Labor Day weekend

I am so pleased that all the talk about a visit between our friends, the Wardyns, and us, turned into reality. Over the Labor Day weekend, our good friends made the six hour drive with their four kids...in their small van...after work...to come and see us. Luckily, they have older kids or perhaps they wouldn't have come since we know all too well how difficult it is to travel with young (whiny) ones.

They arrived on Friday evening and we allowed our kids to stay up until 930 to play. The next morning the kids - Daniel, Emily, Rachael and Jon - were all up early awaiting our kids exit from their room.

Noah was so pleased. He just loves them.

Terry made me and Becki mocha's with the white chocolate they brought us. We had been missing the Cash-Wa stuff (way better than Ghirardelli's i can tell you) so they brought some in order to replenish our store and as a birthday gift to Terry.

Then we headed out on a little tour of Rapid City. First we went to Canyon Lake and then to my grampa's house where we rented the first three months after arriving here. They declared we made the right decision in a house (they love it just like we do).

Next we went to Dinosaur Park to climb on stegosauruses... See Terry's feet?

...and to get a good view of the city. Our house is back in those trees to the far right somewhere. This is Rachael and she just graduated last spring and published her first book as well! I am currently reading it and am hooked (they are a homeschooling family that we majorly look up to).

Saturday afternoon was spent shopping, making chocolate chip cookies (somehow my cookies earned quite the reputation in Gburg), homemade pizza and The Hunger Games. Sunday morning after church and some chinese we ended up watching How-it-Should-have-Ended videos on youtube. The Wardyns fast from all television and video games during August and were ever so pleased to break their fast with us.

That evening we went downtown to show them the new Main Street Square with it's cute shops and fountain. We also had some yummy custard that put Samuel and Mommy over the whiny baby edge.

George Washington is their favorite president. Though Shawn does look a little weirded out.

After a game of Settlers of Catan we got down to what we all really enjoy the most - Star Trek. We stayed up til like midnight.

Monday morning we left their kids with ours (how nice to have older kids) and went to check out a new (to them) van. I love this photo of Daniel with Samuel.

Ta-da! We washed it, vacuumed it, packed it up and watched them drive away. Noah immediately burst into tears, which was too much for me to take, and I cried too. We used to cry when our families would leave after visiting us in Nebraska. Now we cry when our friends leave us in South Dakota!