One of the benefits of living in the Greater Omaha Region is that we get to make gingerbread every year to display at the Kanesville Tabernacle. This year's theme is stories and movies of Christmas. We decided to do the train from the Polar Express. I checked the book and all the children's books on trains out of the library. Then Ryan and I watched it on youtube (in Portuguese - that was the only language available that we understood).
Ryan is always in charge of making the templates and purchasing the candy. One might ask why the Oreos are open. Ryan seems to need chocolate nourishment while he works.
Here is Ryan assembling the brick bridge and the train tracks. Luckily I have spent years perfectly the art of nibbling off layers of Kit Kats one by one because we discovered that the whole Kit Kats were too big for our tracks. 
Here I am working on the garland around the bridge. Last year I got some sweet holly garland sprinkles on sale. And yes, those are tweezers.
This year I splurged and got some cool edible silver spray paint. Ryan made those great spokes for our train and those raspberry filled chocolate things are going to become very important components of the engine.
We will put more pictures up as we continue. Here I am working on the garland around the bridge. Last year I got some sweet holly garland sprinkles on sale. And yes, those are tweezers.This year I splurged and got some cool edible silver spray paint. Ryan made those great spokes for our train and those raspberry filled chocolate things are going to become very important components of the engine.
We also loved the giant corn "sandbox" that was perfect for jumping into and swimming in.
This is Jane living it up, she sure is fun these days.
The weather changed this week and Jane got to try out one of her new pants/jacket outfits.
Helen and I loved eating watermelon at the free BBQ on the last day of the Dawes County Fair. We probably could have eaten our weight in watermelon.
From this tranquil picture of our campsite in Wind Cave National Park, you would never guess how challenging it was to put up the tent. Ominous clouds were rolling in when we arrived the night before. Helen and I ran to the bathroom while Ryan started putting up the tent – he wasn’t going to let a couple raindrops slow him down. All of a sudden the heavens opened. Helen and I were impressed by the sheeting rain and hail from the safety of the bathroom. Ryan quickly converted the ground cloth into a giant poncho and was able to get the tent up after the worst of the storm had worked itself out. We were nice and snug in our tent once all the puddles were mopped up.
We went on a hike above Wind Cave and were able to successful identify the plentiful poison ivy along the trail.
After lunch we went to Storybook Island in Rapid City. We were all a little overwhelmed by all the fun things to climb on. The best part was that it was free. Ryan couldn’t resist letting Helen ride in the little on the train ride. Helen’s become an ace train spotter with the hundreds of trains we’ve seen during our drives out here. 
On Pioneer day we camped down in Scottsbluff, NE, and hiked a half mile along the Oregon/Mormon Trail. Here you can see Michelle and Helen in front of a covered wagon replica with the imposing Eagle Rock portion of Scott’s Bluff in the background. The trail passes right beside this bluff, and to the pioneers it marked the end of the plains and the beginning of the mountains.
Here're Helen and I with an official Oregon/Mormon Trail marker.
Here’s a view of Chimney Rock, the most well known landmark on the Oregon/Mormon Trail. You can also find it on Nebraska’s commemorative quarter.
Yes, you guessed it, those ARE real cars arranged and painted in a replica of Stonehenge. Titled “Carhenge”, this work of art was created in 1987 in a cornfield outside Alliance, Nebraska, by a farmer who wanted to pay tribute to his father. Someday I’m going to give a copy of this photo to Jane to put in her high-school graduation display, to serve as a tribute of a father’s love for his daughter that he would take her to such a rare site. I mean, millions have been to visit Stonehenge, but how many get to visit Carhenge? For any doubters or the curious, here’s a side-by-side aerial comparison of the two sites for your review.
Chadron is the county seat of Dawes County, and that means we’ve had the pleasure of attending all the festivities at the Dawes County Fair. For a good time on Wednesday night I took Helen to the “Tough Truck Contest”. The grandstand was packed for this event, as every farmer in the county battled to showcase their suped-up pickups and their mud-sliding, ramp-jumping, and obstacle-avoiding skills.
Most all of the trucks were no match for the water pit, and Helen got really good at shouting “Help, please, tractor!” as each truck got stuck. She also recognized that the tractor was the wrong color. I told her it was because all the respectable John Deeres were too busy out working in the fields while this tractor was left here to play.
Helen was also not one bit convinced that she wanted to get that close to the sheep. Ryan told her that the sheep was smelling her and that she should smell it back. I am not sure how this particular training is going to play out in other aspects of our life. Maybe she’ll start going up to the kids in nursery and smell them instead of saying ‘hi.’ Parenting is a powerful thing.
Here is a particularly fine collection of barbed wire. It covered the wall, so I was only able to capture a fraction of it.
I found some cherry trees on one of our walks and asked if they were selling the cherries and the teenage boy said no, take as many as you want. His sister proceeded to get me a couple of bags to hold them. What a lucky day! I could think of nothing better to do than make some delicious jam.
