Labor Day Weekend

     As usual, our church's Family Camp took place from the Thursday through Saturday before Labor Day.  We have such a great, relaxing time there!  We were a little worried about how Nehemiah would do with sleeping in a cabin, and being in a different place, but he did really well for the most part!  The only problem we had was that he did not want to go to sleep at night...he would lay in his bed and kick around and smile really big at us!
     Pastor Neil Hannahs from Aberdeen, SD came to preach.  He had great messages on the family and other things, and the Lord worked on our hearts.  We were also able to do a few fun things during those three days.  There was almost always a game of volleyball going on, and we were able to take part in many of those.  We also took a hike with my good friend Rachel, her sister, and another lady in our church.  The hike we took was around Sylvan Lake, which is a very beautiful lake in Custer State Park.  Another fun part of camp was the late night game times!!  There was always a lot of laughing going on!  It was a great weekend, and we are looking forward to Family Camp next year!
     Since we had to buy a one week pass to go into Custer State Park for our hike, Tyler and I decided to use it and do another hike by ourselves on Labor Day morning.  We got up early, dropped off Nehemiah with his favorite babysitter Madison, and off we went.  We hiked up to Harney Peak, which is the highest point in the Black Hills at 7,242 ft.  It took us about 3 1/2 hours to hike...I WAS NOT IN SHAPE FOR IT!!  I have been trying to get myself back in the swing of things, as far as working out goes, since I had Nehemiah, but I don't think I was quite ready for that hike.  I did finish it, though, and am still pretty sore!  I am very glad I did it, because there was some beautiful views as we hiked.  From the top, you can see four different states!  Part of my hiking adventure was getting stung by a bee at the top!  We spent the evening of Labor Day with a family in our church, and then went home early so that we could iron our uniforms, give Nehemiah a bath, and get ready for our first day of School!!
     It is now the third day of school, and I am already tired!:)  I am enjoying it, though, and am glad to be back on a schedule. My little kiddos have already made me laugh several times by the funny things they have said to me.  I know that time will go by so quickly that before I know it the year will be over!  Next week we get 2 1/2 days off to go to the ACE Christian Educators' Convention in Colorado.  The kids are definitely excited about that!:)  We will try to keep you posted as the school year progresses!

 

At the top of Harney Peak

 

 

If you can see the tiny little tower in the distance, that is where we were hiking to!  It was very discouraging to see that!

 

 A very narrow tunnel that we drove through in Custer State Park.

 

On our Sylvan Lake Hike

 



 

 

Sylvan Lake Hike

 

 

Tyler acting very grown-up

 

Since Nehemiah would not sleep, he got to stay up and play games with me!

 



 

Nehemiah's bed at camp

 

 

The Betz brothers doing a skit...they did a great job!

 

 

Taking a break from volleyball

 

 

Staying with Madison so that Daddy and Mommy can play volleyball

 

 

One of the many volleyball games

 

Nehemiah with his buddy, Bobo the Monkey