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Reptile Gardens is probably our family's favorite stop in Rapid City. There is so much to do - gator show, snake show, giant tortoises, a playground, prairie dogs, birds and soooo many snakes (and other reptiles). I knew Emma knew a lot about snakes, but man... she really
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Before heading to Rapid City we spent the day at Wall Drug and the Badlands National Park. This is our third road trip to South Dakota. The last time we visited Wall Drug was in 2017. I've been a little worried we would show up at a national
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We were a day late leaving, but we made it out the door this morning. It is road construction season in Minnesota, so we had to go a different way to get on the highway. Apparently our back up route was also technically closed until tomorrow, but someone moved the
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Summer bucket list item #3... kayaking down the Cannon River. ✅ Braden discovered this kayak spot back in 2019, and we've gone every summer since. We started out with all 4 of us in 1 kayak. As the girls got bigger it got way too difficult for all four
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The last couple weeks have been very busy around our house... Braden went salmon fishing in Alaska. We made ice cream. Spent lots of time at the pool. Played outside. Visited Pancake. ❤ Repaired a mailbox. Visited the doctor for a lingering illness (she's all good now). Celebrated 4th
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Sadly, the bird nest is no more. Braden texted me this photo of a female cowbird in the nest. Fun fact - female cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird's nests. First they knock one of the eggs out, then they damage one or more of the other
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You know when you go on vacation and come back to your house that has been empty for a while? Multiply that times three months. It was very, very strange walking into the house. But by the first night we were all settled back in. I walked into Emma'
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We were so excited when we boarded the plane! Soon after they made an announcement that we were waiting on the pilot and they weren't even sure if he was legal to fly since he was coming off another flight. Luckily everything was all good and we were
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Lots of work goes into leaving a boat for an extended amount of time - filling tanks, flushing toilets, washing and vacuum sealing clothes/sheets/towels, propping up mattresses. The check list goes on and on. It took us several days, but I think we got it all done. We&
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Yesterday was Emma's turn... she got to see her 4th grade class! She was so excited and couldn't stop talking about seeing her teacher and her class. One of the hardest things for the girls has been leaving their friends. I'm so, so happy
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Today was a big day... Olivia started the morning as a surprise special guest for her 1st grade class! She got all dressed up with a headband, lip gloss and a dress she got here in Grenada. Braden and I joked this morning was the most she's brushed
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Our first visit to Hog Island was on Easter. We haven't been back since, but we're anchored nearby so this weekend we took a dinghy ride over to the island. We met up with some boating friends, and the local kids we met over Easter were