Our Hotel and A Drive

Peanut was getting such poor naps during the days that we kept putting her to bed really early.  Then we would take the video monitor next door to our friends room and play cards while the kids watched a movie.  It worked out really well and the girls would fall right to sleep when we got back to our room.

After our day at Storybook Island we relaxed at the hotel for a bit.  There was a nice big porch area where the kids could play and the adults could sit and rock, read, visit, or play cards.

Miss L had brought lots of games to keep the kids entertained.

We ate dinner which turned K into a masked tortilla bandit :) and then headed off to try to spot the elusive herd of buffalo.

We skipped the Needles Highway this time and went straight down to the “Wildlife Loop” which was supposed to have herds of buffalo roaming free.  We saw two. Both completely alone and in wooded areas. I always thought they lived on plains and stuck together?

One.

Two.

We did see quite a few pronghorn, and when we were stopped to look at these a family came by in a pickup (going the other direction) and said they’d just seen 100’s of buffalo so we got going in hopes of seeing them!

But all we found was a few deer. :(

We must not be very good buffalo hunters. :P

We headed back to the hotel and Daddy read the girls some books before bed.

Next up: birthday!

Storybook Island

Warning: picture overload!  Miss L found an awesome place to spend our Thursday!  It was called Storybook Island and it was a free park put on by the Rotary club. The entrance looked like a castle, which the girls LOVED!

They were SO excited after driving by and seeing all the fun things to do there!

It really was like a little fairy tale land.  Every few feet there was another storybook character waiting.  The first ones we saw were the three billy goats gruff and troll as we came over the bridge. 

Then Boo was enamored with Rapunzel and “Eugene” above the entrance!

Humpty Dumpty was falling off the wall and onto their heads! :)

The kids had to dig in the sand for a few minutes.

Before running off to explore, and boy was there a lot to explore!  Here’s the crooked old man, with a crooked old house…

There’s the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker!

And Captain Hook’s pirate ship.

Close by was Peter Pan’s house where he lived with the Lost Boys.

Then just down the path we found the three little pigs, complete with the wolf trying to get into the brick house!

Each area was sponsored by different groups of the town.  A little tunnel led to the Hundred Acre Wood.

Peanut found someone just her size!

S, N, and K.

Cinderella’s coach!

Daddy locked in jail.

The Cat in the Hat’s house!

It was too wet to play so we sat in the house all that cold cold wet day.

Peanut fit right in with the dwarves.  Can you find her? :)

“Puppies” was one of the games the kids had been playing all week so they were delighted to find the 101 Dalmatians set.

How about one of them pic-i-nic baskets??

The girls kept seeing a little train riding around the park so when we finally made it over to the station we bought them tickets to take a ride.  Peanut had to be accompanied so I went with her.

Peek-a-boo!

Drinking fountain in the lion’s mouth.

My little Jonahs.

What an AMAZING place!  We were there for hours and we didn’t even hit each thing.  If we lived there we’d have to go at least once a week!  So neat!!!

And of course we just had to buy the girl’s a book at the gift shop!

The perfect day for my three bookworms. :)

Swimming and Ice Cream

The train pulled back into the station at about 3:30 so we headed back to the hotel for more swimming and a late nap for Peanut.  She was REALLY grumpy when she woke up after an hour and half and wouldn’t stop crying. Poor thing has a hard time when her schedule is disrupted.

I tried all the tricks, but she wouldn’t stop so I finally just stuffed her in her swimsuit (still crying) and took her down to join the other kids where she cried in my lap for a few more minutes before getting down to go sit in the water on the steps.

Then Daddy helped her jump in so she was happy.

Buggy was showing me some of her new tricks.

Back float.

And underwater somersaults. She can do 4 in a row!

And here’s Boo swimming across the whole pool. 

Later, on the way home at the hotel pool she swam for real, no life jacket! I was so proud of her!  I didn’t have my phone though so I couldn’t get a video.  That pool was 3 feet on either end and 5 in the middle and she started on one end and swam across the 5 foot part to the other side!  Yay Boo!  We’ll have to take her swimming and get some video soon. 

When we were on the train we saw a big sign on the back of a restaurant called the Chubby Burger that said 99 cent ice cream cones with your train ticket stub, so that night after dinner and showers we took the kids out for ice cream in their pjs.

It had a cute little counter where they waited for their cones.

Apparently in South Dakota you have chocolate, vanilla, or “twist” instead of swirl, as we call it.  There was another place right across from our hotel called the “Dairy Twist”.

No matter what the name the kids loved it!

Nothing better than ice cream before bed!