Life has been quite full since I posted last Monday. We had a very nice visit to Mankato, and as usual the days filled up quickly. It's always a little harder for the kids since Grandpa usually puts them to work right away. One day Accalia and Cole had to wash out the bed of one of my dad's trucks:

Ella was so exhausted after having to carry buckets of water to Accalia and Cole that she zonked out for a long afternoon nap:


Then, of course, Cole had to figure out how he'd wear the clothes provided for him at my parents' - a pair of shorts much too big for him:


All told tongue in cheek, of course. Please don't call social services on my parents!

Seriously, though, the kids were able to play with their cousins every day and even snuck in a visit with Rachel and her three kiddos. We went to a couple different parks. At the one my dad accompanied us to on Wednesday morning, he pushed Accalia and Cole so much in the tire swing that Accalia ended up getting sick.

It was a really good visit, and we'll be back this coming Memorial Day weekend - this time with Cory along.
Once we made it back to Yankton, we had Chloe and Alexia over Friday evening. The kids ran through their remaining energy by the time Karine came back to pick Chloe and Alexia up around 9:30 p.m.

Saturday was the start of a very active weekend in Yankton. Throughout South Dakota, it's open house weekend for state parks and free fishing, so that draws a lot of people to the lake area. It's also Meridian Trails weekend, which encourages people to take advantage of all of the walking and biking trails around town. To top it all off, it was also Yankton Day. I think this started last year, where different places around Yankton waive fees or hold open houses so you can take a look around at things you might not otherwise do. After Cory tilled up our flower beds and veggie garden (had to rent a tiller because his is not working), we made our first stop at the miniature golf/go cart place out by the lake to take in a free round of golf. Unfortunately, a place that has large numbers of decorative rocks and various water spots is just too tempting for an 18-month-old who enjoys nothing more than throwing objects in water. So I spent the entire time trying to keep Ella from throwing everything she could find in the water. Maybe next year Ella will want to try out the golf course with one of their little plastic kiddie clubs. After that, we decided to take a break for lunch since Ella was getting quite cranky.

Then we headed over to the House of Mary Shrine. While I can't appreciate it the way the Catholics who visit it do, it is a beautiful and very peaceful place. The kids loved hiking all the way up the hill to the three large crosses. Here we are with Lewis & Clark Lake in the background (the bluffs are on the Nebraska side):


After that, we went for a tour of the powerplant at the Gavins Point Dam. It as a pretty short tour, and even the kids thought it was interesting. We drive over the top of the dam so often, so it was neat to see what it's like underneath all of that concrete and water. On our way out, we stopped to look down to where the water spills into the lake, and we could see a bunch of the HUGE paddlefish that draw so many people to fish in this area.

I'd better stop for now. Everyone is up and about and eager for my help.