We went on another weekend trip this last weekend. C's cousin was having her mission farewell three hours away, so we headed up. Craters of the Moon National Park is half-way between us and them, so we stopped on our way and took a look around, letting the girls stretch their legs. Lucky for us we picked the right trail, and the girls just started asking to be carried as we walked the last 100 ft to the car. Perfect timing!
C's Aunt and Uncle have a farm, and there's just something about going there. You can smell the fresh cut hay, ride in the home-made horse buggy, and let the kids run free in the fields. We had a lot of fun.
C's cousin, now grown and raising his own family on the farm, put together this horse buggy. The best part about it is the comfy seat he put on the back. L was so thrilled she couldn't stop giggling, and when I let her hang her feet over the edge, she was in heaven.
C's cousins have settled down all within easy distance of each other, and they each have a mini-van full of kids, so when they get together, there are eighteen kids between the ages of 13 yrs and 7 wks. They get together often enough that they treat each others kids like their own, and their kids accept an aunt or uncle as quickly as their parents. It wasn't long before I found myself sucked into it. Now, I've never really been a kid person, and kids have never really paid much attention to me. But these kids are so conditioned to accepting every adult that it wasn't long before I had kids coming to me to blow up balloons, to kiss their scraped knees, and to sit in my lap. While we were on the horse buggy, one little girl climbed into my lap, declared she was cold, and told me to warm her up. I was a little surprised, but I cuddled her up and rubbed her arms to warm her up. After a while, I got distracted by something, and I stopped, only to have her object adamantly, "I'm still cold!" I just can't get over how funny it was.
Here are some of the Craters of the Moon Pics:
And these are the reasons we like the West. Our kids have gotten to see relatives so much more often since we've moved here. Here's a pic with their great-great-grandma:
And L with her namesake:
And L, having made friend with the girls her age at the farm, running off merrily into the sunset holding hands.
Who says the midwest is the heartland?!
Who says the midwest is the heartland?!
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