The Joys of MUD!

We started off our visit home to my husband's family in southern Indiana. My brother in law farms down there so I was really looking forward to tromping around with the kids. 

Indiana wheat looks awesome. The color of the photo above is off; it was much greener. 

My sister Officer came down with me because there are times that she really likes to get away from the hustle and bustle of Indianapolis. I can't really blame her. We were raised on a farm and spent lots of our childhood outside romping through trees and fields. Coming to the country is a tonic for our souls I think. 

My mom had told me how swamped with rain Indiana had been. They'd gotten four inches of rain just three days before we arrived so I was expecting muddy puddles. Our first stop, before we even got to the farm, was to buy three pairs of rubber boots. What a good buy! The kids stomped all over the place and I didn't have to worry about ruined shoes :) 

The first time Yahoo saw a muddy puddle she seemed so surprised! And she even asked if it was okay to play in. I'm not sure if she thought there was something in the mud, or if I'd be mad, or what but she didn't have that impulsive instinct to jump right into the mud like the boys did. Of course the boys lived around wet and mud until they were 5 1/2. Yahoo's lived in dry Kansas since she was 16 months old. Quite a different childhood between them. 

I love my brother in law's farm. So peaceful and just a wonderful place to romp around. 

My Mini Mud Monsters

Sometimes when Mother Nature has been in one of her moods, like this summer's drought, and you can't count on rain or mud...you just have to take matters into your own hands. 

"Come here brother...give me a hug!! HA HA!!!"

"Catch this!!!" 

"Peek a boo!"

"I'm starting a trend little monsters...follow me!"

So exfoliating for the pores !

"Mom? I think I have something stuck up my nose."

Hmmm, wonder what THAT could be? 

Monument Rock - Trip #2

While my family was all together last week we headed up to Monument Rock again. In case you are interested Monument Rock, sometimes called the Chalk Pyramids, are between Scott City and Garden City, Kansas. To get there you have to drive about 5 miles off the highway on dirt roads. Dirt, not gravel...yes there is a difference.  DR had to work but Mountain Man was able to spend a couple days with us too. Mountain Man, DR, the kids and I had all been up to the rocks back in October. It had been a great, dirty visit. I was sure the kids had plenty of spare clothes in the car. Thank goodness I did because NW Kansas had been rained on! So much rain in fact there was plenty of it standing in the ditches. I don't think I've seen standing water since I left Indiana. We turned onto a road of mud. Thank goodness my mom was driving and had experience handling slimy roads because my car was fish tailing for a mile! 

Prairie Mother (that's me), my sister in law Melinda Sue, my brothers John Deere and Mountain Man and Dad. In front is Yip, Mom, Yap, and Yahoo in the very front. 

But we made it and even took a nice family photo. Aren't those some beautiful muddy knees on my kids? 

I love visiting the rocks. They are one of the most beautiful landscapes I've seen. As you look at the rocks, you'd imagine they'd be hard like limestone but they are more the consistency of chalk or dried mud. With the rain that day the rocks were very wet and we could easily break off chunks in our hands. There was plenty of sticky white mud for my kids to play in. (Yay for spare clothes) The boys did find some rocks that looked like shell fossils so I imagine, with my limited scientific experience, that the rocks must have been formed by sediment under the ocean millions of years ago.

No matter how the rocks came to be they are sure fun to climb! Mountain Man, Yap and I got all the way to the top of these. 

Mom, Dad, my brother John Deere and his wife Melinda Sue came from Indiana this week while my other brother Mountain Man moved to Oklahoma from Kansas on Monday and then drove back on Tuesday to spend part of the week with us. These three guys (my two brothers and Dad) hadn't been all together since Christmas. Boy, I could tell they had been missing one another. It was good for them all to have some guy time. Actually we split up in two vehicles driving all week; a car of girls and a car of boys. Yip and Yap were having a ball with all these guys around all week! However, Yahoo thinks her two uncles are the most wonderful men on the planet and wasn't impressed that she was stuck in the girl car...HA! 

These rocks are in the middle of the prairie and past the rocks you can see for miles. The view makes the presence of the rocks all the more odd. 

Yahoo and Melinda Sue, my favorite sister in law. I loved being in the girl car with MS though! 

We ended our day with a photo session (bring on the funny faces) using the new tripod and remote shutter release DR bought me for my camera. Thanks honey, it works great! 

We had a great week with family; I'll have more photos later!