Fun Day in South Dakota

Today we started our day by hiking/exploring the Badlands.  The kids loved it here so much because they could do so much climbing.  We then stopped by to see the Minute Missile Museum, which was really fascinating.  Around lunchtime, we got back in the car and drove to Hill City where we stayed the remainder of our time in South Dakota.  We spent the rest of our day going to  Chuckwagon Show, the sight where "Dances with Wolves" was filmed and our friend's parents own.  Lastly, we hit up one of our favorite places on our trip, Bear Country.  Where animals roamed free and right up to your car.  It was a very fun and busy day!

Visit to South Dakota

We decided to head west this summer for a major 2.5-week road trip to South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota.  The kiddos did amazing!  Their lack of complaining and fighting in the car was nothing compared to what I expected.  We spent many nights cramming into a two queen bedroom and eating ice cream or nachos for dinner, but those memories might be a few of my favorites.  Overall, lots of pictures and lots of fun moments!

First stop, a night shopping and eating at Wall Drug in South Dakota

Last Day of School

After a year of so many unknowns and expectations that school would probably not be in person longer than a month we are happy to say that today was the last day of school. Incredible too knowing the entire year was in person. It was really sad to leave today as the kids all had amazing teachers and classmates in their classrooms. So blessed and thankful for this year! 

Last day of 6th grade for Elyse, 4th for Caleb, 3rd for Kallen, 1st for Ian, and kindergarten for Maddie.

Elyse: Mr. Bauman (social studies)

Caleb: Mrs. Niessen

Kallen: Mrs. Luhring

Ian: Mrs. Gurewitz

Maddie: Ms. Henderson

Caleb's 4th-Grade Graduation

Caleb graduated 4th-grade this morning.  At Legacy, 4th grade is the end of their elementary school age.  He is off to 5th grade in the fall which is considered middle school.  The graduation was very nice.   The ceremony involved the kids walking in with the graduation march, singing a song, listening to Mr. Nydam's message, watching a slideshow, and ending with them receiving their diplomas.  Way to go little man.  Love you.

Track and Field Day

Today the kids had "Track and Field Day".   They were beyond thrilled for so many reasons.  One is that they got to skip most of their day to be outside doing track activities.  They also got to hang out with their entire grade and not just their current classmates.  They got to see their mascot, Pounce.  Lastly, it was the last track and field for Caleb, and the first for both Ian and Maddie thanks to Covid canceling it last year.  For both dad and I, it was extra special too because it was the first event Legacy was able to invite all parents to attend this school year, and thanks to restrictions finally being lifted, we were able to be mask-free.  Overall, it was a wonderful day!

Madeline's Dedication

Today we dedicated Madeline at church.  For those of you that have never heard of a dedication, it means that we presented Madeline in front of our church family saying that as parents we will raise her up in a home dedicated to the Lord.  According to the Bible, a child is not saved by being baptized as an infant.  Therefore, we promised God that we will teach Madeline about Him; in return, Madeline will hopefully make the decision to commit himself to God and choose to be baptized when older.  Just like the other four, dedicating Madeline was a very honoring experience for Dad and me.

We were asked to pick a verse for Madeline.  We chose, Romans 15:13:
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."