Don't be a troll

I'm having a little bit of trouble with processing all I saw and being gone. Every post I write in my head is about my trip. My life seems a tad boring after that.
My parents came this weekend for a surprise birthday. The Little's went to Drummer's house on Friday night to have a tiny sleepover with Princess. Since they were gone on Saturday for a while Mom and I decided to take a quick look for the Fremont Troll. I've thought about it but never actually gone. Note to self..... "take the TomTom cord", just saying. After much searching and question asking and finally a call to Drummer and his computer. We found it!

Mom and Troll

Mom and I.

Thankful Thursday

Peace

Re-entry

Well re-entry has been accomplished.
I haven't even started on my pictures yet. However I have unpacked! The suitcase is still sitting at the end of the hall but everything is out of it.
While I was gone the guys did a great job of keeping up on everything. I did clean our bathroom on Sunday. Dh piped up with " Are you practicing?" HA HA NOT! However I did hit the ground running on Monday morning.
I now have no fingernails. One broke off the first hour so that night I filed them all off. I just won't ever have pretty hands. They are working hands. I can still have pretty toes though.
I'm everyone's favorite person this week. I was missed!
What has been the weirdest thing is driving by myself! If I see something dead it's hard to just pass it buy without trying to figure out what it is or gasping and gagging. I need my auntie as my co-pilot. I don't know if I got on her nerves but I know she didn't get on mine. We laughed so hard so much our stomach's hurt. We didn't even have a cross word. Well I guess what would we have fussed at, we had no one but each other and we came and went and ate all as we pleased. I'm still processing it all. Where I was today asked about our trip. She seemed to think we did it in a covered wagon. I just stared at her for a moment and then tried to not bust out laughing. Uh no, we were in an air conditioned car. With our ice chest and snacks. I am not sure where she got that idea. I've also been asked if it was an organized tour. Nope, just my Auntie and her handy dandy Yahoo Maps and a knowledge and a love of the books. THANK YOU Auntie for all your hard work. If anyone every wants to do what we did, ask her for our notebook, it's in there!
Peace

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the daddy's out there. I love my dad and wish we could have been together. They will be over next weekend and that will be good.
T2 planned his dad's day today and he did a great job. Since I got in so late last night we all slept in today. I made bacon and eggs breakfast for everyone and puttered around. Dh read his paper in leisure and then napped in the chair. Drummer and his family came for pizza dinner that T2 got and cooked. It was a nice slow paced day. Dh said he had a great day. That's what counts.
Tonight I put 4 finger's behind my back. I told Monkey to pick a number between 1 - 10. He picked 5, then I asked Bug's to pick, he picked 9. Monkey won. What he won was the first trip into the shower. He was MAD! He didn't want to go first. He wanted to do rock paper scissors. I said No, you need to just go get in the shower. He went to the bathroom and shut the door. We both thought he was in the tub. NOPE! He was in there FUMING! He hollered at me through the door. I couldn't hear him so I went in and when he was still standing there dressed I said WHAT?? He said.... I don't want to do it your way. I don't like that you made me pick a number. I want to do it my way and I don't want to take a shower first. I stopped him and said GET IN THE SHOWER NOW! I left. He was crying that I hurt his feelings.
Dh went in to hurry the process along. He asked his dad if he would talk to me about not being respectful. Dh tried to tell him his job was just to obey and if he did that then he was being respectful and then I would be respectful and all would just be lovely. Well that did not go over well. Dh left to come giggle to me in the kitchen and then he went back to the bath to check on Monkey to make sure he was using soap and all that stuff. Monkey asked his dad if he had talked to me about being respectful yet. Dh came out just laughing. He said Honey it's really hard to take a kid serious that is talking to you wearing blue goggles in the bathtub! So that ends our day. :)
I hope you have a blessed week.
Peace

The party is over

Today is my last day of my trip. I have to go home tomorrow. I miss my guys madly! I can't wait to squeeze and kiss them. BUT... I don't want to necessarily leave. It's a dilemma eh? My auntie has the best window in her office. It's like a picture that is ever changing. She has 2 feeders that make it a very busy window. I could sit and watch the birds for HOURS!

This is a Cardinal.


A Blue Jay


We went to the cemetery today so I could put flowers on my grandma's grave. I miss her every day and I know she would have LOVED the trip Daisy and I were just on.

Grandma and Aidan. Fresh flowers.

Then since Auntie and I had such a good time letter boxing on our trip. She and I hid one today. I couldn't find a craft store to save our lives so I just gave up my stamp and used it in the box. I It was a lot of fun to figure it out.

It's in there!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Peace

Last day Memphis pictures

I think Auntie and I are just about caught up on our sleep. We have both been really tired.
Here is some pictures from our last day of travel.

Beale St.


Where Elvis recorded.

This hospital was amazingly large!

Lisa Marie's airplane

Graceland

The grave's from the fence line.

Auntie and Me with our names.

For Anita....

Auntie at the gates.

The deer we saw on the way home.

Peace

Laura Day 16

We stayed in West Memphis Arkansas last night.
We got up and hit the road this morning. We knew this would be our last day on the road. I have never been to Memphis Tn. The last time we were all here there just wasn't time to go. I know my Dh would LOVE to see Graceland so I wouldn't go without him but we did want to go BY it. Daisy had a few sites she wanted me to see. I will post pictures tomorrow. So in Memphis we went to Beale street. We saw the Peabody Hotel. Then we drove around to see the St. Jude Children's Hospital. It is MASSIVE! They do such wonderful things there. Then we set the TomTom on Graceland and drove to it. When we got out of the car it was like stepping into an oven. We walked the rock/brick wall at Graceland and I wrote mine and Dh's names on it for him. Then we sweated our way back across the street and wondered around a bit and then had an ice cream to cool off. It was really an excuse to sit where there was AC. We took a few more pictures then we hit the road. We still had 300 miles to go.
We crossed into Mississippi. I don't think I've ever been to Mississippi before either. I have to check but I think that made 13 states. It was a beautiful drive home.
Daisy said we wouldn't be seeing any more armadillo's. She was wrong. Not many but some. Of course they were dead.
We saw a dead deer.
We saw several dead raccoons again.
And a dead snake.
BUT the highlight of our day - we saw 2 LIVE deer! Only the 2ND and 3rd of our trip.
Auntie saw a live raccoon.
As we were driving along on the only night we drove after dark, I kept seeing what I thought were animal eyes on the edge of the road. They weren't! They were lightning bugs! So cool! Right up until one smashed on my windshield but still was glowing for a long time! Glowing guts! Nice eh?
Tomorrow I will do some pictures.
Peace

Laura Day 15

Today was part 2 of Mansfield Missouri.
We left at our usual early 11:00. We went back to the museum because we were told the lady that was there today was a women who actually knew Laura. We were so excited to meet her. Daisy and I both had her sign a book for us. We had books signed at every stop except the Blind School. She was a very sweet lady that took the time to talk to us. Everyone has ooo'd and aaahhh'd over Daisy's first addition books. I love them! Her aunt gave both her and my Mom a love of reading that has lasted lifetimes! I know that love has been passed on to me and to my boys. OK off track there.


Outside of the museum.



Then we stopped and picked some wild flowers and went to the cemetery. They are well marked and easy to find.

Rose Wilder Lane - their daughter.

The back side of her stone.

Laura and Almanzo

The view from their stone. A beautiful view of the Ozarks that they loved.

The memorial society has worked hard and has gotten back most of the land of Rocky Ridge. They love the stories of Laura and it shows in the love of what they do.

I feel sorry for the kid that has to learn to spell that in kindergarten.

I had one last letterbox to find and it is at the cemetery. I had no trouble with this one and it was there.

tools of the trade.

Arkansas. Love the shale rock.

Ava MO is not kind to kitties!

4 dead cats. One of which appeared to be waving at cars as they drove by.

2 coyotes

1 very large deer.

Several opossums

2 turtles

And you would not believe that amount of armadillo's! Man those things are plentiful!

And again just guts!

Tomorrow I think we will be back at Aunties. Unless something catches our eye. Shiny object!

Peace

Laura Day 14

Daisy and I had been thinking that Mansfield would take 2 days. This morning we decided that we were going to stay put for another night. That took a lot of pressure off the day. So we moved at a slower pace today.
We had a letterbox to find in the city park. When we found it, it was in plain site and most of it was gone. Only the stamp was left. I didn't have extra stuff to re-stock the box. I feel bad but re-hid it better and sent an email off to the Placer when we got back to our room.

The wagon wheel stamp.

It was in a city park and had a beautiful outdoor stage.

Daisy putting on a show for me.

Singing in the rain!

Then we went out to Laura and Almanzo's last home. It is just as they left it. You can't take pictures in there. The museum is a really nice museum. Pa's fiddle is there and is just beautiful! The house was built room by room so it has a very eclectic feel to it. I love that they were so happy there.

The outside and front porch.

The other end

Somewhere around the homestead there is another letterbox. It was cool! We are 2 for 2 so far here. I'm pumped!
The second half of the tour is the Rock House that Rose had built for them. They hated it. When she moved away they moved back to THEIR home. It's a beautiful home and I could totally live there! I would even let people come look at it.

It is made from the rocks from the area.

For my Bugs!

Isn't she beautiful?

The side of the house.

The front of the house. Those french doors open out to over the valley. It's a beautiful home and view!

The bust of Laura in the city park.

We are going to have to start getting the tails!
Tomorrow we are going to finish up here and then start the trek home.

Peace