SOUTH DAKOTA.

Well call us crazy, but we took a family road trip. We weren't quite sure what we were getting ourselves into with a three year old and a seven month old, but we needed to get to Utah. And lets face it, driving is way cheaper than flying these days. Not to mention that it's nearly impossible to pack what you need for two kids with all the luggage restrictions. So, we decided that driving was the way to go. And you know what? It wasn't that bad. The kids did great, we saw lots of cool things, and made it there safely.

Our plan was to head out late on Sunday night, so that we'd arrive in South Dakota in the morning, roughly half way to our destination. We thought it would be better if the kids slept through the majority of the trip, rather than be restricted in their car seats for most of the day. But plans changed, and by early afternoon we were packed, the car was loaded, I looked at Nick and said 'Want to leave early?'. That was like music to his ears, and by 2pm we were on the road. Mark that one in your record books people... that I was ready to go somewhere EIGHT hours earlier than expected. Probably won't ever happen again in my life. Ha.

We made the eight hour trek to Rapid City, South Dakota, stopping in some random town to have a quick picnic dinner.

Sweet picture, I know. I with no makeup and Nugget with a mouthful of food.

Just capturing memories, don't mind us.

We changed the kids into pajamas, and finished the drive to Rapid City. We arrived at our hotel around 11pm, and surprisingly the kids settled in quickly and fell back asleep for the night.

Of course we stayed in an old, historic hotel, although we didn't stay long enough to learn more about it. Wish we would have.

My babies snuggling/wrestling in the morning.

We woke up feeling fairly refreshed and renewed. Surprising, when you have to share your bed with a three year old. Nick on the other hand, got a bed all to himself. Lucky. Anyways, to give everyone a break from the car, we set out to visit Deadwood and Mount Rushmore.

Deadwood is a little old western town that offered lots of charm and character. It was especially interesting to us as we have been watching the HBO series Deadwood, which is based off historic events that happened in this town. It looked nothing like it does on the show, but we did see some note worthy land marks.

We just finished season one of the series, so I don't know all that much about the town's history, but I did recognize these names.



We obliged Nick's request (and lifelong dream, ha!) and took one of those old-timey family pictures. You know, the ones where you dress up in period clothes and no one can smile. I'll have to take a picture of the picture and share it because it's hilarious. I've avoided such a picture for a long time, because truth be told, the clothes totally gross me out. But Deadwood seemed a fitting place to give in. Meanwhile, we posed for a picture with this fellow, although I'm not sure who or what he is supposed to be. But posing with weird roadside attractions was on my road trip bucket list.

These signs caught our eye. This town was made for Nugget. And while we did browse around in the Trading Post, we did not however take our Nugget into the Sports Bar.

After lunch we headed up the hill, more like a vertical incline, to visit the cemetery where some of the famous people we've learned about are buried. Now you know I love old cemeteries, and I was bummed that time did not allow us to get lost in this one.

Grave site of 'Calamity Jane'

Grave site of 'Wild Bill Hickok'

Remnants of an original head stone.

Nap time approached, so it was time to hit the road again, squeezing in one more stop before making the final haul to Utah.Enter Mount Rushmore.There is something to be said for seeing a national landmark with your own eyes. I have seen this thousands of times in pictures, but yet it was absolutely breathtaking to take it in with my own eyes.

While we were fascinated with the view, Brother was fascinated with his own view. Dad's hair.

Nugget insisted on me taking her picture here.

I think it's kinda cute, my girl chillin' with George and Abe.

And that sums up our adventures in South Dakota. Glad we got out and stretched our legs, because this was our view for the next ten hours. We arrived in Utah at 2am tuesday morning. I'll pick up with that tomorrow.

VEHICLE FAIR.

You may have thought I fell off the face of the earth. Or more likely a mountain. I've been gone for a long while it seems, but I'm back! We took a little adventure to Utah to visit some of Nick's family. I've got lots to post on that soon. But I'm a sequential order kinda girl, so I need to write this before I can move forward. Cause once I move forward, I don't look back. I don't like things all out of order like that. Ha.

Anyhow, before our big road trip, Nugget's little school held a vehicle fair. You name it, they had it. The kids got to climb in and on everything, 'drive' the vehicles and have a grand ole time. We make a big deal around here when we see cool vehicles drive by our house, so it was fun for Nugget to get to see them up close.

A big blue truck, her favorite color.

A mail truck. This was probably her favorite. She loves getting the mail, just like Mama, and has made buddies with our mailman, Darrel.

Driving the mail truck, smitten with her treat the mailman gave her.

School bus! We especially love school buses! We had a way cuter picture of us peeking out from a window inside, but it was blurry. Bummer.

Busted! His crime? Being too adorable, of course.

Junior firefighter

What's she digging in her pocket for? Her smarties from the mailman. Ha.

This little event is just another reason why we love living in our small town. There are so many unique and fun opportunities for us, and we are so grateful for the people who work hard to make them happen!

SCHOOL AND AN APPLE TREE.

Nugget had her first day of 'school' today. She was very excited to go, and I was excited to get back in to a routine. Even though her school is really ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education), we both love it. They're offering a new class this year called 'Peek Into Preschool' which is perfect for little Nuggets who are three but aren't yet going to preschool. Due to my babe's late summer birthday, and my experiences as a Kindergarten teacher, I have already chosen to keep her home with me an extra year, which means she'll be six before she enters elementary school. Three years of preschool is a bit much, so this was a great fit for us. This class is quite a bit bigger than her previous ECFE classes, with thirteen kids enrolled. There were some familiar faces along with plenty of new ones, but her teachers stayed the same so that's a huge plus. On the way home I heard all about how she got two mini muffins for snack, she played in the kitchen with some kids and Ms. Sandy, and her buddy Caroline made her playdough. But her favorite part of school today? 'Playing with the rainbow colored girl'. I had to smile and try not to laugh out loud. The rainbow colored girl was actually a little friend named Kate, who happened to be wearing a rainbow striped shirt and matching leggings. Hilarious.

So, to capture her first day of school and keeping in tradition of measuring her growth alongside her apple tree that Daddy planted for her when she was born, we snapped a few pics before heading off to school this morning.

I'm a little sad that this will be her last year attending ECFE classes, but know there are many more wonderful experiences awaiting her. Thank goodness I get to start it all over again with Brother this year, I'm not ready to leave ECFE for good!

SEVEN MONTHS.

Wow, seven months. I seriously feel like I was just sitting here writing his sixth month post. Another month has flown by, and in just a few short weeks we have seen a lot of changes in our little man.

To name a few...

*He is sleeping through the night! And we're talking 7pm-5:30am. I swear, he came home from his six month doctor appointment and started doing it that night. He must have heard the doctor telling me to let him cry it out, because rather than put me through that turmoil, he decided to do it all on his own! It sure feels good to sleep again...

*He has two teeth! His bottom right poked through first, then two days later his top left showed up. I joke that he will be our little jack-o-lantern for Halloween. That is unless he gets even more in the next six weeks, which is very possible. He weathered them well, I didn't even know he was teething until I spied the little white spot on his gums.

*He can go from his tummy to sitting up all by himself. From sitting he can get on all fours and rock back and forth. He will be crawling any day now. He'll reach for a toy and try to move forward, but ultimately falls back to his belly or does a nose dive, neither of which he minds.

*He can roll and scoot himself pretty much anywhere. However, he gets sad if he gets his legs stuck under the couch or bonks his head on the wood floors.

*LOVES to eat baby food. We've added to his menu choices, but he still prefers vegetables over fruit. In fact, he gags when I feed him bananas and apricots. If I mix them in with his cereal, he does a little better.
He is feeding himself 'Puffs' and is getting quite efficient at it.

*He lights up when he sees his sister. If I get him up in the morning first, he knows to tap his hand on her door like he's knocking, and then he gets all excited, flapping his arms and legs in anticipation of being reunited with her after a long night's rest.

*He is just such a happy baby and follows a pretty simple, predictable routine. All his problems can be solved with his nuk, blankie, and snuggles from Mama.

Alright, here comes the seven month cuteness....

His hair is so long when it's wet after a bath, that I usually have to do a sweet comb over or this stylish mohawk.

This is how I am greeted when I go in to get him from his slumber.

This was taken a few weeks ago, lately he's sitting up, smiling at me.

My precious view when I peek into the crib.

Helping Mama fold laundry.

Sweet slumber.

Blowing bubbles and playing with one of his favorites, the wipe box.

I love this series of pictures...the beginning stages of his crawling.

Alright, I'm gonna do this...

Oh my goodness, this is hard work!

I give up.

He is such a happy little man, and we're so glad he's ours. 

SNIPPETS.

The pictures just keep on coming. I can't help myself. We're just having so much fun and I think my kids are just so gosh darn cute.



The kids snuggled up in our bed one afternoon for a rest time.

Nugget intently watched Dora...

While Brother destroyed read my gossip magazine.

We enjoyed playing on the deck...

While Daddy and Nugget took a dip in the hot tub.

More playtime outside

And Nugget has mastered riding her new bike.