Today we got to take some time and sleep in. We went to eat breakfast at the Ranch House in Dupree. We ate dinner there the night before and because the restaurant was so busy we demanded we have the same booth as we had for dinner. There were probably less than 7 people including us three in the whole place. I ate french toast, eggs, and sausage it was delicious and probably my favorite meal of the trip thus far.
After breakfast we went to work at the Sioux YMCA and prepared some stuff for future programming and created our flyers for our community days. We decided to make personal journals for all the kids we work with so we could have them illustrate and tell us about a couple things; family, where they are now, what they want to do when they get older, and how they will get there, and last but not least who inspires them. I worked on the flyer for each community. We decided for our community days we will have it available for everyone in the community. We are going to provide them with ice cream and some fun activities and the communities and kids will get to meet team 6. We then went over to the pole barn and switched out some supplies we did not need and more and pick up a cooler and chair for our weekend off.
After we were done chatting... I mean working at the Sioux Y we went back to the Ranch House and sat in our same seats for lunch. I ate a BLT with fries and a root beer. It was delicious again!
Part of our community day is ice cream so we stopped at DQ to see if they would be able to get us some donations to help make our day successful.
After that we came back to the hotel to relax and get ready for Thursday. I was not feeling well so I decided to nap and take it easy the rest of the night and stay in for dinner and have cereal.
Feeling better before bed and ready for a fun day of programming :)
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Day #7 Tuesday, July 26
Today we went and worked in two communities Cherry Creek and Red Scaffold. We we arrived in CC around 9:30 and it took us a little time to round up some kids. I witnessed my first dog fight... in CC we have a dog named Storm (pit bull) walk with us around the community I went up to a house to try and get the two kids inside to come join us, so I walked up to the door and there were three dogs around the house and the one under the step was not moving when i walked up, and another was tied up. I went to the door and Storm followed me and right as we were walking away another dog came from the side of the house and slowly attacked Storm. Storm did not move for a little big and just laid there, i was a little scared but i couldn't walk up there and check on him...he got up and enjoyed the rest of the day with us.
We had about 10 kids playing games with us, we played red light green light, a little kickball and some relay races. Around 11:30 we walked to kids to get their lunch, we decided to take the kids down to the river to eat lunch and a long the way I had some really good conversations. I walk informed about the fact that in the community a lot of people are family and sometimes the kids live with their grandparents and maybe their parents live down the street in the next trailer. We reached the river and the water was brown and dirty and all the kids wanted to do was swim. They enjoyed throwing garbage in the river to watch it float... it becomes a never ending battle to get them to pick up their garbage. We left CC after dinner and headed on our way to Red Scaffold.
We stopped along the road to eat our lunch and debrief about our experience. We sat for just a little bit and then made it to Red Scaffold around 1:30.
In Red Scaffold we drove up the hill and seemed like the kids were waiting for us. So we had about 7 kids ready to play, but we still did knock on some doors to see if some other kids wanted to join us. We ended up getting about 10-12kids come down to the gym to play with us. We played a wide variety of games again. We started with kickball, played line tag, played the game oboshinatitaten (do you know what that is?), and then again a very cool relay race that Derek had set up. After the gym activities we moved into another room and set up some arts and craft projects. The kids drew some pictures, made some jewelry and Lannie even attempted to make something out of the modeling clay we had. After a while of being inside we went outside and I ended up playing tag with 3 of the boys. While playing i noticed some writing on the playground. They were some swear words about the YMCA, we didn't really know how to approach it but the kids outside informed us that there is some bullying going on. They said that the girls are bullying them to not play with the YMCA but the boys don't listen or retaliate. I hope the next time i am out there to connect with the girls and get a better idea of what is going on.
We left RS and headed back into town. We stopped and ate at The Ranch House in Dupree and then headed back to the hotel for the night.
No pictures today, but i will have plenty more later.
We planned our itinerary for our weekend off coming up and we are going to go camping in Hill City SD at Horse Thief campground and tour around the black hills, we are really excited. It has been a long time since i have been to the black hills and Nancy has never been there.
We had about 10 kids playing games with us, we played red light green light, a little kickball and some relay races. Around 11:30 we walked to kids to get their lunch, we decided to take the kids down to the river to eat lunch and a long the way I had some really good conversations. I walk informed about the fact that in the community a lot of people are family and sometimes the kids live with their grandparents and maybe their parents live down the street in the next trailer. We reached the river and the water was brown and dirty and all the kids wanted to do was swim. They enjoyed throwing garbage in the river to watch it float... it becomes a never ending battle to get them to pick up their garbage. We left CC after dinner and headed on our way to Red Scaffold.
We stopped along the road to eat our lunch and debrief about our experience. We sat for just a little bit and then made it to Red Scaffold around 1:30.
In Red Scaffold we drove up the hill and seemed like the kids were waiting for us. So we had about 7 kids ready to play, but we still did knock on some doors to see if some other kids wanted to join us. We ended up getting about 10-12kids come down to the gym to play with us. We played a wide variety of games again. We started with kickball, played line tag, played the game oboshinatitaten (do you know what that is?), and then again a very cool relay race that Derek had set up. After the gym activities we moved into another room and set up some arts and craft projects. The kids drew some pictures, made some jewelry and Lannie even attempted to make something out of the modeling clay we had. After a while of being inside we went outside and I ended up playing tag with 3 of the boys. While playing i noticed some writing on the playground. They were some swear words about the YMCA, we didn't really know how to approach it but the kids outside informed us that there is some bullying going on. They said that the girls are bullying them to not play with the YMCA but the boys don't listen or retaliate. I hope the next time i am out there to connect with the girls and get a better idea of what is going on.
We left RS and headed back into town. We stopped and ate at The Ranch House in Dupree and then headed back to the hotel for the night.
No pictures today, but i will have plenty more later.
We planned our itinerary for our weekend off coming up and we are going to go camping in Hill City SD at Horse Thief campground and tour around the black hills, we are really excited. It has been a long time since i have been to the black hills and Nancy has never been there.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Day # 6 Monday July, 26
We knew today would be a hot one but we were not prepared mentally for how hot it would actually be when you included the running around with the kids. Today was our first day of programming on our own. We started at LaPlant and began rounding up some kids..we knocked on more houses than the first time and got some more kids to come to the park to play with us. We gave Doretta, the volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club, some fabric that was donated to the Sioux Y. She was appreciative and said she plans on making some quilts and dresses with it. For the first few minutes we played obstacle course games with the kids…but with the heat we lost a few people so after lunch we decided to have an area inside where kids could make jewelry. Outside, Derek and Nancy did relay races and jump rope. The kids loved it! LaPlant was a great turnout and we worked hard to make sure the kids were having fun. At the end of our time there we were ready for lunch and a break.
Swiftbird, we met some of the kids that we met last week with Team 4. There were a few new faces that we didn’t see the first time around. The heat was pretty intense so we decided to stay in the shade and play a game of drip, drip, drop. All of us were grateful for the water. After drip, drip, drop, we lost some of the kids because many of them had plans to go swimming in the river with their parents. After some last minute changes we played a very quick game of kickball then decided to return back to the shade and played with sidewalk chalk and the two puppies that decided to join us. There was a moment during sidewalk chalk where one of the young girls mentioned that one of her friends had been sent away because her parents were drinking. There were some questions from the kids about where she went but her friend didn’t know where the girl went. It wasn’t surprising to hear the kids talk about it because it must be something that parents discuss and the kids just pick up on. It’s hard to hear kids talking about drinking at a young age…the fact that they are aware of what goes on here on the reservation is sobering and hopefully good for them so that they do not repeat the same habits.
~ Above is from Nancy and an entry in our Team Journal that we turn in to the YMCA.
My outlook on Monday was a success, I felt really good after talking with some of the kids during jewlery making time in La Plant. Who knew simple beads and wire could turn into a great opportunity to learn about the culture and lives of some of the young ladies. I sat there with 2 girls, they both made some neat braclets, rings and necklaces but along the way i learned some cool things. I was told i need to try 3 different authentic food items fry bread, tribal soup and magnoodle (spelling?) I am excited to find an opportuinty to try the food. I also learned that even though in LaPlant they have a beautiful new school a lot of the kids in this community go to a different school or some even go to boarding school outside of South Dakota. I find that interesting but i have heard from more than one person that the educational system here on the reservation is not the best. Yet, there is a girl by the name of Kayo who i have connected with and she wants to be a Kindergarten teacher...i spent some time talking to her about what she would need to do in order to become a teacher and the idea of 4 more years of schooling was eye opening for her. She asked about the types of classes and what else she would need to do. We had a good conversation.
Overall, it amazes me that to these kids graduation from high school is a success and if they make it that far that is amazing. I hope to connect more with these kids in the next couple days to talk about their hopes for the future and talk with them how they might get there.
Swiftbird, we met some of the kids that we met last week with Team 4. There were a few new faces that we didn’t see the first time around. The heat was pretty intense so we decided to stay in the shade and play a game of drip, drip, drop. All of us were grateful for the water. After drip, drip, drop, we lost some of the kids because many of them had plans to go swimming in the river with their parents. After some last minute changes we played a very quick game of kickball then decided to return back to the shade and played with sidewalk chalk and the two puppies that decided to join us. There was a moment during sidewalk chalk where one of the young girls mentioned that one of her friends had been sent away because her parents were drinking. There were some questions from the kids about where she went but her friend didn’t know where the girl went. It wasn’t surprising to hear the kids talk about it because it must be something that parents discuss and the kids just pick up on. It’s hard to hear kids talking about drinking at a young age…the fact that they are aware of what goes on here on the reservation is sobering and hopefully good for them so that they do not repeat the same habits.
~ Above is from Nancy and an entry in our Team Journal that we turn in to the YMCA.
My outlook on Monday was a success, I felt really good after talking with some of the kids during jewlery making time in La Plant. Who knew simple beads and wire could turn into a great opportunity to learn about the culture and lives of some of the young ladies. I sat there with 2 girls, they both made some neat braclets, rings and necklaces but along the way i learned some cool things. I was told i need to try 3 different authentic food items fry bread, tribal soup and magnoodle (spelling?) I am excited to find an opportuinty to try the food. I also learned that even though in LaPlant they have a beautiful new school a lot of the kids in this community go to a different school or some even go to boarding school outside of South Dakota. I find that interesting but i have heard from more than one person that the educational system here on the reservation is not the best. Yet, there is a girl by the name of Kayo who i have connected with and she wants to be a Kindergarten teacher...i spent some time talking to her about what she would need to do in order to become a teacher and the idea of 4 more years of schooling was eye opening for her. She asked about the types of classes and what else she would need to do. We had a good conversation.
Overall, it amazes me that to these kids graduation from high school is a success and if they make it that far that is amazing. I hope to connect more with these kids in the next couple days to talk about their hopes for the future and talk with them how they might get there.
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| Nancy playing a game of ring around the rosey with Emiya |
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| Cute puppies all over but none of them are as cute as LILY :) |
Monday, July 26, 2010
Sunday, July 25
Today we just spent some time planning and discussing what we will do for the week. We meet up with Denise (Community Programs Director) to go out to Camp Marrow Bone to help paint and clean up a little. We arrived out there around 1:00 and walked around to see what the camp had to offer. When you picture Camp... what do you see?
Well here are some pictures from Camp Marrow Bone. They are not running program this summer but they hope to have the camp up and running next summer.
Well here are some pictures from Camp Marrow Bone. They are not running program this summer but they hope to have the camp up and running next summer.
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| Camp Marrow Bone |
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| where they will eat! |
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| Nancy and Derek after a lond day of painting! |
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Saturday, July 24
Today we got to sleep in, maybe a little to late, but the sleep was much needed after a long night of playing Phase 10. We went to the Sioux YMCA in Dupree to get our supplies for programming for the next week. We walked into the barn and saw that there was a lot of stuff in there. After the tornado that happened about a month ago alot of donatoins were sent to the YMCA and they are all sitting in the barn where all the programming stuff is. We found what we needed and went to find Denise (program director). We really did not know where exactly the house was so we asked people in the community. They knew exactly where she lived so we drove up the hill to find the house with the green shutters. We made plans to go out to camp tomorrow and take a look around and see what Camp Marrowbone had to offer.
Now we are on our way to Timber Lake, SD for the Rodeo. We drove from Dupree to Timber Lake and it took about 45 minutes. When we arrived we definietly knew where the Rodeo was and we arrived early to get a spot in the stands. We saw cowgirls and cowboys doing there best from bucking horses, to cattle wresting, and to bull riding. The Rodeo was going on all weekend and we definitely saw some great rides. I think it would be fun one day to ride a bull. (maybe mechanical to begin with)
Now we are on our way to Timber Lake, SD for the Rodeo. We drove from Dupree to Timber Lake and it took about 45 minutes. When we arrived we definietly knew where the Rodeo was and we arrived early to get a spot in the stands. We saw cowgirls and cowboys doing there best from bucking horses, to cattle wresting, and to bull riding. The Rodeo was going on all weekend and we definitely saw some great rides. I think it would be fun one day to ride a bull. (maybe mechanical to begin with) We arrived back to Eagle Butte and we were super excited to switch it up and have pizza tonight. We went to the Cenex (gas station) and found out that we were not going to have pizza tonight as they were baking crust in the ovens. So we went to DQ and Taco Johns again for dinner. We brought our food back to the hotel and put the movie Freedom Writers in the dvd player and relaxed while watching the movie.
We did end up spending sometime today prgramming for our days in the commuity. We came up with a lot of fun things to do in each of the communities. We are really looking forward to our time out here.
Sunday- we are headed out to Camp!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 23rd
The morning started again with breakfast in the room and then a quick stop at the LTM, Derek needed some man deodorant and then we were on our way to Cherry Creek, The view driving to the community was absolutely gorgeous. The roads were a little rough, and the gravel was fresh and the rocks were flying around. We arrived in Cherry Creek and it seemed pretty quiet, we first stopped by Justin Lynn’s house and she walked with us to round up other kids. Justin Lynn informed us of some dogs to not talk to and she definitely displayed some fear when certain dogs came around. We were able to round up a good number of kids as we walked through the community.
We walked back to the vans with Justin Lynn, Zathan, Cheyenne, and Anthony. As we were getting the supplies out of the van and more kids showed up, Winter, Pacer, Chad, Colby, and others. We played the same games as yesterdays Water Fun Days in the other two communities. We meet Chad (14) who really likes baseball and we said we would go get the baseball equipment and be back next week. Around Cherry Creek we saw lots of dogs and horses. As we finished programming Justin Lynn wanted to have someone walk her home so Nancy and Krissy walked her back to her house, along our way we saw Chad and Pacer throwing a pair of shoes up to the phone wires. Krissy asked Chad what the shoes were for and he said, “For his homies” meaning that it was a way to show respect for one who has passed. We left Cherry Creek and drove to Red Scaffold.
We arrived at Red Scaffold and as Team 4 went to the Community Center to fill up water balloons, Derek drove us through the community and it just seemed very empty. We then went and joined Team 4 in the CC and looked around to see the space we would be able to use. We found out that a lot of the families were in Eagle Butte getting their groceries. So we waited about a half hour and then noticed about 3 cars pulling in and later saw kids ready to join us. We meet Lindsay and her kids and walked with the kids back down to the CC and started playing games with Gabe, Mary and Lannie. We played our games and all got very wet with smiles and dog slobber on our faces! As we were closing our time there the clouds were getting black and the storm was coming in, so we packed up and got the kids home safely and headed back to Eagle Butte.
**The Powwow was a no go**
We went to dinner at the DQ across the street and then decided to look around town for the teen center where lots of events were going to be held while we were in town. We found the teen center as well as a BINGO hall; we look forward to going and playing some BINGO with the people of Eagle Butte. We drove around town for a good while and talked to some people as well as find some places we are going to check out during the time we are here. We made it back to the hotel for a good game of phase 10 and then a late night snack run back to DQ at 10:00.
Off to bed as we plan to spend some time tomorrow going to the Sioux YMCA to work on programming as well as going to Timber Lake for the Rodeo. ~Night~
We walked back to the vans with Justin Lynn, Zathan, Cheyenne, and Anthony. As we were getting the supplies out of the van and more kids showed up, Winter, Pacer, Chad, Colby, and others. We played the same games as yesterdays Water Fun Days in the other two communities. We meet Chad (14) who really likes baseball and we said we would go get the baseball equipment and be back next week. Around Cherry Creek we saw lots of dogs and horses. As we finished programming Justin Lynn wanted to have someone walk her home so Nancy and Krissy walked her back to her house, along our way we saw Chad and Pacer throwing a pair of shoes up to the phone wires. Krissy asked Chad what the shoes were for and he said, “For his homies” meaning that it was a way to show respect for one who has passed. We left Cherry Creek and drove to Red Scaffold.
We arrived at Red Scaffold and as Team 4 went to the Community Center to fill up water balloons, Derek drove us through the community and it just seemed very empty. We then went and joined Team 4 in the CC and looked around to see the space we would be able to use. We found out that a lot of the families were in Eagle Butte getting their groceries. So we waited about a half hour and then noticed about 3 cars pulling in and later saw kids ready to join us. We meet Lindsay and her kids and walked with the kids back down to the CC and started playing games with Gabe, Mary and Lannie. We played our games and all got very wet with smiles and dog slobber on our faces! As we were closing our time there the clouds were getting black and the storm was coming in, so we packed up and got the kids home safely and headed back to Eagle Butte.
**The Powwow was a no go**
We went to dinner at the DQ across the street and then decided to look around town for the teen center where lots of events were going to be held while we were in town. We found the teen center as well as a BINGO hall; we look forward to going and playing some BINGO with the people of Eagle Butte. We drove around town for a good while and talked to some people as well as find some places we are going to check out during the time we are here. We made it back to the hotel for a good game of phase 10 and then a late night snack run back to DQ at 10:00.
Off to bed as we plan to spend some time tomorrow going to the Sioux YMCA to work on programming as well as going to Timber Lake for the Rodeo. ~Night~
July 22nd—Drip, drip, drop!
This morning we got up at around 7am…made some breakfast and headed to our first res visit…LaPlant. The drive was pretty short and scenic and we had a chance to drive around the houses before we started going house to house to recruit kids to play some games with us. There were a few random dogs roaming around but all were harmless. We met a young boy named Julian on his bike who helped us find which houses had children in them and whether they were home. After knocking on several homes we had about 5 kids who were ready to come play with us at the Boys and Girls Club. We played a game called drip, drip, drop which was fun and very wet! The game had the kids laughing and running around. We played two other games that involved water balloons which they also enjoyed. At lunch we had a few of the kids that didn’t want to clean up after their lunch. After asking one of the girls Laney to clean her area up, Ragin, another girl that came to play with us said I should do it myself “black girl”, to which I was stunned and also embarrassed about. I told her if she wanted to talk to me she can call me by my name, Nancy, and not black girl. I was unsure how to follow through with that situation but thankfully Adam from Team 4 talked to her and she came up to me later apologized and gave me a hug. I was thinking I would receive some comments while on the reservation, I just wasn’t thinking it wouldn’t be from one of the kids. After we finished our time with the kids we headed to lunch by the river…past Swiftbird.
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| Swiftbird..games! |
Swift bird was our next stop. We had a great turnout with the kids and many of them were familiar faces that Derek recognized from last year. We played the same games that we did with the kids from LaPlant and they loved the drip, drip, drop game as well. We talked to a few of the adolescent girls and many of them said that they would be around tomorrow for the Pow Wow. Taylor said she would be participating in it. Overall, we had a great time with the kids today and met some new kids who I hope continue to come out for the YMCA.
This entry was from Nancy my roomate/ team member/ friend!
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| Mural in town... amazing work! |
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Day #1- climbing the hay bails :)
I arrived at Southdale YMCA around 7:45 and did not see any familiar faces except Brent when i walked inside to use the restroom. I was so happy to see him since he has been a huge advocate for me in regard of YMCA work. I did not get the opportunity to tell him how much it meant for me to see him there. Other important people in my life were there also including Mom, Mark- executive director from the River Valley YMCA, Boss man Dave Grote, Courtney and many others from the YMCA. The send off was great and Marvin (MP3) got everything for us from a list of requests. We even were able to hear the great music from Elton John and Michael Jackson! Needless to say the words of encouragement and well wishes were greatly appreciated. Thank you to everyone who attended the send off and to everyone who either called or sent great texts to me.
We started driving and right away our conversations were easy and informative. We told our life stories and shared some details and it became clear that we are going to have a great time. I forgot to tell you my team members names... I will be spending the next 2 weeks with Nancy and Derek. Nancy is from Y-USA in Chicago and Derek works for the St. Paul YMCA.
Our drive for the first 4 hours was pretty uneventful but full of fun and conversation. We arrived in Watertown, SD and went shopping at the Wal-Mart to buy our snacks and some food for the trip. We went to culvers for lunch and it was the first time i think that i have been there and i was pleasantly surprised that the chicken was really good. We left Watertown after filling the car up with gas.
Our drive continued to be smooth and enjoyable but at this point we were getting a little sleepy. We started to play a game of 2 truths and 1 lie. Some of my team members had some trouble and thought that the game was 2 lies and 1 truth, but we learned a lot about each other during the game. We had a little detour and ended up being off of the highway we were suppose to be on. We were able to get back on track and made a quick bathroom stop and to fill up with gas again and now it was my turn to drive.
For a long time I have wanted to climb up on top of a hay bail and get my picture taken, well we were driving a long and came across the perfect spot. So i pulled over and Nancy and I climbed the hay bails and Derek took our picture, it was very difficult to climb they are a lot bigger than i expected. The drive continued....
WE ARRIVE!!
We crossed the river and were on the reservation, that is when it all became surreal for me. I have been looking forward to this trip for years and now that i have arrived i was definitely astonished by the site of the reservation.
We made it to Eagle Butte where the hotel is and decided that we were not going to stop so we drove straight to Dupree. ** Side note: We are arriving into an interesting situation, the executive director Bill W. just passed away on July 11th. ** So we were on our way to Dupree for the memorial service for Bill, we arrived at the Sioux YMCA and were greeted by familiar faces and told that the memorial has moved to a new location. So we got back in the car and drove to Harry's Hall. Arriving at the memorial was very eye opening to witness the impact that Bill had on this community in the short 2 years that he was here.
After the memorial we headed back to Eagle Butte to unload and have dinner.
We meet the other team to discuss our next days programming and then we were off to bed!
I am writing after a nice night of sleep... off to La Plant and Swiftbird to work with the youth!
Monday, July 19, 2010
My Adventure Begins
I will be leaving Wednesday morning at 8:00am from the Southdale YMCA to head to the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota. I will be participating in the Sioux YMCA Initiative for the next two weeks. July 21st to August 4th. Please stay posted so you can follow me along the journey.
Monday, April 26, 2010
What to blog about? I have some ideas... life, my journey with my new home, my adventures at work, and just random thoughts. Well I have a lot of thoughts so that might not be the bast idea.
Well some exciting news.. my BFF is pregnant and expecting her first child. I could not be more thrilled and I can not wait to celebrate every milestone that goes along with pregnancy.
and guess what... she isn't the only friend in my life expecting their fist child. This summer brings me the joy of celebrating 4 weddings and 3 babies. Can not wait to join in all the festivities.
That is all for now but I am going to try and blog more... that is a promise.
Night
Well some exciting news.. my BFF is pregnant and expecting her first child. I could not be more thrilled and I can not wait to celebrate every milestone that goes along with pregnancy.
and guess what... she isn't the only friend in my life expecting their fist child. This summer brings me the joy of celebrating 4 weddings and 3 babies. Can not wait to join in all the festivities.
That is all for now but I am going to try and blog more... that is a promise.
Night
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27
Boston #3
We got to sleep in little today after staying up late watching La Crosse win the National Championship. This morning I helped my aunt plan a pizza dinner for the parets, players, and coaches. We started by going to Target and getting poster board and markers for the girls who were competing today. I used my negotiating skills and got a pretty good deal on pizza and salad for the crew of 60 people.
After we had that all figured out we went to Springfield College for the individual meet. We arrived in time for us to get lunch at the concession stand. I ate a turkey sandwich`and chili. The chili was good but a little spicy for me, yet it was very tasty.
The meet started at 2:30 and it was very low key compared to yesterday. The girls got to wear any leotard they wanted and we got to watch 14 girls on every event.
My cousin Kelsey competed in the Uneven bars and the beam. She did great she placed 2nd on the uneven bars and she placed 5th on the beam. She had great routines and was full of smiles at the end.We went to the hotel where the girls were staying for the pizza party and we got to hear the senior do their rap, it was very entertaining. The girls all seemed tired and ready to sleep. I was exhausted by 9:00, after two days of go go go, I was ready to go to bed early.
On our way back to our hotel we stopped for some Friendly's ice cream... oh geez. My mom and aunt were very confused walking into this little ice cream shop. They couldn't make up their minds and in the middle of telling the young guy what they wanted for their ice cream they broke out in to histerical laughter. Which to those of you that don't know means they are laughing and trying to talk all and the same time but no words come out. We were in the ice cream shop for 20 minutes.
The night came to an end after I checked the basketball scores.
Off to BOSTON for real tomorrow.
My cousin and the other seniors performing their rap at the pizza party! Good Laughs... I never knew she had this talent. :)Saturday, March 27, 2010
Friday, March 26- Boston Trip #2
Boston #2
Friday, March 26
I was too tired last night to write it was a long day but let me tell you all about it.
Woke up at 9:30 and went down to the hotel lobby and had breakfast. I got to have cranberry juice, apple jacks, and some eggs. The breakfast was decent for a free breakfast. We left the hotel shortly after breakfast and started our very eventful day in Springfield, Mass.
We started our journey making sure we knew our way to the College for the meet. We then headed downtown and this is where the fun began... I am going to bullet point the events and touch on the briefly.
*driving through Springfield College: We drove in circles trying to find the College, we didn't get lost because we had a trusty GPS. My aunt and mother were a little nervous driving through the fenced in neighborhoods around the College. We found our way to where the meet was going to be taking place and then we decided to start our journey around town.
*driving to the Springfield Museums: The Quadrangle... It is a little area where 4 museums or more are in one area. We looked around and by this time my aunt was a little frazzled. We walked around and it was really cool to see the sculptures of Dr. Seuss characters.
*Dr. Suess sculpture garden: My favorite one was Eurtle the Turtle. The sculptures were made out of metal and were in this big open courtyard. Everyone else was freezing so the adventure of walking around the courtyard did not last long.
*Dillweedz Café: I read about this little sandwich place online and it sounded good so we tried it. I had a tuna melt and it was delicious. It was a nice little place, seems like a place a lot of city folk would go and all the have to say is… yeah I will have my regular. You know the places you go and everyone knows your name…Hopefully I will make it to Cheers on Sunday.
*jaywalking vs. using the crosswalk: This is the funniest story from the day. We have noticed that most people seem to think that no matter where you are pedestrians have the right away. You need to be very alert as people will just pop out of anywhere to cross the street. So my mother, aunt, and I walked from the Café to the coffee place so my mom could get her daily fix. I pushed the button for the crosswalk a couple times but it never switched colors even though the lights for the cars were switching so my mother and I decided to walk when it was green for the cars to go straight… Well when we were walking we saw a cop and then he proceeded to say “Ladies, that is how you can get hit by a car” over the loud speaker. The cop said one more thing but we were to busy laughing and trying not to wet our pants that we did not hear them. Meanwhile Debbie is stuck at the corner opposite us because she was still waiting for the crosswalk to say that it was ok to walk, so instead she crossed the street and was walking parallel to us.
*Cafe DuJour: Like I said earlier, mom needed her fix so we went into the coffee shop. She wanted a mocha with caramel and all the other fixings she gets. Well long story short, we walked out and mom had no clue the she had in her hand. There was a little language barrier, but mom got her coffee.
*Cathedral red door: So I enjoy taking pictures... we all know that. We drove by the door on our way to the museum and I wanted to get a photo of it so we went back. When we arrived at the door there was a man outside complaining because the cop had just took his bottle. He just kept saying how it was a full bottle, why did the cop have to take his bottle. Needless to say, I got to take my picture.
*bark on the tree: We were on our way back to the college and my aunt Debbie starts yelling.. "Oh i love it, love it, love it..." We are all looking around trying to figure out what the heck she was yelling about... Do you want to know what it was?... She just loved the texture of the bark on the trees. I still don;t understand it, but I did take a picture.
*Gymnastics Meet: I will make this brief and to the point... University of Wisconsin La Crosse won the Division 3 National Championship... by .575 points. It was a very close meet but it was great to watch.
I will write a separate blog about the meet.
Write more later... Night!
Friday, March 26
I was too tired last night to write it was a long day but let me tell you all about it.
Woke up at 9:30 and went down to the hotel lobby and had breakfast. I got to have cranberry juice, apple jacks, and some eggs. The breakfast was decent for a free breakfast. We left the hotel shortly after breakfast and started our very eventful day in Springfield, Mass.
We started our journey making sure we knew our way to the College for the meet. We then headed downtown and this is where the fun began... I am going to bullet point the events and touch on the briefly.
*driving through Springfield College: We drove in circles trying to find the College, we didn't get lost because we had a trusty GPS. My aunt and mother were a little nervous driving through the fenced in neighborhoods around the College. We found our way to where the meet was going to be taking place and then we decided to start our journey around town.
*driving to the Springfield Museums: The Quadrangle... It is a little area where 4 museums or more are in one area. We looked around and by this time my aunt was a little frazzled. We walked around and it was really cool to see the sculptures of Dr. Seuss characters.
*Dr. Suess sculpture garden: My favorite one was Eurtle the Turtle. The sculptures were made out of metal and were in this big open courtyard. Everyone else was freezing so the adventure of walking around the courtyard did not last long.
*Dillweedz Café: I read about this little sandwich place online and it sounded good so we tried it. I had a tuna melt and it was delicious. It was a nice little place, seems like a place a lot of city folk would go and all the have to say is… yeah I will have my regular. You know the places you go and everyone knows your name…Hopefully I will make it to Cheers on Sunday.
*jaywalking vs. using the crosswalk: This is the funniest story from the day. We have noticed that most people seem to think that no matter where you are pedestrians have the right away. You need to be very alert as people will just pop out of anywhere to cross the street. So my mother, aunt, and I walked from the Café to the coffee place so my mom could get her daily fix. I pushed the button for the crosswalk a couple times but it never switched colors even though the lights for the cars were switching so my mother and I decided to walk when it was green for the cars to go straight… Well when we were walking we saw a cop and then he proceeded to say “Ladies, that is how you can get hit by a car” over the loud speaker. The cop said one more thing but we were to busy laughing and trying not to wet our pants that we did not hear them. Meanwhile Debbie is stuck at the corner opposite us because she was still waiting for the crosswalk to say that it was ok to walk, so instead she crossed the street and was walking parallel to us.
*Cafe DuJour: Like I said earlier, mom needed her fix so we went into the coffee shop. She wanted a mocha with caramel and all the other fixings she gets. Well long story short, we walked out and mom had no clue the she had in her hand. There was a little language barrier, but mom got her coffee.
*Cathedral red door: So I enjoy taking pictures... we all know that. We drove by the door on our way to the museum and I wanted to get a photo of it so we went back. When we arrived at the door there was a man outside complaining because the cop had just took his bottle. He just kept saying how it was a full bottle, why did the cop have to take his bottle. Needless to say, I got to take my picture.
*bark on the tree: We were on our way back to the college and my aunt Debbie starts yelling.. "Oh i love it, love it, love it..." We are all looking around trying to figure out what the heck she was yelling about... Do you want to know what it was?... She just loved the texture of the bark on the trees. I still don;t understand it, but I did take a picture.
*Gymnastics Meet: I will make this brief and to the point... University of Wisconsin La Crosse won the Division 3 National Championship... by .575 points. It was a very close meet but it was great to watch.
I will write a separate blog about the meet.
Write more later... Night!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
March 25, Day one of Boston Trip
Woke up at 4:15... mom just could not wait to get me up. She loves walking into the room and waking me up. I got ready for the day, ate breakfast, and we were in the car by 5:00 going to the airport. I thought mom was a little scatter brained, she thought she misplaced the boarding passes, I think she needed her coffee. She settled on getting Starbucks (watered down version of Caribou... according to her). We got through security with no problems. We meet Terry and Debbie at the gate. Everyone needed their breakfast now, but I was the smart one and ate before we left.
On the plane there is WiFi but you have to pay for it, they find any little way to get more money out of you, it is not like the plane tickets are enough. We landed early in Boston, walked throught the airport to get to the rental car, a Hyundai SUV. We entered in our next location into the GPS and we were off.
FENWAY PARK opened in 1912 and won their first World Series as the Boston Red Sox in 1913. Oh I am sorry i forgot, we ate lunch first at Cask and Flagon, I ate New England Clam Chowder and a salmon sandwich. I liked it and everyone else seemed to think it was so so. Ok so on to Fenway Park, Terry, my mom, and I all went on the tour. We started in the souvenir shop and waited to walk across the street into Gate D for the 50 min tour. This field is extremely historic and that was my favorite part, besides the Green Monster. Terry's favorite part about the baseball field was the origination of the ballparks name. Fen is the Swedish name for a swamp and the field now sits on the old landfill. Also Terry's second favorite part was preventing my mother from tripping over all of the obstacles. My mothers favorite thing about the ballpark was the red chair out in right field. The red chair symbolizes the longest homerun ever hit in Fenway Park, Ted Williams hit 510 feet. The ball hit a man wearing a straw hat, and as the newspaper headline read "knocked some sense into the Yankee Fan." s Ed the tour guide went on to share that Yankee fan became a Red Sox Fan, and after some years the family of the man wearing the straw hat 30 people to be exact came and sat in that row to remember that homerun. To say the least the history of Fenway Park was my favorite part, the wooden seats, the owners keeping original pieces as in the old owners putting their initial on the Green Monster in morris code, and last but not least the view of downtown Boston while sitting in the seats of a ballpark was amazing.
When we were done with our tour we walked around the ballpark bck to the car and I thought it would be fun to knock on the car to wake up Debbie. I did that and she woke up startled. As we were standing outside the car waiting for the doors to get unlocked the car alarm went off because someone touched the door handle. What makes the story better is that Debbie couldn’t find the keys to turn the alarm off. The three of us were outside the car laughing, if you know Debbie this isn’t the first time she has temporarily misplaced keys. GOOD LAUGH!!
We left Boston around 4:00 and were on our way to Springfield, Mass. Along the way they have the coolest rest stops, the Gulf gas stations with a wonderful variety of food choices.
We arrived in West Springfield at our Hotel and everyone had nap time.
We went to dinner at Cals, and my food was yummy and this time everyone agreed.
I hope you enjoy the photos.
Talk to you tomorrow... NIGHT!
Not all the pictures would post, when I get home I will post some of my cool shots from Fenway, but tomorrow I will be taking Gymnastics photos.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Target Field
Target Field had an Open House on March 21st. Michael and I went and spent a little over 2 hours there walking around and seeing all the cool stuff the new outdoor ballpark has to offer. It was a little chilly that day, but don't worry they have plenty of spaces you can stand to warm up. There is a Pub on the 2nd floor that is open to all ticket holders, there are warmers located around the concourse. The seats are great and I have nothing bad to say about this new beautiful stadium.
The screen is clear. They were playing game 163 while we were there and we got to relive one of the best games I have ever seen. When we were leaving they started to play a spring training game. Our TWINS look great. It is going to be a great season. Make sure to get to a game and if you are able share your tickets with me :)Next I will be blogging about my trip to Boston. please follow along for excitment!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Question #2
So where's the best place to purchase scrapbook supplies?
This reminds me I need to start scrapbooking again soon. I think my spare room needs to get organized and a desk.
Anyone know how to start getting organized... when it is hard to throw things away?
- Archivers
- JoAnn Fabrics
- Small Scrapbook stores around town
This reminds me I need to start scrapbooking again soon. I think my spare room needs to get organized and a desk.
Anyone know how to start getting organized... when it is hard to throw things away?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Question #1
Do you have any pets? If not, are planning to get a pet?
- I currently do not have any pets, but I plan on getting a puppy this spring. The picture above is a Yorkie Poo and that is the breed of dog I am getting. I am super excited to get my puppy. I will for sure need all the support from all of my friends in family in trying to raise my new puppy.
- Name ideas? ( I am pretty keen on the name of Lily)
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Time to get started!
I have decided it is time to get started on writing a blog. I feel it is an easy way to write my thoughts, daily ideas, and updates on my life in one space. The bigger question is to where to begin. It has been a long time since I blogged, and so much in my life has changed.
Any ideas on where to begin?
Any ideas on where to begin?
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