Sioux Falls for the Fourth

Happy 4th of July from Sioux Falls! We headed out this morning around 945 and made it to Sioux Falls around 230 after a stop at Mac in Mankato. I was worried there might be flooding on the way, but all the water had receded enough to allow us to follow the google directions without a problem. You could see where part of the road had been washed out in places and the river was still very high, especially near LeSeuer.  

Lunch was good all around. Amir nursed while we ordered and ate our usual quarter pounders. They messed up Lyla's order twice, so she had to eat meat that had touched cheese. I did my best to scrape off all the cheese but she was still very hesitant to eat it. Masud did a great job getting her to eat it by promising a few fries after every bite and covering the meat in ketchup. It took a while, but she finally ate the whole thing. Us back seaters all took a nap shortly after getting back in the car and woke up just before we got to the hotel. Perfect!

Once we got here it was soccer time. We missed the France v. Germany game, but made it just in time to watch Brazil take on Colombia. Watching the World Cup at a hotel has become a bit of a tradition for us. We've done it since before we had the kids and now look at us -- chillin' as a family of four! Lyla did her Legos and some coloring and painting while Amir played with Pooh, ate, and napped. Masud was, or course, glued to the game.

After the game we headed to Falls Park. It was a perfect day outside and we had a blast playing on the rocks and walking around the falls. Lyla loves her new sandals and wanted to wear them despite our encouragement to stick with her boots and shoes. She did a great job climbing all over the rocks as we took turns helping her play adventurer.

Since I had Amir in the baby bjorn, we left the stroller by the sidewalk and ventured out together as a family. It soon got too windy for him, even in the carrier, so I went back to the trail and watched Masud and Lyla explore. I love watching them together. Masud is so good a encouraging her to take new risks while making sure she's safe at the same time. 

Amir fell asleep after our hiking adventures and took his turn in the stroller to nap. This was his first time riding in the stroller without the infant carrier insert. He was asleep the whole time and did very well until it was time to walk back to the car and the wind was blowing over him, at which time Miss Lyla was tired and wanted to ride again anyway. We've decided a double stroller is probably in our future.

Lyla and I took a turn on the rocks a little further down the falls. She wanted to lay out and relax like the  girls she saw next to us. That didn't last long and soon she was ready to climb again. Masud took pictures of us from the other side of the river -- a nice surprise when I uploaded the pictures this morning (it was 2:30 am and is now 3:10). We're in the second photo below. Look for Lyla's hot pink shorts just to the right of the falls and rock cliff.

The park started to get busy as the night went on, so we headed back to the hotel. It was a lot of fun to enjoy the falls and the park with red, white, and blue bunting decorating the lookout tower and patriotic songs playing over the park speakers. 

After dinner at Taco Bell we came back and the big kids went to the pool while Amir had his dinner. We joined them when he was done. The pool area is small but clean and Lyla had a blast swimming with Masud as always. The pool was cold and I didn't want to get in. I convinced Lyla to sit with me in the hot tub for a few minutes while Masud kept an eye on Amir. When Amir started crying I had to get out so Masud took over. 

Lyla decided she wanted to get back into the cold pool and headed for the ladder in the shallow end. Masud has been helping her gain confidence slowly stepping down the ladder and backing into the pool where she can touch. It's exciting to see her learning to be comfortable with the water, but tonight we were all scared when she ventured into the pool by herself and slipped on the bottom rung. My aversion to the cold water vanished as I jumped in to save her from going under the water (it was only 42 inches, but she's only 42 inches tall and has a hard time relaxing her body enough to float in the water). Since I was in the pool after that, she and I played motor boat for a little while and then got out.

After we changed into our jammies we went out to the parking lot to do some sparklers and poppers. Other people were doing fireworks too and it was fun to watch as they lit all kinds of different ones. It was windy and I had a hard time lighting the sparklers, but finally got some of them to ignite after hiding behind a car to block the wind. Lyla was too scared to hold one for long and mostly just watched while covering her ears as the louder fireworks went off around us. She liked the poppers, but by that time Amir was getting cold so we did them in big bunches and went inside. 

Masud read his book, Lyla watched clips, and I watched tv while feeding Amir. I didn't even realize it was 10:30 and time for us all to hit the sack! All in all it was a super fun yet relaxed family fourth. I love our weekends away and the special memories we always seem to make just bumming around!