It has been a fun week spending time with granddaughters! Lexi and Abbi came from Eagan, MN, to spend time at the farm. Ranissa joined them from Slayton to spend time with the cousins. So for several days we had extra activity, laughter, and conversation in our midst. These girls are 10, 11, and 13, and like to swim, play games, cook, sleep in, and spend time on their phones. We did have fun with them!
One evening we made several batches of popcorn and had ourselves a movie marathon. We were spread around the living room, under our favorite, comfy blankets. By the time the third movie ended, all of us needed to go upstairs and crash! Grandpa had long since left our party, so he got the best night’s sleep.
They were great help doing some much needed cleaning and sorting projects in the kitchen and dining room. We found some treasures for them to take home, along with things they had never seen and I had completely forgot about! I told them in exchange for their help, we would all go for manicures on Saturday morning. That was a hoot, and we had a great time together. They laughed so hard when I told the young lady to just paint my nails “clear” when she was finished…and she looked at me with a weird look and said, “ Why you come? Do that at home!”
One morning two of the girls went to water aerobics with me in Fulda. They did a few exercises with us, but then retreated to the deep end of the pool where they enjoyed the diving board and some serious swimming. They loved the warm water and enjoyed seeing all the ladies with their noodles! Abbi is a member of a swim team in the cities, so she feels quite at home in the water. Anytime she can don her swim suit, she is ready.
Lexi’s request was to go bowling. That proved to be a little harder to accomplish! We finally found a bowling alley open for us and some of our extended family members to enjoy for the Fourth of July afternoon in Luverne! Since it was pretty warm, being inside the cool building was quite all right. We ended the evening with grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, along with S’mores.
Then we all gathered around the table for a couple games of Pit. Have you ever played it? It is a card game that includes a lot of loud voices, bargaining, trading, and collecting cards to see who can get a “corner on the market” of some farm commodity. All before someone “rings the bell”. You can’t play very long without laughing, but you also have to stay alert so you don’t end up with the Bear or the Bull…neither of which you want in your final hand. Once kids try this game, they always want to play it again.
Another favorite game at our house is “Would you Rather?” It gets a little crazy too as questions are asked like..
Would you rather have eyeballs the size of golf balls OR teeth the size of computer keys?
Would you rather drink a gallon of clean toilet water from your own toilet OR have to drink 2 gallons of prune juice mixed with hot sauce?
Would you rather be able to talk with all animals OR be able to understand all foreign languages?
When it was time for the girls to go back home, I went to stay at their home in Eagan for a few days. Their family is moving soon, so I helped the girls paint in their soon to be new bedrooms. It was fun to hear about their plans for decorating and planning for their own space and place. We also took time to hang out with their brother, Taylor, and watch some of his baseball games. His team was getting ready for a tournament, so it was a great time for me to be there and see some playing time.
One afternoon Abbi and I hung out for awhile as Lexi had a class at the Dakota County Museum in downtown St. Paul. It was a fascinating place, and we enjoyed our time looking at all of the exhibits. We got a chuckle out of our ride into the city though! Because I needed to use my phone for directions, we were listening to “the lady” ( we call her Dottie) giving us directions. As we were driving, Abbi asked me why Grandpa hadn’t come with me to stay for a few days. I told her he had some work on the house to do, and he wanted to haul some corn. Suddenly Dottie said, “ I don’t know how I am supposed to help with hauling corn!” We laughed and assured her she didn’t need to!
At that museum, I found this historic recipe using one of my favorite ingredients, rhubarb! Since my patch is pretty prolific, I am going to try it this week when my brother, Jeff, and sister-in-law, Jane, are here from Arizona. They love it too, but it doesn’t grow out in the desert where they live!
LeDuc Rhubarb Dessert
2 cups flour
10 Tablespoons, powdered sugar
1 cup butter
Mix this altogether (fingers work well) and pat into a 9 by 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 17 minutes. This is basically a short bread.
Beat 4 eggs and add:
3 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups rhubarb
Mix well and pour over the crust and bake for about an hour, until set.
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