Pumpkin Festival

 We'd been looking forward to the Pumpkin Festival in a nearby town for weeks!   Ramsey and I had been planning to meet up with my good friend Teri and her little boy Stetson, who is about a year younger than Ramsey (they becamse good buds this summer).

In the AM, we had the very last soccer game of the season.  But, it was also windy, cold, and rainy.  Meh!  But, in South Dakota, the weather in October can change drastically within just a few hours.  So.. off to soccer we went!

We somehow avoided the rain - thank goodness!

After soccer, Ramsey changed clothes and we were off to meet up with Teri and Stetson!

The weather had turned from cold and rainy to humid with a nice 60s temp!  The boys were thrilled when they finally met up.

I was amazed at what a fun and well-organized event this was, with so many terrific activities for kids (and adults!).  

There were fun barrel carts for the kids to ride in, antique fire trucks on display....

Ramsey was less than thrilled at how loud the sirens were! :-)

Local businesses gave away "goody bags", filled with bubbles, treats, stickers, etc.  Incidentally, the free backpack/bag will be great for taking winter gear to school. Nice!    We had to stop at the local vendor set-ups as well to check out their homemade items.  We went home with delicious gourmet cupcakes and cookies.

There were photo ops set up in multiple places.   There were free pumpkins for all the kids, a free lunch of hamburgers, brats, chips, pop, and desserts too.   The amount of volunteers and sponsors was incredible!  

And, there were bouncy castles!  (Ramsey's FAVORITE - and apparently Stetson's too!)

The boys would have stayed on the bouncy castles ALL DAY if we would have let them!

But, they were too many things to do, to focus on just one thing!

Teri's husband, Joe, raised all of the pumpkins for the kids.  And, even raised this gigantic pumpkin!  Fest goers had the opportunity to win a prize for guessing the weight of the pumpkin.  After the event, the weight was released; it was 1194 pounds!  We didn't win - undershot it by about 200 lbs.  Rats!

After the event, Teri and I took the boys to Dairy Queen for treats (we had felt like "A" raindrop, so it was time to bugger out).   

About an hour after Ramsey and I got home, the weather reports were a bit dire; there were storm warnings and tornado watches for our area, but tornado warnings and severe weather for the small town where Pumpkin Fest was held (where Teri lives).    It was eery outside with the winds changing directions several times, clashing.

The winds and storms continued to whip through.  It was freaky enough where Ramsey felt he needed "more cover" in the living room.  He built himself a pillow fort and hung out.

Meanwhile, I was texting Teri to see how they were doing.  They did have some terrible weather and spent a few hours in the basement.  Luckily, no one was hurt and the tornadoes stayed outside of town, causing only tree damage in their yard.  

Pontoon Poker Run

 In all the years we've lived on this lake, we've never participated in the yearly pontoon poker run.  Well, at least, not in the "on the lake" part.  I'd went to the base (resort) and purchased a poker hand in the past, but that was it.

My bestie (Shana) had invited us to go with her, her husband, and their friends that they camp with.  Eric stayed back with Ramsey and Jango.  They picked me up at our dock and off we went!

There were a number of dock stops to make on the lake.  Each one, the hosts doled out specialty keg beer or shots.  I declined the beers, but admittedly, I had a few shots.   One of the dock stops had a picture frame for the current year.  Everyone who had a boat got their mug shots taken and posted on Facebook.

After docking and playing our poker hands (I struck out, but Shana got a flush!), we enjoyed the DJ, socializing at the resort, and having a few toddies.

Super fun afternoon with great company!  I needed a NAP afterwards, but I'm old so...

The One and Only JANGO PUPPY

After a long-anticipated wait, we finally got our new puppy, Jango.   He's our family Easter present, as we drove around 3 hours away to pick him up the day before Easter.

Sidenote:  For anyone who isn't a full-fledged "Star Wars nerd", the pup was named after Jango Fett, a Mandalorian bounty hunter who wore silver and blue armour.

Ramsey was the first to "meet" Jango.  When we arrived, there were only three of the litter left; a charcoal girl, a champagne girl, and our little boy, Jango.

We had so much fun playing with all of them.  The little champagne girl really melted our hearts.  She was SO SWEET... and fluffy... and had the face of a little angel.  If she wouldn't have already been taken, I fear I would have doled out some more cash and taken her home too! (not kidding)

Jango was very friendly and such a little sweetie when met him.  The pups were really a special litter.

I swear, Ramsey would have stayed and played "chase" with the pups all day, if he was given the opportunity.

Sidenote: Connr didn't come with us to get Jango.  He had other plans that day.  So, just the four of us coming home on this trip.

Little Jango cried a bit (about ten minutes) in the truck, then he quit.

This is how Jango acted (after the first cry session) when Eric held him and I drove:

Look at those crazy cute appendages!  We could have easily named him "Thumper" for those big long rabbit legs!

Anyhoo... and this is how Jango acted when I held him and Eric drove:

Ugh!  

Needless to say, Jango didn't stay in my lap long.  We pulled over after about 20 minutes of puppy's distress calls and I drove again.  Eric, the "puppy whisperer" took Jango onto his lap again.  And... the little guy passed out again almost immediately. 

When we got home, Jango found his new toys and settled right in.  He was rather calm for a pup... probably just a little scared or unsure of his surroundings, we thought.  (No pup is ever THAT laid back!)

Ramsey sure had fun with him.

My two littlest sweeties:

Jango took intermittnt puppy naps after bouts of play.

And he continued to melt our hearts with his cuteness!!! 

Sidenote: On May 23rd, the breeder told us that he weighed 12.5" at 7 weeks.

That evening, I slept on the couch with him, as we didn't want him to be alone or scared.  That lasted one night only - Momma got only 3 hours of sleep!   :-)

Nonetheless, our hearts are full and we're so happy to have another little furry family member in the house.

The Christmas "Star"

Normally, December 21st is merely the date of the winter solstice.  It heralds the end of Fall and the beginning of Winter in the northern hemisphere.   The solstice signals the sun's rebirth.  It notes the longest night of the year.  Thereafter, the days start getting longer with more much-coveted sunlight.

As the year 2020 is coming to a close, we had a very unique event that occured - a gift that could be viewed as a signal of hope; the "Christmas Star" or the "Star of Bethlehem".    Technically speaking, it is called the "Solstice Star" or the "Great Conjuction".

This conjunction is an astronomical appluse of Jupiter and Saturday that occurs every twenty years.  However, this year it's quite a bit different and much more special.   The two large gaseous giant planets seemingly aligned (from our point of view here on Earth, the two heavenly bodies appeared to be 0.1° from each other), creating what looks to be a large radiant star.  It is said to be viewable for the week, appearing in the Southwestern skies, about 45 minutes after sunset, but most viewable on Monday, the 21st.

This cosmic Christmas miracle hasn't been seen in about 800 years - roughly the year 1226.  Prior to that, it's theorized that this Christmas Star was present around the timeframe of Jesus' birth.  The theories are within years of his birth and it's impossible to confirm what could have actually happened two millenia ago.    I like to think that God's planets aligned, creating this star, and perhaps it was truly the Star of Bethlehem, leading the wise men to Jesus in a manger.    :-)

Here's what the "star" looked like from our view:

Here's a story I copied from Facebook.... and what I [like to] imagine it looked like all those years ago:

"In the year when Jesus was born, there was violence, chaos, political and social unrest.  It was dark.  The magi found him by the way of the star, which was the meeting of three planets; Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars.  They followed the star until it rested on where he was and they began to worship him.  In a time where it was dark, light was brought to our world.  Jesus stepped into the chaos and brought peace.  

Fast forward to 2020.  It's a time of violence, chaos, political and social unrest.  It is dark.  Winter Solstice, December 21st, is the shortest day and the longest night.  It's literally the darkest day and is the beginning of what most would say the cold, dark winter season.  But on the darkest day this year, Jupiter and Saturn meet, giving us the "Christmas Star"!  How fitting... that in the moment of time during the Christmas season we get to see this beautiful reminder... that even in the darkest of times, light will - and has - stepped in.  In our chaos, He is there.  In our darkest time, He is there.  He brings light and makes all things new.  So as you look out on the Christmas Star, may we be reminded of His power and His Light that He brings for all mankind.  He is perfect at stepping into chaos and bringing it into peace."

Election Day 2020

 To say that the last four years have been devisive, politically-speaking, is an understatement.  Election Day was also crazy time.  And, who knows when we'll actually have a conclusive outcome.  Time will tell once courts have ruled and recounts have ended!

This Tuesday evening, we watched poll numbers come in as a family - electoral college votes tallied; some for red, some for blue.

As we are a conservative bunch who are for a smaller government and love having more personal liberties, we were cheering for the Red Side - the incumbant, President Trump.   Ramsey made an encouraging little sign for the president, which I thought was cute, as it was all his idea. 

And Eric wore this hat, for good luck!  (We'lll see how "lucky" it was sometime in the future.)

In the meantime, we love our democracy and the freedoms that living in the United States gives us and will hope for the best for the country as a whole.  God bless the USA!