Ninjas

Last summer at the Renaissance Fair Eden bought a little wooden shield and sword, which gave me the great idea that she should be Eowyn (from Lord of the Rings) for Halloween.  We could get a pretty, medieval looking dress, do her hair like Eowyn in the movie, and every time someone opened a door she could brandish her sword and shield and declare, "I am no man!"  Totally awesome, right?  But, Eden had other ideas.  She wanted to be a ninja, a pink ninja, to be exact.

I spent weeks trying to convince her to be Eowyn.  I told her the story of how Eowyn slew the King Ringwraith.  I showed her pictures online of her pretty dresses and pretty hair.  I told her she could use her shield and sword.  We practiced saying "I am no man!"  She seemed to enjoy it all, but every time I asked her if she wanted to be Eowyn for Halloween she said, "No, I think I want to be a pink ninja."

So, I gave up the idea of Eowyn (for this year) and bought her a pink ninja outfit.  Z was already planning to be a ninja, which I'm pretty sure was the major influence on Eden's choice.  But, when all was said and done, they did make a pretty good pair of ninjas.

Orlando, Florida

We're in sunny Florida right now.  Yesterday's high was 81, today's was 84.  Lovely.  The kids have been looking forward to this vacation for months (and so have I).  When we arrived in the Orlando airport Eden was so excited and kept saying, "I can't believe we're in Florida!  I can't believe we're in Florida!"  We went to the carousel to pick up our bags and while we were waiting we overheard a woman on her cell phone who seemed to talking to some computer trying to get information, maybe a phone number.  Finally she lost her patience and yelled really loudly, "Orlando f***ing Florida!"  Yikes.

We got our bags and went outside to get a taxi.  As we walked out of the airport we were enveloped in warm, humid air.  I said, "Yay, we're in Florida!"  Eden looked up at me with a super happy smile and yelled in her most excited voice, "Orlando f***ing Florida!"

Let the good times roll! :-)

Eden's Vehicle Aspirations

Nathan here.  Eden informed me the other day that she likes, even prefers, trucks.  When I asked if she would consider having a truck as her first vehicle when she gets to be a teenager, she answered in the affirmative.  Very quickly she added, "A pink truck.  With unicorns on it."

Texans in South Dakota

So I have a lot of catching up to do!  We're going to go back to last summer and gradually, over Christmas break, I will try to bring this blog up to date.

Last summer Lee (Nathan's dad) and Derek (Nathan's brother) came to visit from Texas.  We had a great time with them and did lots of fun stuff.  Hopefully they had as much fun as we did!

We went to the Old Courthouse Museum and took a trip on the Oregon Trail:

And we went to Lake Alvin to swim and picnic.

And Palisades:

We're Moving!

For about three years, Nathan and I have been thinking about the idea of moving to the edge of Sioux Falls, maybe on a little acreage, preferably something near the water.  We've looked at dozens of properties online and looked at quite a few in person.  Two years ago we actually made an offer on a five acre property right on the river, but the deal fell through due to the inspection.  We've kind of discovered that the places we like are out of our price range, and the places in our price range are not places we like.

Anyhoo . . . about two weeks ago one of Nathan's colleagues brought a new property to our attention.  It was way too expensive, so neither one of us thought anything of it until our friend mentioned the owners might be open to renting.  Nathan did a little digging online and then called the owners, and it turned out this was true.  After some negotiating, we have signed a lease and will be moving to our new place in two weeks!  We'll be there for at least a year, maybe longer.  We're keeping our current house and renting it out for the year.  The new house is quirky (it's round) but also charming, but best of all it's on a five acre lot right on the river with fantastic river access.  It really is quite beautiful.  Eden and I have big plans to hatch ducklings and adopt turtles next spring and summer.  It's at the end of a paved road, which means good driving during winter but not much traffic, and (one of my favorite little details) it's right across the street from the Sioux Falls Polo Club.  Actual polo is played there during the summer.

If you'd like to see pictures, check out this site.  And if you want to help us move, just let us know!!

Sleepy Talk

I just went downstairs to check on the kids.  They've been in bed for about an hour.  Eden, sound asleep, was wrapped up in a fleece blanket and getting sweaty.  So I unwound the blanket and covered her with a lighter blanket.  Just as I was kissing her, she started to talk, but I don't think she was really quite awake.

"Mama, I like your . . . I like your . . . I like your . . . "

She rubbed her face and tried again:  "Mama, I like your . . . I like your . . . "

She paused to gaze into my waiting face.  One more try:  "Mama, I like your . . ."

Pregnant pause, and then,  "I like your . . . I like your brain."

And all quiet.  Sleepy girl.

Happy Birthday Dear Yaya!