4 Wheels 4 Girls

August 6, Jean and I were invited to join in the morning ritual of coffee on the river. Coffee on the river is a very simple thing: Folks gather at the boat of Jean’s brother, Mike, with their morning cups of coffee, Mike pilots his boat upriver a mile or so and cuts the engine, and the boat slowly, quietly drifts home. We had such a nice time hanging out with family: Mike, Lisa, Barb, Rose and Mark. Thanks Mike and Lisa!

Coffee and conversation, floating down the Mississippi river

August 5th, once we were in Iowa, Aunt Rose told us that that night, we’d go out to dinner. We didn’t know where we were going until we got there. We were in a little town called Rossville. The town really was teeny, and the only restaurant was a little fried fish place called the “Ol’ Rossville Store”. Which is where we ate.

When we pulled in to Rossville, I saw that the restaurant was packed. We had to drive around the parking lot twice to try to find a spot. Finally, we found one, and we hopped out and headed for the building. I had rode out to Rossville with Aunt Barb, and since Jean wasn’t with us, she told me that we were here as a surprise party for Jean. I hadn’t known that before!

We stepped into the restaurant and I saw Jean behind me. Yes! I couldn’t wait to see her face when she realized this was all for her! She came up beside me.
“Hi, Jean,” I said, trying not to sound excited.
“Hello, Stella!–” she started, but was interrupted when we stepped into the party room by a huge, “SURPRISE! Happy birthday, Jean!”
Jean’s face went first to confusion, next to joy, and then she started laughing and crying and she hugged everyone and said, “Oh, guys! You didn’t have to– oh, wow.”

Enjoying a surprise birthday party

I said hi to everyone. All of Jean’s brothers and sisters were there, which is a lot. She has three brothers, Gary, Mike, and Greg, and four sisters, Mary, Rose, Barb, and Janice. All of them have husbands and wives except for Barb and Janice, who both once had husbands but got divorced. So then I have Lisa, Fay, and Kim, and then I have Mark and Bob. So there were a lot of people there, including our family, which has six people. And Greg and Fay have a little boy that’s my cousin that was there named Thurgood, AND there was Grandma. SO…

I ordered the special, which was fried cod fish with tarter sauce. It was good, but I couldn’t finish it because I filled up on the salad bar. (And, but don’t tell, the fruit jello.) So I took my leftovers home. Jean got a few presents, and she got great cards with things like, “Wait, why did I come in to this room?” and “Where did I put the phone?” when the 50-year-old lady in the picture had it in her hand. They were really funny, and, thankfully, Jean though they were funny, too.

I had a great dinner, and plan on having it again (by my leftovers) some day soon!

agusent 4 we woke up and Nell and Makennae and Neva came over to play. we got out the barebe stuff and playeithen was time for them to theve. Then they back. they cepep mackcing qeck stops. we are starting a here salon with only Nell i cant wate to open nouwe here solone i am gone a tack a shower in then they are gona pant my nels and do my i cant want to do all that!

[Editor’s translation:]
August 4 we woke up in Lansing and Nell and Makenna and Neva came over to play. We got out the barbie stuff and played. Then it was time for them to leave. Then they came back. They kept making quick stops. We are starting a hair salon with only Nell. I can’t wait to open a new hair salon. I am going to take a shower and then they are going to paint my nails and do my hair. I can’t wait to do all that!

On Thursday, August 4th, we met our friends from Hood River, Lori and Sarah, to go inner-tubing with them on the Little Iowa River.

We met them at Lori’s sister’s house, and then Lori got in the camper with Jean and Dad while the four kids got in the pickup with Sarah. We drove to Decorah, the town where we would be tubing. We met everyone else at a picnic area. I was pleased to see that there were actually people around my age there. There was Gara, who was going to be a freshman in high school, and Miran and Chloe, who were going to be freshmen in college. Then there were Adam and Logan, who were going into seventh grade, and Keaton, who was going into eighth, like me. Lastly there was Summer, who was going to be a first grader. Then there were a bunch of adults, and that’s the people we went tubing with. Oh, and I forgot to mention, Gara had to go to choir practice, so she didn’t get to tube.

We ate lunch, and then we played a big game of Toilet Tag. It’s basically like freeze tag, except when you get frozen, you squat down like a toilet and wait for someone to “flush” you. After we were all exhausted and ready to tube, we took a group picture and then put our tubes in the water. It was freezing cold at first, but it was easy to get used to. At the beginning, the boys and Stel and I were at the front, but then I think she got bored with us and she drifted back to hang out with Lori and Sarah and everyone else. It was really fun, with all of us trying to flip each other over and whatnot. Then we came to our first set of rapids, and they were SUPER fun! Then we passed under our first bridge, and then we realized that everyone was so far behind that maybe we were supposed to get out there. We kinda waited for a minute, but then we finally saw them coming, so we continued down the river.

We came to a rope swing hanging high in a tree and lots of other kids were doing it, so Keaton, Logan, Adam, and I decided to try it too. It looked like a lot of fun! Summer and her dad, Greg, floated up by us while we were watching people on the swing, and Summer did it! She jumped into the water from the rope swing! Well, that just cinched he deal for me. I thought, if a six-year-old can do it, I can do it! So I did it; three times. It was great!

Then we decided to continue tubing, since everyone was way ahead of us by then. We hit some more great rapids, and, just as we were having a ton of fun, we had to get out! Aww, dang. We tugged our tubes out of the water and gave them to the adults, who went to return them while Lori stayed with the kids. We didn’t have much time to play in the water though, because all too soon the adults came back and we had to go. We said our goodbyes and then got in the RV and made our way back to Lansing. It was an amazingly fun day!!! 😀

August 3rd, after hanging out at Aunt Rose’s house, we went with Janice to see her new house. It was fun because it was like seeing a… Well, it was a new place! She showed us all the rooms. There was even a play room for kids! After we got a tour of the house, Janice gave our family two bags of cantaloupe for the road. Thanks Janice!

On August 3rd, we arrived at our aunt and uncles’ house, Rose and Mark, in Rochester, Minnesota.

We went inside to say hi to everyone, which was my aunt and uncle and cousin Cullen, and then Mark told us that he was going to take us for a ride on the four-wheelers. After he got out three quads and he and Cullen gave us quick rides, Mark told me he was going to teach me to drive one. At first I was a little freaked, but then, after I was pretty sure I got how to drive it, I was a little more relaxed. But I guess I wasn’t as good as I thought I would be. As soon as I hit the gas, I went WAAAAAAAAAAAY too fast! I slammed on the breaks and then started again, this time much slower. Then, after going around the yard a few times, we went out on the trail behind their house. The first part was sooooooooooo scary! It was a big downhill and then a big turn. The first time I did it, I didn’t turn enough and I hit a tree!!! Luckily I didn’t hit Mark! He came immediately to help me, and after that I was fine. I had a great time on the trail for the rest of the day, and we even went back out after dinner. I’m so glad I learned how to drive a four-wheeler!!! 😉

Fun! Fun!!!

On August 3rd, we stopped in Minneapolis to spend some time with friends. After shopping and having lunch with Amy and Emily, we went to the lake with some of Amy and Jean’s friends. One friend of theirs, Liz, has a daughter that I’ve been friends with for a really long time, Nicole. She’s my age, and I also met another girl my age today named Anna. They were both really nice.

We got in the lake, and it was a lot warmer than I’d expected. It was a little gross at first because we saw a dead fish on the shore, but we got used to it. We swam in the warm water for a while, and then we got out to hang out and rinse off. Then I gave my friends a tour of the RV, and they thought it was super cool. Then we hung out a little more, and then we unfortunately had to get on the road. I said goodbye to Anna and Nicole and all the other kids, (Emily, Carla, Sarah, Danielle, John, and Jack) and then we left. I had a great time at the lake!!! 🙂

I got to ride on a poney. I had a very fun time i had stormy for my pony. I got a certificate for riding at Peaceful Valley Horse Ranch. Greta took some peters. She was good poney. I licked her. I learned nete facks. Some time the buflo came up to the house and scrach there backse. The pony ride wasn’t very long. It was just around and back. About 10 or 15 minutes. I liked it anyway it was short.

[Editor’s (largely unnecessary) translation:]
I got to ride on a pony. I had a very fun time. I had Stormy for my pony. I got a certificate for riding at Peaceful Valley Horse Ranch. Greta took some pictures. She was good pony. I liked her. I learned neat facts. Some times the buffalo come up to the house and scratch their backs. The pony ride wasn’t very long. It was just around and back. About 10 or 15 minutes. I liked it anyway it was short.

On August 2 when I woke up I new that today was going to be great! Then I remembered that we were going horseback riding!! Mommy said that we would go horseback riding [in Yellowstone] but we didn’t so we went here in Theridoor Roseivelt park. Daddy came and woke up Stella because I was already awake. We got dressed and ate breakfast. We drove to the Peaceful Valley Ranch.

When we got there we went to go get in a line so they could pick our horses for us. I wanted a paint horse which is a spotted horse. Stella got her horse first out of me, Daddy, and Mommy. I bet you’re wondering where Ana And Greta were? Well Ana was too small and Greta is allergic to horses and to all animals that have fur.

Stella and her horse, JB

Stella’s first horse was named Poco but then they let someone else have him so she got a new horse named JB which stands for Jaw Breaker. I won’t tell you the story [of his name] because it would be too long!!! Then Mommy’s horse came and his name was Bridger. Then mine finally came!!!!!!! He was so so so so pretty. He was the color kinda like yellow but a different shade. His name was Jake-o. Then daddy’s horse came and her name was Mesa.

Ready to ride out into the badlands!

We waited and then were led into the corral. We had to walk around and not go outside the guide-poles. I loved turning. We did that for a few minutes and then we started our trail ride. It was so so hot and I felt like a melting popsicle. It started to get cooler and it felt so good. We rode and then I heard Daddy talking to Mesa. I looked over my shoulder and saw Mesa eating grass and she was not allowed to eat for some reason. Me and Stella laughed and so did our parents.

We walked though a prairie dog town. We heard them barking really loudly. It was fun to see them run across the fields. They were kinda fat but they were still cute.

When we went down hills we leaned back and when we went up we leaned forward. We crossed a creek. I loved that that splashed in the water and how we got wet. We rode though the grass and I could of fallen asleep. It was so quiet and was so fun. We started climbing up hills more often. When we got to the top of the hill Daddy was still having problems with Mesa. It was so funny to watch. We were all looking for wild horses. We saw none.

After that we started our way back, we walked though the cool forests and that felt so good. We saw the ranch and were sad. We were almost there when Katelen said THERE’S A FAWN!!!!! I saw a quick look at it and then it was gone. When we got there Ana and Greta ran up and said hello. We dismounted and we talked about how much fun we had and by the way THANKS FOR TAKING US HORSEBACK RIDING!!!!!!!

August 1st, we arrived in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It was pretty late, and we had to go to the horse back riding place to make reservations for the next morning. After we did all that, we headed back to the main part of the park to go to our campground, but on the way, we saw three herds of wild horses with two foals nursing, a buffalo herd with two calfs WITH a herd of horses with it, and to add to it all, there was an amazing, hot pink, sunset. Wow!

A beautiful wild horse along the road

I was a great night and to make it BETTER, we got to have Popsicles and then, when we got to the campground, I got to practice sitting on Jean’s lap and steering the RV around the loop in the campground. In case I haven’t screamed this in your face before, I R-E-A-L-L-Y, really want to be able to drive. So that was really fun, and, I know, it’s just about impossible, but the night got better. When we finally pulled into a slot, since it was so hot, we got to have our windows wide open for the whole night for some cool, fresh air, AND we got to listen to the coyotes yipping and howling. Whew. I probably shouldn’t say this, because I’ll make you jealous, but I slept great, only to wake up to horse back riding in the morning. Amazing day!

The amazing pink sunset over the North Dakota badlands