Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Sebby and Nara in the Black Hills

In early August, Tanya and I decided to take our littlest ones, Nara and Sebby, out to experience the magic of the Black Hills, and more specifically, the fun of Sue and Ed's house. With our husbands temporarily absent, our traveling team was simply two moms, two babies in car seats, and a Volvo. The road trip went reasonably well (all things considered), but everyone was more than happy to arrive at our destination. 

The moment we got out of the car, Sebastian was thrilled with the three dogs circling around him. He kept running up to us to show us where the dogs had "kissed" his fingers. The fun continued when he and Nara got to watch the horses eating and pet their noses. More outdoor fun included picking raspberries and beans, swinging on the rope swing, and jumping on the trampoline.




Inside, the kids found plenty more to entertain themselves, from Legos and Tinkertoys to pianos and books and stuffed animals, and even Rebecca's retired play kitchen set!

Ready for bed!

Sue is always full of lots of ideas for fun things for the kids, like this creek down the road



... and Story Book Island, where we met Rebecca for a fun afternoon of memories.


Both Sebby and Nara found a kindred spirit in little Piglet:





Life at Sue and Ed's was just like we remembered it. Making chocolate chip cookies, green bean casserole, and banana smoothies all at the same time. Finding your favorite photos on the wall collages. Saddling up a horse for a trot through the beautiful hills. Eating new foods, like buckwheat, and old favorites like raspberry jam on toast.

Sebby and Nara loved being outdoors, enjoying the sunshine, the animals, the cool breeze, and room to run.




Write your favorite caption for this photo in the comments section. I'll make the winning caption into a greeting card!

Sebby had no reservations about riding Spark with Sue. He looked so proud to be riding a real horse!




Our ride and walk took us down the road to visit Easter, who grazes peacefully in his pasture as he lives out the rest of his years. He is already 35 or 36 - older than me!



With the overflowing excitement of a two-year-old, Sebastian found equal fascination in this bug as in the horses. I love how he exclaims "WOW!" several times a day, followed by, "Look! Mom! Look! Come 'ere!"

Nara glances back at Sebby on our walk home.
Here he comes!

Back at Sue's. I love the red, green and blue.
We made it to the end of one unicycle session at the YMCA, so Sebby and Nara got to try it out!
All too soon, it was time to head back to Brookings, because Sebby and I had a flight to catch to Houston. Here are a few shots of our time on the road.

South Dakota has fabulous clouds.


Hay bales shine in the sun under a blue sky.

3 comments:

Tanuki said...

that pic of the hay bales totally makes me think of south dakota.

Bill said...

Nara says "Jump down, Sebby, I'll catch you!"

Melanie said...

How wonderful to have had lots of sister time last summer! And fun to see Sebby on a uni! We haven't introduced them to our kids yet - and they've barely even seen me ride! Need to fix that. :)