Family Vacation

Perfect Start To a Wonderful Vacation

It doesn’t seem possible that two weeks ago we were preparing for our Black Hills vacation. This was going to be the first time in years that my husband and I would be vacationing with our sons….and the first time ever vacationing with our daughter-in-laws and grandchildren.

It seems like the planning, since last Christmas, went on forever. Then there was this flurry of last minute planning and then wallah…..we were on the road and heading west.

Dignity

As we came from three different locations; we arranged to meet at Chamberlain, South Dakota for a chance to group up and walk around a bit. Two of our sons and their families met us there.  If you have never been to the rest stop at Chamberlain; you really need to put it on your list of places to stop.

There is an amazing, huge, beautiful sculpture called Dignity. It is a sculpture of a native American woman and it is wonderful.

There is also a great visitor center with hands-on activity for the kids and kids at heart.

Grandpa and a couple grandkids

We then made our way to Wall, SD where we went through the Badlands National Park. This has always been a favorite for our family as anyone is allowed to scramble up the rocky hills…..another great place for the young and young at heart!

You do have to be a bit careful around the edges as the rock is very crumbly and some drop offs are a long long way down.

The grandson enjoying the Wall Drug Backyard splash pad.

The day was very hot and it was a relief to cool off at Wall Drug and get our free glass of ice water. Even though it was hot, my husband had to have his nickel cup of coffee!

The grandkids all enjoyed the splash pad and ended up dripping wet. The youngest was not so sure about it once the water had shot right past his nose and landed on his head.

The next morning we met up with the middle son and his wife over a morning snack of the famous Wall Drug maple frosted donuts and that nickel cup of coffee. My husband loves to check for the day-old donuts as they are much cheaper that way! I really should have gotten a photo of those donuts….they are amazing.

We then headed on to the Hills; with a short stop at Ellsworth Air Force Base to check out the airplanes and the museum. It was a good place to let the kids run and it was easy to keep track of them all.

Mt. Rushmore

We journeyed on to Mt. Rushmore….or as my granddaughter called them….”the Fat Heads”. They are doing a lot of reconstruction right now at the heads and we had to hike the long way round in order to get close to them. I did not make it the entire way but the rest of our bunch did.

The Little Red Inn, Custer, SD

By the time we made it to our home for the next couple days it was a relief to just relax. We stayed at a place near Custer, SD called the Little Red Inn. It really felt like home, as the decor of the place had chickens!  How perfect was that? If you need a place to stay near Custer this is a wonderful place with lots of room to run. (I did not take this photo as I forgot to take one!  This is from their website….and no….I get zero kickbacks on this.)

We also celebrated the wedding anniversaries of two of our family. They were both married in July…thirteen years apart.

I went with my daughter-in-law to the Dairy Queen in Custer; to find an ice cream cake for the occasion.

We could not find an anniversary one but decided this one pretty much related to being married.  After all…..marriage can be a wild ride at times!

We spent part of our evenings playing the corn hole game. We played this as couples and held a tournament. My granddaughter named our teams without our input. We found out we had teams named: The Fairies, The Unicorns, The Mermaids and The Princesses. Fortunately the guys were pretty secure in their manliness.

I managed to talk our bunch into a group photo the night before they headed for home. It was not easy with little kids but we did manage to get one. It might not be perfect…but I decided…neither are we.

Family…..a true blessing

Our time spent with our children and grandchildren was indeed a blessing. I am not sure they realize how much those days meant to us….perhaps you have to be older to appreciate gathering and all being together, in the same place, at the same time.

It was a blessed time of making memories. It was a great time of game-playing, laughing, sight-seeing and just being together. Hopefully we can enjoy more times of the Fairies challenging the Mermaids at corn hole……

“Family is like music,
some high notes,
some low notes,
but always a beautiful song”
Unknown

 

 

Homemade Biscuits

A while back I had a craving for some biscuits and gravy. I had never really made biscuits from scratch but figured I wouldn’t be out of much if they did not turn out.

I googled homemade biscuits and found a recipe that had 5 stars and was titled as easy. For me this was a deal breaker….what was not to like about easy AND 5 stars? Here is the link to the site: Sugar Spun Run

I followed the directions exactly and was so impressed with how they turned out. Since they turned out so good, and were really delicious; I thought I should share the recipe, so you can all give them a whirl.

Homemade Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
3/4 cup whole milk

Instructions:
—For the best results, chill your butter in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beginning this recipe. It’s ideal that the butter is very cold for light, flaky, buttery biscuits.
–Preheat oven to 425ºF and line a cookie sheet with nonstick parchment paper. Set aside.
–Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside.
–Remove your butter from the refrigerator and either cut it into your flour mixture using a              pastry cutter or use a box grater to shred the butter into small pieces and then add to the flour mixture and stir.
–Cut the butter or combine the grated butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
–Add milk, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until combined (don’t overwork the dough).
–Transfer your biscuit dough to a well-floured surface and use your hands to gently work the dough together. If the dough is too sticky, add flour until it is manageable.
–Once the dough is cohesive, fold in half over itself and use your hands to gently flatten layers together. Rotate the dough 90 degrees and fold ion half again, repeating this step 5-6 times but taking care to not overwork the dough.
–Use your hands (do not use a rolling pin) to flatten the dough to 1″ thick and lightly dust a 2 3/4″ round biscuit cutter with flour.
–Making close cuts, press the biscuit cutter straight down into the dough and drop the biscuit onto your prepared baking sheet.
–Repeat until you have gotten as many biscuits as possible and place less that 1/2″ apart on baking sheet.
–Once you have gotten as many biscuits as possible out of the dough, gently rework the dough to get out another biscuit or two until you have at least 6 biscuits.
–Bake at 425ºF for 12 minutes or until tops are beginning to just turn lightly golden brown.
–If desired, brush with melted butter immediately after removing from oven.
–Serve warm and enjoy.

NOTE:  This recipe can be doubled for more biscuits

I made a double batch of these as it looked like a lot of directions to be followed. I also ended up with more than 12 biscuits. The directions really were fantastic when I followed them exactly and the biscuits turned out light and tasty.

Many of them did not make it to the table for biscuits and gravy, as my husband and I sampled them before we got that far! I must admit I do enjoy baking and cooking and I enjoy it even more when things turn out and taste good!

If you give them a try let me know how yours turned out. I have a feeling these are my new favorite biscuits and I may have to make them the next time my family comes over.

 

“Baking is like washing
–the results are equally temporary.”
― Patricia Briggs,
Raven’s Shadow

“Cooking and baking is both physical and mental therapy.”
― Mary Berry

Learning Something New

This past week my husband and I learned something new. I should also mention we did not look incredibly intelligent learning this new thing.

On our way to a family gathering, we made a quick pit stop at the local Walmart to pick up a pool skimmer I had ordered online. We made our way to the Customer Service department and showed them the email I had received.

The gal at the service department asked if we had gone to the Pickup Tower. We answered that we had not; and asked where we could find this pickup tower. She pointed to the right and told us to look for the big orange tower.

Needless to say…..I am thinking my husband and I should have our eyes checked. The Pickup Tower was HUGE and had bright orange letters that boldly stated what it was. I have no idea how we missed seeing something that big and bright.

We made our way to this tower and saw a screen with instructions. It told us to scan the bar code sent in the email. We did so and had success when the next instructions told us to reach in the locker and pick up the package and make sure to shut the door when done.

My husband and I looked at each other and wandered around that big orange tower looking for an open locker door. We were greeted by smooth, metal, orange walls….no open door.

My husband then went in search of an employee. When he came back with one, she very calmly gestured to our left and said our package was in locker number 5….yes….the door was open.

Somehow we missed this entire wall of lockers to the left of the tower. I have no explanation other than we were focused on this big tower. I told the employee they should have cameras installed to video people like us…..they could win a lot of money on some candid camera type show.

We did run into a gal from our church and we asked her if she knew about the tower and the lockers. We felt a lot better when she had no clue either!

We spent the rest of our car trip to the gathering, laughing at ourselves. We also decided that old dogs could learn new tricks!  I messed up and did not get a photo of the amazing orange tower; so the picture you get, is of my pool (yes it is a pool—-kind of like an adult wading pool)….because without that pool we never would have learned this new thing!

I am going to try be very conscious of my surroundings the next time I need to venture into an unfamiliar situation. It will probably be good to make sure my eyes are wide open and I check up, down and all around. I don’t have an issue asking questions but I really do not like looking any stupider than I have too! I can do that easy enough….obviously.

It is probably good to have things like this happen….they do tend to keep a person humble…at least they keep my pride in check.  These situations also are good for a great laugh…..if you don’t mind laughing at yourself.

May you have interesting things happen to you this week. Take time to appreciate the humor in an odd situation and always remember……you are never to old to learn something new! And one more thing….Please…please share your experiences!

“Sometimes the best hiding place
is the one that’s in plain sight.”
~ Stephenie Meyer

 

 

Two Sides to Freedom

Tonight as I went out to lock the girls in for the night I was not prepared for the beautiful orange of the western sky as it peeked between the evergreen boughs. The night was quiet with a light breeze gently moving the leaves of the flowering crab tree. It was the perfect ending to some very busy days.

The last weeks have been very busy. I have a feeling we are trying to catch up and stay ahead of things between the heavy rainstorms that we have been given. The lawn seems to be growing faster than we can get it mowed. And the weeds in the fields and garden have been doing the same.

Arnold’s Park

In between all the day to day house/farm stuff, we had the 4th of July holiday thrown in. I really love that holiday because we spend it at my sister’s place at the lake. Family and friends gather for a day of fun, food, boat rides and game playing. Stories are traded, babies are held, recipes are traded and the day ends with the traditional firework display.

As I sat there and watched those fireworks I noticed the flag flying proudly at Arnold’s Park. It did make me pause and realize what this celebration was really all about…the birth of our nation and the sacrifice it took to make it through all the labor pains of that birth.

It made me think of the blood that was shed and is still being shed so that freedoms can be protected. I am so grateful for those that are willing to make that sacrifice for us. I am grateful for those who leave their families for months at a time so I can spend a holiday with mine.

We were concerned about the weather as storms were predicted to roll in during the day….fortunately they were wrong this time. We were able to take a walk along the lake the next morning and enjoy the quiet of the lake after the very people-filled day before.

 

It was kind of amazing how quiet the water was that morning. The day before it was choppy due to all the boats and jet skis that were zipping around. It was a great reminder that there are usually two sides to most things in life…you just have to open your eyes to both of them.

In the space of 24 hours we saw both sides of the lake…the busy and the quiet. We were able to see a dazzling fireworks display and enjoy the freedom of that while reflecting on the sacrifice it takes to keep those freedoms.

I will always be grateful for those freedoms and that sacrifice. When I am privileged to stand in my backyard, inhaling the fragrance of blooming lilies, feeling the light breeze whisper past my cheek and see the sky on fire with brilliant shades of orange; I will give thanks to those who have paid the ultimate price. I will remember the two sides that are freedom.

 

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must,
like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.
Thomas Paine