Saturday, June 15, 2013

Ponderosa Ranch

The first place we stayed at, while on vacation was in a little cabin by Fort Robinson on Ponderosa Ranch. It's in Crawford, Nebraska. It was in the middle of no where.

We got there, and there were horses, pigs, chickens and sheep around a little wood cabin. The boys were in awe. Daddy checked in, and I had trouble keeping the boys in the car. They wanted to roam like the rest of the animals.

The owner came out introduced herself and said, "The boys are free to get out and run around. The sheep are tame." Out of the car they went.

Soon it was tag time between two small boys and the owners sheep.


Daddy was told where our cabin was. He was warned that there was no lock on the door, but that no one comes there.

He drove up to a little house that was white with green trim. We were there. We went into the house that was wide open. Everything looked lived in. We didn't care. Daddy had to go potty, so he did just that.

I looked around some more. I saw a check on a dresser for a larger sum. I looked out the window and saw a cabin in the back that was brown with white and green trim. I put two and two together and realized we were in the wrong place. Here the boys were running around someone's house and Daddy was locked in their bathroom. I said, "I think we're in the wrong place!"

Daddy called the cabin owners and found out we were in fact in the wrong place!

Off to our cabin we went.


It had the things we needed, but did not look lived in. The boys immediately took claim of which bunk bed they wanted.

Daddy wandered outside. Our view was amazing! It was then he realized he left his maps and paper inside the wrong house! He had to go in and claim his papers before the owner(s) got home.

I envisioned the owners of the wrong house coming home and doing God only knows what to my husband. I had no clue who lived there. You could say that I've watched way too many 48 Hours episodes.

He came home safely. Then I felt free to laugh about us going into the wrong place to stay.

The ranch was indeed beautiful! They had everything we needed. If you do go to stay somewhere in the middle of no where make sure you stop for food. Daddy told me, "We can just go to the closest town." Finding food was a hard thing to do. For once in my life I was hoping for a McDonald's just to get a grilled Southwestern Salad. It seemed like the few places to eat were pretty greasy. I'm just not used to deep fried anything, and cook mostly in olive oil. We're even used to having veggies with our breakfast. We finally found a place; to stock up. Lucky for us we had 2 refrigerators, a microwave, a stove, a coffee pot and a toaster in our cabin.

We did a lot of hiking around Ponderosa Ranch.




The boys picked wild flowers for me to put in my hair. Isaak wanted to keep adding more and more flowers.






The boys loved spotting deer, turkey, horses, cows and more animals. Remember we are city folks. All this was new for them.




We had fun walking all over the ranch. There was just endless grassy hills.

It seemed like we were on Little House on the Prairie. We stayed there for two nights. It was so pretty!

Sing, Sing a Song Saturday

I started doing what I call Sing, Sing a Song Saturday.  I'm going to post one song on Saturdays that the boys or I like. 

The song may be part of a movie, a kid's video or just a song we like. I'll try and include why we like it and/or the history of the song/singer.

I found this next band The Head and the Heart. They are a band from Seattle area. So many good bands come from Seattle! The band came together in 2009 and recorded songs in 2010.

Land of the Valley


Lost in My Mind


Visit The Head and the Heart's website.
Follow their YouTube Chanel.
Like them on Facebook.
Follow them on Twitter.

Before Our Vacation...

The boys had a little drama performance. We went on our trip right away afterwards, so I didn't get a chance to post about their drama camp show.

Isaak's drama camp was just an introductory class. There wasn't a lot that they did. When they acted it was the whole group that acted out a story. None of the kids had much of a part. I'm not down playing it. It looked fun! He looked like he enjoyed himself. I just started video taping him, then it got kind of drawn out. I really didn't end up with a whole lot of Isaak in the end of taping. I should of just taken pictures.

Mica's class was a little more advanced. He acted out a song from Lion King, another one from Wizard of Oz and another song called Coffee in a Cardboard Cup. I'm not sure where Coffee in a Cardboard Cup came from, but Mica had the biggest part in this one.

He was so fun to watch. Mica really got into all his parts. He had his grey viking shirt on. When he acted out the tin man, he turned his shirt around to be just grey. When the song was over, he switched his shirt back around. He kept handing his teacher props, and ran around to help.

Here Mica is in Coffee in a Cardboard Cup. He's the one with the black rimmed glasses. The end is the best part.


Friday, June 14, 2013

I Just Got Back From a Weeks Vacation

We surprised the boys by taking them on a weeks vacation. I packed, while they watched Magic School Bus.

I had some posts scheduled, but had no access to the internet. I will get back into the groove of commenting back to those that commented here. Plus I will post about our trip.

Of course it's raining like crazy back at home tonight. People are losing power here in Nebraska, so I don't think I'll be able to comment on anybody's blog tonight.

The boys had no clue where we were going until we got there. We kept dropping hints, but they weren't catching on.

Last year we went to Chicago by train. I know Mica wished we went by train to wherever we were going. He loved it so much! The year before we had a Staycation. It was the year my nephew was born that has trisomy 18. We weren't sure what was going to happen with him. Plus I didn't want to travel too far with a newly 3 and 5 year old. We ended up having a wonderful staycation. Much better than expected!

This time we had a very country trip. I was even a redneck by filling up mason jars for the boys to drink from. It worked out so great! I hear that drinking out of plastic sitting in the sun is so bad. Who really knows if that is true, or not. I'd rather be on the safe side though. For the record, not one broke.


From my seat, I could see Isaak best. I got the most car pictures of him. He was the one I had to occupy the most. Mica read almost the whole way there.

Did you know they make window markers now?


We drove across Nebraska, and made a pit stop to a place called Carhenge. It's a little odd to many, but kind of fun to see. I think they'd make a fortune if they sold in their little gift shop Hot Wheels sprayed and arranged just like the cars we saw.


We first stayed in a little cabin by Fort Robinson on Ponderosa Ranch. It took all day to drive there. It was literally in the middle of no where. It seemed like we were on Little House on the Prairie. We stayed there for two nights. It was so pretty!

City boys chased the owner's sheep. They were very tame. The boys did not hurt them.


This is what our cabin away from home looked like:


But our view was even better! Acres and acres of grassy hills. Where we live in Nebraska, there are not as many hills. Mica swore we were in Indiana at this time. We still didn't tell him where we were at. We kept dropping hints. Isaak on the other hand could care less about where we were; just that we weren't in the car any longer.


I'll have more to tell. We went up Fort Robinson in a jeep ride. Boy was that windy! I'll share prettier pictures later.


After that we went to Toadstool Park in Nebraska. It's much like the Badlands of South Dakota. This made me nervous. The boys wanted to climb and climb. I'm afraid of heights! I stayed low looking up at the cool place. I freaked out especially at the idea of the boys falling! I kept getting called, "Chicken". For the record Isaak only fell on the path that was on the ground.


Onward we went to South Dakota.

We stopped at Hot Springs to see a Mammoth Dig Site.



We saw Crazy Horse. That's where I almost lost my camera!



We stayed the rest of our trip at KOA Campground. They had a water slide, paddle boats, movies, swimming, a hot tub, miniature golf and more. The boys ate pancakes each morning they were there. They both ate all three. Pigs!

We saw Mount Rushmore 3 times. Once was a drive by, another was a walk right up to it, and the last time was to see the lighting. The lighting was so overrated. I thought it would be a laser light show like they do on Stone Mountain in Georgia (same carvers). NOPE! They just show a movie and light it up, then say all the military people's names. Sure it's honorable. But fun for kids, not. Grandma said I enjoyed it when I was little. Isaak fell asleep, and Mica kept asking when the light show would begin even after they lit the statues up. I was thinking the same thing as Mica. Even I was bored when they said the military people's names. It matters to them and their families. It was cool seeing them all stand up there. Will I remember their names, or what each of them did? NOPE! It was funny that Mica asked if Marack Obama would be added to Mount Rushmore?


We drove through Custer State Park.


Saw Buffalo.


We went to Wind Cave.



Went to Wyoming to see Devils Tower. The boys didn't want to stay on the trail. They were all about climbing the rocks.



Our last day we drove back to Valentine, Nebraska and saw Nebraska's largest waterfall in Smith Falls State Park. It isn't that large, but we're not known for our waterfalls.


Then it was another full day of driving.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

WW: Clamped Dinosaur Wing {Linky}

Isaak came to me with his hurt dinosaur. He said his wing was damaged. He was trying to get him better. This is what the dinosaur's looked like:


Never mind the fact that he has a play doctor's kit. I always use clamps on my hurt limbs. ;) I'm totally being sarcastic with that last sentence! Isaak proceeded to put this little dinosaur in his play goggles to carry him around, until he was better.

Isaak is a very creative, and outside the the box kind of kid when it comes to his play.


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Monday, June 10, 2013

Drama Camp

Last week Mica and Isaak both went to drama camp.

We knew Mica would be just fine. Isaak on the other hand, we were certain that he would be nervous being dropped off some place new.

One of my friends' twins were happened to be in Isaak's class. That was fun to hear. Except he didn't remember them at all. We must get together more!

I wasn't sure what they would do in drama camp.

Mica was all excited after the first day. He was given a tour of the facility where they have actual musicals and plays. He kept talking about all the costumes. For a boy Mica still really likes to dress up. He has a dress-up bin; that Isaak and him share. It's not full of girly things. They have a super hero capes, a magician robe, doctor's scrubs, a safari outfit and gear, viking hats, and Halloween costumes they still wear.

Mica's Drama Camp

They re-enacted parts of the Lion King. Mica was an elephant. He could do whatever he wanted to do to pretend to be an elephant.

The learned the song Morning Report. He also learned a few other songs. One is a song from The Wizard of Oz. Mica was super excited that he's going to be a tin man and a tornado in that song.


Isaak's Drama Camp

He made a candle and they acted out Jack Be Nimble and other nursery rhymes.

I kept messing with him and said,

"Oh ya this is how it goes,
Jack be nimble 
Jack be quick 
Jack jumped over the candle stick
and broke his head."

Isaak was like, "He didn't break his head!"

I said, "He didn't? I must have gotten that wrong."

I should have sent Isaak in his Little Jack Horner outfit he wore at preschool. That would have worked.


Anyhow drama camp was a success. They really liked it. I'm glad we signed them up for it.

I'll follow up with pictures and/or video. They did a few productions for us last Friday.

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