The Ainsworth's: 11/13/11

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Girls Day in the Canyon

At the beginning of October, a few girls that I graduated high school with left the kids and husbands at home for the day and took advantage of the amazing weather and beautiful fall colors with a drive up Spearfish Canyon. We did some mild hiking (since 3 of us were pregnant) and just enjoyed the company and sunshine. We drove through the canyon, stopped at Louie's for lunch, grabbed some amazing truffles at Chubby Chipmunk and then drove back through the canyon. It was such a great day and a great way to catch up with old friends. It will definitely be an annual thing that we do.


Bridal Veil Falls


Anya, Averie, Me, Nicold, Trish & Jess


Spearfish Falls

Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Santuary

In September we went to the Spirit of the Hills Wildlife Santuary for their family day. We went last year and had a blast so after taking a stroll downtown Spearfish for the Harvest Festival we went to check it out. We love the sanctuary and it's great that it's so close to us. All of the animals there have been abused or neglected and it's nice to know that they are getting such good care now. Taylor loved all the animals and even got to ride a "big" horse for the first time. She was a little hesitant to get on with a stranger but after we found out that his name was John just like her daddy she jumped right on and loved every minute of it.

My co-worker April and Taylor checking out the donkeys

Riding the train

pretty girl

Hercules the lion

Storybook Island

I love Storybook Island! It a free place to take kids in Rapid City and has been around forever. It's full of storybook themed buildings, statues, rides, etc. There are pictures of me and my cousins there when I was little. So fun! Taylor had a blast running around and exploring and best of all the train and jumpy castle. I didn't get many pics but here are a couple from our fun afternoon...

Our little girl is 3!!!

Our baby girl turned 3 in September (the 6th)!! I can't believe how fast this time has gone! She's such an amazing, energetic kid and we couldn't be more proud of her. Even though she is wild and crazy and likes to entertain everyone, she has such a kind heart and is very lovey. I think it's the best of all worlds. We're pretty blessed.
We had a party for her the weekend before her actual birthday. Her Grandma Patty and Papa Stan came to help us celebrate and Taylor got to open their presents early. Here she is sportin' her new bike helmet.

And here's Papa sportin' the new helmet. Not the best fit. Haha

Here's some pics from her party. We had it at the park in our neighborhood and rented a bouncy castle/slide for the kiddos. It was an ice cream sundae theme so we had a make your own sundae bar with lots and lots of toppings. I made cupcakes that looked like sundaes too.

Taylor had a blast with the jumpy castle however she got a little crazy and started doing flips down the slide and jumping over the edge. The kid is nuts and has no fear! Yikes!