~Our visit to Rapid City, SD...and Memorial day at Mt. Rushmore!~

In some of the States we are traveling in right now...I'm struggling with major sinus allergies from all the Pollen floating around.  There must have been something blooming in MO and KS like was blooming when we lived in Argentina, for my eyes went CRAZY again!  Thanks to some tips from friends, I'm surviving!
And most days you can't see the floor in our van...what with toys, torn pieces of paper, empty water bottles, cosmetic bags, etc.....but Deputation is going good and for that we are thankful!  =)  I'm quite SURE it's Your prayers that are helping things go smoothly.
~On Deputation 2009 we met the dear Woodard family.   We were glad that it worked out for us to go back to their church and home again this deputation.~

~Back in 2009, We hit it off right away, and soon got used to Bro. Brent and his boys picking at us girls...we even learned to dish it right back!  =)
Here we are having family devotions.  We were so HAPPY to find out that Jesus is sending them a baby in October! =) ~

~Their church.  We loved the FUN old church windows hanging in front. ~

~We got there on Friday night.  Then, on Saturday Bro. Brent and their boys Travis and Levi took Phillip, Kimberly, Sarah, Noah, and Elijah out 4-wheeling.
Mrs. Nicki. Mary and I went to a thrift store that I used to shop at when I was home for the summer from GBS.  You see my Daddy pastored in Oelrichs, SD, and Rapid City (75 miles one way!!!) was the CLOSEST WALMART around....So that is where Daddy, Moma, and I went to do our once-a-month shopping!
So, it was fun getting to shop at the "Boy's Club" thrift store that I shopped at back in '92, '93, and '94.  It's the thrift store from which I got a lot of my items for my hope chest.  (Sorry, the pics of our ladies' time out, are on my camera.)~

~They all had A LOT of fun 4-wheeling! ~

~Levi and Noah~

~This picture of our 2 families was taken on Sunday morning, Memorial Day weekend.~

~Eating Sunday dinner together.~

~Bro. Brent and Phillip enjoying visiting.

~Then on Memorial day they planned a fun get-together at their house with their church people and our family.  We had a really nice time together, and there was lots of yummy food and fun games to enjoy too.~

~Then around 7:00 that evening, their family, a couple of their friends, and our family headed to Mt. Rushmore.  ~

~L to R: Travis, a friend named Heather, Levi, Sarah, Kimberly, Mary, Elijah, Mrs. Nicki, Noah, Mr. Brent, and another friend of theirs.  Phillip was taking the picture.~

~It was 10 mins. from Mt. Rushmore where Phillip asked me to marry him!!!! So, it was FUN being back there right before our 18th anniversary!!!  I'm way more in love with my MR. Wonderful NOW, than I could have ever dreamed way back then...and I Loved him with my WHOLE HEART back then.  =)
AND PLEASE NOTICE MY ADORABLE PURSE I'M CARRYING.  IT WAS MADE BY MY FRIEND BRITTANY!!!  You can go here to buy one!! =)
You can click on picture to enlarge!
[How did you like that, Brittany?  While on this deputation, I'm doing FREE advertisement for you, E.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. I go... by carrying my purse. =] 
I get comments and complements on it all the time!~

~Silly Noah acting like he was falling off the wall.~

~Our Sweet Sarah.  I got her little patriotic blouse/mini dress at Walmart.  It was a longer version....probably meant to wear with leggins.  But, I just cut the bottom off so it would look cuter with a jean skirt, and we used that extra strip of material to tie in her hair.  =D ~

~So NEAT!~

~When Mrs. Nicki and I were out thrift store shopping on Saturday, it was a rather HOT day!  So, I told her that if she took us by an ice cream place, I'd treat her, Mary and I to ice cream.   She introduced us to Armadillo's ice cream, and it was sure a TREAT!!!
So, on Tuesday when we left the Woodards house, I got directions and Phillip took our family to eat some ice cream from Armadillos, before we left town.  ~

~They are known for their yummy shakes.  This doesn't look very apetizing, but this "banana split" shake was yummy.~

~That day we drove back toward Mitchell, SD, on our way to El Dorado Springs, MO, for our next service.  Since we hadn't been camping as a family since Elijah was a few weeks old, we decided to camp out there in Mitchell for the night.  We knew it would be fun, we'd make memories, it'd be cheaper than a hotel, and we wouldn't have to worry about the BED BUG epidemic! =)
They had these fun 3 wheeled bikes to rent---$3.50 for a half hour!
However, since there were no other kids there at KOA that night, they let our kids use them for several hours, instead of just the normal "half an hour!"  =) ~

~The kids tent.~

~And our (Phillip, Mary, and I's) tent on the left.~

~Daddy went and got things to make S'MORES over the fire.  It was a FUN, YUMMY TIME!~

~After getting to bed after midnight, at 4:22 our body time...5:22 local time...Phillip woke up and heard rain drops hitting our tent, and Thunder and Lightning as well!!!  
So, we scrambled out of our beds, and in the midst of drizzling rain, and LIGHTNING we hurriedly grabbed kids, sleeping bags, lawn chairs, tents, etc. and THREW them in the van!
Since we were UNDER a TREE, I was PRAYING that Jesus would HELP US...each time I saw lightning Flash!!  I'm NOT the bravest person when it comes to Lightning!
We got everything SHOVED into the van and then it started POURING!!!
We then drove through a BIG STORM, HAIL AND ALL, and that is when we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and discovered that our camera was lying on the side of the SOGGY road that ran next to our campground back there in Mitchell.
We are VERY THANKFUL that we got to camp out, that Jesus helped us get our things put in the van before it really POURED the rain, and that we didn't get struck with lightning...not to mention how THANKFUL we are that Jesus helped our camera to be found!   =)
I don't think we'll ever forget that camping trip.  But, we had a lot of FUN and made memories that won't Quit!!!  Phillip, Kimberly, and I were being goofy and howling laughing while we scrambled to put everything inside our van in the RAIN, thunder and LIGHTNING!!!
~Our Cracker Barrel breakfast after our Unforgettable night of camping!~