's UGLY."

"Why, I'll use it for pictures. In fact, when I do your 16th birthday portraits, this bear will be in all of them, too. Won't that be cute?"

Laura did not think that would be cute.

But that gave me a great idea. "In fact, I think I will name him Random Bear and take with me everywhere and take random pictures of him. Won't that be fun?"

Laura did not think that would be fun.

Too late. You can't stop an idea whose moment has come. It was time for Random Bear to find his destiny, starting with our trip to Glendive.





Random Bear played at the park.








He rode on a train.







And narrowly escaped being cannibalized.







Soon, Random Bear became cool. Trendy even. "Mom, take my picture at the lake with Random Bear. Take a picture of me drinking hot chocolate with Random Bear."






Random Bear visited Makoshika State Park, a park where you can still find fossils lying about if you're lucky.










If you're very quiet and venture deep into the park, you can still find the occasional dinosaur lurking.











Random Bear found that so terrifying that he felt the need for heavier artillery.



When that proved insufficient to give him peace of mind, he decided to head elsewhere. There's no telling where he'll show up next.

Fun Week

Fun Week is our annual institution (instituted this year) where I take a week off from my never-ending round of work and have some fun with the kids. It is supposed to follow Work Week, but somehow that one seemed to get canceled as far as anyone besides me was concerned! Nevertheless, I was determined that we would still had fun. *I'd* earned it, anyway, and I was not going to be denied.

Of course, being a frenetic poodle of a person, even my relaxation was busy, but we did get some fun stuff in that we normally wouldn't have done. Someday I need someone to tie me up and leave me by the shore of a lake for a week to relax. If they didn't feed me, it would be a slimming experience, too!



Sunday we went to Lake Skjermo to swim. It was a little brisk by the time we got there, but the kids had fun. I didn't get wet, instead sitting on the dock and painting a watercolor sketch of the lake. The kids, being of the age still where they are impervious to discomfort caused by play (yet oddly sensitive to that caused by work?) had fun jumping and splashing around.



This is NOT a very good sketch, but I like to fancy it looks a little better in person. And it was recognizable by others, especially ones who knew I'd just been there.
Monday we sat around on our butts for a while and watched a bunch of "I Love Lucy". Because she would be 100 years old if she weren't, well, dead. The kids enjoyed it and I found it amusing that they did. Even in this age of filth as amusement, there is still fun to be had from clean, classic entertainment. And nobody could do it like Lucy!

I'm sure we also did something besides sit and watch TV, but at the moment, I don't recall what it was....

Tuesday morning we spent cleaning up around the house, because Fun Week is NOT Filth Week. Then we were supposed to go to another lake nearby, but when we got into Westby my traitorous kids both got jobs and preferred to earn money instead. Well, since they were busy doing that, no sense in MY sitting home alone. I went and did my mowing job. And made cookies. I'm not totally devoted to labor.

By the time they finished, there was a storm over the lake I originally wanted to go to, so it was off to Skjermo again. This time there was no hurricane, so I got in, too. We had fun jumping off the dock, floating around, and standing on each others' shoulders and hurling the top person into the lake. At least that's how it was supposed to work. Caleb never succeeded in doing anything to me but plopping me sideways in the water, in spite of his gym workouts and buffness.

"You weigh too much, Mom."

Yet somehow I was able to catapult HIM perfectly well, and he weighs much more than me. We proved that the next day on the teeter-totters. Oh, well. We can't all be synchronized swimmers. Some of us are just sinkchronized.





On Wednesday we went to Bismark to drop Caleb off after his home visit. Fueling your body properly is very important when you have a big day ahead of you. So the night before, "Who wants to have ice cream for breakfast tomorrow?" "Me!" "Me!" But I'm not THAT bad of a mom. We added healthy things to it. Very nutritious, though Caleb did musingly remark a few hours later that ice cream didn't seem to stick with him very long. He was definitely ready when we stopped for lunch!






It's quite a drive to Bismark, but we stopped at a little park along the way and had a picnic. Scratch one more thing off the Fun Week to-do list. It was fun to play on the teeter-totter--haven't done that in years--but I am not posting any pictures of it. So too bad.



It was sad to say good-bye to Caleb again, but I'm pleased with how well he's doing at school, and they should be able to move back to Minot soon, so he'll be closer. Now it's down to Glendive for camping and a mini-mission trip sponsored by the Women's Ministries in the Montana Conference. See you next week!

Not EVERYONE had fun during Fun Week.

Caleb's Birthday Photo Shoot

I told him not to bleach his hair until after I did his 14th birthday portraits, I really did. But then they had to evacuate, he ended up in Bismark, and half the summer went by before I got him for another visit. It was just too long to wait, I guess, when you're young and impetuous. That small regret aside, the photo shoot turned out well, and I had a great time working in our little town of Westby. Not to mention my maternal pride at what a handsome young man Caleb is turning into!




















Caleb broods well, in part because without his glasses he can't see anything far away so he is always squinting. Add to that a sunny day, and here comes the smolder. Whatever works. Now you know all those sexy male models are blind as bats.