All Good Things Come to an End

 The boys trying to make some extra money by selling the golf balls Aunt Erin has helped them collect.  Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in selling anything.

 A moose we saw while hiking at Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

 Our view of Silver Lake while hiking to Twin Lakes.

The boys would say it was pure torture hiking to Twin Lakes, it was a pretty steep hike but they finally made it all the way.  We also saw a fox on our way up to the lake.

 

 All ready to head to the Salt Lake County Rodeo.

 Landon really was not scared at all when it came time for Mutton Bustin.  He did not last on top of the sheep for very long but he at least gave it a try.

 Steve and Lucas at the rodeo - yes we even got rained on and still stuck around til almost nine.

 The boys favorite part about hiking is stopping for lunch.  It gives them something to look forward to.  We really enjoyed the upper part of the Cottonwood Trail.

 Some of the only pics I have of the boys at 7 Peaks Water Park.  We tried to swim here every Tuesday this summer plus a few other days along the way.  Yesterday was our last time swimming here for the season and the boys and I were there for 5 hours!!

Laramie 2012 - Part 2

 Before going to Happy Jack to watch Steve finish the Laramie Enduro, a bunch of us rowdy folks headed up to Vedauwoo for a picnic and some more hiking.  Lucas, Landon and I were joined by Uncle Robert, Cousin Jenika, Kenny, Braeden, McKayla and Aunt Tona, AJ and Barley came over from Cheyenne to join us.

Cheyenne 2012 - Part 2

The boys and I headed back to Cheyenne where we planned to take in some of the festivities of Cheyenne Fronteir Days.  We went to one of the parades and attended the free pancake breakfast where I stood in the longest line of my life. 

We went to my sisters shop where we watched the Thunderbirds during the air show.  Cousin Kent was thankful for the distraction, can't you tell? Lucas and Landon ran around with little AJ playing cops and robbers with their new toy guns they had to have.

We went to Fronteir Park where we did lots of walking and window shopping.  Lucas and Landon were not following the rules and payed the price.

The boys got arm bands and were able to ride unlimited rides.  They loved it!!  Plus they had expanded the park so there twice as many rides from the previous years.

Aunt Tona even got to ride!!  We had so much fun.

Woods Landing Fire

 The boys and I took a drive one morning to another place I used to frequent as a child growing up in Laramie, Wyoming.  Woods Landing was the destination which had been a blaze just a few weeks before.  I was happy to see the country store was unharmed even though these trees directly across the street did not fare so well.

 One of the times I stopped to take pictures, a lady passing by stopped to see if we were ok.  I told her we were and that we were just looking around.  She happened to live on the land I was photographing and recounted her tale from the day of the fire.  She said there was a perfect line around her home where the fire fighters had sprayed water and everything outside that was burnt.  I was amazed by this woman who had been through so much and yet her spirits were so high. 

 It was good for Lucas and Landon to see first hand what could happen from just one little mishap.

Laramie 2012 - Part 1

We arrived in Laramie in mid July where we were greeted with a warm welcome from my mom and Taby.  The boys loved the fact that their great cousins Braeden and McKayla were just a couple of doors down and so they got to play with them everyday.  They enjoyed riding their bikes up and down the sidewalk, playing football, soccer and even managed to get in some video games.

We got to meet my niece Kilashandra's little boy Silas for the first time at Aunt Tina's house and the boys got to hang out and play with little Stacy.

Before hiking on Wednesday, I took the boys to the Ames Monument just down the road from Vedauwoo.  The Ames Monument marked the highest point on the transcontinental railroad and was dedicated to the Ames brothers who were Union Pacific Railroad financiers. 

I remember visiting this monument, located 20 miles east of Laramie, many times while growing up.  Needless to say the boys were not too impressed and didn't even want to get out of the truck.

We have been hiking on Wednesdays this summer and figured there was no better place than Vedauwoo to do this.

The boys love climbing around on all the rocks and just like the Ames Monument, I have been hiking here since I was knee high to a grasshopper. 

After our hike we stopped at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Monument which is 10 miles SE of Laramie.  It marks the highest point on I-80.