July 2012

July 2012 ( the latter half) : The rest of July we kept ourselves busy with local events and activities. We picnicked on the mountain and hiked some of the trails on the weekend.

The boys and I went to the County Fair with some friend. Made sure to stop by the petting zoo to feed the animals. 

We also took advantage of the sunny days and went to Alcova lake to do some soaking.

August 2012:  Eddie's dream came true when we attended the Casper Hot Air Balloon Festival. Unfortunately the wind was too strong for any of the balloons to actually leave the ground.

We made a long weekend trip to the Medicine Bow Peaks and Laramie area. Though the weather was not fantastic for camping we still managed to have a good time. Hiked almost to the peak ( Elevation 12,014 feet) but bad weather caused us to have to turn around early.

Laramie. Wy

Vedauwoo Rock formations near Laramie 

Unfortunately our camping trip was cut short when I slipped while I had Duncan on my back. We headed home a night early because he was fussy and refused to put weight on his leg. Little did we know.....

We took him into Urgent Care the next morning when he still would not put any weight on it. After an x-ray we found out the poor little guy's femur was broke. They called in a specialist and she was so kind to come in on her day off. We were able to cast it right away! It was wonderful and we thought we were done and just waiting for him to heal. But the doctor called us in a few days later and told us because his fracture was high on his femur they though it best to put him in a spica cast. And yes, after hearing that news, I cried.

We made an appointment for a few days later. Friday morning came too soon. We went to the hospital early and met with the doctor and the anesthesiologist. After a LOT of fighting and some tears I was finally allowed to carry Duncan into the O.R., but I was not allowed to stay for the procedure. Duncan was a trooper and made it through the procedure with flying colors. Thankfully they were able to get away with putting a half spica cast on him. So down one leg and around the waist, so no broom handle! The next 6 weeks were long and painful. I am not sure if it was harder on me or Duncan. Because it was summer Duncan struggled with getting heat rashes under his cast, so dad came to the rescue. He rigged up a cast cooler . Duncan spent a few times each day hooked up to the vacuum getting his cast dried.  

Idaho Summer Holiday

July 2012:  We took our big family vacation for the year and made the big trek back to Moscow. We drove through Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Of course we had to stop in Butte to visit the Berkeley Pit. We  stayed in style in Billings for the night at a C'mon Inn, we had a room with a balcony that overlooked the hot tubs. Fancy. 

After a long 12+ hour drive over two days we made it to the lovely, green Moscow! As always my mother's gardens were amazing and we were so excited to see everyone. We spent a whole week drinking coffee at our favorite pub Bucer's, eating fresh goods from the Co-op, spent many an afternoon walking downtown and playing at the park.  Even went to the farmers Market on Saturday morning! Our 4th of July was full starting off with a dog show downtown ....(thought it was suppose to be a downtown parade). then our friend's hosted a 4th of July party at their lovely country home, and to end the day we had a fantastic 4th of July dinner with our dearest friends and family. 

William was able to spend a little while with Grandpa on the job site one day. This was a much anticipated part of our trip. William had been talking about Grandpa's backhoe for weeks and finally he was able to ride it.

One of the main reasons for this trip was to get our little Duncan baptized. Sunday morning he was welcomed into communion with us as we promised to raise him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord  (and thanks be to God with God' overwhelming grace we will strive to.)

We were blessed with beautiful days. Most evenings we spend picnicking on my parent's beautiful back patio, while the kids enjoyed grandma's new swing set. Also during our visit my Grandpa and Grandma Rawson drove over to say hello. It was a lovely surprise and we loved seeing them!

Walking downtown Moscow with Grandpa and Nanna

Before we left Moscow we were able to visit my Grandma Grace. Next we traveled down to Wallowa County to visit some more friends and meet up with Jamie and Sam( my sister and her husband.), but not before we stopped to visit my Great Grandma Ellison and to have her meet her Duncan (her great great grandson) It would be the last time we saw her. She passed away a few months later.

 Wallowa County. I love. It's beautiful. Full of good food, good music and good people. What more do you need?

We enjoyed some good food and beer and the local TG with Barley, who also hosted our little family..he even put a mattress on floor of his spare room for us. We felt very spoiled.

 The lake was cold and clean. We did some swimming. The Brann family hosted another fantastic potluck with singing, fireworks and a little dancing even. So much wonderful fellowship! The Hostetters opened up their amazing home to the rest of my family that followed us down there. We enjoyed the privacy of the ranch and also a little horseback riding with Auntie Laura.  It was party after party. The Tollefson's, as always, had a huge feast that the farm. We loved every minute of our stay. So many friends and family, it was hard to say goodbye.

Half a year in a post.

I am going to try and highlight the biggest events in our lives over the past year. With our new little bundle of joy along with William we were always busy. We did a lot of cross-country skiing. Proud grandparents came to visit (more than once) . We camped a few weekends this summer and had a lot of adventures each day....

January 2012:

 Going back a few days, my mother actually flew in on the 28th of December about 8 hours before Duncan was born. We were so grateful to have her there for two weeks And so sad to see her leave. My dad drove over at the end of her visit to come see his new grandson and his ever loving William.

Soon after Gillie came. She was such a wonderful help as well and William loved the company!  We were able to have Gillie over her birthday so we celebrated with a big chocolate cake and some snow shoeing on the mountain. As always we had a lovely time with her.

February 2012:

 After Gillie left my elder sister Jamie came! We were so blessed and were so glad to have her for the few days she came. She showered us with love and too much fun. We visited a few museums and did some shopping and showed her a bit of Wyoming. Her stay was not long enough!

Jamie was our last visitor for a while. It was just Eddie, the boys and myself. We did a lot of cross country skiing, attended an annual dog sledding race on Casper Mountain, and spent a lot of time with the busy boys. Duncan continued to grow as did William.

The end of February we took a weekend trip to the Big Horn Mountains to cross country ski.

March 2012:

March was pretty low key but we still took advantage of the outdoors and sunny days. Spending weekends sledding on the mountain, or on Alcova Lake shore. It was also a project month for Eddie. He designed and built both a roof rack for the Camry and a pallet bed for William. The boys also did a lot of brotherly bonding and William shared his love for books with Duncan.

April 2012:

 Peter came to visit. Met his new grandson. Saw Wyoming for the first time. We were able to take him to the Trails Museum and the Bridal falls. We walked downtown and saw the sites of our little town. Also we all took a road trip to see Alcova and Pathfinder Lake, Fremont Canyon,

Independence Rock and The Mormon Handcart Museum. It was such a treat having Grumpy come!

April 19th: Edward turned 32!

May and June 2012: We did a lot of hiking. Put a patio in front of the house. Starting building the pallet fence along the  side of the house. Enjoyed the sun. Went on walks and bike rides, played in our kiddie pool, painted, painted and painted the outside of the house.