spring flip flopping in SD

People are always complaining when there's snow in the spring and indeed, it seems like that's when we get most of our snow, but I don't whine. Not when half the forest or grasslands will probably go up in flame due to more drought. Bring the snow on. We need the moisture, though of course it'd be nice if it wasn't frozen when it fell from the sky.

So just a couple days after our sunny Easter egg hunt at the ranch, on April 2 we got some more snow, the second after our first spring storm a week earlier.

Two days later the kitty learned a new trick.

The kids were so worried!

He thought it was pretty fantastic though. 

I did help him down the first two times but since then he's figured out how to climb down by himself. It's pretty amusing to watch. He digs his front claws in, swings his bottom end around to go first, and uses those handy claws to climb down.

Luna likes to pull the cat around the back yard.

Four days later on April 6, we received even more snow. 

After reading complaint after complaint, I saw this on social media somewhere and had to steal it. Ha! 😹

No spring for us. 

Therefore, I bought some spring at Safeway and it bloomed inside.

That same day I took Noah out in the Envoy with four wheel drive to buy some new shoes. That boy is growing quick! After we found three pairs for $18 at Plato's Closet, we went and visited my parents and their new cat. They had recently put Dakota down and were interested in getting a new cat - I mean, how were they to survive with only one cat in the house?! 😜😂 They'd even visited the pound! However, through an acquaintance on Facebook that was looking to give away their mother's cat, they got a new one! Meet Ebony, or Ebi. She's a fat one. Hopefully a diet will improve her extra round shape. She's a really large cat, tall too.

I shoveled their sidewalk since my dad was actually away in Mesa, Arizona fetching my aunt Nancy.

From there we visited another shop, Clothing Mentor (why oh why do jeans never fit me?), and then I remembered I needed to pick up a new replacement blender for mine that broke recently. It had quit snowing and warmed up, and now steam was rising off the road. 

Remember how I said Noah was growing quickly? See?!!! 

Pastor Dave got sick with a pretty nasty spring cold, so Terry had to preach that Sunday, the 15th. 

The weather didn't warm up too quick I guess because we still had snow the next day, well, half a yard of snow, the shady part. 

Evie learned how to sew on buttons on the 10th.

After lunch we went outside to enjoy the sun since all the snow was gone! I put those stepping stones on the ground to cover up the mud. Grass seed never wants to grow there.

While the kids played, I transplanted the two big bushy perennials that have always drove me crazy. 

I put them under the laundry room window because that spot is always difficult to fill. Now it'll be more than full!

The snowy weather had been causing all the track meets to be cancelled. When the first one finally took place that night, Terry wanted to go to cheer for some students. I got dinner done early and the kids and I went along. There's Noah talking with Jack. 

The following day, the 11th, we spent some time playing outside at Canyon Lake. There had been a lot of wind that broke off many smaller branches off the huge trees. But when they were on the ground I could see the new buds beginning to emerge!

Playing by the water's edge. 

Ezra nearly fell in! Not really though.  

Most of the geese had flown but these ones were still present. 

Luna is hilarious when she chases the geese.

We did play at the boring playground for a while but since we didn't have a leash for Luna, I took us for a walk to explore more interesting things, namely nature! 

There were rain clouds on the horizon! That sure was hopeful looking.

It was so warm out! We were all overdressed for a nice change. 

 Luna played at the water's edge a lot. She had to have a bath when we got home.

Luna would actually fetch larger sticks that the kids threw nearby for her.

Fetching footage.

More daffodils! 

We needed new spring cheer since we were getting more snow two days after our romp at Canyon Lake, on the 13th.

I believe this was our last spring storm.  

Some actual footage of the blowing and cold.

The kids played later, it was their last chance to sled. 

Last chance to slide into a pillow of snow. 

Plop out of the slide.

See you next year Snow Dog. 

It's hard to remember anymore, but I think they were forecasting more snow than we received. 

I made delicious pizza that night, just like every week. 

Ealier in the day Ezra plays Mariokart for the first time and it was adorable.

The following day, the 14th, I worked. I had to walk across a sheet of ice to get in the back door. That afternoon it was completely gone and hardly any puddles were even left. The good thing about spring snow is that it is gone quickly. 

I took the Envoy to work since I was worried I'd get stuck. I did put it in 4WD to pull up the little icy hill to park.

Pretty drifting off the roof. And that's the end of our spring snow storms! Now we just need several days of good, heavy, consistent rain. 🙏 

vans - out with the recent, in with the newer

 That title is a nod to my last van post from nearly a year ago, "Out with the old, in with the new", wherein we bought our 2005 silver Toyota Sienna. On April 7th we bought a new-to-us van, a navy blue 2007 Honda Odyssey. 

We were not in the market for a new van after all we had done to spruce up the Toyota (which was a ton of work), but Terry was keeping an eye out for suitable replacement vans for his sister.

This is first photo of our new-to-us Toyota from last June after Terry drove to Sioux Falls and back in a single day to buy it. 

While on a run on March 28th, he noticed, not for the first time since he often runs that way, this navy Honda van on a corner a half mile away. That particular day he finally stopped and took some pictures and sent them to Jesse, Shari, I. I was impressed by the van and thought Jesse would go look at it. 

But after about a week with no interest from Jesse, we decided to go and test drive it on Monday, April 2. It had less miles than the Toyota, was two years newer, and was in much better shape as we discovered as we drove along. 

We drove up and down the interstate, liking what we were seeing and experiencing. We stopped at the gas station across from Applebees to turn around and to give me a chance to drive it. I loved how it drove and accelerated. Somehow it was smoother and more responsive. 

Before we returned the van we went back home and picked up the kids to give them a chance to experience it as well. We tested the DVD system with a movie of our own and that's why half of them aren't paying attention. The screen is smaller than the after market player in the Toyota, but it works better, plus the volume is controlled by the van sound system (instead of just the player). During our sabbatical trip, the Toyota's DVD player would give us fits half the time and refuse to work. Also, at first we thought the Toyota had the better sound system but we were wrong, the Honda is far superior. Also the road noise is less than the Toyota, something curious because I'd always read that Honda's have a lot of road noise. Also the Toyota had a lot of annoying sounds that came out of a loose component in the dash. The Honda is so much more quiet. It was cleaner and in better overall shape. It wasn't a pig sty like the Toyota had been when we bought it, the paint looks better, the leather is in better condition. It did need the 100,000 mile timing belt, water pump, some brakes and rotors, but that's minor compared to all we did to that Toyota.

It was super neat how it all worked out. That morning when we picked up the van I realized that the owner was the husband of a woman I work with. We were able to meet with them "by chance" just in time before they left for a week long trip to Colorado. Terry talked to the man later that day and they agreed on a very good and fair price, something within our reach if we could sell our Toyota. I don't think the price would have been the same if we hadn't have known them. That was another blessing. When we were buying the van a week later, he was telling us how he'd been trying to sell the van for weeks but no one bit. We told him it was because the Lord wanted us to have it. We weren't looking for this van and yet it's been an unexpected blessing from beginning to end. 

So after they decided on a price, I went to work cleaning out our Toyota to list it. I spent the entire afternoon detailing it, despite the light snow that was falling. I kept having to vacuum up snow flakes! Ha! Since it was so cold and I didn't want to wait for nicer weather, I drove down to a car wash and cleaned it up myself. Right away I pulled off the road and took a bunch of pictures for Terry to post. I would've preferred him to do it immediately, but he had work to do! So he posted that evening, which was a Monday.

It was sold and gone by Thursday night! 

Seriously, how amazing is that?! We received only one inquiry and she was the one who bought it. She and her sister foster five kids and they needed the room their current car didn't have. Thus, it was even a blessing to them! That night after they took the van, Terry and I just prayed in gratefulness over such quick and unexpected blessing. It was like the stars aligned but we know that's not how it works. Sometimes God just shows up.  

We had to wait through the weekend to get the new van since the family was still in Colorado. But when they came home a day early on Saturday April 7, they got it all cleaned up, called us, and we went over there to get it. Squee!!

I even put new Star Wars stickers on the back. Hopefully this will be the last for a while, since I'm almost out. 

The following day I cleaned up the Honda, which wasn't nearly as arduous and back breaking as when I did the Toyota. This van is in much better shape. Then the following night, Monday April 8th, we took our maiden voyage in it to my folks' house to have dinner with them and my Aunt Nancy who my dad had just helped drive back from her winter home in Arizona. It was so fun to drive in altogether! We're loving this new van!