Day 2 - South Dakota

On Friday morning we woke up, ate hotel breakfast and then hit the road towards Rapid City.  The speed limit on I-90 West is 75mph and the drive seemed to go really quick.  The scenery was beautiful which also made the drive that much more enjoyable.  The boys were very good in the car again.  We went a little less than 4 hours and stopped at 1880s town.  It was right off the highway exit and something neat to see and break up the drive.  We spent a little over an hour looking around the buildings and then ate at their diner.

Here are a few too many pictures of 1880s town (you can click on the picture to see it larger):

Oh, and we let the boys pick out some souvenirs at the gift shop.

After 1880s town we hit the road for another 30 minutes and drove through the Badlands.  We spent several hours going through the Badlands, taking lots of stops to climb, take pictures (and Happy Snaps as Russ called our quick stops), and to visit their information center.  The pictures don't even do the area justice but it was just absolutely beautiful and awe-inspiring.  Again, just an onslaught of pictures but they were too beautiful not to share:

I'm a sucker for these pictures of the kids walking with their grandparents.  They  really enjoyed spending this extra time with them.

We didn't do a good job of capturing photos of Russ at the Badlands.  He had the camera and the older boys and was off climbing mountains at each stop.  Usually I stayed behind with Ross climbing smaller mountains.

I'm more of a fan of pictures with the family in them rather than places but these pictures were really good too.  (Click on them if you want to see them larger):

 

That night we got into Rapid City, picked up our weekend rental car ($33 for a weekend rental so we did it to have extra wheels), and then went to dinner at Dakotah steakhouse.  The steakhouse was in our hotel parking lot so we thought we'd try it out.  It was a little fancy for our tastes, the chairs all had wheels on them (not good for three little boys), and none of us were thoroughly impressed with it.  Then it was time for bed after a long, busy day!

South Dakota - Day 1

So, the plan for SD was to be on the road by 7:00am so we could beat the traffic going down town as well as hopefully have sleepy boys.  HA HA!  At 4:30ish our smoke alarms start going off.  They are all connected so if one goes off, they all do.  The house is SOOO loud!  We couldn't find the one that had a low battery or anything... so Russ makes a Wal-Mart run for $25 worth of 9V batteries to switch them all out.  Luckily, he switches our bedroom one and found that the light was flashing (MISS by mom - I didn't see it).  After it was changed there was no going back to sleep so we finished getting around.  Ross and Steve had slept through the alarms (Steve is very hard of hearing and didn't have his hearing aids in but I have NO clue how Ross slept through those!) so we got them up and they got around.

My co-pilot

Like Father, Like Son ;)  This picture is a little deceiving though - Russ actually barely slept the whole trip.  He and Linda stayed up talking to each other and to me while I was driving and then Russ drove.  But I liked how Steve and Russ both looked alike while they tried to doze.

Ross playing on the iPad

Reid playing DS.  I got him a new game and he played it A LOT!

We piled into the van and headed one block to McDonald's for breakfast (Steve's request).  We went in and ate, let the boys play a few minutes on the play place and then hit the road by our planned time of 7a.  We made great time to Sioux Falls and were actually in town by 12:30ish.  We phoned the hotel asking for an early check in and went to an Applebee's nearby for lunch.

The train in the mall

Riding the Empire Express

The Applebee's was actually in a mall so after checking into the hotel, the younger two boys, Linda and I hit up the mall to play.  There was a little train that went through the mall as well as a small play place.
Russ' marine buddy, Casey Legg, is in Sioux Falls so he went over to meet him at a restaurant to chat for a while.  When he got back he took Steve to a gun store to browse and then came back.  We ate dinner at a Texas Roadhouse that was also next door.

After dinner, Russ and I took the three boys to a family fun zone.  We played a game of miniature golf (I won but Russ actually had THREE hole in one's), Russ road the go-karts with Reid and Ryan and then we played on their swing set for a while.  Russ and Ryan hit the go-karts first and Russ just took off driving.  When he finished the guy said "that was a once in a lifetime event."  Apparently Russ had done the course backwards and the two other drivers followed him.  So, then Russ and Reid had their go-kart turn and they drove the track the forward direction (which I think was a little easier on one turn).

Ross was pretty cute playing golf

That's Russ and Ryan coming around the track backwards :)

And Russ and Reid getting started on their turn

I tried to keep the boys happy by pulling out new games, toys, candy, etc every hour or so.  We had a large bag of soft beef jerky and Ross kept asking for more by calling it "car bacon."  It seemed to work, the drive was very smooth.  I had bought a license plate game where the pieces are attached and you just flip them over as you find the license plates.  Ross kept calling it a puzzle and wanted to play it but it didn't take us long to decide it was an adult game :)  (More on that later)

We're Home!

In front of Mt Rushmore

We're home!  Our buckets are full... SOOO much fun.  I hope to do a detailed post tomorrow with more pictures and details on what we did but here's a sneak peek:

So glad that we had the chance to make these memories!

July is right around the corner...

I'm about the easiest person in the world to shop for... at least I think so :)  But in case anyone is stumped... I made a little birthday list for everyone Russ.  I'm heading to FLORIDA for my birthday this year to spend a long weekend with my bestie.  I can't wait!!!

What a FULL weekend!

Our typical weekends are full of sports, activities, errands, etc.  This THREE day weekend was FULL of fun!

We had lots of bike riding!!!  Ryan learned to ride his bike without training wheels.  We spent about 20 minutes practicing Friday night and by Saturday Ryan was ready to go on his own.  He can't quite get balanced enough to start on his own but as long as we hold the bike for him to start, he's off and going solo.  He can go up and down driveways and is getting better riding in a straight line so he can stay on the sidewalk.

Reid was slightly jealous that I was videoing Ryan and giving him the attention and really wanted on camera too.  So, here's Reid riding (and showing off) on his new bike:

And Ross actually did not want me videoing him riding his bike.  Every time he caught me trying to take a video he stopped his bike and told me no.  So... here's what I did get before he caught me:

We were able to pack in so much fun this weekend.  We made trips to the neighborhood pool all three days, we had a neighborhood cookout Sunday night, I got two great runs in, we played outside for HOURS, and we had ice cream with neighbors tonight.  Saturday morning I met Suzanne and my neighbor Lori for 10 miles.  It was pretty warm but I was feeling pretty good until around mile 7.  At mile 8 I called Russ and he swung me by some cold water... exactly what I needed for 2 more miles :)  Then this morning I met Lori again and another neighbor Tina for 4 quicker miles.  

I'm caught up on laundry, I've got the boys' bag packed for our trip this week to South Dakota, and I've got my lists made to finish getting ready for our trip.  I'm not real excited about working this week but at least it's only two days!!  The boys are starting with the summer nanny tomorrow as well.  Anyway, I'm rambling and failing to find the words to explain what a great weekend we had.  Hope you enjoyed the videos!

Did I say this was short?

In an effort to keep up my blogging habit, I have a short update today on my latest adventure.  Today, I went legit trail running for the first time.  I got invited on an 8 mile run.  I started freaking out about 3 miles in that I wasn't going to make it 1) without dying or 2) in time to get home to join a work conference call.  I had calculated based upon my road running times that I had plenty of time to get 8 in.  I forgot that on trails the pace is much slower.  It was humid and 77 when we ran and I was the only one of four without either a camelbak or handheld water bottle (certainly need to invest in one of those if I do this again!)  Within 0.5 miles of starting we crossed a baby fawn laying right on the side of the trail and she started squealing when she saw us.  Here came the mama doe to rescue her and we took off.  I'd never seen a baby deer that small - it was pretty cool.

I thought I was going along running pretty good... We were single file and I was 2nd in our group of 4 and felt like I was keeping pace pretty well.  Somewhere around mile 4 we were on a flat, non-technical part of the trail and I relaxed from my constant staring at the ground and tripped and wiped out... scratched up my knee and got pretty dirty all down my one side.  A true trail runner already :)

At mile 5.5 we crossed an access road that would take me about 0.5 miles up the road to my car and I took it.  I think I could have finished but I was certainly slowing down and not picking up my feet as well as I had.  And in hindsight, I have had a headache all day today because I'm very dehydrated so I probably made the right call for my first attempt.  I can tell that my legs are going to be pretty sore tomorrow.  Trail running certainly uses more stabilizing leg and core muscles than road running... and I love the wiped out feeling!!

I had Reid take my dirty picture when I got home:

He said he didn't need to see my face cause it wasn't dirty.... notice the dirt all over my leg?

Oh yeah - who's the doofus that wears a white shirt on their first trail run... This girl.

My diet update:
I'm happy to say I've had A LOT of these:

A typical lunch

And a lot of this:

Not sure what this face is but this was me after my workout with Dina on Wednesday - it was brutal.

And I am down 7.6 pounds since last Monday.  Apparently I was eating a lot of carbs and snacking too much... who knew?  Oh, everyone but me?  :)  Anyway, certainly enjoying the success and using it to push me for more.  Would love to lose 10 more pounds and then I think I'd be happy... I hope!

School's out for the summer...

WOO HOO!!  I don't know why I'm so excited (I still have to work) but today was the last 1/2 day of school for Reid.  I LOVE summer.  Our mornings are much more relaxed as we have no certain time the boys have to be out the door and since I work from home and my boss is an hour behind me it makes for pretty relaxed mornings.

So, we're done with all sports and school and ready to relax for a while!!  We have several fun trips planned (South Dakota, Branson and Florida for mom) and some local things that we want to do as well.  Ryan and Ross will still be going to All Around Child but their curriculum also relaxes for the summer.  They will both get a splash day at least once a week and Ryan also has weekly field trips.  I think he's really going to enjoy it.  Of course I'm planning to let him stay home 1-2 days a week with Reid and his summer nanny.  It hits the pocketbook a little harder but I think it's fair.

Reid on his FIRST day of second grade

And this morning.

Last night Russ and Ryan went to Toys R Us and picked up a 6 foot swimming pool for our backyard.  We have a fabulous neighborhood pool but the boys also love playing out back in the sprinklers, swimming pool and water guns, etc..

Russ took this picture - I love it!  He said Ryan couldn't wait to get in.

Ross also really wanted to get into the pool when he got home as well.  The water was FREEZING but it didn't seem to stop them.  Ross was so cold when we finally made him call it quits.  Russ got him all dried off and put flannel pajamas on him to warm him up.  I hadn't got a workout in yesterday as Ryan had stayed home with me so I went for a run and Russ got everyone into bed... Awesome night!

Welcome SUMMER!!