Princess Sparkley Loves America

Our Budding Artist

There is a difference between girls and boys. Buddy has been much slower at wanting to draw and also his ability to draw recognizable things. But he's been blossoming this month. Seriously, he's drawn more this month and especially on our trip, than he's drawn in almost his entire life. Here are a few examples:

our house

(notice the tree, he doesn't draw circles, he draws half circles on one

side of the tree trunk and then draws matching ones on the other side.)

map
(he spent forever on this on our car trip. there are trains and adorable tractors. notice the super cute yellow excavator that he just proudly told me he drew all on his own.)

another map with lots of construction vehicles




map w/ lots of trains and train crossings, etc.




workers and a funny man he drew




this is a horse in a horse house. it has a blinking light on top of it because it's near an airport.




our hotel



road and some cars



You wouldn't know he's his daddy's boy, would you with all these maps?

Baby X is a Red Sox fan

My parents bought this for Baby X for Christmas before he was born.

wiggling out of my shot

blowing raspberries
cute lips

trying to get the camera from me

6 months, 3 days

Little House Vacation: Day 3

DeSmet, South Dakota

the Ingalls Homestead

This was by far the highlight of our trip. Walnut Grove was seriously lacking other than getting to play in Plum Creek just like Mary and Laura. Our trip would have been a bit disappointing had it not been for DeSmet, mainly the Ingalls Homestead.

First, aren't these scenes beautiful? These are pictures I took of the 160 acres that Pa homesteaded outside of DeSmet, SD.

If you've ever been to Nauvoo, this was a bit like this but instead of focusing on the pioneers of the Mormon church, it focused on Laura from Little House on the Prairie and her family, a different type of pioneer.

Here we are when we first arrived and climbed a giant "tree house" to see the prairie. And here's Princess Sparkley doing the wash with help from Buddy. And Baby X discovering grass for the first time ever in his little life.

Princess Sparkley sewing on Ma's sewing machine. Buddy playing "Mary's organ." Pumping water from a well. Visiting a 3 week old baby pony. Riding a pony. Roping a "calf." Etc. Our kids were so brave about riding the ponies, petting horses and kittens. Princess Sparkley even held the reigns and drove the wagon to the school house.

DeSmet was all like a dream come true for Princess Sparkley. She was giddy with happiness and running around with so much energy. It was like Christmas morning waiting to open presents. She was also very brave wanting to do everything, even if it involved talking to or getting helped by the workers. Buddy also enjoyed it all, but not on the same scale as Princess Sparkley. Baby X was a trooper. He was really really great on this whole trip.

Here are pictures of Princess Sparkley and Buddy making rope. They also made a corn cob doll/corn cob superhero and twisted hay into a hay log as kindling for a fire. The pictures of them pulling on the rope is ringing the bell at school. Buddy in the straw hat, and Princess Sparkley at the desk in the pink pioneer girl outfit are at school. The bottom right corner picture is Princess Sparkley driving the wagon to school.

The sign for the city of DeSmet says "Little Town on the Prairie."
Princess Sparkley with the graves of Ma, Pa, Mary, and Carrie.
Princess Sparkley disembarking from driving the horses before the pageant.
Before the pageant started.



Our family riding the wagon to school.

Little House Vacation

Day 1: Family Vacation

Friday morning Jed had finals to finish of his semester of summer school. Then we packed up the car and started on our little road trip.

Our first sort of official stop was at the Winter Quarters Temple Visitor's Center to use the bathroom and feed Baby X a bottle.

This picture is last time we were at this temple - Oct. 2005

Statue in front of the Visitor's Center - July 2008

Haven't they grown!?!

Our destination for Friday was Sioux City, Iowa to visit our good friends who moved there last year. We spent the afternoon and evening with them. They even took us a an Palmer's Candy store since Sioux City is home of the Twin Bing (which I've read all about in Candyfreak). Here are some pictures from before we left this morning:

the big girls playing dress-up

the girls

the boys (not as happy)

Then in the car for hours and hours of fields of corn and soy beans, and wind turbines. Oh and counties, my husband collects counties. Today we drove through Iowa, South Dakota (new state for me) and Minnesota (also a new state for me).

Day 2 Destination: Walnut Grove, MN

Walnut Grove, MN

For $4 a car some farmer allows us to drive through his field and get to the site of the dugout on Plum Creek. This was probably the most exciting part for Princess Sparkley, so well worth the $4.


Here are the kids and Jed frolicking in Plum Creek just as Laura and Mary did years ago.





Crossing Plum Creek to the Ma and Pa's dugout.


Field my the dugout site.


Princess Sparkley trying to look like a pioneer girl. She's placed her feet so it looks like she's walking.


Site of the Ingallses' dugout.


My cute family crossing back over Plum Creek.


Back in the town of Walnut Creek.


Princess Sparkley as Laura.


Walnut Grove's very own water tower. I'm sure this wasn't around in Laura's day, but it was an interesting shape so I took its picture.

26 weeks

New Blogs

Princess Sparkley and Buddy have started their own blogs. Princess Sparkley is especially fond of comments. Hint Hint.

Knights

Princess Sparkley drew this picture for her friend who is a boy. She drew knights because she knows he likes bad guys and knights.

Friends

We're heading on a trip this weekend to Minnesota and South Dakota (new states for all of us), via Nebraska and Iowa (not new states). We're going to Little House on the Prairie pageants in Walnut Grove, MN and DeSmet, SD. We're stopping on the way in Sioux City, IA to see our good friends who moved up there last year. Here are some drawings Princess Sparkley did of she and her friend L. And here's what L really looks like. I love it!!

this is them 2 years ago, I couldn't easily find a better picture.

Grandparents

These are my parents, aren't they cute? I especially love that my mom has big black curly hair and my dad has gray beard stubble.

Trying to crawl

Here's Baby X trying to crawl again, after a fun piece of crunchy plastic trash.

Flippy Binky

This is Baby X's new thing. Every time we stick his binky in he flips it. And sometimes when it's in and he's bored. So cute!

25 weeks

Cute Face

Scootching

It's completely crazy to me that Baby X is trying to be so mobile so young. Not even just trying. He is so mobile. He won't even be six months old until the end of this month and look at him try to go. Princess Sparkley was almost 9 months old before she started rocking on her hands and knees trying to crawl. But she did a better job sitting up at about 6 months than Baby X is now. And I just read in my old journal that at 6 months she said "mamamama" and "dadadada" and "babababa" which seems crazy to me. Maybe since Buddy was such a late talker I wasn't even expecting babbling that made sense yet. And in my journal Buddy clapped at 6 months (Baby X, no) and at 6 1/2 months Buddy was circling like Baby X does and up on his hands and knees desperately wanting to crawl, but didn't crawl until at 7 1/2 months he was army crawling. At 9 months my journal says that Princess Sparkley "sort of crawls" but mostly she rolled everywhere forever. And here's Baby X... just over 5 1/2 months old and very nearly about to be crawling.

These are some better scootches, but w/ my digital camera rather
than the webcam so there is no sound and it's a poorer quality.

Green Beans

Baby X moves in circle, reaches and tries to scootch

This morning again. See how he moves in a circle.
He's been up on his knees a little bit more every day this week... today I think it qualifies as scootching, not quite yet scooting.

Baby X lounging

Here's Baby X this morning hanging out on his side. Look how balanced he is!!

Baby X Moves

Here's Baby X moving about. This isn't a great example of it, but he gets in a spot and circles and circles around... sometimes really fast.

This one is kind of long and boring, but there are some good moments. You can see Baby X scoot a tad, hear him blow raspberries, squeal like a pterodactyl and listen to Buddy talk to him in his cute "I'm talking to a baby" voice.

Baby X starts up on his knees, wiggles around, laughs, etc.

On His Side

Baby X likes to lay like this... for a long time. It has to take a lot of balance.

Baby X Eating... All Hands

Baby X eating... he's started trying to "help" by grabbing the spoon.

Buddy At Bat

While B was reading These Happy Golden Years to Princess Sparkley (and Buddy) last night, I noticed Buddy doing this, so caught it with my digital camera without him noticing.

Nephew at Cabela's

My brother's wife's parents live in north central Missouri, so my brother's oldest son flew out to spend a week with them. He flew into Kansas City so we met him at Cabela's in KC, KS real quick. Princess Sparkley didn't get to go because she'd thrown up that morning. She stayed home with B while B cleaned an organized our house. (THANKS!) Buddy was pretty shy. When we moved from California Buddy was almost 18 months old. And we've only all been back once, a year and a half ago. So he's heard of this cousin, and likes the idea of him, but doesn't remember him at all. Baby X gave him lots of smiles and I insisted that my nephew give Baby X all the kisses grandma sent for us.

[What's with the face I'm making?]