The Hills.

My parents and the four of us took a trip out to the Black Hills for a few days.  I remember my parents always talking about wanting to take us there growing up, but we never did it.  I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for us to go considering we live only 6 hours away.  We planned the trip the end of May and booked the cabin to stay in.  It sure came up fast.  This was the cabin we called home for three nights.  It was at the base of Terry Peak and gorgeous!  It was quite spacious for the 6 of us as it slept 10 adults.  We had planned on my sister and her family joining the trip but they were unable to.  We cooked all of our meals at the cabin and had a lot of good food!  The kids had an abundance of room to run around and play and they loved it.

The lower deck included a brand new hot tub.  The kids thought it was "too hot," which it was for them.  But they had an absolute riot playing on the ledge.  Unfortunately, I was unable to partake in the lovely hot tub and beer festivities.  I should have taken more pictures of the inside of the cabin, it was absolutely gorgeous.

We stopped at Bear Country USA on our way in.  I was a little skeptical about the experience because it seemed to be a little spendy.  Once we got into the gates all skepticism was gone.  It was one of the neatest outdoor exhibits I have ever experienced!

This is my favorite bear photo.  I just think it is crazy how you drove right through the bears and they were just hanging out.  There were so many I wish I would have counted!  We did see buffalo, antelope, sheep, arctic wolves and some other animals, but the bears were the best!

After you drove through the route with the animals, there was "babyland."  There was a bunch of baby animals-so darn cute.  Those little bear cubs were my favorite!

It wouldn't be a trip to the Black Hills without visiting Mt. Rushmore.  It was such a gorgeous day and we got some great photos.  Landon loved the "big rock with the faces," it was adorable.

We walked down a ton of steps to get some different views and the kids did awesome!

Next came Needles highway and Sylvan lake located in Custer State Park.  The scenery is absolutely gorgeous!

What a great place for some picnicing!  Kadence and Grandma and Grandpa played in the water while Ryan, Landon, and I did some hiking and rock climbing.

It was so fun to see the boys having an absolute riot climbing rocks.  Landon has a ridiculous amount of coordination for his age and wanted to go up as high as he could.  I see a shared hobby in their future!  I trekked along for most of the climbing but opted out when I had flashes of my pregnant belly making me fall forward!

It made me a little nervous at times...but they were having so much fun I didn't say much.  Too cute.

So beautiful!

We drove through Spearfish Canyon and stopped at Roughlock Falls.  This was probably my favorite part of the trip.  It amazes me how beautiful nature is.  We hiked along the river and took in the scenery.

The kids had an absolute blast and ran most of the way.  It is so fun to see mine and Ryan's love for nature and the outdoors show through in our children.  They are so happy outside where they can run free.

They really are such good friends already.  They had so much fun playing and exploring together.

A view of Roughlock Falls and the beautiful clear water!

These are only some of the many gorgeous pictures we took.
We also headed into Deadwood for a night and walked around a little bit.  We had perfect weather the entire time and did everything we wanted to do.  The kids were so good-considering the amount of time spent in the car!  There was great conversation and many games of cribbage in the mix as well!  The only thing that would have made the trip a little better would have been a stop at one of the winery's for some wine tasting...next time!  What a great and much needed vacation!