Saturday Blah

The goal of this blog was to create a post everyday. Now that it is summer, I think I can keep up with it. We'll see how it goes once school starts in August. Today is just a BLAH day. I'm not feeling great- congested, scratchy throat, and coughing. Due to the high cost of gas, Matt and I have decided to shop locally. This decision means we must do some shopping at Walmart. It's funny how money sometimes compromises our belief system. (We were previously avoiding Walmart due to their practices and the documentary - The High Cost of Low Price.) I decided that I would do the shopping on my own - Geez Walmart is still a zoo despite the huge expansion into a super walmart. I have vowed never to enter the doors of Walmart on a Saturday afternoon again ---big mistake. I think this is our first weekend that we have free- the first one in a very long time!

Cousin Sleepover

Pictured here are Abby with her cousin Max and Owen with his cousin Sam. Sam and Max are brothers, they are Matt's brother's two oldest boys. Tonight, the boys are staying the night with us while their parents go out for their anniversary. We are taking everyone out to eat Applebees for an easy supper. A student of mine that works at Applebees hooked me up with some free Kid's Meals!! Abby and Owen are excited for their cousins to come over and play.

South Dakota Here We Come....

After watching National Treasure 2, I was sold that we must take a family vacation to see Mt. Rushmore. Now, I have been there before when I was in high school. My family took a 2 week vacation out west...but that is for another post. After discussing the vacation with the money man (aka as my husband), he realized that yes we could do this vacation for a reasonable amount of money (stimulus check). Now we are in the process of making solid plans. I am not a camper so tent camping is out for me. I do not enjoy taking a hike to get clean along with strangers. It's just not my ball of wax. My kids on the other hand would LOVE to go camping. I'm checking out a "pseudo camping experience"- CABINS. In reality, the place where we sleep shouldn't be elaborate--- it is the sightseeing that is important. I think if I book a cabin the kids will be in shock - no cable TV, no air conditioning, no phone. How will they ever survive? Instead of buying some books about South Dakota, I got a PLAC card for libraries in Indiana. Off to the new Central Library in search of great tourism books for South Dakota, we went. I was impressed with the grand selection of books. One book took my interest the most "Midwest Marvels". This book contains interesting stuff in various states of the Midwest. Here are some places we plan to hit thanks to Midwest Marvels:

1. Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota ( we went on our family vacation as well....19 years ago)
2. Dinosaur Park in Rapid City South Dakota ( part of FDR's New Deal )
3. President's Park in Lead South Dakota ( a park where presidents where carved trying to decide who else who get to be on Mt. Rushmore)
4. Wall Drugs in Wall South Dakota
5. Flintstone's Bedrock City in Custer SD

and Matt wants to go to the World's Largest Golden Spike in Council Bluffs Iowa. I'm not so sure about that!