Monday, October 11, 2010

Wow!

1 person read my last post a few weeks ago! Woot!

Sadly, my blogging days appear to be over. Who knows, I may pick it up again, but for now...

Good night and good luck!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Meh

So, it's been almost 2 weeks since I updated. Heh. I know all my readers have been waiting at their computers hitting the refresh button to see my next post.

Rundown: Camping trip last week was an unmitigated disaster. Both boys got carsick. Marc puked all over the tent. 5 hour car ride home to avoid winding roads. Not a great day.

Kitchen has been repainted. Goodbye yellow walls, hello silver! It looks awesome!

Job is progressing, even though I am still doing a lot of research. It's been fun working at O'Brien this year. Lots of new challenges. Plus, I get to act as a quasi-administrator whenever I feel the urge!

Pretty quiet lately. Not much new or exciting.

Oh yeah, I bricked my iPod. Was washing my hands and it fell into the sink. Now the touchscreen is unresponsive. I can turn it on, but I can't move the slider. Very unhappy about that I tell you.

Going to be out of town for several days in the next few months. Hanging out in Sacramento at the end of October with the Mythbusters, and then chillin' with Bill Nye the Science Guy in Baltimore the 2nd week of November. Possibly making a trip to San Diego before the end of the school year. Most likely going to San Francisco in the spring.

See ya!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Best of the West

Yesterday was a day centered around Ribs. Pork Ribs to be specific. Labor Day Weekend brings the Nugget Best of the West Rib Cook-Off.

This year we decided not to buy the food at the cook-off since it is just way too expensive. So Malia went to Costco and picked up a whole mess of ribs and I proceeded to rub them down with the Awesome Aussie rub to get them nice and flavorful.

Then we went downtown and wandered the booths. I bought 6 bottles of sauce (2 from Bone Daddy and 4 from Rasta Joe's) and a new bottle of Rasta Joe's rub. Then we came home and I got the smoker going.

4 hours and 4 lbs of charcoal and 1.5 pounds of wood later we had some very nicely cooked ribs to share with the Thaxtons.

While the ribs took center stage, the surprise of the night came from Dave who brought a bottle of dAgave from Colorado. Not being a big drinker, I have to say...Wow. That was pretty good stuff. It's basically Tequila, but since it comes from Colorado, they can't call it that. Plus, according to Dave and Heather, it is much smoother. Most hard alcohol tastes like rocket fuel, but this was good. I had about 4 shots of it and I was not functioning at full capacity.

I didn't feel a whole lot different, except I couldn't follow or hold a conversation very well. Plus, I was a bit giggly.

All in all a good time!

Plus, as it turns out I won the People's Choice Award for best ribs eaten at our house last night. But, as Dave pointed out, I was also in last place, so I consider it a draw.

(p.s. No need for Tylenol this morning! WOOT!)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Sunday Random

1) Wow. Over a week since the last post. Sorry mom!

2) First week of school is in the books. Spent Monday helping a sub get through her day. Tough being a sub, especially when there are no lesson plans since the position she is subbing for hasn't been hired yet!

3) My feel for the year so far is pretty positive. The seventh graders seem like a really good group of kids, and they are having little trouble following the dress and behavior codes. Eight graders? Well, for the most part they are doing alright, but there are a couple dozen that are going to push for awhile.

4) Job is still undefined, but the meeting is set for Thursday. Hopefully we get more direction then.

5) Thursday was picture day, so I jumped in and helped monitor the kids as they were waiting for pictures. 7th graders were much better at this than the 8th graders.

6) Got to fill in for the AP and the Dean both on Friday. That was fun. Pretty quiet morning.

7) Got my new shoes this week. Batman Hi-top Converse. First pair of Converse I can ever remember owning. May be a reason for that. Those shoes have no padding whatsoever. All day standing on concrete and running around=foot pain.

8) Saturday I prepared 2 racks of ribs for smoking on Sunday.

9) Also went out to Cold Springs for a BBQ with some old friends. It was so good to see Stephen after all these years. Mom and Dad Barr haven't changed a bit in all these years.

10) Today is down to the rib cook-off to hit the booths and buy some sauce. No way I am buying food there though. Way too expensive for what you get.

11) Now mom should be happy! I caught up!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Back at it

Tomorrow starts the first official day back to school. Bummer.

Summer just sort of...ended. Malia and I had a date last week, and then I was in a workshop until today. Tomorrow is meetings and setting up my office.

Hopefully I will get a chance to talk with the big boss lady about the job and get some more feedback and direction. It sounds like there are other plans being discussed about adding to my assignment, but it all depends upon how my position is written into the grant.

Time will tell!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Good Times

Last week I spent most of my days in workshops for school. Good times. Learned some things. Knew most of the stuff already. Meh. 2 more days of workshops and then it is back to work! Hooray!

Dave and I went to the Rifftrax Live show on Thursday. Very funny as always. Another show coming up in October. Woot!

Rejoined Facebook. Sorry to my legion of fans here, but it's just not enough! I am sure the comment section will be buzzing with worry and doubt, but I will still post here as well.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Sleep(y) in Seattle

After meeting Professor X at the airport, I boarded my plane about an hour after it was supposed to take off and headed to Seattle. Flight was ok except I was sitting next to a large woman who took up about 1/3 of my seat as well as all of hers. Silly me I changed seats. Had I not, I would have been in an aisle next to a skinny girl and had lots more room. Oh well. I watched Star Trek all the way there and finished it up walking through the airport.

Met John at Sea-Tac and headed to the house. Sadly they had to have the big tree in their deck cut down because it was rotting from the inside out. But, it does make the whole thing sunnier.

We hung out and talked about lots of stuff, cooked some kabobs, and talked more.

Saturday morning rolled around and we hit the theater. First up was the Expendables. The movie was taking itself seriously until the uncredited appearances from two big name Hollywood types. From that point on, it became a(n)(unintentional?)laugh fest. At least I thought it was funny. I thought Jet Li was the hardest working of all the guys in the film. After all, he is the smallest.

I give the movie 3 out of 5 stars. I kinda like Jason Statham. I have seen a few of his films and he can do more than just beat people up. I really liked him in Lock, Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels.

After the movie we got lunch at a restaurant called Tejas. I order the Diablo Pasta. The chicken was good, the sauce was ok, the pasta was overcooked. I give it a 2.5 out of 5. John was happy with the burrito he got, so lunch was not a disaster.

We then decided it was time to see Scott Pilgrim. Scott Pilgrim rocked. It was very funny. The actors were very good. It had a good beat and you could dance to it. I give it a 5 out of 5. Well worth the time and money.

Dinner was in the city at Benihana. Benihana dinner is always good, but it wasn't what I was necessarily in the mood for. Oh well, it was a good time as always.

Sunday morning was breakfast at Starbucks and then off to the comic book store. I was able to get out without spending any money. Woot!

John and I watched Murderer's Row. Nothing like watching Dean Martin drink and drive! I give it 3 out of 5. Funny stuff, especially Ann Margaret in the flower dress.

After that it was time to head out to the airport. 1st stop, Baskin Robbins. Ice cream is good. 2nd stop, Wizards of the Coast. John is currently working on D&D stuff and I got to look around his office. Very cool. He also gave me some cool freebies! John rocks!

Got to the airport with plenty of time to kill. Had a really bad cheeseburger (1 out of 5) for dinner and then set out to wait for my plane. Luckily it was on time and I was in the air by 7.

I sat in the back this time and it wasn't too bad. The young lady next to me was quiet and I watched Kick Ass (3.5 out of 5). The flight got really bumpy about an hour outside of Reno. It felt like being on Indiana Jones at 30,000 ft! Woot! Movie ended just in time to land. Yea!

Landing was actually smoother than I expected, and I was one of the first off the plane. The airport was deserted. Two ladies behind me commented on that and one said, "Well, it is kind of a cow town." Ouch!

Best part was getting in the car with my family. It is always good to be gone, but just as good to come home!

It was a fun trip! 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Friday, August 13, 2010

I'm talking to Sulu!

Well, not Sulu but Capt. Picard.

While waiting for my flight to Seattle I heard a very familiar voice. Patrick Stewart, he of Star Trek and X-Men fame!

I didn't want to intrude, so I just shook his hand and said hello.

First celebrity I have met. (Edit: First "In the wild" as it were.)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Shower Time

Well, almost. It is almost midnight here on the West Coast and I am waiting for a bit longer to see some of the meteor shower. I guess I could have gone to bed earlier and woken up between 4 and 5, but...Really?

So, I will finish this post up and go outside. Mayhap I will see something.

Mayhap not.

Addiction

Hi, my name is Chad and I am addicted to buying low priced t-shirts.

I have blogged about my love for t-shirts before. Recently it has come to my attention that I have more t-shirts than I actually have room for.

Now granted, my t-shirt collection does not even come close to that of my wife. However, I have run out of room for them all.

Woot Shirt is definitely my favorite place. Recently I got 5 shirts from there. I am especially a sucker for the Random Shirt day. I usually buy 3. 1 is usually awesome. 1 is usually ok. 1 is usually trade bait. This time I got lucky and got 1 awesome shirt and 2 ok ones.

However, I am kicking myself for not getting two shirts when they came out and now it is too late.

Here is the first one:



Fairly self explanatory and kind of funny especially for comic book geeks.

This next one though...this one I like on multiple levels. Mostly because it incorporates so many different themes.



If you don't get it, then let me 'splain it.

1. It is the Flash, a DC Comics character (BTW, DC Comics is redundant. DC Comics= Detective Comics Comics)who is apparently dead from biting a poison apple.

2. It has the Apple Computer Logo.

By now some lights may be coming on. Apple. Dead Flash. If you still don't get it do a search for Apple and Flash. See what comes up!

Heh. I laughed, but didn't buy it. Now I am wishing I did, but it is too late. Drat.

I was able to remain strong this week though. Another favorite websiteThink Geek was having a random t-shirt sale. I like their shirts as well, but did not buy any because I've spent enough money this month. I actually need new work clothes, but am holding off until payday.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Shaving Cream, Shaving Cream...

So, as the years have been unkind to my hairline I have decided it is time to begin shaving my head.

Cue-ball style.

Smooth as a baby's butt.

Kojack.

You get the picture.

I have shaved my head before, but never on a regular basis. So, geek that I am, I did a little research on the best blades for shaving the head. I came across this website, Headblade. It looked pretty cool and everything seemed to say what a good job it does, so I ordered the cheapest kit I could get.

A few days later it arrives. Malia is not too thrilled with the idea, but she loves me and respects my wishes, so I set off to begin the shaving.

I got in there and used the exfoliating scrub first. Kind of an odd feeling, but ok. I than lathered up the shaving cream. WAY too much of it. Apparently you don't need as much as regular shaving cream. I then proceeded to shave.

Nothing happened.

I turned it the other way and tried again.

Still nothing.

It took awhile to figure out that the blade that came installed on the razor was backwards. Once I conquered that aspect, I began to see some progress.

Now, as I said before, I have shaved my head on several occasions and I have never had a problem. However...this time I cut my head at least 3 times, including one so bad I was tasting and smelling blood. Not a good start I must say.

After I cleaned myself up and started to feel less dizzy, I checked it out in a mirror. Not a bad job, just need to be careful of the cuts.

Since then I have used it one more time and only cut myself 2 times. Small ones this time. (Malia thinks its a sign, I think it is just me being clumsy.)

All in all, I like the Headblade products. The exfoliating product called Headshed works really well. The shaving cream, Headslick, has a nice smell to it and works fairly well. I have only used one of the lotions, Headlube, that comes with it and that is the Matte finish. They have a glossy as well that I may try tomorrow.

Friday, August 6, 2010

If all else fails...

I could be a plumber.

Today we had a local plumbing/heating/ac company come in to do our annual maintenance. Malia also spotted a leak under the sink, so we thought we would have them take a look at that as well.

Apparently the garbage disposal was rusted out and water was seeping through, so it was time for a new one. They offered to install one for a discounted grand total of $338.

Um...we told them we would think about it while they finished up. As soon as they walked back out we both ran to a computer to look it up.

Yeah...super expensive ones cost $200. A good one about $120. A cheap one about $80.

While looking up the cost I came across installation directions. Super easy according to the site.

No way were we paying the "discounted" rate for that.

After they left we hit the big orange home improvement store and picked everything thing it looked like we needed.

Came home, took the old disposal out. Worked on getting the new one in. Turned out we didn't get everything we needed. No mention on the box anywhere of two little parts we had needed for the electrical. Grrr. Back to the big orange store.

Back home and easily completed the task.

New disposal installed and working with no leaks for well under $338.

Yea me!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Movin' on...sideways?!?!

Good news, bad news.

Good news. I got a new job today! Still working at the same school, but in a pseudo-administrative position. I am now the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) coordinator. It ties in to the grant the school got and is paid for by that.

Bad news. It is a lateral move. No increase in pay.

Good news. It looks like it could be a really cool job.

Bad news. No idea what the job is actually going to be like.

Good news. The principal doesn't have any idea what the job will look like either, so I kind of get to make it up.

Bad news. It is a one year only position that is tied to benchmarks for achievement. If we fail to meet the benchmarks, we don't get the grant, and I lose that job.

Good news. I still have a job for next year even if this job goes away.

Bad news. If I lose this job, it looks kind of bad on me.

Good news. It has the potential to look really good on my resume.

Good news. I get a corner office, with at least one window! Maybe two!

Bad news. I have to share it with two other people.

All in all, I think the good outweighs the bad. It is an exciting opportunity for sure! As Mary (the principal) said, "It will be an adventure!"

Looking forward to the journey, I must say!

Carry on!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

DC Universe Online

Playing WoW until I get in to the beta of this game that is!

Then, once November rolls around, it will be DCUO for me.

And this video is part of the reason why: DC Universe Online

Home Sweet Home?

Ok, so I got an email telling me my WoW account had been compromised and I needed to unfreeze it ASAP or I would lose all access to it. Even though I haven't played in 14 months, I figured, I didn't want to lose it, so I read all the steps to recover my account. I didn't click any of the links because... well, I never click a link unless the email is from someone I know. Good thing, because I found out in researching this that it is a scam designed to get you to lose your account.

While relinking my account, I started to get twitchy...I had already started downloading the client because I was still thinking I needed to log in to make sure it was ok. Well, it took awhile, but while I was doing that I got even more twitchy.

So...I reactivated my account and checked it out.

I was home.

Ah...now to figure out how to play it again!

100th post!

Wow! 100 posts.

I have more posts than I have hits now!

:-/ How sad is that?

Here I am talking to myself on a quasi-daily basis. Good thing I haven't started answering myself!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Mon-Tuesday Blog

Quiet days. Both boys had a friend spend the night on Sunday. All 4 boys had a blast just hanging out, playing video games, eating popcorn, watching movies until the wee hours of the morning.

Monday morning Marc's friend went home and Noah's hung out for a few more hours. They were having so much fun that they hatched a plan to keep the friend over night again. It was successful. This friend has known Noah since they were babies. It is amazing how their friendship has endured over the years, especially since they rarely see each other.

Tuesday was more of the same: watching TV, shooting Nerf guns, eating junk food, etc.

It was nice for me, because the boys entertained themselves and I was able to relax, read a book, watch some movies, etc.

Good decompression time.

Malia comes home Saturday! Yea!

Been awhile...

So where were we?

Oh yes, Sunday.

Sunday morning the boys and I broke out the Moldrite 25 and the LEGOs to make a LEGO Ice Cube tray. Here are some pictures to show what we did and how things worked.

Picture 1 finds the boys building the mold for the tray:


Picture 2 is Marc adding more blocks:

Picture 3 is Noah watching Marc adding more blocks:

Next Marc is adding the Moldrite to the mold:

Followed by Noah adding the Moldrite:

Here is the completed project for Sunday. The mold has been prepared, so we then had to wait until Monday to try it out.


Here is the completed mold with its first batch of ice cubes.






The cool(ha!) thing about this ice cub tray is that we made it ourselves and the boys had a ton of fun making it! They love the fact that they can have little ice cubes with the words LEGO on them. We made the walls three LEGOs deep and the mold 2 LEGOs deep so there would be enough ice to make drinks cool.

The bad thing is you can't build with them!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Saturday Fun

Saturday was another fun day for the Walter Boys. Pack picnic at the park was good fun. The boys got to have junk food and launch water balloons. Not as many people showed up as said, so there was a ton of food leftover. Still need to get over to the Howser's and get our table back.

We left the picnic before it was over to get to the birthday of the youngest of the Reno Redz. She turned 7 this month and had her party yesterday.

The best part of their parties is the string game. Each child is given a cardboard tag with their name on it. Attached to the tag is a length of string. Attached to the end of that is the goodie bag. The strings are all intertwined in a big string maze and the kids have to work their string free. Quite a funny activity and very time consuming.

After the party we hung out and the kids watched some movies and played games while the grownups talked after eating dinner.

All in all a good day.

1 week 'til Malia comes home!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Friday! Friday! Friday!

Today was a fun day!

Took da boyz and 2 of the Reno Redz to Coconut Bowl. Played a round of glow in the dark mini-golf, a set of bowling, and let them play in Ballocity.

Afterwards we hit up BR for some ice cream.

Tomorrow is the Pack 800 Picnic followed by more time with the Reno Redz.

Missing Malia but trying to keep us all busy.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Must Have!

I am sure this will be out of my price range, but I can dream!

Rust Bucket

While I am dreaming there is this as well:

Skipper and Guide

Fail

Sigh...spaced out and forgot Noah's cub scout meeting.

Grrr...

Thursday Geek Camp

1. Today's Geek Camp was less about Geeking and more about Cooking. We made our own Root Beer. It needs to sit for a few more days before it is ready for consumption. We also made some brownies. They turned out ok. Not quite as tasty as some I have had, but they are from scratch and the boys love them!

2) Took the boys to the library today. Forced Noah to get a book and Marc walked out with half of the children's section. He will go back for the other half next week. I wish I could find something Noah would like to read. As soon as he shows interest in something he decides he no longer likes it. We have tried every genre we can think of except ponies. Maybe?

3) Movie for tonight appears to be a Disney Channel Original movie called Minutemen. Not nearly as exciting to me as what we watched last night (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow), but I am sure the boy (not plural yet unless Noah does his reading and writing work) will like it.

Hurm

I wrote earlier about hanging out with Mike and Danielle at the training on Monday. During that time I decided I needed to talk to the new principal. I haven't really sat down with her yet and if I am still interested in doing admin work, I should really talk to her.

So I called the office yesterday to find out when she would be in. During that talk the dean position at O'Brien came up. The secretary told me that the Principal wondered to her why I hadn't applied for that job.

I explained to her that Mike had come to me and asked me if I was going to. I said I wasn't to which he replied, "Good. Because I really want that job, but I wasn't going to put in for it if you were." I told him I wouldn't because, honestly, I expected to get one of the other jobs I put in for.

The day of his interview, they discovered he wasn't able to interview for the job because he didn't have the needed internship hours. So...I could have put in for that job as well.

Now I have something else to talk to Mary about next week. Should be fun!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Random Tuesday

1) Big Brother #1 rocks. Part for the car was there this morning and installed within 2 hours.

2) While waiting for the car we were watching TV. For about 45 minutes we were the only ones there and the news was on. Noah asked if we could watch cartoons. Since we were the only ones there, I decided to go ahead and do it. Within 5 minutes, the waiting room was full and we were watching Phineas and Ferb. By the time we left, the cartoons were still on. Could still be on as far as I know!

3) Friend Dave's birthday was today. Took him a nice cold present as well as a gift card. Hopefully both were appreciated!

4) Dave and the Reno Redz took the boys down to Davis Creek while I was in a workshop. They rock!

5) Workshop was ok. The new program is pretty easy and intuitive. Hanging out with Mike and Danielle was also fun. Mike is a crack up and Danielle is a great straight-"man". Hopefully we didn't cause too much of a ruckus.

6) Saw an old college friend, but didn't get a chance to say hello. It was kind of odd, but our last conversation was 11 years ago.

7) Introduced the boys to the National Treasure movies. They enjoyed them, especially the second one which has a lot of Mount Rushmore in it. They thought it was cool!

Monday, Monday...

...was a day for catching up on chores.

Mowed and fertilized the lawn. Probably too hot to fertilize, but it needed it. Hopefully it helps and doesn't hurt.

Got most of the laundry done from the 2 weeks away from home. One load left as of this morning.

Kitchen is mostly clean. Mostly. :-/

The boys have been a great help. Marc vacuumed and Noah cleaned the dog pen. That was a Herculean task since it hadn't been done it 2 weeks! He also emptied both litter boxes and I helped him make dinner last night.

We took a break in the middle of the day and did our first "project" for Geek Camp. Since the stuff I ordered to make with the boys has not yet come in, we played a game of Settlers of Catan. Since it was a new game for all of us it took awhile to work out, but once we did, we were on our way. I almost beat Marc, but he found a great strategy and was able to maximize it to his best! Stinker!

I may try to teach them how to play an old Pencil and Paper RPG that I used to play a lot: DC Heroes. I haven't looked at it in years, but there are some fun modules I could run them through. Maybe...

I talked to Big Brother #1. Sadly, it doesn't seem like I have much to do with my family anymore, but it is nice to be able to call up and ask for help when I need them. BB#1 has a big job at 2 of the local car dealerships, and I needed him to grease the wheels in getting a part for the Pilot. I was told I needed to bring the car in so they could look at it before ordering the part, even though they had looked at it twice already and said next time just call and we will order it. Within the hour he called me back and told me it was done and they should have it today. We shall see!

Gotta call mom to see if she can watch the boys for a few hours while I do a training for school. Looks like all the dean jobs are gone, so I am not going anywhere.

More later!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

So...How's by you?

It's been one week since I looked at you, threw my arms to my side and said you're crazy. Or something like that.

What a week it has been.

We got up early Sunday morning and hit the road. Drove all day and all night until we got to Casper, WY just as the fireworks were wrapping up. Apparently our hotel was along the main route because traffic was diverted all around us. Luckily we found it easily enough, and as I posted that night, soft beds, yada yada, yada.

Awoke Monday morning and grabbed our stuff and took off. After we stopped for breakfast Malia noticed something she had to get a picture of:

Really? What trip is complete without a giant Bugs Bunny?

How about a trip without a giant Daffy Duck?!?!




Wyoming is a pretty cool place. I liked the rolling hills. They are ahead of Nevada anyway when it comes to wind power.



This picture is only a small part of the wind farm we saw. It was kind of funny, because at one point it looks like you are going to drive right through the blades, just like in a mini-golf course!

Also, we thought Wyoming had no day time speed limit. Apparently that is not and never has been true. Darn it! Anyway we got to Custer, SD in one piece and around lunch time.

Our friend Mr. Shane told us we should stay at this great KOA in Custer. His family had stayed there and it was wonderful! Well, we found out later there are 2 KOAs in Custer. We stayed at the one that was not so wonderful. When I reserved our spot I told them we had a LARGE tent and needed lots of space. They said no problem. The first spot they gave us was the size of a driveway. In fact it was a driveway. Good place to park a trailer, not so much a tent. Especially since the site was almost all downhill.

Back to the office and explain to them again that we have a large tent, it's 15x13. Ok...try these spots see which one looks best. 21? Um...no. 23 not even close! 32? Really? I couldn't set up a table on that site which, in fact, did not even have a table. 33? 34? Nope.

Back to the office. I HAVE A LARGE TENT! I NEED A LARGE SITE! Oh...74? Ok, let's give it a shot!

No picture of the site, but it was a nice big grassy area near a faucet, the bathrooms, the pool, and the air pillow (more on that later). We will take it!

After we got everything set up and ate lunch, we headed to Mt. Rushmore. Along the way we saw this out the right side of the car:



This is the sculpture of Crazy Horse that was started in 1948. Not a lot of progress appears to have been made, but more on that later.

We drove up the road to Mt. Rushmore and about 1 mile up we noticed on our left side a really cool looking campground. Aha...this must be the KOA Mr. Shane was talking about...Bummer, but to be honest it looked just as crowded as the one in which we were staying, so no biggie I guess.

Mt. Rushmore is just ahead! Every turn in the road we expected to see it, but no dice. We finally get to the last curve by the parking garage and look behind us and there it was! I have to say they do a really nice job of hiding it from that side until you get there.



By the time we paid the $10 parking fee(which is good until the end of the year, but only for our car)we are ready to go! (BTW, the National Park Pass we bought thinking we would get a lot of use out of this year? Not so much. If there is no admission fee, the pass doesn't work. And since you only pay to park, it didn't count.)We loaded up our water bags and I threw in the ponchos, just in case. It was a bit cloudy after all.

The main walkway was really cool and it framed the sculpture nicely. However, my first reaction was, "Huh, that looks really small." I think this was because I have only seen close up pictures like this:



so you really lose perspective. I never realized it was at the edge of a mountain. I always thought it was part of a long chain.

As we were walking up toward the Viewing Terrace it began to sprinkle. Within a few minutes it was pouring rain! Good thing I brought the ponchos!



As we casually strolled through the park looking at the rain-covered sculptures:





everyone around us either scurried for cover or ran into the buildings. We had the sculpture to ourselves. Well, except for this guy:



but as you can tell, he was also more interested in getting out of the rain!

We followed the trail down to the sculptor's studio where we saw some really cool artifacts and learned quite a bit. Noah got to help the presenter not once, but twice. First as a model for the heads:



Then later as one of the workers:



All in all a good first trip to the monument! We came back after dinner for the evening show and were just as impressed. There was a Boy Scout troop who came to do the flag ceremony after the call of soldiers. All active and retired soldiers were called up to the stage. There were a TON of them! They received a long standing ovation. It was actually quite moving.

The boys both did their best to hold up the mountain.




I think Noah won!

As we drove back to camp, we were all pretty tired, so it didn't even faze us when we pulled into our site to find we had a night light right above our tent. Big street light that stayed on all night long! I just pulled the hat down over my eyes and slept.

Next morning we awake to a freezing cold tent. The tent has a mesh top and a rain fly and hold absolutely no heat. It is actually warmer outside in the morning than in the tent. I even bought a heater to put in the tent, but it does absolutely nothing. We are now in the market for a new tent less than one year later!

After we all de-thawed we decided to head up to Crazy Horse. As I said before, not a lot of work appears to have been done on this sculpture, and in terms of items that are complete it is not what I would have thought would be done in 62 years, especially since this is what it looks like now:


And this is the final product:



But according to the information we got there, tons of rock have been blasted away
to get to the granite for the sculpture.

It seems silly to me that they foundation making this memorial is not taking federal money since they would be much further on and that much closer to making their dream a reality, but that is their choice I guess.

After we spent a few hours there we went back to camp and had some lunch and then decided to go out and drive through Custer State Park. The park is fairly big and there are several different parts to it. We went through a long and winding road and saw lots of cool plants and rock formations. We even saw some wild turkey:



and a doe and her fawn:



We went back to camp and the boys jumped on the giant air pillow. It is like a huge trampoline, but supported underneath by air being blown underneath. The boys had a lot of fun on it!


Later that night we drove back to Crazy Horse for the night time show. It was pretty cool, even if they did play "Proud to Be An American" at the end. Lots of colored lights and lasers playing off of the memorial.

The next morning found us off to Custer State Park to look for the great American Bison. We were not too disappointed when about 15 minutes later we rounded a corner and saw this:



...oh, no...wait...That's a prairie dog! There were a ton of them! And they were all chirping and whistling and barking up a storm!

We did eventually round a corner to find this sight waiting for us:



As impressive as the pictures of a bison is, they don't do nearly enough justice. We drove around for several hours. I think the best part of the trip for the boys was the burros. They were very interested in us as you can see from the pictures:







These two guys apparently wanted to go with us!




After the burros, we went to the "museum". It was a little cabin with a gift shop and some stuffed animals. We spent a few minutes there and then drove over to an area to get out and stretch our legs. We saw some pretty flowers and stuff along this walk. Eventually this sight turned us around:



After our lunch we decided to head out (ha!) to see Rushmore again. This time approaching it from a different angle. The Iron Mountain Road was a great drive! Along the way we were stopped dead in traffic for about 15 minutes while this happened:







This little guy was mere feet from our car before mama pushed him farther away. It was a sight to see!



We also got some great views of South Dakota and Mt. Rushmore, including this one out a tunnel:



We went back to Rushmore and did one of the ranger lead tours. The boys also got to scrape a bison hide. This bison had died a few weeks before and they were tanning the leather. It was pretty interesting.



Thursday was our last day before heading home so we decided it was time to go to Wind Cave. I would like to tell you the cave was really cool, but when we went down the elevator for our tour, Noah flipped out and he and I went back up, so I only got to see a few feet into it. From what I was told, it was really cool! Here are the pictures to prove it:







Since our plan was to get lunch after Wind Cave and then go to Jewel Cave, we scrapped that and went to the National Woodcarving Museum. It was cheesy and the carvings were pretty ugly, but the guy who did them animated them with homemade motors and engines and he even worked at Disneyland, so it was pretty cool. Here is an example of one of the carvings:



Not my style of woodcarving, but I guess it is a product of the time.

Thursday night was making S'mores and packing up everything we could into the car so we could get out ASAP on Friday morning, which we did.

We drove to Salt Lake City and stayed in a REAL hotel, with a shower and everything! We even treated ourselves to dinner at the Olive Garden. Yum!

Saturday was a long drive home, but we got here after 2 and unloaded before going out to buy groceries. Malia loaded up her stuff for Vegas and left just about 2 hours ago. She comes back in two weeks.

Today, the boys and I get ready to start Geek Camp! I will have to keep you updated on that!