South Dakota w/the Fam Fam!

We just got home last night from a wonderful 5 day trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota! Oh goodness--talk about beautiful. It was such a blessing to spend time with family in the middle of such an awesome display of creation. Mitchell met quite a few new cousins from my Mom's side, and we loved every minute of the time spent with them!

One of our favorite adventures was in the Badlands of South Dakota. It was along the way as we drove from Sioux Falls to the Black Hills, and Mitchell and I stayed behind for a few hours to explore and go for a hike.

We had many other adventures throughout our stay. We went 4-wheeling through the Black Hills with my sister Jamie and her husband Justin (IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!), visited Mount Rushmore and a neat town called Keystone nearby, and stopped at a beautiful lake that we passed by on a scenic route through the Hills! 

We stopped at a place called The Cosmos that was pretty 

trippy--it looked like we were all standing at an angle!

See the tennis ball at the top of the slant? It should have been 

rolling downhill but instead it just sat there! 

On our way back from the Hills to the airport we made a small detour. My mom and I went with my great-aunt Carol to see the town of Philip, South Dakota where her and my grandmother both lived as children. I was so excited to see the town, especially when I was able to go inside the church where my Papa and Gran Jo were married and see where my great-grandparents are buried. I loved seeing where my family came from :) 

The house where they all grew up...right in the middle of downtown Philip!

 They lived next door to the theater, which was still there.

Well, there you have it! I'll end with a few other random photos from the week--it was absolutely wonderful. I can't wait until next year! (Fam--we HAVE to do this again next summer!!)

 Random stop at 1880's town on the way back!

 Roughlock Falls! (Notice how we're all in long-sleeves. It averaged 60 degrees the whole time we were there! Unreal. 

 Our way of honoring Aunt Carol as the matriarch of the family!

 My precious niece Paisley.

 See ya later, South Dakota!