Yee Haw, ya'll!

We spent an afternoon & evening in Medora, the only true tourist destination in North Dakota, unless you count oversize animals and other sculptures. Which I do.


On our hunt for ice cream, we found a mechanical bull. Leah rode first, and then Aaron jumped on. Of course.


HOWEVER, since that sign to Leah's right says "Children Only" I am not posting proof of Aaron's actual delinquency.



Aaron's sister Lisa met us and we all stayed at one of the (highly overpriced) motels. She had her own room, despite us trying to pass Leah off on her.



Although it really stunk to pay $100+ for a very basic room, the heated outdoor pool partially made up for it, especially since it was 98 degrees that day, and all the public pools had closed the day we started our trip. So the kids had fun swimming, even Ben, although we forgot his swim diapers back in Fargo. Oops. And of course there are swim diapers NOWHERE in Medora. We put his trunks on him and pretended that he was potty trained. I felt like such a rebel.



Auntie Lisa bought the kids these hats, and unfortunately, at this jaunty angle you can't see the red embroidery saying, what else? Medora.



See that dark, ominous cloud over our shoulders? It was indeed ominous, and brought with it 40 mph winds. We mostly hid out in the gift shop for the hour and a half between the pitchfork fondue and the gates opening for the Musical. The fondue, by the way, was the best we've ever eaten. The last time we went, Leah only ate brownies, which she threw up later. (She'd been sick all day - it wasn't us just being negligent parents.)



Aaron bought a tub of popcorn, which Ben claimed and then defended as his rightful territory.

They proceeded with the show as planned, and the winds weren't nearly as fierce once we were down in the amphitheater. I was VERY glad, however, that the kids had pants in the van and that I'd brought sweatshirts for us all. You just never know about that Musical. Sometimes it stays 85 the whole night, but sometimes you are left wishing for a blanket or two.



I don't know what was going on with Ben here, but every time I see this photo I laugh. Any ideas?


One of the yearly acts is a song with all the kids from the audience on stage. Hopefully this is the last year that I'll have to go up, too. Leah is to the right of the actor in the purplish suit, and I'm just over his head. You know, the only one on stage not wearing a hat. Not that I felt out of place or anything. Half way through the song I crouched.


About 45 minutes into the show, the manager came out and apologized, but they were going to have to call the show quits because of the weather. A storm was on its way (no surprise to those of us with sand in our mouths from the wait) and they wanted the audience to get off the hill safely. Not to mention avoid electrocuting the cast.


We got everyone into the van just before the rain started, and the hail came shortly after. For some crazy reason, Aaron turned AWAY from the motel, thinking that would give the kids time to fall asleep. Nope. Instead, we were driving directly into a fierce hailstorm, and it was so loud in the van we couldn't hear each other talk. The kids were thoroughly awake upon reaching our room. But poor Ben just couldn't take it. It was 9:45pm (our time), or almost 3 hours past his bedtime. I laid him down and literally watched him fall asleep while the rest of us got ready.


As Lisa said, what we got to see of the Musical really was probably just the right amount for the kids, Ben especially. They got to see horses, go on stage, and hear a couple of songs. They also got to ride the escalator, always a big hit.


AND we got a full refund on our tickets.


It was a good night.