Final Day

Today was our final day in Minnesota. In some ways, we are eager to get back home to our own house and sleep in our own beds again. In other ways, it will be pretty sad to leave. We've had some wonderful days full of family fun, some time away from the kids, and plenty of grandparent time! We've played, relaxed, and taken some trips down memory lane (there have been some definite changes to my home area over the last 10 years of being away!). We are all so crazy grateful for this time here and are already looking forward to next year :)

We spent the morning out at Oxbow Park in my true hometown of Byron. John was slightly disappointed that he didn't see any buffalo on our trip out to the Black Hills, but this morning made up for it! The zoo at the park has a whole herd and John was thrilled.

The boys had gone swimming at the town pool while we were on vacation, but they had such a good time that we wanted a chance to see what all the fuss was about. Wow! We were blown away by how great the pool was there. There was a fantastic kids area with a lion slide and towering sprinklers, an actual swimming area, a diving board area, and two gigantic water slides. We had a blast there and would love to move here just to go to the pool!

Semis

Today was the long-awaited day for the boys:  semi ride! My grandpa was back in town and we spent the afternoon out at their farm. Semis have been on the brain for these boys and Owen has been talking about doing a semi ride since probably January or February. What a thrill for them!

Before the big ride. Excited and ready to go!

The boys with their two great-grandparents

Black Hills

John and I arrived back in Minnesota yesterday after our vacation within a vacation. Mom and Dad watched the boys for us for three days so we could have a few glorious kid-free days. The Black Hills of South Dakota called our name.

With limited time there, we tried to pick the highlights to enjoy, starting with Mt. Rushmore. We attended the night program there, where a ranger spoke, the park showed a short movie showcasing each president featured on the monument, and then the monument was flooded with light. Afterward, they called up all former and active military to help lower the flag.

 

 

The next day, we took the scenic route out to Devil's Tower, Wyoming. Our drive took us through Spearfish Canyon, an absolutely gorgeous drive complete with a couple stops to take in waterfalls. We stuck our hands in Spearfish Creek and were amazed at how clear and cold it was!

 Roughlock Falls

 More of Roughlock Falls

View of what we were driving through

Devil's Tower was pretty spectacular as well. We hiked around the base of it and viewed climbers tackling the mountain (after seeing how steep it is--no thank you!). Driving out, we stopped to enjoy the prairie dog town. It was great fun to see those little guys scampering all over the field!

 

 View as we drove in to Devil's Tower

Because we were so close, we zipped up to Montana so John could check off his 43rd state. We weren't there for long, but long enough to make it count!

 

Yesterday, we headed back to Minnesota. Our first stop was Wall Drug for breakfast and to take in the experience. It's basically a large mall-type place complete with lots of touristy-type kitsch. Lots of fun and totally worth the stop.

 The enormous T-Rex "feeds" every 10 minutes. We caught him in the middle of his "feeding".

 Riding the Jackalope!

Our final experience there was probably my favorite:  Badlands National Park. Absolutely amazing. Words (and photos) fail to describe how incredibly beautiful this place is. We stopped at most scenic overlooks and did some walking and climbing around. I left the Badlands in awe of God's creation with two songs in my head:  Rich Mullins "Calling Out Your Name" and Andrew Peterson "Nothing to Say". Those express my sentiments perfectly.

The only snake we saw (thank goodness!)

 Bighorn sheep--ewe and lamb

Back Home

After an overnight stop to see friends in Illinois, we arrived safely in Minnesota Friday night. The boys have been having a great time getting reacquainted with Grandma and Grandpa Prechel. We've gotten to spend time out at my brother's place and visiting my grandma (my grandpa is a trucker and it currently out on the road). So far, it's been full of some great family time! The boys have also gotten to experience a ride on a tractor and are really looking forward to a semi ride later this week after my grandpa pulls back in to town.

Our trip is really split into two different parts:  part one is all this fabulous family time. Part two commences tomorrow morning when John and I leave the kids with the grandparents for a few days to head out to the Black Hills in South Dakota. Don't get me wrong; there is a whole lot that I love about living in Richmond. But over the past few years I've discovered that there is definite benefit to having family nearby. One of those perks would be occasional nights away from the kids. We are so grateful for this opportunity to have a little mini-vacation within our vacation. My mom has some super fun activities planned for the boys and we are looking forward to being tourists around Mt. Rushmore. What a treat!

Getting ready for the big moment that they have been looking forward to for months!

 John and my dad climbed into the bucket of the tractor to ride along and capture some moments as they happened.

A bonfire complete with sparklers and smores capped off the day spent at my brother's house

Cousins!

 Four generations

VBS 2013

We do VBS every year with our church. This year, the boys and I spent the last week of June participating (them) and volunteering (me). The theme this year was on Paul's journey to Athens to share the Gospel. The boys had a blast again this year, and because Brennan is a rising kindergartner, he got to participate more fully in the activities designed for elementary school kids.

 

Yorktown Beach

John had today off as a bonus holiday, so we headed for Yorktown Beach. I had heard great things about this beach (a nice, long beach along the York River), but this was the first time in over five years that we've made it there. The boys had a blast playing in the sand (Owen called it "the sandbox") and filling buckets with water to pour into the holes that they dug. The highlight of the outing, though, was seeing a number of dolphins coming up out of the water. It was a wonderfully unexpected surprise!

John's sandcastle masterpiece. It lasted a while before Owen-zilla attacked.

Annual Outing

We absolutely love visiting the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. We typically only go at Christmas for the special GardenFest Light up the Garden event and on Independence Day (free admission today!). The grounds are pretty spectacular and there is a great kids area, complete with water play area for lots of entertainment. We went with a couple friends of ours and were glad to introduce them to this wonderful annual tradition (we've gone every year but one since 2008).

Family Photos

Oh how we love this wonderful, wild, crazy group! So very grateful to spend such good times every summer (and sometimes in between!) with them!

 

Catching Up

We spent this past weekend in Newport News with very dear friends for our annual "family time". Alas, our camera spent this past weekend sitting on our desk, so there are no fun photos of this special time. Great community time, great time worshiping Sunday morning at By Grace where one dear friend is the pastor, great time spent at parks watching the kids play. Monday was spent at the pool where we watched Owen and Brennan blossom. Neither one of them has spent much time around the water, so it took a good amount of coaxing to get them into the big pool with life jackets secure and us holding on to them. Eventually they both decided to jump in the pool holding on to our hands. Then they both eventually decided to jump in the pool without holding on. They were so proud of this accomplishment and we were so proud of them as well!

This morning, we managed to make it to another preschool playdate at the Stony Point pop jet fountains. They were thrilled with all the water play. This was our first stop at this play area this season. What a difference a year makes! Last year, we came one time and Owen spent the whole time running out of the play area and I spent the whole time chasing him. It was wonderful to get to have actual conversations with the other moms and not be worried that one or both of them would suddenly dart away from the play area. Watching the boys grow up definitely has bittersweet times, but this is one area I'm very grateful for increased maturity levels!