Locked and Loaded

Well ... it couldn't be a tighter fit....

Ut oh ....

Ah, it'll be fine.

Thanks to all who came out to help load the truck!

Melons?

Thanks Terie W. for helping pick up 25 watermelons today! 

The watermelon eating contest is always a blast!  

If you were following my Facebook today you know it was a crazy morning.  I had planned to shovel sand today.  We are taking 2 of those molded plastic kiddie pools to the Rez along with a lot of sand left over from a project here at our house and making sand boxes for the little ones.   So after 3 cups of coffee (it was a short night) I got to work putting the sand into bags and when the strong bags were filled I filled garbage bags inside 5 gal. buckets.  I'm still not sure how to load them onto the truck since the buckets do not have lids.  Someone suggested duct taping them but we can't stack them that way ... so I'm not sure but I am sure we'll figure something out.   

 I got almost all of them finished when I got a call from Walmart ...

I've been buying school supplies from Walmart for Backpacks For Pine Ridge for 8 years now.  I have asked many, many times if they would let me order the supplies since I buy so many but until yesterday, never found anyone there willing to help me out. 

Yesterday I was there and happened upon a lady putting tissue on an endcap near the school supplies ... so I figured, "why not ... doesn't hurt to ask again", and what do ya know ... she not only was willing to help me but she went the 3rd and 4th mile to do so.   She got on her computer and found out that they had 6000 folders in the back (they usually tell me there aren't any back there) and that a truck was coming in later with notebooks on it.  She wrote down what I needed and then stayed after her shift - on her own time - and pulled 2400 folders and put them on a skid with a note for no one to touch them.  Then today was supposed to be her day off ... but she went in and pulled 2400 notebooks for me and then gave me a call to make sure I got them.  Amazing!  Its hot here today.  The heat index is up over 100 degrees and she was supposed to go swimming today but instead went in to take care of our school supplies.  Wow .... Yeah, her boss is going to get a letter from me telling him to do whatever he has to do to keep her. 

Since plans changed so fast I posted a request for help picking up the 4800 notebooks and folders, but then had to run out really fast because some folks at Walmart were giving my friend there a  hard time about holding them till tomorrow.  So off I ran...

And after Brian and I loaded one load into his car and my Jeep, Dewayne Hitsman showed up with his SUV to help load the rest.  THANK YOU Dewayne!! 

 

1st load

How "Cool" Is This!!

Thanks to Fred and Earl for making this very cool misting machine. With temps over 100 degress on the Rez this summer, this will be awesome! It will mist water all the time so that the kids (and us) can run under it and cool off.  Click on the pic to enlarge. 

More Pics by Crew Memebers

The Village of Allen, SD (Pine Ridge Reservation)

What Its All About

The Work Project

Here are some links to 360 pics of the work project both before and after. Your computer must be Java enabled. Then just click on the link. In the box there is a pull down menu that you can click on and choose the "before" picture and then the "after" picture. Use your mouse and scroll to get a 360 view.

http://bburiff.com/tour/2010PineRidgeWorkcamp/index.html

I Know You've Been Waiting For Some of These: Melda's Kitchen

These are not necessarily in the correct order, but you can see what it looks like. :)

Pics from the '08 Trip

Giving out backpacks


Lynol speaking at the Wounded Knee Memorial

The 2008 Crew!
Ericka and Joseph
Mornings are rough


You can call me Flower if you want to

Horses running wild

Ericka and Roman - the little boy who asked her to pray with him and tell him more about how much Jesus loves him




Hammer stole all our hearts



Off-roading at Melda's

A really bad hair day

This pic still makes me cry. Hammer had to go home early and no one was happy about it.

Dennis having too much fun

Mark and his girls

"The Associates"

Amber's war paint after the girls trailer came under attack by "the Associates"

We miss our friend Marcus Trejo

More of "The Associates" antics