Wade's dad is the mission president in South Dakota...so we decided our family trip for the summer would be visiting them. Turns out South Dakota is a really fun place to visit - not to mention beautiful. The Black Hills are amazing.
We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon.
Our first stop: Storybook Island. Let's just say I was in my happy place. I was with my very favorite people, there was kid music in the background, and a whole park filled with disney and nursery rhyme characters...AND it was free!
I will admit, some of them were a little on the creepy side, but it was still fantastic.
The only prince charming these girls will ever need in their lives - or so their dad hopes.
Words cannot express how much I LOVE this picture!
After months of planning a girls camp based off of the Wizard of Oz, I had to get a picture.
CHEESY...I know, but remember...I was in my happy place.
I love them. They seriously sealed the deal on me marrying Wade.
The next day we went to Reptile Gardens.
You can't see the enormous gator behind the girls very well, but it was MASSIVE.
They had a lot of very cool animal displays and shows. I learned more about venomous snakes than I needed or wanted to know. I will NEVER live in Australia after learning about the many that reside there.
We also went to an indoor water-park called Watiki. It was overpriced, but if you ask the girls it was their favorite part of the vacation...so I suppose it was worth it.
On Friday we started the day with Bear Country. I'll admit I wasn't overly excited. I thought we would drive around and see a few from a distance.
I was wrong.
They were everywhere.
We probably saw 40 or 50. They were walking right in front of our car. It was pretty awesome and crazy.
After that we walked around Sylvan Lake.
LOVELY.
Even the ground sparkles.
My lovely Kate.
Then we drove The Needles Highway.
Told you The Black Hills are amazing.
The day ended with Mount Rushmore.
It is pretty incredible.
I loved learning all about it.
Saturday we visited Fort Hayes. Turns out Dances with Wolves was filmed in South Dakota, and we got to go inside one of the film sets from the movie.
This was not my favorite morning...Can you tell I was annoyed? Kate was throwing major fits all morning.
But Janie and Addi thought it was pretty cool.
While Kate was taking a much needed nap we decided to play in Keystone.
Curtis, Wade, Addi, and Ellia went on a slide down the mountain (similar to the alpine slide).
Here's Grandpa and Addi on the way up the mountain
Ready to go down!
Janie and I decided to do the zip-line instead.
I love my gutsy girl. No fear. It was a blast.
On Sunday we visited the Chapel In The Hills. It is identical to one built in 1150 in Norway.
The craftsmanship was lovely.
We left for home Monday morning at 4 am. 12 hours of driving. 4 little girls sitting way too close to each other. Next time our trip needs to be longer - because all day in the car is torture.
However, it was still worth it. We had a great time. It was so good to see mom and dad again. We have missed them so very much. Can't wait to go visit them again!
