Old friends, New Friends

A high school friend of Eric's flew into Ellsworth AFB and was kind enough to show us the EA-18.   All of the kids enjoyed checking it out, even Eli our youngest.  Before we knew it, he was racing up the ladder looking for a ride.  This was my first time meeting Joe, but it was great to put a name with a face and hearing all about his adventures.  

Day in Spearfish, SD

Since we know that our time here in South Dakota is coming to a close, we decided to tackle some of our bucket list items.  We choose two challenging hikes, the '76 Trail and the Annie Creek Trail.  Since they were advanced hikes, we left the younger two with a sitter and explored the Black Hills with the Ethan and Gracie.  They absolutely loved it which I'm not surprised since they seem to thrive in the outdoors. 

Ethan and Gracie loved driving through the potholes to get to this next hike which was a straight shot down this cliff.  However the waterfall, rock formations and secret caves made the kids happy and the hike worth it. 

We finished off our day at Dough Trader which happens to be the cutest pizza restaurant I've ever been in and the pizza was delicious!  I didn't want to leave and will for sure be going back before we move.   It's in Spearfish which is about an hour away, but worth the drive. 

Elis turns FIVE!

Turning FIVE looks so sweet on this little guy! 

We had a great day celebrating him and doing all of his favorite things.  To celebrate his special day we went to the  biggest park in our neighborhood for fun and cake.   Since he can't have eggs,  I choose to make Oreo Cake Bars and it was such a hit with him that I will be making it for him more often.  When Eli has no problem sitting down at a park surrounded by all the fun activities just to finish his serving, you know that it was that good!