Free Audio Story!

This has absolutely nothing to do with sewing unless you like to listen to them as you sew. I was pointed to this website, Home School Radio Shows, from The Money Saving Mom. My family LOVES audio stories so I jumped on this right away (we listen to a lot of stories in the car). I thought some of you might enjoy this too.

The Long Winter

By popular demand, we again present this fine interpretation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" book, "The Long Winter". This Ingalls family is quite different than the one you saw on TV, but it is a very faithful adaptation of the book, and is quite entertaining. It is the ONLY "old time radio" adaptation of any of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books, and you love those stories, you'll treasure this. This broadcast was originally aired way back in 1950 on the radio version of the Hallmark Playhouse.

If you click here you can download this story along with two others for free. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

Road Trip: South Dakota--From the Badlands to the Border

It has been a little bit since I have done a road trip post. This post will focus on our couple days we spent driving from the Badlands in South Dakota to the border of South Dakota and Minnesota. We saw some amazing things!

1. Badlands National Park--We didn't do much other than enjoy the amazing scenery. We drove the Badlands Loop Highway (Highway 240) through the park and were amazed at what we saw. For miles on one side all we saw was prairie. On the other side the prairie drops off hundreds of feet to the prairie below. In between the two levels are these amazing dirt/rock formations that were 100's of feet high peaks. They looked like if you walked on them they would crumble. There were fascinating stripes of colors through the "mountains". The stripes of different types of rock were amazing. I know I am saying amazing a lot but I just can't think of any other way to describe this. You will just have to look at the pictures which really don't do it justice. The drive through the Badlands was really neat because some of the time you are at the top of the "mountains" and you looked down on everything. Other times you were at the bottom and you could really see how tall they were.

2. Wall Drug--In Wall, SD just a little way from the Badlands off I-90(I think). We saw cryptic signs for this place miles, and miles, and miles before we were even close to Wall Drug. They really peaked our interest with, "Coffee 5 cents Wall Drug" or "Free Ice Water Wall Drug." This is one crazy place. It is HUGE! You go inside and it is like a frontier town main street. Each store has a store front like you would see on a street. There are different types of stores-bookstore, western wear, shoes, apothecary, and so much more. If you take a side hall way you go into this drug store like place with a huge crazy assortment of different stuff-trinkets, souvenirs, health and beauty items, candy, and lots of other stuff. Then you walk into the ice cream parlor and their dining room. The dining room was huge! We had to have the full experience so we ate there. It was a bit expensive and the food was decent. If you can find you way out to the back there is a strange assortment of stuff. This is a fun area for kids. There is a covered wagon, giant jackalope, giant dinosaur and other things. I think this was called the backyard. Then you can walk into the back building and do some mining, play some video games, shop at the toy store or try not to be eaten by a large, smoke-breathing t-rex. I know this all sounds weird and it was. We spent a few hours here just looking around. It was quite an experience. RoadsideAmerica.com has a good page telling about Wall Drug.

3. Corn Palace--As I told my husband as we were driving through South Dakota, South Dakota creates its own tourism. The Corn Palace is no exception. This is a large building in downtown Mitchell. It is attached to the city hall. The cool thing about this building is that the outside is covered completely in organic products-corn, grain and grasses. They had created pictures out of corn and stuff. It is a very interesting sight. We didn't go in but I think they have some info and a movie inside about SD agriculture. Again, RoadsideAmerica.com has some info about this attraction too.

This ends this road trip post. I hope you enjoyed these interesting activities. My next road trip post will focus on Minneapolis, MN, our last stop on our few thousand mile trip.

Thank you for stopping by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

Road Trip: Black Hills, South Dakota Part 2

The Black Hills in South Dakota were so beautiful. I was glad that we were able to explore them for a couple of days. I found out that the Black Hills (which look very green when you are in them) were named because they look black from a distance. Interesting, I thought.


The other interesting thing we saw was all the little piles of wood and brush. They were everywhere. Finally we found out that all the piles were made to clean up downed trees and brush that are potential fire hazards. Then in the winter they would burn up the piles.

Here is a list of the other fun things we did while in the Black Hills.

1. Custer State Park--We would have liked to camp at one of the campgrounds in Custer State Park but we froze the night before (it got down in the upper 30's) so we didn't. While in Custer State park we drove the Needles Highway (SD 87) and it was AMAZING (well, my kids didn't think it was quite as fun as I did). The rock formations were fascinating.

Notice my children at the bottom of this picture of the Needles Eye for size reference.
There were some really neat tunnels that we got to drive through. At this tunnel we got out and climbed around on the rocks a bit. It was so much fun to explore the nooks and crannies of these rocks.

The highway is not many miles but it takes a while to drive. It is very twisty and curvy and very beautiful. There is something gorgeous to look at around every corner.

We also drove on the Wildlife Loop Road. This drive was more on the plains but still interesting. While driving on the road we saw a few buffalo but not as many as I wanted to see and they were quite far off. We kept hearing how plentiful the buffalo were and I really wanted to see some. We also came across a donkey at the side of the road. He was quite cute.

As we were leaving the park I finally got to see a LOT of buffalo. There was tons of them and they ran right across the road in front of our car. It was GREAT!


After all of the buffalo passed us we kept driving and were able to see the exact path they took. It was really cool to see the trodden ground. Such little things can fascinate me.

2. Highway 16A--We drove this road up to Keystone. There is some awesome tunnels on this road. I love tunnels. They are so much fun. I loved that these tunnels were one lane so there was some element of danger. One tunnel framed Mt. Rushmore. Much to my husbands dismay (he got pretty exhausted driving on all the curvy roads) we drove this road a few times because I loved going through the tunnels. He is so wonderful to put up with my craziness.

We ate dinner at a new sandwich place in Keystone and then we drove on to Rapid City. I know that Rapid City isn't technically in the Black Hills but I am going to add the stuff we did in Rapid City to this post.

3. Storybook Island--In Rapid City, SD. My kids loved this stop. They really appreciated being able to run and play after a long day of driving. Storybook Island is a large playground with all the things to play on based on storybook characters.


I was amazed at all the fun details in this park and it was free (you could give a donation). My kids could have played here all day.

4. Thunderhead Falls--10 miles west of Rapid City, SD. We were told in Keystone that this was something we shouldn't miss. The area getting to and around Thunderhead Falls is beautiful. Thunderhead Falls is a pretty tall waterfall that is inside a cave. The cave was fun to walk through. We saw some interesting mining remains and how different minerals showed up as different colors in the rock. The actual falls weren't that fantastic. We could really only see the last 10-15 feet of the waterfall. The noise of the falls inside the cave was kind of fun. So, this is one attraction that had its good points but we could have missed it.

5. Chapel in the Hills--In Rapid City, SD. This stop was an afterthought. We passed the sign for it on the way to Thunderhead Falls. The picture on the sign looked fascinating so I thought we should check it out.The chapel itself is an exact reproduction of the famous Borgund Stavkirke of Laerdal, Norway. The architecture was gorgeous! It was beautiful inside and out. They actually have services in the chapel. Unfortunately, we weren't there at the right time. They also have a small museum showcasing items brought over from Norway or made by Norwegians here in the 1800's.

Boy, we sure were busy on our trip. I think that I have blocked some of the craziness out. My next Road Trip post will bring you more things we saw in South Dakota.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

Road Trip: Black Hills, South Dakota Part 1

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. This also began the tenting portion of our adventure. After we drove for a few hours we camped for the night in Lusk, Wyoming. This was our best tenting night even though we were at a "campground" sandwiched in between the highway and railroad tracks. We stopped early enough to set up the tend in the light and when we woke up the sun had warmed up the tent. Little did we know what was to come or we would have enjoyed that nights sleep much more.


Now on to South Dakota. I really knew nothing about this area before planning this trip. Sure I had heard about it but that was about it. I just knew that I really wanted to see Mt. Rushmore since we were going to be in the area. This area was so beautiful and fascinating!

Our first stop was Jewel Caves outside of Custer. All I can say is WOW!! We were able to take a 1 hour and 20 minute Scenic Tour of the cave. It was amazing! My children loved it. They have constructed a path for the entire tour. You walked on either raised metal pathways with railings or on what looked like cement walkways. There were lots of stairs but I didn't mind since the surroundings were so fascinating. After the tour the kids got a junior ranger book to fill out. They learned a lot about the caves doing these books and really took ownership of their adventure. After they finished they were "sworn in" to become junior rangers and were given a badge. This was an awesome experience that none of us will ever forget.

The picture was taken from here since I didn't take any pictures while touring the cave.

When we went in to the caves it was nice and sunny. When we came out it was pouring buckets of rain. The day was full of surprises. After Jewel Caves we stopped for a bit in Custer, SD. It was a small, cute little town. We ate lunch at a brand new bistro that had awesome pie.

Then we were off to Mt. Rushmore hoping it wasn't raining there. I was so excited and I was surely not disappointed! I was in awe from the first spotting of the face of the mountain driving by.


I wasn't expecting the huge parking garage when we drove in. It was shocking. We went up the stairs out of the garage to see this...I don't know what it was about this memorial but I was in awe from the very moment we stepped in. I loved every minute. I thought it just got more and more impressive as we went along the path through the Avenue of the flags and got up close to the mountain at the Grand View Terrace. Thankfully it had stopped raining. You can see the rain on the faces. It almost looked as if they were crying.



My kids picked up a junior ranger book here also. It had a lot of fun activities to do while at the memorial. One of the activities was a bingo board with lots of different facts they were to find out. We went on a ranger talk to learn about the mountain. My kids were fascinated by all that the ranger had to say. They learned a ton about the artist and the 4 presidents. They could still tell you who Gutzon Borglum was and possibly which president had the Panama Canal constructed. What an educational experience!


Down the elevator, under the Grand View Terrace, was the LincolnBorglum Visitors Center. There was so much to see and learn. My children loved the exhibit where they could push buttons and watch the mountain blow up on the tv. Oh, so easily entertained. They were "sworn in" again here to become junior rangers at this park and picked up another badge. They were lovin' it!


We spent about 3 hours the first day and then went back again the next day to see the Dakota, Lakota, Nakota village and spent a couple more hours looking around. I was sad to have to go. I thoroughly enjoyed this visit and would like to go back someday.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great day!

Stay tuned for more travel in South Dakota and some crafting coming up soon.

Until next time...

Road Trip: Denver, Colorado

Next on our route was Ft. Collins, Colorado to see my husbands family. As usual we took some day trips down to Denver to do stuff with the kids. Naturally one of my favorite stops was Denver Fabrics. I got quite a few nice fabrics. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures. I was too busy fondling fabric to remember pictures.

We took the kids to a few fun places. Most of which we had been to before but had so much fun we made sure we did them again.

Overlooking Denver from the foothills

1. Denver Children's Museum

We visit this museum every time we are in Denver. When our kids were younger they LOVED the downstairs young child exhibit. This area was so much fun. There was a tree with all the things need to play house. There was costumes, a boat that rocked, and many other things I cannot remember. My kids were very disappointed that they were all over the age limit of 4 (I think) for this area. There was still plenty for them to do. There is a nice fire truck exhibit where my boys dressed up like firemen and pretended to fight fires.

We spent most of our time upstairs. I tried to get my kids into the art area but they weren't interested. They wanted to go to the invention area. This area has a bunch of cubbies with an assortment of tools. The children take recycled materials and can fashion them into anything they want. They do have some idea sheets to give ideas but the children are free to do whatever they want. My children started to make some things but were really just interested in sawing wood.
The next area my children loved (and remembered from the last time they were there 3 years ago) was the grocery store/diner. They loved shopping for groceries with their little carts, buying them from each other at the cash register and putting them back. They also really enjoyed taking orders and making food for mom and dad.


They spent some time at the small basketball court shooting baskets. Their other favorite area was an animal habitat playscape. They put on different animal costumes and then ran around up hills, through burrows, under trees, in and out of nests. This area was all about learning about different woodland animals' habitats, food and predators. They had a blast!


2. The Butterfly Pavillion

My husband and I had been to the Butterfly Pavillion years ago before we had children. We remembered that it was quite fun so we decided to take the kids. It was judged great by 2 out of 3 children. We didn't know that our oldest son would be terrified of the butterflies.

The first stop is a really neat room that has all kinds of different bugs. There was so many to explore that we do not get a chance to see. Seeing all the different ways that bugs camoflage themselves was fascinating.

The next room had some ocean creatures. The kids loved touching some starfish.

After the ocean room you can go into the butterfly pavillion. I LOVED this part. It is so fantastic! It is a beautiful pavillion full of trees, plants, flowers and of course butterflies. Butterflies from all over the world, in so many different beautiful colors fly everywhere. My daughter tried very hard to get one to land on her. This was so much fun!


The last room at the butterfly pavillion is a fun area for kids to climb, and play and learn more about different bugs. They also have hundreds of real (but dead) bugs and butterflies behind glass so you can get a close up look.


3. Hammond's Candies (featured on HGTV "How's It Made")

We toured this candy company a couple of years ago and wanted to go back again with my husbands family and when my children were a little older and could enjoy it a bit more. This is a fun step back in time. They make old fashioned candy with old fashioned methods on old fasioned machines. They make ribbon candy on a little contraption that is over 100 years old. This picture shows how they aerate the candy before it is shaped into candy canes and lollipops. This is a fast tour but it is fun to watch (and it's something free).

Of course the trip isn't complete without a stop in the candy store. :)


4. Red Rocks Park and Ampitheater


We decided to go to see Red Rocks as we were driving by on the highway. We were headed to Denver Fabrics so we decided to go after (couldn't take away any precious shopping time since they were going to close soon). I didn't really know what to expect. It was fascinating. The rock formations were beautiful. There are some hiking trails through the area but we unfortunately didn't have time to hike them. We drove up to the ampitheater but couldn't actually go in and see it because they were getting ready for a punk rock concert. We walked down a path from the top around the side to the bottom of the ampitheater where we could see in a bit. It was quite an amazing sight! In the picture you can kind of see the rows of stairs. These are the seats that look down onto the stage. The stage is backed by a huge rock as well as the sides. The rock formations make a natural ampitheater. It was really fun to see. I think going to a concert there would be awesome. Oh, here is a cool picture of part of the road up to the ampitheater.


I didn't really intend for these posts to become a long travel guide. Well, I hope this helps someone out there with a little trip planning. There are so many other fun things to do in Denver. These were just the ones we hit on this trip. Next time we are going to plan ahead to go on a tour of the Denver Mint. I think that would be really fun.

Hopefully my next post will involve some crafting.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Have a great day!

Until next time...

Road Trip: Omaha, Nebraska

I have been sewing but don't really have any pictures to show. So I thought I would show you some pictures from our road trip earlier this summer.

We flew to Minneapolis where we began our adventure. We stayed the night near the airport and managed to make it back to the airport to get our rental car before noon. We didn't reserve a minivan ahead of time because they were soooo expensive. We were praying that we would be able to upgrade when we got there. Every other trip they always asked if we wanted to upgrade so we were hoping they would do it again. God provided and were were able to get a minvan. This was a very good thing because I don't think my husband would have made it through this trip in one piece if we had to be in a car with three kids in the back seat together.

So we left Minneapolis and headed to see my brother and his family in Omaha, NE. We made it in one piece in about 6 hours. We got to visit that night and go to Famous Dave's BBQ. We had been told over and over how great this restaurant was but now we finally got to see for ourselves. It was good. :) The next day we went to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. OH MY GOODNESS!!! This zoo was AWESOME! I have been to a few zoos and this is by far my favorite. I liked it even better than the San Diego Zoo. They have some of the most fantastic exhibits. As you walk in you see this great big dome. It was the desert dome and it was AMAZING!

Inside the dome you walked around the large mountain looking at different birds and animals. You surroundings were just like in a desert with sand, and desert plants and flowers. After you fininshed in the top (which was hot like the desert too) you went downstairs. All I can say is WOW! First you go inside the mountain into the bat caves. There were so many different kinds of bats. Then you walk into a bayou. Literally a bayou. You walk on raised wooden walkways over the water in which alligators and other animals live. They have sunken boats, a run down shack, and plants to make it look so real.

This zoo is half inside and half outside. They had so many neat exhibits I can't remember them all. The other one I really remember is the rainforest. It was EXACTLY what you would think a rainforest would look and feel like. The even had a fun rope bridge to walk over and hidden paths to higher lookouts.


Somewhere in one of the building was a bunch of monkey exhibits. The gorilla one was really fun. They had these bubbles so you could see better. There was even a tunnel you could go through that came up under the exhibit so that you were kind of in the middle with a bubble over your head. It was really fun.



This was such a fun trip to the zoo. I would love to go again. Someday we will get back there to visit my brother and a trip to the zoo will definitely be in the plans.

Hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time...