Faith's Monumental Visit to South Dakota

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When I received my niece, Sydnee's graduation announcement in the mail, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to visit my brother and his family for the first time at their home in Spearfish. I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see Mount Rushmore, which I had never seen before!  My nephew in Nebraska was graduating that same weekend, and my sister Dawn and I tried to put together a plan where we could go to both of their graduation receptions. I knew though, that Faith would feel left out and would want to go, too. I also knew it was going to be difficult to find someone to look after Faith over Memorial Day weekend.  Our finalized plan involved Dawn traveling to South Dakota with me and Faith and then her flying to Nebraska by herself. Faith and I would then drive back to Bismarck by ourselves.  3 adventurous travelers  I must admit, as the trip got closer, I started to get a little anxious about how Faith was going to do with so much drivi...
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Summer Highlights

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Summer. It sure doesn't last long in North Dakota. And since Faith started school earlier this week, I figured it was a great day to reminisce about the summer we had. 

In June we took a trip to Fargo and somehow ended up at Tim Horton's in Grand Forks. Faith and I figured it was a great way to celebrate Father's Day a little bit early!


While my brother and his wife were away for a couple of weeks, we went out to their place to check on their dogs for them. Faith loved her new role as dog sitter. She especially enjoyed reading Clifford the Big Red Dog books to them. Besides dog sitting, Faith also enjoyed house sitting her grandparents' house while they were on vacation.


Unfortunately, Faith wasn't feeling the best over the 4th of July, so we didn't make it to the parade this year, or any other fun festivities. She did get to see the fireworks from our parking lot, though. Later in the week, we made it up to Grandma and Grandpa's so she could see her cousins from Nebraska and South Dakota.


During the summer, Faith was able to get together with a few of her friends from the homeschooling group we go to called Inspire. She loves going to the park with them and having them push her chair around the playground. One day, the weather was even perfect for kite flying. During another adventure, she was able to see her friends perform in a play called "The Girl with the Golden Locks" put on by the Shade Tree Players.


In July I went on the Lewis and Clark Riverboat Cruise to help my Aunt Sharon celebrate her 70th birthday. Then in August, my college roomies came to town for their annual teacher's conference. We always have so much fun catching up with one another!



Between the heat, humidity, and smoke from the wildfires out west, we didn't spend as much time outdoors as we usually do during the summer. Plus, Faith came down with a pretty bad cold in August, which we all three ended up getting.

We managed to have one last hurrah at my parents for another family get together. Not only did Faith get to see all of her "big cousins" but her baby cousins, too. She even got to see her grandpa's impressive rock collection that he put around their house.



We started school the day after Labor Day, which isn't typical in North Dakota, but it is kind of nice as the holiday feels like it brings summer to a close. Faith is super excited to see her Inspire friends in less than a month and is already starting to count down the days.



I hope everyone had a great summer! 
We can't wait for fall and all the fun and cooler temperatures that it brings!

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When I received my niece, Sydnee's graduation announcement in the mail, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to visit my brother and his family for the first time at their home in Spearfish. I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see Mount Rushmore, which I had never seen before!  My nephew in Nebraska was graduating that same weekend, and my sister Dawn and I tried to put together a plan where we could go to both of their graduation receptions. I knew though, that Faith would feel left out and would want to go, too. I also knew it was going to be difficult to find someone to look after Faith over Memorial Day weekend.  Our finalized plan involved Dawn traveling to South Dakota with me and Faith and then her flying to Nebraska by herself. Faith and I would then drive back to Bismarck by ourselves.  3 adventurous travelers  I must admit, as the trip got closer, I started to get a little anxious about how Faith was going to do with so much drivi...
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