Nathan, Spokesman for the Heavy Games

From the Aberdeen Heavy Games, Sep 19, 2015

Feminism Fail

This evening at dinner we were discussing the merits of various superheroes.  Z asked me who my favorite superhero is, and we had the following conversation:

Me: My favorite superhero is Buffy.
Z:  Who's Buffy?
Me: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  She fights vampires.
Z:  What are her super powers?
Me:  She has super human strength and super human healing powers.
Z:  What are her weaknesses?
Me: Hmmm . . . I think the fact that she's in love with a vampire is her weakness.
Z: Yeah, that's a good weakness.  But her super powers aren't very good.  I bet Max Steele could beat her.  I bet the Hulk could beat her.
Me: No they couldn't.
Z:  Yes they could.  They have the same powers she has plus more.
Me:  She has other powers, too.  She's smart and funny and loyal and brave and kind and she takes her responsibilities seriously and -- 
Eden (interrupting calmly): And she's skinny.

What the what??

Good Times with Grandma and Grandpa

Last month Grandpa Lee and Grandma Cindy drove up from Texas to see us at the round house.  How much fun we had, watching a polo match across the street at Windrows, checking out the tractor parade at the Granite Threshing Bee, and gobbling up delicious meals left and right.  Most of all, it was just good to be with each other!

Can one eat his weight in pancakes?  Let us try.

Hiding under the cover of the trees we watched Sioux Falls polo club take down a Minneapolis squad.

The Granite Threshing Bee included a tractor pedal-pull for the kids.  Eden eagerly signed up.  Z was reluctant.  But then, spurred on by the excitement and the provision of sugary beverages by Grandpa, he signed up too.

Eden is clearly from the city.  She got clobbered by the farm girls - but was blissed out the whole time and didn't seem to notice.

Z also had a good ol' time, but didn't fare any better against the John Deere-capped youths of Iowa.  What do they feed those rural scions?

And walks by the river were enjoyed by all.

SuperMan vs. Boston Terrier

Z's 8th Birthday

Z turned 8 on July 15.  I really don't know how this is possible, but it seems to be the case.  He had two friends over for the afternoon and evening and what a good time everyone had!  The only hiccup of the day was the fact that the basketball hoop Nathan and I gave to Z came with parts missing, so we were not able to put it together for the boys to play with.  But fun was had nevertheless!

Victory over the pinata!

Opening presents.

Eden the bumblebee.

Ethan and Z.

Jackson, Z, and Ethan.

Z requested a caramel beyblade cake.  It didn't look great, but he loved how it tasted!

Cake and icecream for everyone.

Boys and beyblades!

Boys and legos.

De Smet

We love going to De Smet!  The last books of the Little House on the Prairie series all took place in De Smet, SD.  The Ingalls homestead there has been turned into a sort of living museum, and in town you can see many of the original buildings from the books, including the surveyor's house and the house Pa built for his family later in life.  The homestead is our favorite.  There are lots of animals and fun activities like washing clothes, making rope and corn cob dolls, grinding wheat.  This year we went with our good friends the Cones.

Lydia and Eden going for a buggy ride.

There was the cutest baby miniature pony.  You can see the girls adored him.  Z liked him too, I think.

Buggy rides and horse back rides for everyone.

Taking the wagon to school.  Each of the kids had a turn driving.

School time!

Making rope.  The teenagers that work there are fantastic!  This girl even remembered me from last year.

Z, Lydia, Eden, and Abby

I overheard a girl saying she had found kittens in the barn, so we went looking.  They were very hard to find hidden behind some hay bales, but totally worth it.  Their eyes were just open and they were just the sweetest thing.  We spend the last 45 minutes of our visit with the kittens -- the kids were smitten!

A kitten for every kid.

Eden and Rebecca

Abby, Z, Eden, and Lydia.

Beautiful Babies