Wild West :: Part One

Go west, young woman, and see how wild it can be...

The first leg of the Wild WEST Vacation began in Minnesota. Hey, it's WEST for me! And boy, is that WILD.

See what I mean? Here's me with my game face on. It is hard to put the Electric Run into words, but I think you already get the picture.

I drove to the Twin Cities in the afternoon and checked into our hotel. Met up with the family at Old Chicago restaurant for dinner. From there, it was an ultra-long traffic line to get into the State Fair Grounds for the Electric Run.

What you will find here are some of the photos for the course. What you won't find is a group picture of all of us (8 siblings and 3 nieces) because we all were together once -- with 30 seconds to spare before the last wave of walkers headed out at 10 p.m.

Yes, past my bedtime. But worth it! So coooooool.

Walking toward the starting line. Probably hard to see with my camera phone, but there were glow stick costumes and blinky lights every where you turned. Fun all around.

 

They had several different "worlds" to walk through. You can see why Candy Land was my favorite...

Yup, I can spot an ice cream anywhere -- especially one that is taller than me! Like my mohawk?

The lighted forest was way cool. I want a purple tree at my house!

Ready to battle jellyfish in what I call "SpongeBob World."

Where are you, Mary Poppins? Lots of umbrellas hanging in trees, too.

Even the water station glowed! I expected flavored water according to color!

Tunnel to the Finish Line!

And the rockin' After Party! Didn't stick around long there as some of us had to get up this morning and head even further West. For real!

I left my car at my brother's in Burnsville and hopped in Rayna's vehicle with Mom and Rachel. Next stop: South Dakota.

Well almost. Had a few quick stops, including lunch in some town called Lake Crystal. There I learned my first lesson of traveling with our mother. One, you should whisper the word "bathroom" in public and two, don't say "sh*t" even if your smart phone is having technical difficulties! We may be too old to get grounded, but we are learning manners all over again!

Four "Great Faces" (that's us) crossed the border in late afternoon. My first time in South Dakota!

We made it to Sioux Falls by 5 p.m. and then to visit Rayna's "Winter Texan" friends Don and Betty, who fed us a delicious supper and are putting us up for the night. After we ate, Betty gave us a wonderful tour of Sioux Falls.What a gorgeous booming city!

We also stopped at the Falls Park. To climb the tower and take pictures of, you guessed it, Sioux FALLS. You know me and my fear of heights...

First, it helped there was an elevator. Second, I backed my butt up to the fenced rail and could smile at the camera because I was not looking DOWN -- and I was clinging tightly to the rail! Pretty falls though, aren't they?

Took lots and lots more photos but I think I left my camera cord on the desk... back in Wisconsin Rapids. So you may just be stuck with camera phone photos on this Wild West Adventure.

I'm sure that's was real cowgirls use anyway, right?

Virtual Memories

Since I am on the road and expect a late night, I am sharing what is probably my quickest scrapbook ever.

I sent this to Lukas this week and he should have received it today. So now I can let the surprise out of the bag. We ordered a copy for ourselves, too, so we can hold onto some great memories!

Click and enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Glory Days

Right out of the starting gate, God was giving me more blessings today than I deserved. Took this photo I call "Morning Glory" on my way to work. So cool seeing the morning sun streaking across the sky as if heralding a message.

Beautiful.

While work was stressful, I did get pretty much everything done I needed to in order to be off a few days. Still will have a bit to do in the morning. Then I am outta here! Should make me feel happy but it made me feel stressed, overwhelmed and crabby during the process of getting it done.

I am grateful now, though.


After work, I drove down to Almond, where the softball sectional final was being played between Assumption and Wausaukee. Good crowd of Royal supporters there.

We took the early lead and while the Raiders threatened to close the gap a few times, our girls stayed strong and won 7-3. Onto State!!

Next Stop: Madison! Congrats, Lady Royals, on a job well done!

(And what a nice blessing! Again.)

Got home in time to get together with a handful of friends who always manage to slap me back to reality and remind me to be grateful. I mean that in the most loving way. They help me get my head on straight before it is so screwed up I am an ugly, twisted version of myself.

Thanks for being there, friends. And to God for placing them in my life.

It truly was another glorious day, Lord.

I humbly thank you.

Leader of the Pack

It dawned on me at work today that tonight would be my only opportunity to pack before leaving town in two days. We'll be gone tomorrow night and I depart at noon Friday.

The quandry facing me is this: When one tries to pack for 7 days away from home in a Midwest "summer," one must first determine which weather man to listen to... One predicts quite cool and the other is marginally warmer.

Either way, I guess I can blame them for my tendency to overpack!

Besides vacation attire, I have to get an "outfit" together for Friday night when my siblings and I – and at least two nieces – participate in the Electric Run at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. It's sort of black light, neon light, glow in the dark type 5K course. We are simply walking it for the outrageous scenery (called different light "worlds"), including ourselves. Have to get some bright ideas for that. And quickly.

On Saturday, my oldest sister Rayna (who just drove up from Texas to Canada on Hwy 281), my mom, my sister Rachel and I will head West – eventually arriving at my nephew's house in Rapid City, South Dakota, on Sunday. We'll sight-see there Monday and Tuesday and head back East to Wisconsin on Wednesday and Thursday.

Weather dudes predict a very chilly Sunday – we're talking high of 58 – which is fine for traveling. On Monday and Tuesday when we check out Mount Rushmore, etc., it will be anywhere from 74 to 83, depends who you believe.

So I'll pack for warm weather, medium and cool. And hope the suitcases all fit in my sister's vehicle. I'm guessing I can't bring my golf clubs, but I could free up some space by leaving my sweatshirts at home. If I just HAVE to buy a Badlands hoodie, then so be it.

Can I blame the weather men for my hoodie addiction, too?

Worth a shot.

OK, back to packing...

What a Field Day

Quite a lot of action at the ball fields today as the Assumption Baseball team began its regional playoff and the regional champion Softball team started sectionals.

The boys had a home game against a town called Bowler, that I only know of because the in-laws have visited a casino there.

Carter played left field tonight and while he played the position just fine, he was witness to two homeruns flying over his head and over the Witter Field fence. That was the dagger.

We were so close to and so capable of beating this team. But we just couldn't get that final rally and lost 9-7, putting an end to the AHS 2014 season. What a bummer. We has potential. Just couldn't get it all to work together at the right time. Shoot.

Final team huddle.

During the baseball game, I was getting regular updates from the softball game where we played #1 ranked Athens at home. Our game went unusually fast so I thought I'd head over to Robinson Park across town to see the end of the girls' game since we were leading. I walked quickly to my car and by then, the radio announced it was a tie game at 12-12.

Time to step on the gas.

Got there for the last inning when we tied it to go into extra innings. Even though the game was scheduled ahead of time to be in Rapids, we were actually the visitor. So when we scored one run at the top of the extra inning, we still had to hold Athens to none.

They had a runner in scoring position, but our girls defended, got the last out and now will play the sectional final against Wausaukee on Thursday at the field in Almond-Bancroft. Winner there goes to state. Whoo-hoo!

It was a pleasant day to sit at the ball fields and enjoy two exciting, close games.

We'll cheer on the Lady Royals on Thursday. And, by Tuesday, Carter will be donning Red and Black for summer ball on the Vesper area South Wood County Cardinals team.

Always a field day around here.

David vs. Goliath

Ever have one of those Mondays where you feel like David and Monday is, well, Goliath?

A friend of mine took this recent photo of Carter outsized by a towering first baseman. My sister wisely pointed out, though: "Yes, but who's on first? And who is faster?"

Good point. We may not be able to conquer rough work days like Mondays tend to be, but we sure as heck can find strategic methods to escape them.

Today's method: Chai Time with my BFF.

We met undercover at the library to pick out audio books for the week and exchange some items with each other since we hadn't seen each other since the Assumption Royal Event. I guess I thought that was a month ago but it's merely been an extra long two weeks! We had catching up to do so we headed over to Cravings, the nearby coffee shop.

Good thing we didn't have our grownup "boys" or teenage boys with us. We were too busy chatting to keep an eye on anyone. Love the sign, though. Sort of a hidden message to keep children out, which is quite conducive to adult conversation.

And that felt overdue.

It's always good to defeat a Goliath of a work day with a slingshot, er toast, of chai tea or butterscotchy latte. Naturally, God is always on hand with several weapons. But sometimes girllfriends work, too!

How did you defeat YOUR Goliath today?

Rain Date

April showers bring May flowers... which bring June showers??

The weather gods were definitely smiling on those graduation parties yesterday. Today, not so much. While it rained through the night, it was sunny and nice for 8 o'clock church. Got home and figured I better sneak a walk in before the precipitation resumed. Since I could see dark clouds in the way off distance, it was somewhat of a risk to go for a 4-mile walk.

Made it home just in the nick of time. I literally got in the house was drinking some water when the waterworks outside began.

Talk about a hard rain! I actually backed my car out of the garage so it could get a good washing. All that greenish-yellow pollen crap dripped right off.

Not 10 minutes later, the faucet shut off. Just like that. And it was sunny again.

Briefly.

When we saw it was going to be back "on" indefinitely, hubby and I decided to go out on a Rain Date. Perfect weather to be sitting inside a movie theater enjoying good buttered popcorn and a funny flick.

I guess you could say I was prepping for my trip out West next week. We watched A Million Ways to Die in the West. Funny stuff. It didn't scare me away from my plans in the least!

After the movie, we met up with Carter and he and Dad drove out to a summer baseball meeting while I went grocery shopping. The rain is still coming down so there was no bonding with Mr. Deck Chair today.

He got a nice cold shower, though. So he's over it.

But... am I?