Little House on the Prairie

Last spring, as winter drug on and on, Miss Mouse and I spent each early afternoon cuddling in the living room chair reading the Little House on the Prairie series. I made the mistake of not sensoring the chapter about Pa being chased by wolves on his way home, so it is going to take some convincing of the poor Miss Mouse before she signs up for the second book in the series. She genuinely enjoyed learning about how bread and butter and cheese (with subtle edits by Mommy) and clothing were made years ago. She even has me making bread only by hand these days. I do use a hand mixer, but she begs and begs that we do the bread making together by hand that way rather than in the convenient, and much less house-warming, bread machine. Her favorite chapter, I believe, was about a dance held at Pa's parents' house right after a late spring snow storm. They called the snow "sugar snow", and the chapter involved a lot of information about maple syrup making, something in which her Grandpa Dick excels. Add to that a dance with fiddle music, which she knows about courtesy of Auntie Laura, and it made for quite a well-loved chapter.

Hence, it seemed natural to me that she would enjoy a re-enactment of sorts near where we used to live. We made the hour and twenty minute trip down there last Saturday and spent over two hours soaking up the summer heat and sites, sounds, and smells of life a hundred plus years ago.

In the first picture, she is trying sauerkraut with knoephla. It was homemade, and she loved it. Sunny Mouse turned up her nose and definitively refused to try it.


My Sunny Mouse did find a treat to her liking, though, in the fried bread dough with jam. Miss Mouse, of course, loved those, as well. The treats had begun with hand-cranked ice cream, chocolate for the girls, raspberry for the parents. You can use your imagination to picture why there are no photos of that experience. Just combine near-90 degree temperatures and soft ice cream...





Throughout the day there are old-time games for the kids. We missed out on the hot potato game because we were petting a kitten that the sauerkraut creators had brought along with them, but Miss Mouse got in on the tug-of-war.

Unfortunately, and horrifyingly to me, I'm sure I came across as a competitive, crazy mother. You can see Miss Mouse is at the end of the tug-of-war line on her side. When the contest got going, she stood there, sort of confused as to what she was supposed to do. In fear that she would be crushed by the rest of the group as they pulled and leaned back, and worse yet if they tumbled back on top of her, I started telling her to "Pull! Pull! Pull on the rope!" I said it all with a smile and laugh because it really was a hilarious site, but as the group got closer to her, I did lean in and pull on the rope behind her to show her what she was supposed to do. She does really well joining in on things if she understands them, and since she wasn't really joining in, I figured she probably didn't "get" the game. It wasn't until afterwards that I realized I probably looked like those crazed parents at the kiddie-track-day last spring that were yelling at their 4-year-olds to "run through the pain"! Ugh.


As you can see, the next round of the game included adults. Mr. T and a great friend of mine, whom I knew we would have a chance to see there, encouraged Sunny Mouse to join in with us, but the closest she got was to pull on my leg. Apparently that was her best effort at that time of day. She was asleep about 2 minutes after we left the farm! She really did try to be a good sport, and for most of our time there, she loved it!

Miss Mouse wanted to watch each of the spinners who were turning wool into string and then yarn. There must have been eight women or so, each with their own spinning wheel, and, since each wheel was a bit different, Miss Mouse insisted on visiting each one. I loved her interest! Some of the women ignored us, but there were four who were excited for her interest, as well, and let her feel different types of yarn and explained some of the process to her. We decided it would certainly be a long process if Mommy had to raise the sheep, shear it, wash the wool, comb it out, and then spin it...all before I even started to make a hat! It does strike me, though, to think of how valued that hat would be. My hope is that exposing the Mice to a world where they can see, hear, taste, smell, and touch how things used to be, how wool is connected to the hats that we buy or make, how pie looks and smells when cooked over a wood fire in a Dutch oven, will help them not take for granted the food, clothing, and possessions we have. Reconnecting with an old friend was another fun highlight of the day, though....I can't honestly say the trip down there was completely focused on the Mice and completely altruistic! Mr. T and I had a pretty great time, as well!

An Ice Cream Truck Caper

Three years ago, the ice cream truck rolled by with its out-of-tune calliope, and I went berserk. You can see a post about it here. That was the first time I had ever seen a real ice cream truck, and I was out of my head with excitement! I didn't think they existed anymore, and for all I knew, they never really had to begin with! But there it was, rolling slowly down our street! It was a good day....possibly made better by the fact that Miss Mouse wasn't too thrilled about the popsicle, which meant I got to eat most of it. Teehee.

It has been three years, though, since I have had the opportunity to chase that truck and return with the prized popsicle. Apparently, we are not a block with enough children, or maybe we're a block with a bunch of really cheap parents (like myself) who won't likely buy a treat each time the truck goes by. Whatever the reason, the calliope is not oft-heard on this street. So when it was last week, the girls shrieked in unison, "The ice cream truck!!", which was mostly hilarious because Sunny Mouse didn't have a clue what she was cheering about. She just knew she should be excited because Big Sister was. Last year, Grammy chased the truck and brought back the prize, so Miss Mouse knows well the tasty treat that comes from that musical, off-key, white vehicle. She was ecstatic and sent me out with shouts of encouragement to "run fast!".


Off I ran, shoeless, chasing the silly truck. Mr. T was still preparing for his bike ride, so I was able to chase that truck all the way down the block without worrying about having to stop to return to the Mice empty-handed. Apparently, he had shouted at me to run on the grass to save my feet, but I was so focused on chasing the popsicle prize that I hadn't understood anything he had said.

On a particularly slushy day last winter, I went out to check the mail in my t-shirt, flowered kitchen apron, a pair of shorts, and knee-high muckboots. It wasn't until halfway down the driveway that I realized what a site I must have been for the neighbors. Well, last week, it wasn't until halfway down the block that it occurred to me that perhaps the neighbors are all just getting used to this weird, eccentric mom......



As I returned to the yard, I held the two popsicles in the air, victorious, as Mr. T shook his head and chuckled.

To return to the cheers of the Mice and see their incredibly excited faces, though, was so very worth the bruises I found on my left foot the next day!

Aaahhh....satisfaction. Miss Mouse loves her popsicles. She doesn't often get the sugary kind like this. Her crazy mommy makes them from pure pureed fruit, sometimes adding yogurt, but it's always fun to have a treat....especially when it ends up being a once-a-year prize from the ice cream truck!

The anticipation was so exciting for Sunny Mouse!

She isn't sure whether she's more excited about her picture being taken or the popsicle in her hands.




The first bite......

....was really, really cold....and sort of sour....and disappointing.

But this is one determined Mouse. She decided maybe it would taste better cut apart.

But it was still cold. And still sour. And her expression really says to me, "What did I get myself into? What am I doing? What am I going to do about this? This is not what I expected."

Yet she'll keep on tryin'. This little Mouse didn't yield any of her popsicle mess to me. She tried and tried to enjoy it at the level of her big sister, and although she failed in the enjoyment category, she definitely mushed it beyond my being able to take any of it (aside from the one or two bites I snuck as I cut the thing apart!).

New Holiday Tradition?

This has been a lovely summer for us. Both Memorial Day and Independence Day were spent out at the lake with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Dick and Daddy! For the 3rd and 4th of July, we got to reconnect with Daddy's cousin and his family who were also spending Independence Day there. We hadn't seen them for two years, and, wow, kids grow up amazingly in two years! We are still wrapping our heads around the idea that their oldest boy, Erik, will be 18 this fall. Mr. T and I giggled (well, he laughed - he claims men don't really "giggle"; he laughed, and I giggled) about the fact that I was only two years older than Erik is now when Mr. T and I met. I felt so grown-up at that time, and yet I still can't help but see Erik as the 7-year-old that I met ten years ago! The Mice had a great time with the younger two children, too, and Sunny had warmed up enough to start flirting with everyone by the time we left, even though she was woefully exhausted and glued to Mommy for most of the day. It's always treasured time when we get to spend time together on a holiday as a whole family unit of four. The Mice love it just as much as we do, too.

Notice that Miss Mouse is wearing the shorts, while Sunny Mouse is wearing the shirt? Grammy found a sale on cute clothes, but the only appropriate sizes left each girl with one of the matching set! I am a sucker for matching Mice, so I loved it! We have a picture of Sunny Baby Mouse on that same church pew bench, with the same quilt as a background, two years ago. I shake my head at how quickly she has gone from that baby to this little girl. Each day that goes by reminds me even more of the importance of slowing down to focus on and enjoy each moment. The moments, the days, the weeks, the months, the years all pass so quickly.

Great Aunt Linda and Great Uncle Dale brought the Mice these little presents - Hawaiian-type leis (Did I come even close to spelling that right, I wonder?!). The girls wore them nearly nonstop all weekend, and Sunny even insisted on having hers in her carseat, although I refused to let her wear it around her neck. She was content as long as she could hold it! I should probably add that Sunny is making a happy face in that picture, and Miss Mouse is "holding and walking" her. It's one of their new pastimes, I guess! Sunny Mouse will come running, asking Miss Mouse to "hold and walk" her. I do supervise pretty closely because of the nature of the choking-type grab, but they seem to do quite well and be gentle to eachother for the most part.

Perhaps you're wondering if the "new holiday tradition" of the title refers to spending time together out at my in-laws. It does not, although that is a very nice tradition we have going on. We're blessed to be able to have lake kids and farm kids simply by virtue of our parents' living arrangements! Alas, the tradition I referred to has solely to do with our apparent penchant to become storm chasers. Really, what family of four, with two small children, does not think storm chasing is a great idea to incorporate into their summer holiday activities? Um, yeah.

We inadvertently (and stupidly) drove straight into the big Memorial Day storm. Driving into a dark, black wall cloud, hearing 'tornado warning for" and then knowing that you are driving in the exact location they just named on the radio....it wasn't our most brilliant moment, and unfortunately, it was not my calmest moment under pressure, either.

When I was 11, a terrible storm rolled through the farm. I remember looking at the clock in the kitchen and thinking "3:11? Wow, that's funny that the clock got reset...." because I for a brief moment thought it was night. The clouds were that dark outside. I've never experienced anything like that again, thankfully. My Dad had been in town and driven into it to get home to us. We had run frantically to put in our toys and pick everything up outside as we saw the wall cloud approach. I remember my Dad making the call that we would be going to the basement, which my Mom and sister heeded. He, though, headed to the back of the house for the flashlight, and I followed him instead of going downstairs right away. We both remember the walls of the hallway shaking as we were making our way back to the front of the house heading for the basement stairs. I think he nearly jumped down the staircase carrying me with him. When we all got back upstairs after the storm had passed, our garage had been pulled off its foundation and moved a couple feet from straightline winds. Since then, I've been extremely skiddish of serious storms. Certainly driving straight into them in the dark is not something that I do very well with!

So, there we were during the Memorial Day storm, with two wide-awake little Mice in the backseat, a Mommy in the front seat shaking like a leaf, and a Daddy with white knuckles on the steering wheel. It was great fun. Insert sarcasm here please. Thankfully we got home right through it just fine....our fence in the backyard was not so fortunate, but with a few days' worth of hard work, Mr. T was able to fix that.

Fast forward to Independence Day....yet again, we had not looked at the radar before we left.....we've definitely learned our lesson now....but, we were visiting and having a good time; Miss Mouse was squirrelly; Sunny Mouse was clingy; we just didn't think to check the radar. But we should have. Oh, we really should have.

About 45 minutes into our drive, we realized we were heading into something again. We thought we'd skirt it, but the farther east we got, the more we were sure we were driving straight into it. White knuckles and shaking Mommy enter the picture again, although at least this time the Mice were happily snoozing! We decided to be more intelligent this time and attempt to drive south of the storm, loop around behind it, and return north. It was a great idea....if the storm hadn't blown up into a 100-mile line out of which we were not able to drive. We ended up driving into Minnesota and just driving ahead of the crazy lightning and wind. We didn't think driving into town while the tornado sirens were going off was a great idea, so we headed the opposite direction. Really, if we could have gotten back to my in-law's, we would have holed up there for sure! Instead we followed my father-in-law's advice and rode the storm out in Minnesota. He had access to the radar, and, since we couldn't hear the radio information for all the lightning static, we called him and relied on his assessment of the storm. We actually got a hotel room, woke the girls up, moved us all inside, and weathered the storm there. The girls fell asleep again. After the storm passed, we woke the girls up again, got in the vehicle, and got them back to sleep in the vehicle again. We left the lake at 8:30 or so. We got home at 2 a.m., moved the girls inside again and were thankful that they both stayed asleep through the last move. I'm hopeful it was the scariest and longest trip home from the lake that we will ever have! We love the traditions there, but this storm chasing is not one that we want to add to our list - fishing, baking, coloring, reading, relaxing - great, but storm chasing? Not so much!

Sunny's facial expression here is very similar to what mine must have been as we drove closer and closer to the blackish-greenish wall clouds. We do look an awful lot alike, but I'm fairly sure I didn't look nearly as cute as she did with that same expression!

He Sang Medora....Medora....

Anyone who has been to Medora perhaps remembers at least some of the words to the intentionally-haunting song that is sung every year at the musical. It talks about, romances really, the lives of the Marquis de Mores and his wife, Medora. I believe she was 25 around the time they lived out there, a far cry from her roots, her familiar territory, in France. She seems to have been younger to me every year I get older! Having heard that song every year since I was two, I've grown to love it, and every year I let myself fall into the enchantment of the land, dreaming about Medora's loneliness for her husband as she spent time in the Badlands during his frequent international hunting expeditions and her devotion to him to stay where he chose even though it was, perhaps, not where she would have preferred to summer. Personally, the area is one of my favorite spots in the world. It's almost unreal for me to be able to share that enchantment with our daughters, seeing that they are being taken under the magical spell of the Teddy Roosevelt/deMores/cattle ranching/mysterious Badlands myths, as well. Sharing special places, like Mr. T's family's lake place or Medora for my family, from our childhoods, though it does not make for a particularly exotic vacation, is a wonderful thing.


Last year, Miss Mouse called the area McDora. Strange, given she has not once in her life, that I recall, ever been to a McDonald's. But it was definitely "McDora" for about eight months. She had a blast there, even though we got rained out of the musical and spent most of our time in Grammy and Grandpa Bob's camper riding out rainstorm after rainstorm.

This year we told her that she could climb a mountain in the badlands. She had made a paper chain to count down to our trip to Montana, listing "climb a mountain" as her first priority for the vacation. When I told her the trip had been cancelled, she asked to listen to a classical cd I had been playing "because it sounds like the mountains". So, we made sure she had the opportunity to climb her mountain.

All four of us climbed what we think was the highest peak in the South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Sunny and I had just about made it to the top when Miss Mouse passed us heading back down the "mountain". She explained breathlessly that she wanted to go down and "climb it again!" So, climb it again she and Daddy did. Then, they had to climb another more rolling hill nearby because she wanted to be sure to climb all possible "mountains" available. We did include another "mountain" climb the next day when, on the way home, we stopped to see Salem Sue. Surely, everyone is familiar with the largest Holstein cow in our state? I remember milking her as a child on my Dad's shoulders, but I didn't remember that there was a rather craggy hill rising behind her. We, of course, all climbed that, too. Up until that point, Miss Mouse had been grouchy and upset about leaving Grammy and Grandpa Bob and Medora (no more McDora). Once we climbed the next mountain, though, she was fine! I'm not sure what this bodes for her future!

Funny little Sunny Mouse had a bit of a tough time with the mountain climb. She did great physically, holding my hand and refusing any other additional help (i.e., 'Can I carry you?' - "NO!"), but when we got to the top, she surveyed the surroundings....and then her little lip quivered, and she said "But where is the water?" She doesn't say her "r"s yet, so that made it all the sweeter. Anyway, she has been quite confused as to the difference between "fountains" and "mountains"; I knew this, but I thought we had gotten past it. Apparently, we had not. She was so, so sad that there was no water. When I explained that Fountains have water while Mountains are for climbing, she then spent the rest of the evening saying "Silly me! I was confused! I thought it was a Fountain! But it was a Mountain!" She didn't feel the need to climb the second, rolling hill, so she played in the sand at the base instead....practicing her silly faces, I think.

To prove that she does indeed have a sweet smile, similar to yet more mischevious than her sister's, I was pleased to have gotten this picture of my relaxed smallest Mouse, enjoying the sand, the wind, the sun, and the entire vacation.

Vacation 2011

Our vacation pictures this year were supposed to include snow-capped mountain peaks, waterfalls, and ice-cold mountain-valley lakes. Unfortunately, due to disastrous flooding in our state, Amtrak, our ride out to said mountains, had to cancel service. None of the adults involved thought three days of driving each direction, six days total, sounded very fun for two little Mice to spend four days in the mountains. Although this was a disappointing change of plans for us, our disappointment paled in comparison to that of those who have lost homes or farms to water. We had a wonderful time spending Mr. T's time off together, which was the most important goal of our vacation plans anyway. The mountains will be there next year...hopefully the glaciers will still be, as well, if they don't melt and flood our state (insert sarcasm here).

Pink is great! Really, what can be more fun than pink Carhart-type jackets?


She caught it herself. Really, truly. Miss Mouse is so proud that she caught a bass, a bluegill, and a perch. She also held the leeches being used for bait to show me that she loved holding them. Gulp.

Our surprisingly contemplative Sunny Mouse. She enjoyed her time at the lake, although she told me, on our second pontoon ride, that "The boat heets (hurts) my tummy. Make it stop.". At least we got one ride in. That's definite progress for the poor little queasy stomach! Her favorite outdoor activity was splashing her little legs in the water from the dock. The only way they would reach is if I pulled up her pantlegs and held onto her as she stretched to reach the water. She called it "fimming" (swimming).

Miss Mouse spent hours fishing. We were so incredibly thankful for the strong breeze that blew the majority of our vacation at Grandma Kathy's and Grandpa Dick's. That breeze made it possible for Miss Mouse and her Daddy to fish off the dock again, and again, and again. They did set a crayfish trap but got "skunked" with that endeavor.

Miss Mouse is on her third pair of sunglasses this year, and they happen to be on loan from her father. In fact, today at home he wore them to mow the lawn, and she said, "Oh, Daddy is borrowing my sunglasses." We had to have a talk about the fact that they are his and are on temporary loan to her until she finds her second pair. The loan is in lieu of her emptying her piggy bank to replace the second pair (first pair came from the Easter Bunny; second pair came from a generous Daddy; third pair are actually Daddy's....and I think she loves them the best!). I thought this was a funny picture both of sweet Miss Mouse enjoying a cloudy picnic at the farm, and of the action of the rest of us reflected in her eyes. Hmm...If I think about that, it's fairly profound actually, since every single thing I do is taken in and reflected through those observant, open, curious, joyful eyes.



We did spend some time climbing "mountains", swimming, biking, and taking in some tourist attractions. I'll post those pictures another time since it is getting past my bedtime, especially when poor Sunny is giving up her naps and consequently going to bed at 6:45 (after three hours of unconsollable fussing and crabbing). I did want to get up at least some vacation pictures, though, to remind myself, as I read through this in three years, that we had one and that we enjoyed it immensely!

Happiness & Fire

Our little mice are aptly named. Miss Mouse exudes happiness and sweetness per her name, and Sunny is fiery and zealous in her pursuits per her name. Put them together, and I have a backyard full of summertime entertainment! *Sidenote: To increase the speed with which these pictures load, I decreased their quality. They really were nice quality pictures until I did so....

I know this one is completely blown out, but I love it because of that. We were preparing the pool, which was cracked and ruined in the Memorial Day storm, for Hubert's bath. I have no pictures of that wet event.



They're standing in said pool.

My little Sunny Mouse.

It doesn't get much better than a sundress, a 90-degree day, and a pink hat.

We have to sniff the dandelion.

Then bathe it in the pool.

Uh-oh. Little Sister has the hose. Seriously, I turned my back to lock the garage door, and she somehow found the hose and figured out how to turn it on. This shouldn't surprise me coming from my little engineer. The other day when Miss Mouse had given herself a rug burn tripping as she was racing down the hall, Sunny ran to get her an ice pack from the freezer. When she didn't return to Miss Mouse's side, I checked on her just in time to see her attempting to use a pen to pry open the freezer door. It didn't work, but I thought it was pretty ingenious for a 2-year old. Anyway, today she successfully figured out the hose nozzle.

And it's cold water!

She contemplating spraying me. I know she'll do it.....She just won't give me a hint as to when....

Big Sister came back for more and then remembered how cold it is!

What you can't hear through this picture is the evil-sounding belly laugh that went along with the expression. She knows that I know she's going to come after me.....

But first she has to water her head.

And her back....

And her mouth.....

Muwahahahahaha.....And she really did get me completely soaked as I ran into the house with my camera tucked under my shirt....and then I ran right out again to join the soaking fun!

Even though Miss Mouse has a nasty cold, Sunny has gone through four outfits today between wanting to change her "look" and being soaked through, and everyone (mainly me) is a bit crabby as we wait to hear whether our train trip to the mountains will be cancelled.....These girls still make my day, warm my heart, and, together with their Daddy, are the purpose and loves of my life.

Better than I Could Say

This blog post answers a question that apparently many have, but it answers it far better than I could. An interesting, uplifting, encouraging, inspiring, and challenging read.