Tourists on our "Stay"cation.

I have tried to take advantage of every day that I am off from work. Sometimes the weather does not cooperate, but their are still a lot of things to do. (It's not like it's been blizzarding this month.) Being a native of Rapid City, I knew we had cool stuff around here, but now that I have kids, I am trying to see all of the fun that the Black Hills has to offer.

We will not be going on a BIG vacation this summer, but hope to pack in all the sights around here. We've done some things this week to get our tour started.

We planted a small (very small) herb garden with some tomatoes. I DO NOT have a green thumb, so I am relying on Gabbie to help keep this garden alive!

I really want to plant some tulips, peony bushes and dahlias this year!! If anyone has any suggestions or tips, PLEASE comment! I am gonna need all the help I can get.

OOPS! Gabbie got a little out of control with the hose. Sorry Fin.



I think Gabbie will survive! She had a little spill on her bike.
The first of many, I'm sure.

Gabbie is learning to ride the bike. It seems we are a bit behind, but Gabbie loves it! Our goal is training wheels off by her birthday in the fall.

Finley wants to ride a bike too!

Sorry Fin, that's a little big.

Gabbie had her "End of the Year Program" at school.

The pre-school program was great this year. They concentrated on ABC's & 123's.

These girls are her "best friends" and we enjoy watching them all grow.

ONE SHOT!

(is all this picture took!)

Good Job Gabrielle Amelia!

We visited Bear Country USA last week. It was a little COLD and REALLY windy, but it was fun. There were only a few other cars going through the park, so we really took our time.

Do you think the "DO NOT TOUCH" sign also means "DO NOT SIT"???!!!

The Buffalo

The Bear

Doesn't he look friendly?

The Reindeer

Our Mother's Day Brunch
Gabbie & Finley and Brayden & Hadley

The ER Kids at a baby shower
(and there are more to come!)

Finley at Reptile Gardens.

We love this place and they really give the locals a great deal! We will visit MANY TIMES!

One of the birds at Reptile Gardens. There large bird show starts this week.

Nana Betty, and us in the dome at Reptile Gardens.

The shy bald eagle and not-so shy Gabbie

We hope you are all having a fun Spring! I hope we can add many fun pictures to our Stay-cation album!

Swinging

Here are my girls, enjoying their swing set. Finley got her first taste of swinging this week while Gabbie is learning to "pump" herself. (That is actually a LONG process.) Gabbie will be impossible to keep inside as the weather gets nicer and I see many days in our future playing on the swings.

Gabbie moved to a new classroom at school and started a "summer camp" in her new room. Looking at their schedule, they will have water play days, park days and even a few field trips. The funny thing is that when I showed Jas the schedule he wondered how much it will cost. Believe it or not, it is included in our daycare cost already. What a nice surprise!

Well, as May wrapped up, so did Jason's travels (for now) and we said good-bye to Daisy May...We made a HUGE mistake with the timing of our adoption of this little puppy. The amount of attention and work that was needed for her was above and beyond what we could provide. :( Daisy went to an awesome family in Pierre with 2 girls and a Great Dane. We have received word that she is doing awesome. LESSON LEARNED!

Daisy May...

Well...Jas left for Pierre today and it marks the beginning of our CRAZY May. Jas has 3 business trips to include 11 full days this month. It doesn't sound like a lot, but with our new puppy, Daisy, it already seems like a lifetime. :)

Daisy is a Golden Ret-Springer Spaniel mix and she is about 10 weeks old. She is GOING to be a GREAT dog for our family, but I just need to be reminded of it often. Please share any funny puppy stories as it may help me smile about our newest addition.

Fin & Gabbie are doing great and looking forward to spring and summer! Here is a little clip of some Finley giggles. There is nothing better than a baby's laugh!