A little R&R

Once Aaron got home and re-signed into the base he was given 17 days off for some family time and vacation. We decided to start off with a little Stay-cation in Rapid City.  I mean, hundreds of thousands of people come here to visit, might as well see what all the fuss is about. 

First Aaron and I got a babysitter for an afternoon and went riding on his motorcycle.  There is a highway called Iron Mountain Road that was built specifically for riding.  Lots of pigtail turns and one-way tunnels cut into the rocks. 

Second we took a day and went to the Badlands. For those of you who are planning a vacation to come and see us, the Badlands are only 50 miles from our home.  Just letting you know.

In between summer thunderstorms Aaron took Alex out for "man camp" on the hill behind our house, trying out the paint ball gun he got for Father's Day.  Aaron and our neighbor played men vs boys.  The boys even pulled out one win.  WOLVERINES!

Another Rapid City area hot spot, actually located in Wyoming, is Devils Tower.  For you Close Encounters fans we did not see Richard Dryfus but we did sing the song.  De, de, de, bo bee....

And finally, we took the kids to Mall of America in Minnesota.  One very cool mall!  We stayed at the Raddison across the street which had a waterpark and then spent a day at the mall riding the rides.  I think more than anything it was just good to be together again!