Rapid City Weekend

We left home on Friday morning, and drove to Sheridan for lunch. After a quick nap, the kids were up and watching movies in the car waiting to get to the hotel! :) We got to Rapid City about the same time as my parents (with Emily, Allison & Sarah too). Checked in...and looked at the pool (with the water slide!!). The kids wanted to go swimming, but we decided to eat supper first, then come back and swim! :)

The kids went swimming 4 times (once on Friday, 2 times on Saturday and once on Sunday). I am not sure...but I think Hailey went down the water slide the most and probably 60-80 times!! She just wouldn't stop!! :) Even Ryan went down it (with Chris) and ME TOO!! It was fun! :) Here are a few pictures of swimming.

The 4 "older" kids swimming (Sarah wasn't with them) and Chris scaring Emily when she was coming down the water slide. :)


Hailey (AKA "The FISH") jumping in (the first one in the pool every time!!), and going down the slide.


Look...even I went down the slide a few times!! :)


Ryan surprised us with how much he enjoyed the water! :) By Sunday he was jumping in all by himself and swimming to the edge (all with floaties on of course). He isn't afraid to get his head under the water at all. Of course he did like the hot tub much more than the regular pool!! He was in there A LOT :)


Besides swimming, we did celebrate Christmas while we were there. The kids LOVED getting more presents of course! :) We **tried** to get a picture of all 5 of them, but Sarah and Ryan were NOT INTERESTED in that at all!! The 3 older girls did fine...I love the picture of them! :)


Presents!!! Hailey proud of her new "money" with a "P" on it (she thought for Pilcher, but really for First Premier Bank!! :) ). Sarah had to put her new shirt on right away and her new crocs too! :)


The 5 kids all got similar gifts from grandma and Papa. Ryan with his new crocs ... one side has a rainbow trout and the other side has a buck on it. :)


Funny story with Hailey and one present. She opened the box, and she posed all nice with a smile showing off her gift (the box was a box of mint candy I think). She didn't even look inside!, but sure had a nice picture and a nice smile on her face for not knowing what was in there. I told her to LOOK INSIDE! You can see she was much more excited for the real present!! :)


Saturday night we ordered pizza in for supper, and then I brought some perler bead crafts to work on. Even Becky and Brad made one!! :) The older girls had fun with it...Ryan just ate cereal and Sarah ran around! :)


Then...the unexpected! Papa won a stuffed animal from one of those crane machines for Sarah. Of course all the other kids wanted their own stuffed animal too so there was a mission! I think Brad got the next one. Okay...they should have stopped with just Sarah, but now you have 2...they would have to get 3 more!! :) I don't know the amount of money spent (50 cents for 2 tries)...but we had TONS of laughs trying to get them. Chris wouldn't give up, and finally all 5 kids had their own animals!! (we probably should have just ran down to Wal-Mart and BOUGHT 4 more! :))


As you can tell, we had a FANTASTIC time in Rapid City!! The kids all had fun, the adults had fun (thanks to "a little drink of Christmas"), and it was just nice to ALL be together!!! :) Thanks to everyone for driving and coming..........we are ready for another weekend ANYTIME they are! :)

One last picture of Papa & Ryan....too cute!!

Thanks again, Mom & Dad, for everything!!