That Big Brown Thing: Devil's Tower

In all the times Josh's mom has visited us, we had never taken her out to see classic South Dakota things like the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. This time, we took advantage of Josh's long weekend and Grandma Kate's visit to drive out to the Black Hills and see my aunt, uncle, and cousins. On Friday, we all piled into two cars and headed out to Devil's Tower! (It's just over the border into Wyoming.) I love the site of the grooved mountain looming mysteriously on the horizon. As we drove closer and closer, Misha asked, "Where is the tower, Daddy? Where's the tower? Is it behind that big brown thing?" We realized that Misha had been picturing an actual "tower" the whole time!

In top photo: Joshua, Susan, Isaac, Grandma Kate, Josh, Misha, Tammy

Misha and his favorite monkey Koko.

Here is Misha with my cousins Joshua, Isaac, and Rebecca, plus my aunt Susan.

Misha's favorite part of Devil's Tower was climbing the rock piles around the base with Rebecca. (For hours!) He loved it. They were being explorers and spies.

Daddy and Sebby in front of Devil's Tower:

Josh, Sebastian, and me:

As always, we got to enjoy the beauty of the Black Hills and the generosity and hospitality of Sue and Ed's family. Misha loved the trampoline, ...

the tree houses, ...

and the horses.

This trip was Kate's first time in western SD.

Daddy and Sebastian enjoy the sun and the fresh air!
Susan getting to know Sebastian:

Misha thought Rebecca's jungle room was the coolest place to play:

He even decided to sleep on her top bunk!

Rebecca and Sebastian:

On Saturday morning, we stopped at Golden Living to see my grandpa Gene. Here he is meeting his new great grandson.

Misha liked sitting with Great Grandpa - they almost fell asleep on each other! :)

My grandpa with two of his many great grandchildren.

Before we left the Hills, of course we had to stop to take in Mount Rushmore.



Misha checks out Roosevelt's mustache through his binoculars.

Here are a few random shots of the kids at home. Misha in his new pj's ...

Daddy and the boys

Daddy and his little boy:

Misha loves having Grandma Kate around. He happily shares his room with her and loves to talk to her so much that he has been waking her up twice a night just to chat! We may have to work on those sleeping arrangements ...