E & R (J & C too!)

ND Family

In Turtle Lake - Celebrating Grandpa's 90th Birthday

 

All of the 'Greats'
Great Grandparents & Great Grandkids

 

Grandma & Grandpa with their 3 children

 

Grandparents & Grandsons

 

4 Generation of Reinholds

Camping-Newton Hills

Great friends make hot, humid July camping all worth it! We snuck away to Newton Hills for a weekend camping trip with some great friends and had a fabulous weekend! The kids ran around, played games, ate s'mores, hiked, swam in the lake, and ran around some more. We were tired and hot just watching them.

The Four-Amigos

The Four-Funny Faced Amigos

"I got it!" catch in Lake Lakota

Floatie Fun!
 

Snappers

The second season of baseball is in full swing (haha) around here. Ry loves to play and he is on a really fun team this season, The Snappers. He is playing Coach Pitch II, which adds outs and that has added a whole new dimension to the games. We love summer nights at the ballparks, and enjoy watching our kids have fun. James has taken to helping coaching this group and he enjoys that as much and Ry enjoys playing.

 

Ry fielded this ball at 3rd base then ran over and tagged the base for the out.

 

 

 

Music in the House

So, this morning as I was getting ready I was enjoying my usual concert from Ry. He plays piano many times a day, but not usually anything from his lessons... This summer his personal goal was to learn the beginning of The Entertainer. I thought he bit off more than he could chew, but just let him have at it and sure enough he pulled it off. When I walked down the hall and heard him at it again, I decided to tape him. He had no idea that I was behind him recording his practice until he turned around at the end. He gave me the okay to post this on the blog. So here you go. You can all hear the music that I hear all, the time, sometimes I have to take a deep breath and remind myself how good it is that he enjoys playing and is self-motivated. Now if only he would play the stuff from his lessons...

 

 

Em also plays piano all the time; sometimes there are fights around here about who gets to play first. She wanted to be on the blog as well, but not playing The Entertainer. So here she is playing Promenade and Carnival of Venice. When Em returned from camp this summer she said, "Mom, do you know that I missed besides you and Dad and Ryan?"
"No, kiddo what?"
"My piano, and being able to play it."

 

Hiking Harney Peak

 
We set out from Trail Head #9 at 11:24a for our 3 mile hike up Harney Peak. At the top the elevation is 7242ft, the highest point east of the Rockies. After a long hike, in which we began to wonder if we could complete it or not, we arrived at the top at 1:17p - wow!! What an amazing place. We explored a little, then ate our lunch, then explored some more. At 2:17p (by mere chance) we headed back down and returned to Trail Head #9 at 4:10p. What a great day! We were so tired, but felt so great because we had all completed the hike on our own. We were so proud of the kids, as this is not an easy hike, but doable, and they did it!!

6 mile hike (round trip)
1100ft elevation climb
4 hours 46 minutes to complete

  
I loved the canopy of trees.

 
Walking and talking...

Our first glimpse of Harney Peak (way off in the distance, faintly above Cicely's head).

 
The top of the climb was tough, so we took some breaks along the way.

We made it!! Woo-Hoo!!!

Ryan, Emma & James and the Needles

Ryan, Emma & Cicely and the Needles

While exploring the top of Harney Peak, they all stopped to wave back.
(The camera is zoomed in all the way, 20x optical zoom).

 

 
James and Cicely - we completed this hike 9 years ago, as well.
It was fun to do it again with the kiddos.

 
Hiking Buddies - so proud of you two!!

 
We enjoyed the scenery.

 
The canopy of pines...

 
...so thankful for the shade they provided.

 

 

The Journey Museum

During the reunion we toured the Journey Museum. We enjoyed the "Journey through time".

 
Ryan and the Mammoth

 
The kiddos enjoyed checking out the teepee.

 

Emma really liked the pioneer area of the museum. They studied it in school this year and here she is dressed as a pioneer riding on a side saddle. She loved this part.

Storybook Island

We were in Rapid City for a Knowles Family Reunion this past weekend. One of the events was a breakfast at Storybook Island. It was the perfect place to gather and catch up with family, for a bite to eat, to share old photos and momentos, and for the kids to run free and play. James and I decided to follow our kiddos for a while as they buzzed liked bees from one thing to the next. After a while of following them we gave up and went back to the Birthday House to hang with the others.

Here they are flitting around, with no rhyme or reason, from one thing to the next.

 
Malika, Snow White & Emma

 

 
Ryan and one of the dwarfs.

 

 
"We're off to see the wizard"

 

 
Prince Charming and his 2 Princesses - Snow White & Cinderella

 

 
Although it was not techincally one of the characters, the kids enoyed hanging in the tree.

 

 
In the brick house of the 3 Little Pigs - they all crammed in the chimney, then I tried to get their toes to smile for the camera. Emma's were the only toes to smile, but the owners of the toes were giggling at me.

 

 
"...put (them) in a pumpkin shell and there (we) kept them very well."

 

 
Train ride.

The first Tee of South Dakota

Ryan and his good friend were in The First Tee of South Dakota program at Elmwood Golf Course. They had 4 hours worth of lessons working on chipping, putting, driving, and how to play a hole from start to finish. It is a fabulous national program.

 

Spring Piano Recital

For their spring piano recital the kids played at a chapel in a retirement community. They both worked really hard and played well. This was Ryan's 1st recital. I am hoping to have the video of them playing posted here soon. 

 

Turlte Lake, ND

Memorial Day Weekend we visited James' family in Bismarck and Turtle Lake, ND. While in Turtle Lake the kids discovered the ladders on the grain bins. Up and Down, over and over again, each time trying to be brave enough to go higher than the last.

 

 

We also got to go for a boat ride on Grandpa M's fishing boat. "Faster Grandpa Faster!" was Ryan's cheer, and once Emma was comfortable it was giggles and "woo-hoo"s. Then as if it could not get any more fun, Grandpa let them both drive the boat. They both wanted to stay on the boat all day long. We even tried a little fishing with no luck, but it was fun to try.

 

 

 

 

Then when the ride was over (boo-hoo) the kids were "wishing" on dandelions while James and his Dad took the boat out of the water. The #1 wish that day? To go back out on the boat...
 

 
They are hard to blow while you are smiling... :)
 

3 (of the 4) Reinholds

 

Father and Son (Great Grandfather and Grandfather to us)