Trips in May 2018! (St. Louis, ND, SD)

Ryan had a conference in St. Louis, Missouri in May, and he got to see a few sights! He saw the Arch:


The Gateway Arch Museum:


The Missouri Botanical Gardens:


At the end of May we traveled to North Dakota for Maren’s graduation and to visit family!
On the way we stopped for a picnic at this nice little park:

The first night we got there, Tyler and his kids came over too so the kids all had fun playing together:

Bonnie and Papa Jubitz came to ND for graduation as well, so Hyrum got to learn all about Papa’s old hardware store and this toolbox:

Reading time with Grandma!

The ND Schuetzlers got a hot tub, and our kids had a really great time playing in there for many, many hours. Except for Ivy, who wanted nothing to do with it:

We were happy we got to celebrate Maren’s graduation with her! Here’s the gift I made her:

We had to sit in a hot gymnasium for awhile before it started, and Ryan and Tyler started being really silly trying to tease Dallen who was in the band for the ceremony:

All the guys also wore Hawaiiam shirts, as Maren requested, and as they all did when Ryan graduated high school so long ago!
We love Maren and are so proud of her and excited for the future holds for her!

And we’re glad our kids got to know Bonnie and Papa a little better as well too:

On the way home we stopped in a hotel, where they had this fun slide:

The next morning we visited DeSmet, South Dakota, where the majority of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books were set. Having been a fan of the Little House books since I was little, this was a really fun stop for me (and the kids too, I guess)!

Playing on old-fashioned playground equipment:

Nothing but fields around:

Learning to wash clothes like the pioneers:

A barn with some carriages:

The kids got to ride a little pony and ride in a little carriage!

There was a wagon ride to the schoolhouse, where the kids got to drive the horses for a bit!

We got to be inside a one-room school house and learn about Laura’s teaching days:

The kids made corn cob dolls and jump ropes:

We also got to visit a little church that was built around the same time that Laura was little:

It was a fun little stop! We didn’t get to see any of the in-town things, so maybe we’ll be back another day. Overall, it was a great way to kick off the summer!