Beep Beep!

Val as a Bus Driver

Val is bringing up the end of the Halloween Costume Parade as a Bus Driver. We're not entirely sure what school Val will drop you off at if you get in...but then again, we're not sure if Val knows either. We appreciate you taking the time to be in the parade this weekend and picking up any parade stragglers as you finish off the route. Thanks Val!

Val's favorite movie is Ernest Scared Stupid. One of those movies that makes you feel better about yourself.

South Dakota Part 1

Hi from South Dakota! Val and I have been here for a couple of days now and have seen a lot of cool things. For starters we meet Sonja's sister Silvia. She was really nice to us and wanted to make sure we saw everything!

This is Silvia who took us on a lot of great tours through the Black Hills.

One of the first places we stopped was the Purple Pie and Ice Cream Palace in Custer, SD. Were we ever surprised to find a big purple pig in front of the store! Neither of us had ever seen anything like it.

We didn't know pigs came in purple...

On our way into Custer State Park we stopped to get our picture taken with Smokey the Bear.

Shortly after meeting Smokey, we saw a group of bighorn sheep. They would have been a lot easier to spot if they had been white like us...

A couple of miles down the road, we meet their girlfriends. They were hanging out in the camp ground dodging the sprinklers. Silvia told us afterwards that it was hard to find sheep in the park because they usually live higher in the hills.

There were buffalo everywhere! We wanted to get out and see them closer, but Sonja and Silvia said it wasn't safe because they could run faster than us and were very big.

Sonja and Silvia found a great place for us to sit in the front of Silvia's car. Right between them...

After we drove around some more and saw antelope, prairie dogs, mules, and a lot more buffalo, we drove through the Black Hills to see Mount Rushmore. It was a little late, but we got to stay for the lighting ceremony. The presidents looked really pretty lit up at night.

The next day we drove a lot. We went all over the Black Hills and through some beautiful gulches. It got a little bit bumpy on some of the gravel roads, but the scenery was totally worth it. In the afternoon we stopped at a waterfall for a picnic lunch.

What did they pack for us?

A few miles down the road we found a really nice spot to sit by the river. We really wanted to go wading with Silvia, but Sonja said we should stay on the shore because the water was cold and we might get wet.

Our first 2 days were really busy. Tomorrow, we get to go to a parade. It might rain so Sonja said we might have to stay in the car, but we'll see!

Iowa State Fair

We found out that Jenni was going to the Iowa State Fair, so we hitched a ride. It was fun, but it was soooo hot!

We found a sheep right away!

Jenni was pretty impressed at our sheep seeking capabilities. As you can see, we found real sheep and fake sheep!

Awe! Can we take the lamb home?

We were so awesome, we found a baby sheep! Val looks a little afraid of the lamb, but I assure you that Val was very brave.

What a strange looking sheep!

Yes, we know, that's not a sheep. Duh, it's a donkey. We liked this little donkey, baby donkey was so cute and friendly. We wanted to take donkey home, but Jenni said no. What a party pooper!

Can we take this cow home?

Since Jenni wouldn't let us take the donkey home, we decided to keep looking around. It didn't take long to spot this little cow. Yeap, it's a full grown cow. The littlest cow in the world! Maybe we can take this little one home? This cutie is so small, Jenni would never notice!

Val decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to bring the little cow home, too much poop. Val thinks that being the biggest sheep in the house means that Val knows everything. Hmmm, Andi and I aren't so sure about that.

We decided that Val might (I mean miiiiiight) just be right, and that having a living cow might not be the best thing for a house.... but what about a butter cow? They don't poop!

Mmmmm, butter!

Yeah, butter cows smell much better, but do you see Andi? Andi looks a little freaked out. Okay, maybe we won't bring this cow home.

It was too hot to even consider trying the fried Snickers on a stick, so we thought maybe we'd try some green eggs and ham:

Try them, try them, you will like them!

Well, we wanted to try the green eggs and ham, but we couldn't figure out how to break through the glass... maybe next year!

Wisconsin Dells

Jenni took her family and in-laws to Wisconsin Dells last week, and didn't even mention taking us sheep, so we decided to hitch a ride in Jenni's suitcase. Jenni didn't discover us until we got to the Kalahari Resort, we got to stay and do fun stuff!

What big ears you have!

Our first trip out of the room we ran into these guys... I sure hope that Mr. Lion is a vegetarian! After we managed to escape from the Kalahari mascots, Jenni said that we were going for a ride on the Ducks. Ducks you say? Ride on the ducks? What the heck? Ducks are smaller than sheep! Has Jenni gone crazy?

Can this thing quack?

Ohhhh, that kind of Duck! Ha ha Jenni, very funny. Anyway, it was a fun ride, though it was pretty windy, so we spend most of the time chilling in Jenni's comfy bag, which had plenty of breathing space. It also had a few diapers in in, but luckily the diapers were clean.

Since we didn't want to hang out in the diaper bag much after our duck excursion, we thought we'd spend the rest of the time hanging out at the water park at the Kalahari, and also work on our tans.

Look! We've found Dumbo! Are we in Disneyworld?

This little elephant was so friendly! We had quite a nice conversation. We loved the safe feeling we had hanging out with the fake Dumbo. Then, Val had the great suggestion that we get in the pool. Sure, get in the pool - there aren't any alligators.....

Ummm, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...

What the heck? Sure, we all believe Val, and jump in with 100% trust that the pool is free of scary things - well scary things other than poopy diapers - and what do we land on? An alligator head! AAAAGH!!!!

Luckily, Jenni was nearby, and helped us all to safety. Needless to say, we hopped right back in Jenni's suitcase, and didn't come out until we arrived back home in Iowa.