South Dakota

At the end of August we hit the road for 5 weeks.  Our first stop was South Dakota, so we split up that drive...

We actually packed sandwich stuff so Oliver got to eat like this.  It was pretty much the greatest day for him.

Snuggle time in the hotel.

The first place we played was Northridge Baptist in Mitchell, SD.  We led worship and shared some songs for both services and these people were so kind.    

We will definitely be making it a regular stop!

We left after church and drove to Red Owl, SD to stay with family.  They live on a ranch and Oliver loved watching the cows eat and watching the tractor bale hay.  And riding the 4-wheeler.  (Once Mama agreed that it was okay.)

Our family took us to see the sights.  Mount Rushmore is breathtaking.  Seriously amazing.

 *note: I was 10 weeks pregnant and already showing a little and when I saw this I was like, "well, people are going to be wondering!"  Sure enough, my sister was!

We drove through the Black Hills and saw some buffalo.  They do not smell very good.

You just have to let them get out of the way on their own!

Then, Crazy Horse.  

We were in the area the whole week, so we were able to see more family!  They also have a ranch and Trent hopped up on that horse.  I said, "please do not break your arm.  I cannot play guitar."

Oliver was not a fan, but we made him ride the horse.  Solid patenting right there.  He ended up liking it a little (ha!) but was really more interested in all the rocks.

On Wednesday, we made the short trip to Rapid City to play at Big Life Church.  They put us up in a historic hotel, The Alex Johnson, and it was really neat.  It apparently is haunted.  So you better believe we got all prayed up before bed.  We experienced zero paranormal activity, thank you Jesus.

The show was a great one!  Packed house and a responsive crowd.  

Jamie put the show together and she was fantastic.  She's the program director at KSLT in Rapid City and we love her.

Leaving the next morning.  I just love this.  It looks like he's hailing a cab!

On our way out of town, we stopped at Story Book Island.  It is incredible.  And FREE!  It was really hot, so we didn't stay long.  

That night, we had a show at Union Center Baptist in Union Center, SD.  It was a last minute thing, thrown together by family and was amazing.  Another packed house with a fun crowd!  

All of Ginny's "sister-cousins."

And their families.  The blonde upfront is who Oliver would not leave alone.  

We had such a good time with family, some we had never met.  Good people up there =)

Next stop was Sioux Falls for The LifeLight Festival.  Oliver was with a sweet sitter all day.  I found her through mutual friends on Facebook and it was so nice to not have to chase him all over the festival grounds.  Kind of a date day =)

The first stage we played was a low-key coffee shop vibe.  It was a great turnout and people really liked it!  (Yay for new fans!)  And I found a Baylor mom!

Our next time slot was at a bigger stage which we were super excited about.  Also exciting?  Seeing Jon Foreman perform.   Bummer was we had to follow him, which meant a lot of the crowd left.  Boo.  Still a fun time, though! 

And then when we were finished with our set, I almost tripped on the cajon mic.  So, that was fun.

We left LifeLight and drove to Yankton.  We led worship and shared music with Discovery Church.  Another great SD stop!  Sweet people and the pastor wants us to bring our golf clubs next time!

We cannot get over how awesome South Dakota was.  The people, the scenery, the shows.  Such a blessing.

Our next stops were in Missouri and Arkansas and Texas (stay tuned)... but until then, I'll leave you with these sweet ones.

Helper.