My Birthday

My birthday was on a Tuesday this year, and though 34 is nothing of a landmark year, I felt like celebrating.  In the afternoon, the kids and I met a friend to see the new baby giraffe at the Zoo.  That baby giraffe was born taller than me.  On the evening of my actual birthday, Chuck and I went out on a date.  We had no particular destination in mind, and as it turns out, most things close early on Tuesdays where we live.  So we found ourselves at the Mall of America, and you know what?  It was fun.  We went out for dinner and then on a few amusement park rides.  I highly recommend the Avatar Airbender if you want a thrill.  We also got in on the Toddler Tuesday discount strangely enough.  

The weekend before we all went on a bike ride.  I love bike riding, but have done it far less since we moved from Hopkins.  It really is nice to be right on a bike trail.  While there are a lot of trails near us, most of them are down the bluff, and there is no good way from here to there without a car.  While Charles and I were on one of our car dates towards the end of summer, I'd spotted a promising trail.  The Big Rivers Regional Trail turned out to be just what we were looking for--good scenery, moderate difficulty and close to home--oh, and a good picnic spot too.  We scouted it out and made plans for a biking picnic.   My parents helped us shuttle the bikes and after a few adjustments we were off.  

I got to ride with Charlotte on the tag-a-long.  We were a great pair.  She likes to go fast!  Charles pulled Ariadne (and all our food) in the trailer.  The six of us and my parents all biked and Charles' dad, Barry, met us at the picnic site (Roberta was busy delivering a baby).  The first part of the trail was along the river with the train tracks below.  The second part took us through the woods. The trail ended by opening out into a large overlook built in the WPA era.  The river spread out wide and swampy below--a true wetland.  The airport is just across the river and the planes come quite close.  More city skyline is visible in the distance.   

  

Our picnic was faux fried chicken (cornflake breading baked in the oven), Greek salad and lemonade.  For reasons I can't explain, I was determined to have a chiffon cake with pink frosting.  I used the Joy of Cooking's chiffon recipe, substituting Pamela's Gluten Free Pancake Mix for the flour.  The frosting was butter cream with mashed raspberries to make it pink.  For anyone up for making a chiffon cake, it will be the sturdiest GF cake you will ever make--yet very moist and spongy to taste.  Must be the whipped egg whites.  

We finished up just as it was about to rain, with Ariadne falling asleep in on the bike ride back.  All in all a success.  When we got back to the parking lot my mom declared it my 'first annual' birthday bike ride.  Who knows, she might be right.    

  

More of What We Did Last Summer

Summer is always a good time for visiting.  While my sister was in town we made a trip to Zumbrota to visit our grandparents.  The kids all piled on the couch to get a picture with their GGs. We took the opportunity to look at outfits GG Rose has from different  eras, since it pertains to what Brynn is studying (and a little dress up is always fun too, isn't it?).  As it turns out, everything that our grandmother used to wear fit Brynn perfectly.  Here she is displaying the 'bat wings' of this late '70s pantsuit to Nova.  

As it turns out, our grandmother also had the outfit our great-grandmother wore to our grandparents'  wedding.  Everything was there--hat, shoes, purse and gloves--a rare find for a costumer.  So of course Brynn took pictures.  

We met our cousin Alyssa at the county fair.  The people who run the midway simply didn't show up this year.  About a dozen bouncy houses were brought in to substitute.  The next day Charlotte ended up on the front page of a local paper talking about the missing midway.

Our dad's side of the family had their annual Summer picnic while Brynn was in town as well.  It was at the farm this year, which was a lot of fun.  Charlotte and her cousin enjoyed pushing the wheel barrow full of wood back and forth, back and forth, making sure there were plenty of logs ready by the fire.  

Part of the picnic is a raffle.  This year Nova really, really, really wanted a pair of straw glasses that came with some strawberry milk...and she got them.  Lots of kids also enjoyed the bubbles.    

This side of the family still gets together for Christmas, but as it grows, we know it is only a matter of time before the logistics break up the party.  There are fourteen grandchildren spread across four sets of grandparents, with two more expected to arrive before the year is out.  But we do like getting together; toward the end of the picnic there was talk of family hikes and even a family camping trip.  

Tipi Camping at Blue Mounds State Park (Disclaimer--Lots of Photos)

 This year our annual camping trip was at Blue Mounds State Park.  Located in the far southwest corner of the state, Blue Mounds is prairie punctuated by the large mounds that give the park it's name (though they really do look pink most of the time).  The drive there was filled with a variety of books on CD.  The older people in the car especially enjoyed Anne of Green Gables and Artimis Fowl.  Other titles included Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag, Tikki tikki tembo no sarembo, Knuffle Bunny; a cautionary tale, and true story about a retired fire boat that helped during 9/11.

While on the prairie, we slept in a tipi, hiked out to a rock alignment that matches up with the sunrise at the equinox, and caught grasshoppers in the tall grass.  Solomon was in charge of the fires and the girls enjoyed exploring the prairie around our campsite.  Ariadne loved walking around the tipi, popping in at the door, then going out and around again.

While hiking one of the prairie trails, Nova convinced us to wander slightly off the path and go into to grass.  It was a totally different experience.  For reference, Solomon is about 5'5''.  There was also some good rocky hiking, especially by an old quarry.  Scrub oak dot the bluff, making for varied topography.  However, little ones in backpacks don't mix so well with such uncertain footing, so we didn't go too far that way.  We did go far enough to see the rock alignment.

This is the rock alignment that matches up with sunrise and sunset on the equinox.  As it turned out, we were there the morning of the equinox, but overslept after a very cold (and sleepless) first night.  You will just have to use your imagination, putting in the glints of sun from that first dawn light.  A couple of bikers who were curious about our tipi caught the sight--said it was beautiful.  

Along with the grasshoppers, the kids also found this butterfly wing.  There are cactus plants on the prairie--who knew?

Sleeping in the tipi was quite a unique experience.  We rented it from the park service and it came all set up.  The floor was composite decking (no fires inside, but no mud either).  The above picture is looking up into the rain fly, which is on the inside.  

                                        

Here it is with the rain fly down and Solomon for scale.  The park service says the tipi sleeps six, but we found it very roomy and I suspect it would easily sleep eight.  Below are our youngest sleepers.  

And a few minutes later, awake! Just a little more sunlight was all it took.  

The smoke flaps could be opened for light and air or closed to keep heat in and rain out.
On our first day, the wind was blowing the perfume of a nearby pig farm our way, so we had them closed that day.  It did make a difference.  The next day, the wind shifted and all was well.

Blue Mound State Park's camping has farms very near by.  While the odor of the pigs and the sound of bringing in the harvest late at night was somewhat inconvenient, it was also a worthwhile reminder that the land is and was far more than a recreation area.

While camping Nova learned to whittle wooden flowers, a skill Solomon picked up at a local farmers' market a few years back.  

Nova's first wooden flower. 

The buffalo were all penned up for the annual round up, so we only saw them at a distance.  We did not see any coyotes, though we did see several footprints at the beach that could have been them.  There were also deer prints and possibly something larger with lots of claws.  It was very cold the first night, and we made a little run into Sioux Falls for hats, mittens, more socks, and an extra set of clothes for Charles.  In the day, it was warm enough to go swimming (though not for long after I got a good look at those prints).

The evenings on this trip were a little rocky. This third weekend in September proved to be the first really cold one.  The first morning found us all huddled in the car.  And then there were the ghost stories.  The first night Solomon told the girls stories in the tent while Charles, Ariadne and I settled in by the fire to watch a nearly full moon rise behind our tipi.  Except Ariadne wanted to be where the action was.  For the first time in her life, she refused to nurse to sleep.  After twenty minutes we gave up and doused the fire.  The second night Nova begged for a good ghost story.  She got more than she bargained for when her dad told her Bloody Mary.  Sleep did not come easily after that.  Charlotte (who did not hear the story) somehow or other figured out that just saying 'Bloody Mary' would send Nova into a tizzy and had great fun teasing her older sister.

But the trip held peaceful moments too.  In the evening a flock of blackbirds would come roost in the few poplar trees near our tipi.  Now and then they would decide to swoop and wheel, only to return to the trees a few moments later.  After an hour or so, they would leave for the night, only to return the next.  Larger birds of prey hovered over the bluffs during the day, riding the air currents.  Watching the birds was one of my favorite parts of this camping trip.