In our efforts to slow things down before school starts (ahem), it seems we’ve instead packed as much as possible into these remaining pre-school days.

Last Saturday, Craig’s aunt and uncle celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. At least we think it was them.

On Monday we spent the entire day at Six Flags. Well, we tried to spend the entire day at Six Flags. Chloe had to have an impromptu orthodontist appointment that morning, after which we attempted to go to Six Flags. After a series of frustrating driving challenges getting there (MODOT was working on I-44 and it was backed up almost to 270), we pulled up to the park just in time for Chloe to toss her cookies overboard out the window of the van as we were pulling into the $15 parking lot. And you know what we did? We went in anyway (she has recently started getting carsick and that’s all that was, though we felt like dumb parents for doing it). Still, the day redeemed itself and we had fun.

On Wednesday I took the girls to visit my sister and her family. This morning, before we left, Michelle and I had the brainstorm to go get Maddie and Anna’s ears pierced again. However, in small-town America, there really is only one place to go to get your ears pierced: Walmart. So I mustered up everything I had inside me to forget all about this experience and took the girls to Walmart. Second time’s a charm, right? (I know how the saying really goes…but I want this one to work on the second try, not the third).

PS:We bought about the biggest piercing stud they had. If her ears swallow these, we really have no other alternatives but to go back to you-know-where. And you-know-what that means, right? It means I’ll have to get my nose pierced. But let’s not go there just yet.

And finally, I surprised the girls on the way home with a stop at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home in Mansfield, MO. And drat it all if someone didn’t quadruple graffiti that sign all up and I didn’t even notice it until 20 seconds ago as I was copying the URL to paste it in here. Shame on everyone who did that.

Here they are, my own “Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Grace” as I used to call them here on the Half-Pint House blog, standing in front of the house Almanzo and Laura built and lived in when they moved to Missouri so long ago.

All the girls loved this experience very much, but I think it was most meaningful for Chloe who has read the entire Little House series so many times I’ve actually lost count. She could go on Jeopardy with all the Little House facts she has stored in her brain. Super cool.

And now we are home. The girls will be attending an art camp that a friend of ours is hosting this week, followed by as much pool action as possible before it winds down for the year. I still haven’t decided if we’ll start on the 17th or the 24th, but I imagine we’ll start doing something soon to ease our way back into it.

Forward, ho!