Boys and their Toys.

A clean post.

We have been hiking the Bridal Trail on Casper Mountain a couple times a week. We have gone later in the evenings to avoid the heat of the day. It has been beautiful.

Our evening entertainment.

I must put a disclaimer on this story. Eddie insisted I post this while I feel like there are some things a child does that need to stay unknown to most everyone :)...But to please my loving husband...

Eddie seems to think it is necessary to point out every time William farts and also to teach him to say "fart". This evening we were sitting around and William in the mist of playing passed gas. Eddie heard and immediately asked William if he had indeed farted. William looked straight at his father and said "fuck". Now every time you ask William if he farted, he will very politely say "fuck".

Hopefully our little man will grow out of this one and learn to properly pronounce the word "fart" very soon.

Morning activity.

William loves to color. I am not sure if he loves to draw with the crayons or just eat them. But either way it keeps him busy for a bit so what more can I ask for.

Lander. Our home away from home.

Friday after work Eddie came home and said we were going camping that weekend. We had talked about it over the week and decided to wait a few weeks and stay in town. But the weather was beautiful and we were both ready to get away and spend a few needed days on holiday. So we packed the truck up and left Saturday morning for Lander and the gorgeous Wind River Mountains.
Because the trip was so last minute we did not get to the Popo Agie camp site till almost 2pm. But thankfully there was a campsite left. We set up camp and then headed up the switchbacks into the mountain range. We found a mountain lake and some trailheads, parked and took off down the trail with William in the baby backpack. The hike was step and the terrain rocky. we hiked in about 2 1/2 miles and decided after we hike down this very long, steep hill that we should probably turn around because it was going to get dusk soon and the trail did not seem to be going anywhere. I also realised that my cheap cotton socks had given me blisters on both heels. So the hike back was a bit uncomfortable.
When we got back to the truck and the lake, William had to go swimming. The mountain lake was freezing, so we let him splash around for a bit, but as soon as his smiling lips were turning blue we took him out and headed back down the mountain to our campsite.







Eddie made dinner while I watched William climb up rocks and play in the dirt. In the mist of playing William ran off the asphalt path, tripped and skidded on the gravel. He now is sporting a good battle wound on his forehead and chin. But thankfully there was little blood and no deep scratched with rocks and dirt in them. William was tough and recovered very quickly and was back to playing in no time.





Sunday morning we went to the PCA church in Lander and it was such a blessing. It was so good to hear good scriptural preaching declared and be able to worship with singing psalms and hymns. It refreshed my soul.

Link to the Lander PCA church website - http://www.cpclanderwy.org

After church we went to the best restaurant in town. Gannett Grill. (http://www.landerbar.com)
They have homemade pizzas, locally raised beef hamburgers, sandwiches and salads. All of it is so fresh and delicious. They also have homemade microbrews from the Lander Brewing Company. William had fish'n chips with tangerine oranges. He enjoyed dipping all his food in the tartar sauce.





Before we went home we wanted to take one more hike. We drove back to Sinks Canyon and up to the Popo Agie Falls trail head. It was a short 1.5 mile hike to the falls but we started in the heat of the day (and it was a HOT day), the trail was a steady uphill climb, and there was absolutely no shade. It felt like forever. But the hard hike was worth it because the falls were gorgeous and we all waded in a swim hole with a natural rock slide.






Overall, a great weekend and how better to end a good trip than with some McDonald's icecream for the ride home.

A little Green in Wyoming

I finally have a small flower bed and planted a little garden this year. Unfortunetly I can not tell if it my lack of a green thumb or the fact I live in Wyoming that my garden is not flourishing. But either way, even though my tomato plants are afraid of heights and my green beans have been nibbled on by bugs, I have sweet peas! They put on this weekend and I am planning on topping a salad this week with homegrown peas.

Natrona County Fair

We made it to the county fair. On a nice Friday afternoon. We paid our $4 entry fee a were free to roam. It was William's first fair. The rides amazed him. We walked through all the stock barns. Looked at the pigs, cows, goats, alpacas, chickens and bunnies. William for some reason loved the chickens. We then made it to the petting barn. They had some very interesting animals. Dairy cows, Texas long horn, Watusi cow, lots of goats, ducks, chicks and more. Eddie bought William a cup of feed and they walked around giggling and feeding the animals. But the fair could not be complete without sitting on the old tractors and eating some greasy fair food.

Casper Parade Day

Last week downtown Casper was closed down for the big annual Casper Parade that kick-off of the PRCA Rodeo. William and I met some friends, the Meyers, downtown to watch the parade. There was candy, lots of loud firetrucks, floats and horses and water guns spraying the crowd. William loved the loud trucks.

Casper Mountain Hike.

Eddie and I have been trying to get out and hike Casper Mountian at least a few times a week. There are some great trails and the weather has been so nice it is a pity to stay indoors. This is one of the hikes that William actually walked with us. It was a 1/2 mile trail and I was surprised at how easily William kept up. He had his box of raisins and his sun hat on so he was set. We went at a perfect time. The mountain flowers were in full bloom and everything was extraordinarily green because of all the rain.

Summer Begins.

This is our first summer in Casper and though the thermometer does not register the temperature as higher than mid 90's it feels Hot! The sun is hot. The air is hot. It feels much warmer than a normal Moscow summer. I am not complaining, the sun has been wonderful. William and I have had many afternoons at the park but as of late the weather has called for a little cooler activity. William's new favorite time of the day is when we pull out the sprinkler on our front walk and he gets to run around in the water. How he loves it. He runs and screams and laughs and burns off some of his abundant energy.
We also found a great little swimming whole only 15 minutes away. Ednis State Park has a clean pond with a sandy beach and shallow waters which makes for a perfect afternoon adventure for William and the family. William is a born fish. He is a natural when it comes to getting in the water and thinking he can swim. Thankfully we have not only a life vest for him, but also a nice tube for him to sit in so we don't have to carry him around all the time. He loves to splash and kick his legs.





At the end of the day William always gets a shower because of the many layers of sunscreen we lather on our little white boy. No sunburn yet and I am so thankful.

William's birthday wishes to his cousin.

I thought it would be fun if I could get William on video saying Happy Birthday to his little cousin for her first birthday. It was a good thought.

Try #1


Try...#14-ish

Spring Camping

A weekend away. We drove to Lander, Wy to the Windriver Mountains. We camped at the Popo Aggie campsite in the Sinks Canyon. It was gorgeous. The weather was perfect and the mountains were green and fresh. We hiked around the sinks and checked out all the trail heads. Because it was still early in the season, the main road up the mountain was closed due to snow, but that did not slow us down. We enjoyed the canyon and trails that were open.









Our campsite was right near the Popo Agie River. We had enough room for William to run around without being to close to the water. And William did love the room. Be climbed on rocks and piled up sticks and tried to eat the dirt.

He even got to help dad make a fire...





and set up the tent.



That night we slept in the back of the truck. The temperature had dropped drastically and the camp ranger came round to tell everyone that there was a chance of snow. We were not too concerned.



But come morning, we woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground and large flakes still falling.



By the time we had breakfast there was a good 4-6 inches on the ground. Because Eddie's truck was only two-wheel drive, we thought it best to pack up and head into Lander.
We went to a great little PCA church were we met some wonderful people and even had lunch with a few couples.
We were not ready to go home yet since Monday was a holiday for Eddie, so we rented a motel room and enjoyed a lazy Sunday afternoon watching cable and our child tear apart the room.