I’ve just spent the last week with my dear little family.  I hope you’ll indulge me a bit as I get a little personal and share our trip with you.  How important it is to take time out to focus on the family.  I think I do, but realize how much I’m not as attentive as I should be when truly getting away.  Being in the Black Hills and out of internet range sure helped with that.  I was able to schedule some posts and check in just enough now and then to stay in touch.  Although taking three small children on a trip that included over 1,000 miles of driving isn’t exactly fun at all times, it was a fun and memorable time for my little family.

(On a side note, I realize I’m taking a little risk here in sharing these personal pictures.  I hope that those who read this post will be respectful of that and respectful enough to use the small pin button at the end of this post to share it.  I have hand picked an image for pinning that doesn’t include my family.  Thanks for your understanding and respect.)

Here’s a bit of what we did:

Cheyenne Frontier Days: Behind the Scenes Tour

A digging for her mammoth bone.

S digging for her mammoth bone.

V “helping” dig mammoth bones.

V and daddy ready for the gold mine tour.

Family at Mount Rushmore.

A and S at Devil’s Tower.

Overall, the smiles say it all.  Now that vacation is over, I guess it means that summer is about over too and school will be starting up for me and the little ones soon.  Some of you are even starting back this week…YIKES!  This post is mostly a reminder to me to take time for family and remember that the true reason I do what I do is for them and it helps a ton that I love what I do.

How did you relax and spend time with your loved ones over the summer?