The Bus Loop

 There is this place right outside of Lander called the bus loop.  I had heard about it numerous times but had never been.  However, my friend Alena and Quincey's best bud Chloe always go there so we decided to tag along with them one day.  I'm so glad we did.  It was so cool!  And the girls had an absolute blast.  

So of course, we had to drag papa there that weekend.  We had a great time and really enjoyed exploring but, on our way, back, we came way too close to a rattle snake.  It was just starting to get warm enough for them to come out and I was aware of that, but I have never actually run across a rattle snake while on foot out hiking so it was awfully shocking for me.  I was first on the trail and then Quincey and a little way back was Joe.  I walked by and in the bush, I heard the very loud rattle.  Like a really loud rattle and immediately I knew.  I couldn't see it, but I knew it was there and it was aware we were there.  I yelled for Quincey to come to me quickly and she did, thank God!  She ran right by it.  After taking a good look (from afar) and gathering our bearings, we made our way back to the car and did not go back out this summer.  We were told that there were a lot of rattle snakes out there in the summer, but we didn't realize there would be that many!

Spreading Mom's Ashes

 We had a family trip scheduled for the Black Hills and decided to spread mom's ashes while we were there.  Dad picked out three spots that are special to him and that mom would have loved.  There were tears and prayers and quality time together.  It's quite sobering to be spreading your own mother's ashes and I can't say it was fun but I'm glad we did it.  I miss her horribly.

Quincey and Her Worms

 Quincey loves worms!  Last spring, she wouldn't even touch this but this spring, she couldn't get enough of them.  After a good rainstorm the first thing she wants to do is go out and find worms.  Those poor worms that become her "friends" or rather her victims!  She has to be forced to finally give them back over to the ground.  She wants to keep them in her wagon and play with them.  They make their way into toy cribs so they can be rocked to sleep.  They end up on my coffee table.  Just this morning I had to tell her to take a dried up barely alive worm back outside and off of the table.  She just loves worms!  And I love watching her get excited when she finds one.  Someday soon I'm sure I will miss finding dried worms around the house.

Grandpa Gets Us Stuck

 Quincey and I had to go to Newcastle but Joe wasn't able to come.  I had a doctor's appointment in Spearfish so we made a week out of it.  Of course, we had to go into the Black Hills one day and explore.  The snow had finally melted from the long winter and it was beautiful outside.  But there was one path of snow on the two-track road that was still there.  Without giving it too much thought, we started to drive through it but, right in the middle of it, we got stuck.  We got really stuck!  There was no reversing out or going forward.  Luckily my dad is prepared for anything so after assessing the situation, we started to dig.  The snow was the heaviest snow I have ever tried to dig through.  It was more like really thick slush.  First, we dug a little and gave it another try but that pickup just wouldn't budge.  So, we started to take turns shoveling.  We'd shovel a little and then try our luck again, but it just wasn't working.  So, in shorts, I laide on a pair of old overalls and got under the pickup as much as I could and just started scraping snow out.  It was slow work, that's for sure!  Then for traction, dad decided to jam the overalls under one of the tires that wouldn't budge, then he had me stand on the back of the truck and bounce up and down while he threw it into reverse.  And little Quincey, she just sat there being cute.  Happily, the truck started to move.  I kept bouncing while yelling that I was going to fall off and dad was gonna run me over.  But that didn't stop him!  He just kept on reversing fast out of there and luckily, I didn't fall off.  It was a heck of an adventure and to be honest, quite a bit of fun for me.  I could tell my dad was a little stressed about the situation but I was determined to get us out and it felt good to do just that.  

Easter Time!

 Well, this Easter Quincey got to participate in her first ever Easter Egg Hunt!  We dyed our own eggs, but we were most excited about the hunt.  We were running late but luckily, we showed up before the start time because precisely at 10am, the horn blew, and all the kids were off.  Typically, it takes place in City Park but because everything was still covered with snow, it took place at the high school soccer field so, there were no "hidden" eggs.  Instead, they were just all scattered out on the ground.  Luckily, they had the field sectioned off by age group.  So, as soon as the whistle blew, Quincey ran around getting eggs.  I videoed taped her and from start to finish, by the time the last egg was gotten, it took 1 minute and 56 seconds.  That's it.  The hunt was over.  Not much of a hunt but Quincey had a blast and got to even meet the Easter Bunny.

We were invited to our neighbor's house for Easter dinner which was so nice.  Quincey got to dress in a beautiful easter dress.  We are blessed to have amazing neighbors!

And of course, she got an Easter basket.