Visiting the American Pickers!

On our way to and from Galesburg, we stopped in Le Claire, Iowa to visit Antique Archaeology, where the American Pickers' shop is (American Pickers is a show on the History Channel...two guys from Iowa drive their van around the country and buy people's old junk, then restore and resell it).  Rich, Matt and I stopped there Tuesday on our way to Galesburg to look around a little.  We actually saw Mike (the tall guy) riding his '37 Harley Knucklehead on the way out of town :).  Since Ben and Grace didn't get to see the shop on Tuesday, we decided to stop by again today on our way back to Ankeny.  This time we hit the jackpot!  Danielle (the assistant) and Mike were both at the shop today!  We were sooooo excited!  Ben, Grace and Matt got both of their autographs on a special 8 x 10 glossy of Mike and Frank.  Mike asked Ben where he was from and when Ben said North Dakota, Mike said "Isn't it winter up there already?" :).  Danielle was super nice and loved visiting with all of the people there.  She said that her daughter's middle name is Grace.  Very cool experience!

#3 tooth, gone!

That pesky wiggly top tooth finally came out tonight!  It has been wiggly forever, and was starting to turn a little gray, so we made an extra effort tonight to get it out.  Now she has a giant hole in the front :). 

A few pics at the pool...Ben was across the pool in his tube

My lilies in the backyard were really pretty! 

Happy 4th of July!!

No big plans here, Rich is on mids and the older boys are still gone, so the little kids and I are watching the fireworks on TV....exciting!!!!  :)   We took Matt over to camp #2...a 140 mile drive.  Driving stinks.  Nice camp though, the cabins actually have air conditioning!  Matt was a little nervous, but I think he'll have fun.
A few pics of the kids in the front yard this morning:

Matt in front of his cabin

the pool at camp

isn't this the coolest thing to see on the 4th of July?!  I had to pull over and take a pic, it's a great piece of Americana!

Ben had a great time at camp!!

The kids did a little program when we picked them up.  Below is Ben's cabin counselor, Danny.

So after Phyllis and Dick left, we went back to Medora to pick Ben up from camp.  I worried and stewed all week thinking he was sad and lonely and homesick, but when we picked him up the first thing he said to me was "Can I come back next year?"  :).  He had a great time of course! 

The next day, Ben's best friend from Ankeny, Jeff, and his parents came through Bismarck for a visit.  They stayed overnight with us, then took Ben and went over to Medora (I think we've been to Medora enough to last us a few years!) for the day.  Then we met them at the Trapper's Kettle for dinner and drove over to my dad's to spend the night there.  Sunday the Barnhart's left and took Ben with them to Rapid City!  They went to Mount Rushmore, Reptile Gardens, mini-golfing, to a movie, and lots of other fun stuff.  They also went over to Wyoming to a friend's Bison Ranch.  They got to feed the bison...I guess it was really cool!  Also Sunday we took Matt over to Medora (!!) to the same camp Ben attended.  Matt's was for jr. high kids though, and was called Night Life.  They stayed up at night and slept during the day.  Grandpa Jim brought him home today and he was really pooped!  He has to turn around and go to another camp Sunday for 5 days, not sure he's looking forward to it at this point!

Matt's cabin at camp

Jeff eating a roll :).  This is the only pic of the Barnhart's I got, I can't believe it!

I'm pretty sure that Grace enjoyed being an only child for the week :).  She made her own water slide by putting the hose on the slide...she was zipping down that thing!

The dogs were anxiously awaiting my return from the mailbox :).

Part Two!

I decided to start a new post with Medora pics.  Here is the Pitchfork Fondue...they cook steaks, dip them in oil, and cook them over a fire.  Then serve a big buffet to accompany it :).  We all had full tummies afterwards, that's for sure!

The steak!  See the two pitchfork marks?

There were 2 elk roaming the hill right over and behind the musical set

They called all the kids up on stage to learn a dance move...I couldn't believe that Grace went up!  She's in the pink shirt right in the middle.  The teenage girl in the front was in the musical, she's 16 and is from North Dakota.  She was really good!  Grace got her autograph at the end :).

Inside the Abbey.  In the second pic, Phyllis is going to confession :).

Crazy June!

We had such a busy June!  It started with our trip to Iowa, then we took Ben over to camp.  During Ben's camp week Rich's mom and dad came up for a few days and we went over to Medora for the Pitchfork Fondue and the Medora Musical.  We went for a loooooonnnngggg drive to get there...up the scenic drive by the Killdeer Mountains and over to Theodore Roosevelt National Park (the North Unit).  We had a great time and did lots of driving!  On the way home we toured the Richardton Abbey, which is a beautiful church and Abbey where monks live.  They are self-sustaining and make a lot of their own food.  Very, very neat.  Thanks for a great trip Grandmother and Grandpa, it was so nice of you to come all the way up here to see us!

We stopped in Killdeer to eat lunch.  It was a small cafe called Nana Lil's, and had the oldest, most vintage looking video games I've seen in awhile!  As is most everything in North Dakota, Nana Lil's appeared to be about 20 years behind the rest of the United States :).

This is the Lost Bridge.  We aren't really sure why it was lost or what it even means, but we stopped for a good pic!

The Cannonball Concretions in TRNP

Anniversary gift

For our 20th anniversary, Rich and I decided to get new wedding rings.  Mine were looking outdated, and my anniversary band was missing a small diamond.  I wanted to use the current diamonds but get them reset in white gold settings.  Originally I wanted them all in one band, but I ended up getting another anniversary band and just resetting my solitaire.  Rich got a new white gold band too.  They're really pretty!  I'm almost afraid to wear them, I don't want to get them dirty!

Not the best picture, but you get the idea!