A new word...

Timothy learned a new word yesterday. "Ice". It's a pretty important word to use in this country, and it sure will come in handy, especially these days.

We have a lot of adjusting to do, and sometimes I just feel like getting back on that plane and going home again. We did have a thunderstorm and lots of rain last night, so that cleaned the air a little and refreshed this parched world some.

And, my brother installed AC in his guestroom, so that is wonderful! The children and myself sleep a lot better now.

Let's see, Timothy got bitten by fire ants already, but so far he does not seem allergic to them, so there is another positive thing! There seems to be no way of escaping those ants.

Let's see what else is different. Lizards in the house, I had kinda forgotten about that one. Aw well, they don't do no harm, probably just good as they eat insects.

If one can get used to the humidity, heat, ants, lizards, and awful roads and no access to Walmarts, one might actually enjoy living here...

Don't worry, in a few months when the weather cools, and we have our own place to call home, I will probably tell you all about the wonderful paradise we live in!

We're here!

The children and myself arrived in Belize today, safe and sound. Lo and behold, we were greeted with 93 degree weather. That would not be bad in itself, but throw 45% humidity on top of that, and well, you get the idea. Or you don't, depending on where you live.

Daniel dropped us off in Dallas TX today and is now taking one car with trailer to Mobile AL to have it shipped, then he plans to take the bus back up to Iowa and take the truck and trailer down for shipping as well. We are avoiding Mexico altogether. It seems those Mexicans just don't have it together very well lately, so we have to find other ways of getting to Belize.

I do have photos to share of our trip, but they will have to wait till I am more settled or rested. I don't know about being settled, because we will stay with my sister and her family until Daniel comes, and then we might move to another temporary place until we find our very own. We are pilgrims, which is not a bad thing anyway. Our life on this earth is very temporary, and its good to be reminded of it now and then. We are looking for a better city!

It is good to see family again that it is!

Plum Creek and Walnut Grove

From Milford we went up a little further to explore some Laura Ingalls history. First we went to the museum in Walnut Grove. I have enjoyed the little house books so much that I found it interesting, but to some it might be boring. But if you have little girls that enjoy those stories, they would definately love visiting these places.

Here is a dugout at the museum. It would have looked very similar to Laura's home on the bank.

A schoolhouse at the museum.

Playing at Plum Creek.

Exploring the prairies behind the dugout. To the left are the plum trees that grow along creek. Laura and Mary picked up a lot of plums to preserve.

This is the scene you see if you were standing at the dugout door looking out.

This is what's left of the spring, where they got their clean water from.

And this is where Joseph re-enacted some history. While I was standing at the dugout site, trying to imagine what life would have been like so long ago, Jessica and Joseph ran over the bridge and on the banks along the creek. All of sudden I heard some big splashes, and wonder what kind of big fish swim in this little creek. I realized it was none other than my little boy! I yelled at Daniel that Joseph was in the creek! He tore down the bank to the creek like you wouldn't believe it, fully prepared to dive into that frigid spring water to rescue his son. By then I saw Joseph had gotten out of the water by himself. It turned out that he saw this log, and decided it would be a perfect way to walk across to the other side. Lucky for him he never got to the log. He had to get into the water to get to the log and must have decided it was too cold or unpleasant. That little man had to run around barefoot and pantless after that. But, that doesn't dampen a little boy's enthusiasm at all. I think he rather enjoyed being barefoot.

Whew. I thought I knew all about raising little boys by now, but I guess I am just starting to learn all about little boys and their big ideas...

Milford Iowa, a beautiful place to visit!

We had a few years ago decided we needed to visit some friends that live in Milford, Iowa. Since we are almost off to Belize, we decided we needed to do this, and fast. It turned out to be a blast of a weekend. We had no idea the area was so beautiful, and bursting with history. I will give you a little tour of what we saw, and hopefully you will enjoy it as well.

First of all, if you want to know the reason the town is named Milford, here you can see! (You can click on the picture to enlarge.)

I think they said this monument is all that remains of that mill.


The couple we stayed at owns this awesome over hundred year old stone bridge that crosses the Little Sioux River that runs behind their house. Since the bridge is not open to the public, here are some photos for you to enjoy. I went down to the river early Sunday morning. It was totally invigorating.

I can just imagine a farmer with his wagonload of goods crossing this bridge on his way to town early in the brisk spring morning, carrying his milk and eggs off to market...

I can't get over how European this bridge looks. I think it is beautiful! It certainly was the right time of day to take shots of.

Sunset on one of The great lakes of Iowa.


There is lots of fun stuff to see for people who love lakes and boating and fishing.

The Reinders are on the right, the couple that we stayed at, and beside them is the young brother that stays with them. This picture is taken in front of the Gardner's cabin. The thirteen year old girl that lived in this cabin was captured by Indians long ago and held captive for a while. The Indians killed 42 settlers during that time, including her sister.

Sad history, I know, but it happened. We cannot ignore it, and sometimes it is good for us to take a look back and be thankful for our lives today. The pioneers endured so much for us to enjoy what we have today.

That was what we did and saw in Milford, and maybe tomorrow I can blog about Plum Creek and Walnut Grove, and the interesting experience we, or Joseph, had while we were there!