South Dakota 3: Cousins

One of our favorite days while in South Dakota was the day we hung out with Nessa and her kids. Vanessa was my best friend from grade 8 all the way through graduation, and I remember being so happy when she married my cousin because I knew it meant she would always be my family. She and Matt now have two ADORABLE kids that are so good, so sweet, and completely loveable. I can't get enough of them! We call them our niece and nephew, we are pretty close to them. Rusty LOVES R and J, and would probably have hung out with them late into the night if I had let him!

We drove to their house and I set him down on the floor when we arrived. One of the first things he did was crawl across the floor to J and give him a big hug! It was so cute! R and J love entertaining Rusty, and spent a lot of time talking to him, cooing at him, and exclaiming how cute he was! One of the best moments was when R said, "Rusty, you're so cute!" and J said, "He's a WHOLE LOTTA cute!" Too adorable!

It was a fun day! We started the day at the Flinstone Theme park. The kids were excited to show Rusty all of their favorite places, and Vanessa and I were both shocked and laughed when Rusty laughed and laughed at the Flinstone cartoon that was showing in the "Bedrock Theatre."

After the theme park, we loaded up in the car and headed to Bear Country U.S.A. If you aren't from SD, let me explain this place. There is all sorts of wildlife-bears, elk, mountain goats,-roaming around inside of a VERY expansive fenced area. You drive your car through at a pace of about 1 mph or less, and the animals just walk around and lounge around you. Rusty was THRILLED. We kept saying, "Rusty, where are the bears?" and he would look out the window and bang on it when he saw one. Since we were going so slow, I let him stand on my lap at the window and he was so excited.

The kids were so good, and we promised them ice cream, so our next stop was Cold Stone Creamery! YUMMMY! It's so good! The girls all got the same flavor-cake batter-with different mix ins. Man, that place is just too delicious, I think I could go there every day! We found, however, that the size we got-medium-ended up being too much and had to throw a bit away. I know, can you believe I threw away ice cream??

The last stop of the day was a surprise for the kids. We decided to go to Storybook Island. I LOVED this place as a kid, and was so happy to see that it is still in great shape and still seems absolutely magical. The thing that surprised me the most was how much Rusty loved it! He giggled almost the entire time. I'm not kidding, the kid kept laughing when he would see the various characters or places. We got some adorable pictures of him with his cousins and I even bought him a cool toy at the end as a memory of this wonderful place. I think we will probably have to go back there in July when we are there.

I love Matt and Nessa and their kids. They are so much fun and we often wish that we lived closer to them. They are coming up here for a week long visit in August and we can't wait to spend so much time with them! J pretty much summed the day up when he said, "This is the best day ever!"