Bear Country USA & Black Elk Peak

Bear Country USA was VERY cool.  I would highly recommend visiting.  It's an exciting drive through wildlife park with so many amazing animals.  

Throughout the park, there were signs to keep your windows rolled up.  However, to get a better picture sometimes the rebels in our van would lower the windows for a bit.  This made the rule followers in the van very uncomfortable.  :) 

The animals seemed very active as it was a cooler day.  It wasn't overly crowded and the workers even let us drive the entire loop again. 

At the end of the loop, they have baby bear cubs in a zoo-like setting.  They were adorable and incredibly playful. 

I would definitely go back again!

In the afternoon, we split up for a bit.  The girls hit the pool and the boys hiked Black Elk Peak (the highest point in South Dakota). 

They made it to the top and have pictures to prove it!

South Dakota Here We Come!

It had been a few years since our last West trip, so the boys were itching to get back out there!  We headed to the great state of South Dakota for a little exploring.  At the end of our first day, we stopped in Sioux City, IA and saw the monument for Sgt. Floyd's grave.  He was the only man to die on the Lewis & Clark Expedition. 

We arrived at our hotel a little bit early after our second day of driving so we killed some time at Storybook Island and also did the Presidents Walk downtown Rapid City. 

I am the only one who enjoyed Storybook Island.  It's okay though...I just imagined that I still had enthusiastic preschoolers who enjoyed posing for pictures with all of the cute characters around the park.  The kids were kind enough to oblige for about 15 minutes or so. 

Let Summertime Begin

Scott turned 15 years old at the start of the summer.  We are so proud of him and can't believe we'll be talking about driving before too long.  

Kate knew that Scott's favorite dessert is a Texas Sheet cake, so she made this all by herself for him.  

Scott received car washing supplies for his birthday, and our plan worked out perfectly.  We had clean vehicles before nightfall!

Natalie didn't waste much time before she was back into studying during the summer.  She set goals for herself and got right to work. 

Kate is a baking/cooking machine!  She's even making dinners for us that she refuses to eat, but she likes the process of making it for us.  It's been great!

Natalie has been increasing her fruit & veggie intake, and had even more fun creating this...

Pickleball anyone?  Don't mess with the Grandpa & Grandma Doubles Team- as of now, they are undefeated!

The garden is really taking root.  Scott found a small piece of the field that hadn't been planted and came up with the idea to plant a garden there.  This is all new to us so a lot of experimenting is going on, but so far, so good.  The kids are pouring a lot of time into it.  

New garage sale friend for Scout!:)

Natalie enjoyed a hiking trip with the youth group.  

Scott's been working for the neighbors- rain or shine!:)

Kate and her buddy completed swim lessons together.

It's certainly been a busy, but fun summer so far!

So Long 7th Grade Party!

Natalie invited some of her closest buddies for an end of the year celebration/post-birthday party.  Such a fun group of gals!

"So long 7th Grade!"