Though miles may lie between us, we're never far apart, for friendship doesn't count the miles, it's measured by the heart

The week of July 4th, we headed west toward Montana to meet up with the Shepherds.  We had not seen the four of them since November 2009, far too long!  Our time together reminded us why we always felt like family and why we must get together sooner next time!

On our way to Montana, we took the longer route down through South Dakota, stopping at the famous

Wall Drug in Wall, SD.

We then visited Mount Rushmore and drove through the beautiful Black Hills.

It was so amazing to see Jeff, Renee, Carter and Camden again.  As we waited for the fireworks show in Big Sky, the kids played and wrestled and ran!

They had so much fun just playing at the condo we rented.  Dane showed Carter how to play chess, even though he doesn't really know the game well himself!

Nora and Camden played Life.

We drove to Yellowstone National Park one day and saw some of the sights.

I enjoyed morning runs in the mountains which reminded me of the years we lived in Idaho.  I hadn't missed the mountains so much until this reminded me of all the loveliness of a morning mountain run.

The day before we left, the kiddos tried some fun activities at the resort.

We made the trip home in one long day, with only a few brief stops along the way.  Dane and Nora travelled so well and loved seeing all the new places, including the badlands of North Dakota.