We survived the first day of school. Actually, it went really well. Audrey took the day off, as she often does on the first day. She took the younger two to Sauk Centre where they played at McDonalds and shopped at Wal-Mart (pretty all-American day!). After school, I came home and played football with the boys until supper. We had sub sandwiches (homemade) and then watched "The Sandlot" together to celebrate the first day of school. It was a blast. Got the kids up and off to school again this morning. Now, I'm getting ready for a full day of fall prepping and working. But, I need to continue my vacation journal for day two of my trip

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Friday, August 6, 2010. We woke up early and got ready for my grandmother's 10am funeral. We drove a better way this time, which went a little quicker. The service didn't have a lot of people. Her family was small, and when you live to be 92, most of your friends are either dead or can't get out. Most of the family friends came to pay their respects the night before. But we remembered Grandma. We celebrated her life. We sang songs of hope. We heard a good word from God's word. We brought her to the cemetery where we laid her next to Grandpa, where they were united again after nearly 15 years of being apart.

And after lunch, we headed out to start our trip. We stopped in Jamestown at the Buffalo Museum. It cost us $10 to go through as a family. A great deal by any measure. Off in the distance, we could see the herd from the observation deck of the museum and even caught a glimpse of White Cloud, the famous white buffalo. We saw the largest buffalo statue in the world pretended to ride a stage coach, looked through a little village representing pioneer days and headed back to the motor home. We could have easily spent more time there. But we had gotten a late start. As we arrived back at the motor home, we could see White Cloud in the corner of the fenced area. We went up the fence and were within 10' of her. She is amazing to look at!!

We got to our KOA in Bismarck -- by the time we arrive Amsale had fallen asleep. The boys and I went swimming. It was a little chilly, but we didn't care. And then, after popcorn, we enjoyed a good night's sleep.

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And that's the news (past and present) from Browerville.

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