A Visit with Great Grandma

While in Wyoming, the younger kids and I went the few blocks down the street to my Grandma's house to introduce her to Lilyanna.  Happily my cousin, Becky, and her family were visiting as well.  Her daughter, Harper, is a week older than Lilyanna and just as physically precocious.  It was really fun to see them play together, and great to see Becky again after so many years.  Lilyanna snuggled right up to her Great Grandma Bradshaw.  It was very sweet to watch.

Natural Corrals

Natural Corrals-one of our favorite places to go in WY.  This is 15 mins from my parents' house.  Wyoming is amazing and breathtakingly beautiful.  It's a stark beauty.  But it is Beauty.

Caleb was fearless and scampered all over the hills like a mountain goat.  (MY child.)

My boys and their cousins hunting through the dried clay for bones.

Look at the huge pile of huge bones my children found!!

Okay.  They were only this big.

This is how high up I was when I scampered up to the top!!  I always feel like I'm in a Ford commercial when we're climbing out in the hills!

Prairie Dogs

"What are YOU lookin' at?"

taken by our new friends from California.

I have no great love for prairie dogs.  They are an extremely prolific animal that take over vast quantities of space making it dangerous for horses and every time I see a colony of them, they make me want to play "whack a mole".

However, on our drive from Denver to our destination of Lyman, WY, we stopped at a rest area that featured a whole colony of prairie dogs who are extremely tame.  It made time at the rest stop much more enjoyable as my boys scampered all over the place trying to see where the next one would pop up.

There was a large van full of people there dressed in lovely billowing clothing with lots of jewelry hung on hemp.  Without censoring myself for judgement, I immediately thought, "THOSE people are from No. California."  A glance at the license plate confirmed it and they all decided to make friends with my children and me as we watched prairie dogs.  It was very amusing to explain to them, that, yes, it is okay to pick a sprig of sage brush.  Sage brush can more than take care of itself.  If it can survive the winters of Wyoming and poison every plant around it, some California hippie wasn't going to hurt it.  (Keep in mind that I and two of my children were dressed in tie-dye that day and I would move to northern California in a heartbeat if given the option, but for some reason, that day, I was feeling smug about knowing so much about Wyoming, a state that I normally make fun of whenever possible.)

We had a fun time chatting about life while the kids and a few of the adults ran around chasing prairie dogs and had an all around pleasant time with one another.

If you ever get the chance, stop by.  It's the Bitter Creek rest stop at mile 144 on I-80 west bound.

Denver, CO

These kids are far too cool for their own good.

So, I have no pictures of our friend, Linnea, to whom this rad scooter belongs and who invited me and four of my children to come stay with her while we trekked west.  AND who made us dinner including homemade ice cream AND took my kids for rides on her scooter because she is fabulous like that.  Linnea is also famous for getting me to paint my toenails a few years ago (the last time she invited us to stay at her house).  I've been doing it in warm weather ever since, and really the world thanks her for it.   AND for encouraging me to start running.  Hm.  Linnea is responsible for a lot of things in my life...

A BIG HUGE THANK YOU TO LINNEA AND ARTUR FROM THE SMITHS!!!!    

still churning the ice cream!!!