Black Hills trip

Last week we all piled into the van and headed west to the Black Hills/Rapid City area. Todd's brother, his wife, and twin 6 year old boys live out there. It's been 3-4 years since we had been out to visit them with all the chaos with the girls, so we were due for a trip out there. This was Savannah and Bella's first trip anywhere of great distance. It is about 10-11 hours from our house, so we decided to split the drive into two days. Even with doing that, we still ended up on the road all day with all the stopping.
The first night we stayed in Mitchell, SD. This town is famous (ok, maybe not famous) for having the Corn Palace-HA. It basically a big building/auditorium that is covered and decorated with corn cobs. The design is changed each year. After checking that out we went back to the hotel to swim. They also had mini golf at the hotel, so Todd took Isaac and Savannah to goof around with that for awhile.
The next morning we continued our trip and along the way came upon an 1880's town. We decided to stop, and were glad we did. IT was really neat, as all the buildings were authentic 1880's buildings. The kids thought it was pretty neat and it was hard to tear Isaac away from the schoolhouse bell. I think he could have stood there all day ringing it. Savannah has a slight obsession with animals and wanted to stand by the horses and longhorns the whole time.



Since Isaac wants to be a polic officer when he grows up, I better include a picture of him and Savannah in a "real jail." Yes, my kids were in jail:)

After our stop at the 1880's town, we took a drive through the Badlands. We had been through there before, but wanted to show Isaac again. It's always a beautiful drive. This time we took the time to get out and climb around a little. It was over 100 degrees though, so it wasn't long before the kids faces were red from heat.

Isaac, Savannah and I climbing around...

Notice the beautiful layers of colors in the rock...

After leaving the Badlands, we finished our trek to Rapid City where we finally arrived at Mark and Anne's!

While there we packed in TONS of activities. I won't bore you all with the details, but here are some pictures with highlights:

Storybook Island Park
Cousins together: Savannah, Bella, Jack, Isaac, Noah

Bella the Little Toot

Bella and Tigger

Who's this? Savannah with Raggedy Ann

Reptile Gardens
Touching the caymen


Giant tortoises- the kids thought these were great!


Bella cuddling with uncle Mark

The three amigos: Noah, Jack, Isaac

Bear Country
Savannah pointing out the reindeer below. She was our navigator.



Beware of the bears...:)




Canyon Lake Park
My grandfather was in the Air Force and my grandma said when they were stationed in Rapid City they used to visit this park every Sunday. My mom was just a baby then. She said you could feed the ducks/geese and it was a very beautiful park. As you can see, not much has changed. It was neat to visit somewhere that she had so many memories of.





Dinosaur Park

Hey, who's that climbing the steps?


The three amigos

Mt. Rushmore
We had a litle time before our train ride so we did a drive by of Mt Rushmore. We had been there before, but wanted to show Isaac now that he is old enough to remember.

1880 Train ride
On our final day out in the Black Hills we took an 1880's train ride from Keystone to Hill City, and back. This was our special treat for Isaac. It was definitely hard work keeping Bella occupied and happy. It didn't help that it was 100 degrees outside.







Pitstops along the way





Yes, sometimes Bella's hair looks mohawk-style

On our last night there Mark and Anne got 2 sitters for all the kids and took us out to a nice quiet dinner. It was wonderful. It was nice to be able to catch up without all the kids vying for our attention. It was Savannah and Bella's first time with a sitter other than our parents. Bella did awesome, but I guess Savannah cried most of the time we were gone. She is going thru a really clingy stage right now, so that was expected.
We had an awesome time on our first family getaway! Thanks Mark and Anne for your hospitality:)
Oh, and here is Anne and I. Notice the sign...they were looking for rock stars. That would be us! HA!