Day 3 of Vacation: South Dakota

Today was our last day in Madison, SD and we enjoyed squeezing in every minute of fun that we could with the Millers. Highlights included the morning of the sleepover, going swimming, multiple meals, and topping it off with a big Girls Night Out trip to...Dairy Queen!

 

The kids, who often have to be pried out of bed at 8:00 a.m. on school day, were up around 6:30 a.m. in the morning from the sleepover. I think that the fact that there were donuts played heavily into this (oh, and that Daniel woke up the girls to tell them the news).  Thanks, Millers, for the sleepover and the pictures! 

 

 

The kids had a lot of fun playing together this morning. The boys played various mechanical and/or destructive games, while the girls barricaded themselves in Addie's closet with pillows to keep out the boys.

 

Baby Rowan enjoyed lots of snuggle time from everyone. He even tolerated me on a few occasions so that I could get my baby fix.

 This afternoon we saw a first for us....the sun in South Dakota!

 

In the afternoon, we headed back to the hotel with the kids and Addie so that we could play in the hotel pool together. I am happy to report that the hot tub is indeed quite hot. (And this trip will need to be a secret from poor Keagan, who was napping during this adventure.)

The whole gang!! When we moved to Manhattan almost three years ago, we had four kids between the three families...now there are six kids who just keep getting bigger and bigger!

 

After a fun trip to McDonalds (which is less than a block from the Millers' house AND has a playplace AND serves ice cream....) it was time for good-byes. VERY SAD. Below is a giant hug with Daniel, Keagan, and Beth.

Of course the kids also had to say good-bye to Val, the much-beloved cat.

While the rest of the families went home to bed, the three moms continued on to party for a GIRLS NIGHT OUT! This is a tradition that we started a few years ago as a "girls day out." The first year, the three of us went to Lawrence for lots of shopping, eating, and pedicures. Last year, we had a tour on the town of Manhattan with again, lots of stops. This year, we drove around Madison and went to Dairy Queen for treats (I broke my 30-day no-sugar experiment...) We learned that every other restaurant in town was closed for Memorial Day, but Dairy Queen was a big hit with lots of stories, laughter, and memories.

Tomorrow morning we are departing early to continue our tour of South Dakota. We are staying in Custer and the plan tomorrow is to visit Wall Drug and the Corn Palace along the way, and to take a detour to see the Badlands. It will be great to see the rest of South Dakota, but we will really miss the Millers and look forward to seeing them again soon for another visit!