Storybook Island

Craig was over in South Dakota for work for a week so we decided to join him on Wednesday for the rest of the week and weekend. We had to drive through a horrible rain storm from Gillette to Spearfish but we only had to pull over a few times because we couldn't see (along with 30 or more cars). I was just hoping the rain wouldn't turn into hail since I just had my windshield replaced. Craig told me to watch out for hail...i politely asked what I was suppose to do if it did hail since there are very few turn offs or overpasses to hide under! CJ has turned into my little texter while I drive so I am sure it came out nicer than I would have said! The kids enjoyed swimming morning and night, and during the day we did various things without Craig and then did a few things in the evenings. We spent the weekend with my oldest sister Tammie, niece Tierra, her son Kaysen, and Tammie's significant other Rich. It was a good time. Those pictures to come later!
First day...Rapid City, SD. We went to Storybook Island. This was a frequent stop we made growing up. I think every time we had someone come visit we would hit Storybook Island. It brought back a lot of memories of my mom but they were good ones. In fact being in the Black Hills reminded me of my mom more than I thought. She loved it there, was born there, and we spent a lot of time there. Storybook Island is free too! Could it be better than that. We had a picnic lunch outside on the lawn and then headed in. The younger kids enjoyed it, CJ is getting a little old but she was a good sport. The 3 older kids had their caricature drawn...Carter wouldn't do it! It was a fun day...until we went to the mall. That was a little crazy but we got what we needed and headed home to eat and swim! I love vacations!