Fort Ridgely

 This past weekend we made the trip to Minnesota. We barely caught our breath from the fair, and then we were off on another adventure. It's the story of our lives these days. 

We left Sioux Falls around 3pm on Friday, and got to my parents' house around 6pm. Mom and Dad were driving the ditches looking for items that were stolen from our church. Our little country church was broken into and they stole some of the communion ware, the cross off the altar, and some smaller items. They tried to get into the safe where the cash is, but they couldn't quite do it. It was pretty sad to hear that people can't even respect churches anymore. 

After catching up at home for a while, and playing some 500 in the yard, we headed to Ryan's house for a shrimp boil. It was really good. We had fresh sweet corn, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, sausage, and then some shrimp. It was great. It was also a nice time to just relax and visit at Ryan's house. Mom and Dad took the kids home around 8:00pm, and then Ryan, Emily, John, and I could just visit for while. It was a really nice, relaxing way to visit. Emily left kind of early because she had to work the next day, but John and I stayed until 1:00 am. That was a super late night for us, but it was really nice to catch up with Ryan. 

Saturday was another fun, busy day. We started the day by sleeping in and just hanging out at Mom and Dad's house. We ate an early lunch, and then we headed to Fort Ridgely to do some hiking and exploring. John had never been to Fort Ridgely, and we finally made it there. We started with the historical items and John really enjoyed that. Eventually the kids got a little restless and we headed out on the trails. 

I really enjoyed being back at Fort Ridgely and hiking the trails. It had been a long time since I had been there and it was really nostalgic to be back. I had forgotten a lot of the trails! Elena and Rachel only made it so far and then they turned back. Dad, John, Emma, Elliott and I made it to the top of airplane hill. It was really fun to see the top of airplane hill again, and the kids really enjoyed that. 

After getting our exercise in, we went back to my parents' house and got cleaned up for Austin Black's wedding reception. It was on Marcel and Gretchen's farm, and it was pretty fun. They had a nice supper and a live band. The kids had a really good time running around with the other kids there. The adults had a good time drinking beer and catching up with everyone at the party. We stayed until 11:00pm and then finally got the kids home and put to bed (along with ourselves). 

Sunday was another catchup day. We ate a nice brunch at mom and dad's house before going over to Mark and Kathy's house to see Michelle's horses and dogs. The kids really enjoyed that. There were 5 dogs at Mark and Kathy's and the kids absolutely adored them. Around 1:00pm we left and finally headed back to Sioux Falls. 

We got home around 4:00pm, and had a good hour to unpack and start laundry before we left again and ate supper at Golden Harvest with Katie, Jim and Barb. After that, we went and saw Katie's apartment and then the kids and Katie swam at her pool. After the swimming the kids went home with Jim and Barb and John and I headed home. We finally got to sleep in our own beds, and get back to reality. 

Tomorrow is the first day of school for the kids. I can't believe school is starting again and I have a 4th grader and a 1st grader. Time truly goes by too quickly. Here's to hoping we can have a healthy, happy school year!

Swinging at Fort Ridgely 

Cousins 

Airplane Hill 

Kids being kids