No Pictures of Kids. Weird.

Hello!

There is some road construction near us that has pushed my patience with Brandon and Sioux Falls to the brink. I don’t mind road construction. In fact, I support it and yearn for the day when someone replaces the “road” that we live on. To summarize, there are sheets of metal on the road to keep the road in good condition where the truck crossing is. The speed limit through this area is 35 mph. Fine. Works for me. We do not need to fly through this construction zone with a corner, near a hill, I get it. What I absolutely do not understand are the people who insist on going over the metal sheets at 4 mph. SERIOUSLY. These bumps are not life threatening! Drive down ANY of the roads in the older part of town and you will find dozens of pot holes deeper  than those sheets are tall and much more out to get you. Drive, people. DRIVE. I’d like to say my rant is over, but it resets at every commute, so yeah, I might need to drive to work a different way.

This was taken at the end of our epic hike. I was enjoying the cool water on my feet and I looked up, snapped a quick pic and got the heck outta there.

Dan and I took a vacation for our anniversary this year. A real vacation: not a family trip. It was great. We went to a friend’s wedding in Fargo for the first half and then went out to Teddy Roosevelt National Park for the second bit. If you’re curious, the North Dakota Badlands are MUCH prettier than the South Dakota ones. So beautiful. We went on this stupid long hike that killed me (a Dan and Dorisa National Park Tradition) but it was stunning and at least we reached our destination- unlike the ill-fated hike in Glacier. We saw all the animals that the park boasts about, except for rattlesnakes and let’s face it, I’m not complaining. While the kids enjoyed a week with grandma and grandpa, Dan and I walked around Medora without a stroller. And we ate while sitting down. And we didn’t wake up to a crying Elena or either kid crawling into our bed. And we golfed Bully Pulpit, which was amazing and beautiful. Having children really helps you appreciate the time you spend alone.

I thought this picture was going to be so cool. Turns out I was too far away and the main subject is peeing. Can't win 'em all.

Oskar has started kindergarten and from what we can tell it is going well. He does the after-school program as well and has only gotten 2 head injuries there so far, so do with that information whatever you would like. He gets so mad when we come to pick him up. It’s a little annoying. I thought he would appreciate not having to stay at school so long, but I was quite wrong. Dude could stay there all night and be fine apparently. He is currently taking a tap and ballet class with a couple of his friends and complains that the class is too short, so that’s good. 

Baby bison!

State Fair/Renn-Fest/Zoo weekend went well. Although I have never seen Oskar break down in quite so epic a fashion as he did when we had to leave grandma and grandpa’s house on Labor Day. He actually fell asleep weeping once we got in the car. Meanwhile Elena was smiling and waving saying, “Bye-bye grampa, bye-bye gramma!” They are different. Oskar has some work to do regarding transitioning.

Elena is at once the sweetest and most evil child in the whole land. As she’s getting older, she’s becoming a little less mean I suppose, but is still a bit manipulative. I realize evil may not be quite the right word, but it’s the best I have right now. She is too strong, too daring and too trusting to understand that she could ever be hurt. Luckily, she has toned down on attacking others. When she actually does get hurt she only cries for about 5 seconds. I don’t think she actually really ever feels anything. Might need to look in on that. I am NOT looking forward to taking her to the dentist this fall. Oh, you poor, poor hygienist, you have no idea what is coming. she did great during he early childhood screening, although I think she thought she was just putting on a show. She was asked to balance on one foot, did so, and then turned her head with this giant opened mouth grin.

On our way out of the park we finally saw ALL the bison. It was like this in every direction. Felt a bit bad for the dude on his bicycle, but hopefully he knew that there was a chance of running into some wildlife.

This was good timing. Bad lighting, but good timing.

For those of you who were around when I hurt my rib 18 years ago, yes, 18 years ago, I am absolutely thrilled to announce that it is still not better, just as the doctor said it wouldn’t be. I was speaking with another doctor the other day and it is our belief that pregnancy only made things worse with all the loosening of tendons and whatever else which is why it has gotten so much worse in the last few years. As much fun as it is to be sitting at my desk and suddenly not be able to breathe due to my rib randomly moving and causing excruciating pain with the expansion of my lungs, I decided that it is time to improve my situation. Physical therapy starts next week my friends. We are searching for any and all exercises that will help hold my rib in place that don’t cause pain to my rib to complete; should be super fun. I talked to the woman who runs our gym and she gave me one exercise to start with so at least I know that there are possibilities out there, but I’m not overly optimistic about it since I also know that this is a freaking rib sprain that I was told I would suffer from for the rest of my life. I just completed my Trunk Assessment for the therapist; I did not score well.

This place was amazing. Even the golf carts were orange. Perfect.