Little Junkels: August 2021

Fun stops

Prepare for many, many pictures! Be safe, hydrate first.

We stopped to feed prairie dogs.

I saw a sign for a pioneer sod home and had to see it! Then Dad realized we had before, sometime in the 90s.

Fun with Grandma

How many preschoolers can she read to at once? There were only 3 to try, but we don't know her max.

This once had a motor, but now it's Patti-powered

Bear Country

We drove through and saw lots of animals, and then walked and saw more. Isi loved the marten, she kept wanting to go back.

Bear cubs!

Wall Drug

We stopped by Wall Drug and had some donuts and water.

The kids might believe in jackalopes. No one told them otherwise.

These were worth every quarter.

Badlands

Alright blog readers, prepare yourself for some photos. You'll need to go to the next page to see it all! South Dakota, 2021.

This is the Badlands. We went on our last day and it was really cool, which is great because it wasn't a very well planned trip.

Where are the big kids? you might be asking yourself. They were so busy climbing on everything we didn't get many pictures.

Isi wanted to walk HERSELF. She did not want a hand, she did not want to be carried, she did not want to stay on the path. She wanted to walk off the mountain, dangit! Where we could agree on what she should do she enjoyed acting like a big kid.

Here's Grandpa and Max, but Nora and Lisa walked along a path really far out! It doesn't look like there are safe ways to get around, but there are actually a lot of places that are well-trodden. This one even had yellow sticks marking a way to see a cool view.

Tri Family Tournament: The First Annual Decathlon

Kelsey designed a decathlon for our last day.

They started in the hot tub, hearing the rules. The top 3 scorers got points (30 for first place, 20 for second, 10 for third)

Event 1 was jumping as many times as you can in a minute. Max won! 106 jumps!! The next highest was only in the 70s. Most kids had the sprinkler on during jumping.

Then, more hot tub while we played The Quiet Game. A winner, for sure. The four oldest kids tied by not making a noise even while being heckled.

Here you can see soccer. They each got five kicks and Kelsey was goalie. James won with 3/5.

Not pictured: ice cream break

Basketball! The 3 little kids tried 5 baskets, the 3 big kids played PIG. Nora won for younger kids, James for older.

This was my personal favorite. Kelsey suggested a crab race relay, but the adults rebelled. Instead it was a wheelbarrow race! Nora and Jeff won by an inch, the boys were a close second (and it was staggered so they went the farthest). Tessa and Max struggled and it was all hilarious.

A fun game! Make Noah smile :) It wasn't very fair because she was happier sometimes, but the clear winner was Charlie at 5 seconds. He has a lot of practice cheering up babies.

Not pictured: Go Fish (I helped Max play, missed a photo op). Big kids: Lucy won. Little kids: Nora, I think? Not me and Max

Also not pictured: chalk art. Kelsey drew a shape and kids had to close their eyes and try to draw it again. Charlie won!

A family favorite: SPUD. Little kids had adult helpers, but James won.

This is bocce ball. Kelsey threw a ball and the kids got as close as they could. James won.

Here's the award ceremony. There was music. We were impressed by Max's perseverance, Nora's unexpected sports skill level, and the three big kids' attitudes. James was the overall winner and got to choose a movie to watch, Star Wars something. Nora was second, and Charlie and Lucy tied for third.