The Reader

Blake has magically transformed from a player to a reader. He still reserves plenty of time for playing but if he wants to be in second grade, he has to practice reading every day.

He has progressed to reading chapter books like the rest of his classmates. Today he is reading a Magic Tree House book, Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

Hunter's Day Off

Hunter accompanied Grandpa Al and Nana Becky to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis where we met up with Becky's sister, Solveig, and brother, Stan. It was Sunday afternoon, Hunter's day off from Kids' West and our plan was to tour the Guthrie and the nearby vicinity along the Mississppi.

If you'd like to see a tour of our trip through the marvelous new Guthrie Theater, Mill City, and the old Stone Bridge over the Mississippi, click on the Rolfsruds & Friends link, left.

Meanwhile, here's a shot of our chic lunch spot at the brand-new Sea Change restaurant under the Guthrie's roof. Also, a picture of Hunter with his running buddy, Stan. They jogged for 45 minutes over the old Stone Bridge and back.

Happy Birthday Lyle!

	Today Lyle Hayes, Kim's grandfather, turns 90! On Saturday night much of the city of Guthrie Center turned out for a big celebration at the American Legion hall. A grand time was had by all, especially Lyle. A gift from his kids and grandkids is a trip to the August 8th Iowa Cubs baseball game. We'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Hunter's Saylorville Spillway

After our first visit to Saylorville Dam, Hunter was sorry we hadn't brought a camera. We returned for another picnic and visit to the spillway and dam. Here are his favorite pictures.

More Iowa Games

Adam decided to try his hand at the precision 10-meter air pistol at this year's Iowa Games. He started shooting after watching the Summer Olympics last year and has been practicing since then. This was his first competition which was more of a learning experience. In his age division there was one other competitor who happened to have shot internationally. But since there were only two in the division Adam still got the Silver (red ribbon). He scored a 210 out of 300 while first place scored 285. Adam will return for next year’s games, after much more practice.

The Rift, a dramatic exhibition of geology

Icelanders call the space between the North American and European tectonic plates The Rift. The plates of the earth's crust shift here at a rate of about 1 centimeter a year. We walked in the Rift, able to touch the outermost edge of our North American continent. Thirty miles away in Iceland, we could touch Europe.

Within the space of the Rift on an open green, we learned, the Vikings held the first Parliament ever.

Here are some shots of the awesome landscape and one of Adam pushing back the North American plate.

they breed horses, don't they?

Iceland has their own special breed of horses, one with five gaits instead of the usual four. Icelanders don't allow their horses to breed with horses abroad, partly to keep their breed pure and partly to avoid importing disease. It's the law. If an Icelandic horse goes abroad to compete, his owner must sell it abroad before returning home.

We met a gang of corraled horses near a geysir one day and got a few shots while they impatiently teemed against each other in the tight enclosure...the horsepower was truly palpable.