Summer Wrap Up

I cannot believe summer has come and gone.  We made a lot of special memories this year...

We went to a Brett Michaels and Montgomery Gentry concert with friends.

We played outside and in the pool.  

Alex and I went on a "date" to see Aladdin Jr. at Stages Theater in Hopkins.

We got a treat from the "Ice Cream Man"

We planted a garden, spices and flowers!

We ate Popsicles on hot days after running through the sprinkler.

We went on dates.

We celebrated birthdays (Uncle Luke's pictured here)

We had Grandma and Grandpa Guse over for dinner and the car cruise.

We went to the Lonsdale Parade

We watched the hail come down on our house.

We went to the Mall of America to go on rides.

Uncle Pete took Alex to see "Planes" at the movie theater.

We had Grandma and Grandpa Johnson and Uncle Pete over for dinner.

We saw a wild fire in Montana.

The boys enjoyed playing "baby" all summer.

We played with our friend, Emily.

We had lots and lots of fun!

Road Trip: Day 10 Thee End

It was our final day of our trip and we were all looking forward to getting home, having nice showers and sleeping in our own beds.  It was a wonderful trip, but some times going home can be just as fun.

We stopped in Wall Drug on the way home and went through the stores.  It was fun to see all the old "Western" gear and we made a few small purchases.  We also learned the boys are not fans of taffy.

After Wall Drug we drove through the Badlands.  It was beautiful to see, although I won't bore you with all the pictures because mine definitely do not do it justice. 

We ended the trip with a nine hour car drive to arrive home around 10 pm that night.  It was a great experience and we saw so many new things.  Although we loved the trip, the next one will be kid-free!

Road Trip: Day 9

Although we were excited to be seeing something different and still on vacation; the vacation was getting a little long. Especially with only an hour of sleep the night before.  It was rainy when we arrived in the Black Hills (the only other day it rained was the day we arrived at Nate and Abby's).  So, we started off by visiting Jewel Cave.  We took an elevator down many feet to get into the cold cave of jewels and it was very fun to see!  A quick trip here and then off to check in at our cabin.  

We rented a cabin at a campground.  The cabin was very small and had four beds, a table and a porch.  It was perfect for us! The boys really enjoyed their bunk beds and it was so nice to sleep that night, especially since we were not in the car.

Although we did not enjoy sleeping in the car, it was still fun to ride around in the car to see the animals, neat rock formations and other scenery.

We took a minute to stop and look around at one of the Mount Rushmore viewing areas.  

We decided that since we could see it from the road, we were not going to pay a bunch of money to get into Mount Rushmore or Crazy Horse.  Each place had a parking and an entrance fee.  We were happy with what we saw.

That evening we went to Keystone to walk through the shops and get some dinner.  We had a great night as a family laughing and walking around before going to bed.