Fun In Riverton

Why drive straight home from Rawlins when you can detour through Riverton? We decided to go visit Ashley and her family for a few days on our way home from Rawlins. We had tons of fun, including an unexpected camping trip!

This would be one of the best pictures ever of Melissa and Elise if it weren't for the fact that it is a little blurry! Still cute, though. 

 Elise is quick to latch onto people who will hold her and play with her. Brynne stepped right up to the challenge and thoroughly enjoyed being an awesome older cousin to Elise!

 

 Ashley and Derek were willing to go through all the extra work of collecting camping gear for our family (since we hadn't traveled with any) to join them for a night of camping at Popo Agie Campground in Sinks Canyon State Park. We stopped to eat pizza and play along the way, which is when I took this picture of Melissa and Ashley.

 Brynne was a great helper when it came to helping Uncle Derek set up the tents! (It didn't take her long to get black all over her face - she plays the role of camper really well.)

 Brynne took a little break to throw rocks in the river with Cousin Marshall.

 I took this picture of Melissa because she was so dirty -- dirt on face and clothes, food in hair, etc. -- but you can't see all that in this picture for some reason. Just super cute like always! :)

The kids had a great time playing on a huge bridge that went over the river right by our camp. If you look carefully, you can see Brynne in her pink shirt standing on the bridge and the water down below and to the left a bit. I took this picture standing in the middle of our campsite.

 This cute picture of Ashley and her kids shows the bridge and the river well. I absolutely loved falling asleep to the sound of the rushing water!

It was a lot of work to set up camp for just one short night and to set up camp while simultaneously keeping kids away from water and other hazards, but I am really glad we went! It was our only camping trip this summer and my girls and I love camping! And it was Melissa's first time camping ever! I felt bad loading all the dirty stuff into Ashley and Derek's car and then leaving them to take it all home, but they were good sports. Thanks for the fun memories Waltons!

Wyoming Weather -- Love It or Hate It

We made it safely to Wyoming and have been enjoying our visit. The only real problem is that it has been cold and windy. Anyone who knows Wyoming knows this is not unusual, but it's also not what I was hoping for. By this time last year it was in the 90s, but this week has been much colder. In fact, yesterday it actually even snowed! Yes, snow in Wyoming in June.

When Morgan and Brynne noticed the snow, they decided to put on their warm coats and go out to play in it. Brynne could hardly believe that I had forgotten to pack their gloves! I was smart enough to pack several pairs of pants and warm coats, but I'll admit I didn't think we'd need the gloves...

The only warm day we had (over 70 degrees) was so windy that I seriously had to stand bracing myself so the wind wouldn't push me back. That day my friend Ruth was visiting from Salmon with her kids, and we decided to brave the wind and take the kids to the park. I think the kids didn't mind, but we had all sorts of sand blowing in our hair and eyes -- very annoying.

The worst thing about the wind is that it's nearly impossible to exercise in. It can be done, yes, but it's extremely unpleasant and difficult. I planned on getting out to run at least four days/week while I was here, but I haven't been able to do a thing. I'm used to going to the gym for 1 1/2 hours/day Monday through Friday, so my body is hating this weather! I'm going to have to start getting creative.

I looked at the 10-Day forecast for Rawlins this morning. I was pleased to see that the yucky weather and wind are supposed to slowly go away. By Saturday it will finally be in the 70s with only a normal amount of wind. All next week it stays in the 70s and should be nice.

I got curious and just checked to see what the weather is like in Spanish Fork -- hello! It's supposed to be in the 90s next week. I'll be glad to be in Wyoming, outside enjoying the 70s while the folks back home are stuck inside because of the heat. And so it's true, on a rare day the weather in Wyoming actually comes through for you. :)

P.S. Lee has flown more hours, but I haven't been able to make the change using my parent's computer yet. He only needs about 435 more hours!