Our Week

Whew--what a week!  We started swimming lessons, which always makes me wonder if I should rent an apartment in Faulkton for a couple of weeks each year  The kids and are at the pool for 2 1/2 hours a day Monday-Thursday (and Teresa's class had a make up lesson yesterday).  We do have our friends the Trefz family for at least an hour of that time, and a new set of spectators arrives every hour to reset and refresh our social scene. 
We also hosted David's cousin Zach, Dawn and baby Lucy (9 months) for a couple of days.  We even managed to take a quick trip to Aberdeen with the girls.  They were AWESOME shoppers.  We're training them young!
I was hoping that the culmination of this crazy busy week would be coming home with a pile of school supplies and school shoes for the boys last night.  The weather changed our plans in a hurry.  Landen requested to go to The Corner Book Shoppe and I was more than happy to fulfill that request.  We arrived in Aberdeen close to 4pm, and I wasn't sure when they closed, so we went there first.  We all three enjoyed our bookstore experience.  The boys each brought money to choose their own books.  While they browsed, I perused the novels and found a few new ones for myself.  Nathan even found a corner to read his books while he waited.  I LOVE that store.  If you love books (and bargains,) you must check it out! 
Among my finds was the book about Don Meyer, "How Lucky You Can Be," which I had not yet read.  (I realize that everyone else in the area and their dogs (literate dogs, anyway) had probably read it, but I missed the boat.  I started reading it last night and finished it this afternoon.  I'm not much of an athlete nor do I have a coach's mentality, but I did appreciate the story of his life at Northern, his recovery from the car accident that nearly took his life, and how he has dealt with the cancer that was found during the post-accident surgery on his abdomen.  The car/semi accident actually happened about 10 miles from our farm and the semi driver he crossed in front of has been a friend of my in laws for many, many years, so I wanted to see how it was portrayed as well.
But, back to the bookstore . . .
Just as we were checking out, my dad called and ask me where I was and told me of a severe thunderstorm involving a rotation and golf ball sized hail heading toward Aberdeen.  It was clear that school supplies and shoes would have to wait.  The boys and I took our newfound literary treasures and headed south.  I thought I would be able to get around the wind and hail, but then another and another system formed, blocking us from our home.  I didn't think I would be able to make it to Mellette, which is 20 miles south before it reached us either. 
Hmm. . . I started racking my brain.  Who did I know between Aberdeen and Mellette?  I called my sister-in-law's parents and the boys and I waited it out there.  After popcorn and cans of pop, it had blown over and we returned home to find over 2 inches of rain and crops shredded from hail. 
Oh, well.  It's all good.  Everyone was fine here.  My mother in law and the girls hunkered down in the basement with brownies and bananas and the boys and I had our first stormy adventure!

Thanks again to Mark and Terri for giving us food and shelter!  :o)