Black Hills Adventure

It's been a week since the Joachim Family took a trip to the Black Hills to celebrate my parents' 40th Anniversary. 

We started our first day of touring with a stop at the SD Railroad Museum. This was especially of interest to Landen, who has come a long way since his first Thomas trains!

After that, we braved the 90+ degree day and visited Mount Rushmore.

It's always great to see these guys, no matter how many times I've been there!

After lunch, we drove long Iron Mountain Road and Needles Highway. The clouds covered the sun at just the right time to cool the day and allow for some climbing on the rocks.

The next day, we tackled the Harney Peak hike, which only my sister Amanda had done before. (Rachel stayed back at the cabin with Grandma Shirley.) We kept a pretty good pace and took a few stops to rest along the way. We saw people of all ages going up and down the trail. It is a hiker-friendly trail, even for newbies like us!

For a long time near the top, it feels like you are almost there, but you really aren't. Then you turn a corner and see that you are finally almost there! I took this photo as a "never give up" photo as the next turn beyond this corner was the top!

The view at the top was truly worth the climb!

We spent Saturday night with my uncle, aunt and cousin who live in the Hills. 

After mass on Sunday (where we saw some friends from home!), we headed back east!

June

I've been terrible at posting this month, if you haven't already noticed! We've been busy, and I haven't been the best at taking photos of our adventures.

First off, we have the bunny family waiting for homes! We have a home for the white one, but still have four available. They really are sweet and make excellent, low-maintenance pets. They've been a great fit for our kids. I even like to go out and visit them with a special treat from the kitchen. ;)

Two nights of each week are baseball practice or games. Landen's team is 3-2 in regular season and I'm not sure on the other two. Nathan tried pitching last week, but found he will need a bit more practice. I admire pitchers, as I've found it to be more difficult than I thought it was, too! 

Coming back from baseball games allows us to see some beautiful sunsets!

Last weekend was the annual Eureka Girls weekend. It feels as though we haven't missed a beat whenever we get together. I love these forever friends so much!

That's all for now, until next time, have a truly WONDERFUL summer!!

15 years

Taking a quick moment this morning to wish my husband a Happy 15th Anniversary! We dress up sometimes . . .

but, this is what we look like most of the time! 

15 years and I still feel like we're just getting started!

Happy 97th Birthday, Grandma!

We celebrated Grandma Joachim's 97th birthday yesterday, which was earlier in the week. She was very pleased with the punch, cake and ice cream, especially that the cake even had her name on it.

What a blessing it is so celebrate another birthday with her.

Today is my Dad's birthday, although I didn't get a photo of him yesterday to share!

After Grandma's party, Uncle Vince and Aunt Amanda took us fishing on the west lake. Although we didn't catch anything, it was still fun (thanks to the beautiful weather) and the kids were good sports, too.

Rachel had to test the water with her toes. 

Nathan had to try just one more time in the east lake before it was time to go. 

Va-ca-tion!

It is summer va-ca-tion, an annual event that, depending on the number and age of my children over the years, I have greeted either with excitement or terror. Well, I am happy to say that we have once again reached an age of excitement. 

Planting is in full swing, of course. Here, Dad and Rachel are making sure the soybeans are where they should be. The boys have been planting and rock rolling as well. It keeps them busy and out of trouble, which makes mama happy!

With all of these kids at home (and extra people in the field), food is flying out of here faster than Nathan jacked up on Easter morning jelly beans.

I know I shared this recipe a few years back, but it's a good one and one that you can use to both feed your kids and keep them busy while they make them! I like that it uses honey instead of corn syrup, and no one minds the difference.

Cheerio Bars

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter

4 cups Cheerios (or a combination of unsweetened cereals)

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray (or a 7x11 pan for thicker bars). Heat sugar and honey to boiling on stove top or microwave. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter. Stir in cereal and press into pan.