Loving Summertime in the Black Hills

I heard cicadas this weekend for the first time this season and was so pleased. In this area, cicadas are one of our "sounds of summer" and it made me happy all over again that at last we are in the full summer swing. There is much to love about the Black Hills in summer -- everything is super green, the weather is balmy, the days are long, the creeks refreshing, there are super crazy thunder/hail storms and best of all, we can go outside without layer-upon-layer of clothing on! I am trying to soak all of this in.

We also got to celebrate Jason last month for Father's Day which was great. We sent him on an overnight solo backpacking trip into the Black Elk Wilderness area for the weekend. The kids and I hiked around beautiful Sylvan Lake and then they made him one of his favorites, cherry cheese pie! (pretty much all on their own!)

Other big news is that Mabel learned to ride her pedal bike! Pretty exciting milestone for her (and us!)  We've also started having outdoor playdates with a few friends. This has made our small world feel just a tiny bit more normal which has been a huge blessing.