RJ and Bradley talked me into a golf trip to Sherwood. The boys did pretty well and had a lot of fun. Bradley was a bit bummed about the fact that the 'greens' were made of sand. Occasionally golf etiquette was a bit lacking - although Bradley and I were wearing collared shirts.
Bradley lines up a putt.
RJ putts on #6
RJ started school, and Julia officially started the following day.
RJ took a good picture ... but wasn't a big fan of school starting.
Julia was not a big fan of having her picture taken ... so she crumpled up the sign and threw it away. But Julia really liked the first week of school and even made some new friends.
On the first Friday, both kids got out early. So Sara rewarded them with a mini-golf trip. So nice having both kids on the same schedule!
RJ's friend Bradley summed up a day on the Chesapeake as "the best play-date ever!"
We started with some fishing. For the third time in a row, we found several sea gulls diving for jumping fish ... so we didn't have to wait long to catch some small ones.
Then we headed to Sherwood and picked up a tube for some water fun.
Summer ain't over until the school bell rings. Sara found plenty of things for the kids to do - a few examples below.
Bowling at super discounted summer day rates.
Watering and picking the garden ... then selling produce to the neighbors. As any good business owner does, RJ found somebody else to do the heavy lifting.
Julia learned to pump her legs and swing while in North Dakota ... and kept up her skills during pizza night at the park.
Summer BBQ's - including Uncle Z and G-Geoff. We played with Geoff's dog Stanley in the back yard.
We arrived at the Fritel's Farm during harvest ... probably not the most convenient for our hosts, but we got to ride along during combining.
Crew started with a wheat field and ended up with a lot of grain.
Combining and then transfering wheat from the grain cart to the semi. Note the oil fields in the background.
We went to Oil Country to visit Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Kelly, Andrew, Matthew, Grace, and Luke. We went during harvest, so see the ND Harvest post for some awesome harvest pictures.
Golfing
Doug, Andrew, and RJ spent 6.5 hours golfing. We finished 15 of 18 holes. Some time was allocated to the driving range, the putting green, and the rain delay. But a lot of time was spent looking for balls in the 'native grass', cleaning balls, and thinking of how we would make our next shot.
Animals!
Plenty of chickens, cats, and rabbits to pet and chase.
RJ was super excited to gather free range eggs. That harmless looking chicken packed a strong peck - the damm thing drew blood on my leg.
Pickleball
Grandma Diane brought pickleball equipment. The quonset was empty for the harvest ... and it made a great pickleball court. Grace/Doug vs Matthew/RJ turned into quite the competition.
4H Show and Competition
Aunt Kelly's friend let us ride, feed, and pet an awesome horse named Buddy. Julia loved riding!
Other Farm Stuff
A pile of dirt was a good source of entertainment.
Climbing hay bales was just as much fun.
Around Killdeer, ND
It was HOT until the day of the outdoor foam party. So kids spent most of the time tossing Gatorade bottles instead of jumping in the water/foam.
Aunt Kelly making drinks at the coffee shop in Killdeer, ND.
Doug rented a bike from a local shop and rode the first few miles of the Maah Daah Hey Trail
Route Recorded by GPS
Scary Summit
Lots of Cool Scenery
Typical Trail Views
Medora, ND had lots to offer!
On night 1 we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, but the show got cut short by a storm.
After dinner before the show started, RJ decided to lead the charge down some cool trails.
On night 2 we got to see the entire show. Julia loved it ... she smiled the entire time ... here we are during intermission.
The kids got to go on stage twice ... one time each night.
There was lots of hiking trails, but we decided to climb a rather dangerous path leading out of the city near the playground. This is the type of thing you get to do in North Dakota (wild west) that you cannot do in Virginia (land of legislation). Doug made the decision not to risk his life to get to the top. A decision that may have to be overturned in a future trip.
Mini-golfing with Grandma and Grandpa. Afterwards we got a root beer float.
While Doug was biking (see Maah Daah Hey blog post), Sara took the kids to a cool playground. RJ said it was boring, but thoroughly enjoyed himself.
We quickly drove into the main area of the national park on day 1 in Medora. A bison (pronounced bice-nn) crossed the road directly in front of our car. We also harassed some prairie dogs.
On day 2 we hiked the Painted Canyon. It was only about a 1 mile hike, but we found plenty of climbing. Sara's cold got in the way, but the rest of us climbed. Sara took a picture after we got to the top.
Some other climbing pictures.
