Adventures in Wyoming... (Part 5)

We just got done celebrating Cowley Pioneer Days. My older sister and her boys came to spend the weekend and also some other extended family members came home. It was so good to see some family that I had not seen in years. We visited, ate good food, laughed, went to the mountains, and enjoyed some good 'ol small town fun.

This was so funny- we were bringing stuff from the car into the house after our long day of at Five Springs and I cam back into the house and saw Bella just sprawled out on the entry floor asleep. This is how you know that they had a really fun filled day!

Logan, (notice her striking the pose) Alyssa, and Bella on the hiking trail.

Me and Bella stopping to smell the flowers. There is time to do that here in Wyoming. :)

Grandma Peterson, Bella, and Alyssa made it to the top!

Me and the girls up at Five Springs picnic area.

Some of my favorite people in the world- Uncle Thomas, Aunt Laurel, and their kiddos, Logan and Griffin. We had such a great day with you guys!

A shot of the springs that we hiked up to.

Alyssa, Logan, and Griffin playing in the creek.

My girls and grandma Peterson.


Alyssa lining up for the kiddie parade. Doesn't she look festive!


Cousins- Carter and Quinton pulling Bella and Garrett in the wagon at the kiddie parade on main street of Cowley.

This is at about 1:00am when me and Tamara got finished decorating the kids stuff for the kiddie parade. Do you think we were a little delirious?? The things we mothers do to bring joy to our kiddos. YIKES!

Cousins- Katie, Bella, and Alyssa having a princess fashion show!

This shot is for my husband who hates this hat. He thinks it looks too much like a communist hat. HAHAHA! Love ya!

Beauty All Around Me...

When I was growing up in the Big Horn area and I saw things like the mountains everyday, I'm sure I took the beauty that surrounded me forgranted. Now that I don't live around here, when I come for a visit, I am surprised by how much I truly love about the area here. The other day when the girls and I drove over the mountains to Sheridan, we stopped and took in the scenary. Here are just some of the beautiful things that we got to see.

This is just outside of Lovell Wyoming right before you get to the foot of the mountains.

Wild flowers are all over the Big Horn mountains...

Stopped at a scenic point at the very top of the Big Horns...

Wyoming is famous for lots of sagebrush...

Adventures in Wyoming (Part 3)

Me and the girls drove over the Big Horn Mountains to Sheridan Wyoming and spent the week with my sister and her boys. We had a great time and I had forgotten how beautiful the mountains and this area really are. It was perfect weather for this trip, and we did a lot of fun things together. Enjoy a peek into our fun week!


Alyssa got to ride a horse - bareback with a friend of my sisters. This horse's name was Toad. Alyssa was really nrevous when she first got on him, but then she saw how tame and gentle he was, and she road him like a regular cowgirl after that.

Carter, Alyssa, Bella, Garrett, and Quinton at a park in Sheridan

The gang having delicious rootbeer floats on Tamara's back patio.

Throwing rocks in a creek by the park. There is a lot of FREE FUN in small towns!

Alyssa riding her very first rollercoaster! She insisted on riding it alone and at first she was really loving it- then it started going really fast and she started looking like she was going to get sick. It was pretty funny!

Playing in Tamara's back yard...

They had the coolest play area in their yard.

Alyssa, me, Carter, Quinton, and Tamara went to the Sheridan Rodeo one night. It was Alyssa's first rodeo and she LOVED it! She kept asking me, "which one am I going to ride?"

The wild indian horse races...these were crazy to watch!

We brought a homemade candy card for Quinton because two days before we came to visit...he broke his arm. Poor Quinton will be in a cast all summer. :(

Home in the Works...

My husband tells me that he has been asked A LOT about the progress of our new home. So I thought I should post about it for all those inquiring minds who want to know.
The house is moving right along now. It is fully framed and the roof is going up as of today, and that should all be done this week. It is really amazing how fast these guys move. Rob has been stopping in and checking up on things on his way home from work. He has been able to speak to the men working on the framing/roof. He was very impressed with them and says they are doing a great job. That of course put my worries at ease. It is hard to be so far away when something as big as this is going on.
Everything is right on schedule and we are so excited to move into our new home in September!


One day it looked like this...

This very next day it looked like this...


Above picture is a shot of the kitchen/living area...

Above picture is showing framing in the bedrooms...

Obviously the front of the house...three car garage (yeah for Rob!)

Finding My Balance...

A dear friend of mine from Tulsa emailed me a part of a talk given by Henry B. Eyring. It hit me like a ton of bricks and was just what I needed to hear. As soon as I read it, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the amazing men that the Lord has called to lead and guide His Latter Day Saints.
For me, as a Latter Day Saint woman, young mother, and part-time working mother, I have way TOO MANY demands on my time. I have TOO MANY things that I feel I need to get done, but TOO LITTLE hours in a day to get them all done. I am a goal oriented person, (my husband likes to call me the task master) I am a list maker, and I like to check them off when I have completed something of that list. But a lot of times even I have a very hard time crossing those things off my list. This really frustrates me!
How do I find a good balance between church callings, kids, husband, work, house, and still manage to have a little time for myself? Who better to look to for advice than a man of who is called of God to do so?

If you are in need of a little balance in your life, please read these uplifting words of Henry B. Eyring:

I realize that there are some, perhaps many, for whom my urging to capture leisure time cuts like a knife. You feel overwhelmed by the lack of time. . . Rather than finding ways to capture leisure time for learning, you are trying to decide what to leave undone. There is another way to look at your problem of crowded time. You can see it as an opportunity to test your faith. The Lord loves you and watches over you. He is all-powerful, and He promised you this: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). That is a true promise. When we put God’s purposes first, He will give us miracles. If we pray to know what He would have us do next, He will multiply the effects of what we do in such a way that time seems to be expanded. He may do it in different ways for each individual, but I know from long experience that He is faithful to His word. . . . I cannot promise academic success or perfect families. Nor can I tell you the way in which He will honor His promise of adding blessings upon you. But I can promise you that if you will go to Him in prayer and ask what He would have you do next, promising that you will put His kingdom first, He will answer your prayer and He will keep His promise to add upon your head blessings, enough and to spare. Those apparent prison walls of "not enough time" will begin to recede, even as you are called to do more. (Ensign, Oct. 2002, 20-21)

4th of July in Wyoming...

Fourth of July was very different than what we are used to, mainly because Rob wasn't with us. But it was very enjoyable as well. All my siblings and their kids (Except Olivia, we missed you sissy!) came over to spend the long weekend together. We ate good food, played games, the kids played in the backyard, we drove to Red Lodge Montana and had a picnic and watched a parade, and we of course had some fun fireworks. Here are a few pics of our weekend!


Me and Bella outside in my mom and dad's front yard. Bella turned 20 months old this weekend, and she is such a big girl now!

The Budweiser Clysdale (spelling?) horses in the Red Lodge 4th of July parade. They were HUGE!

Alyssa waving at the cowgirls and cowboys on their horses. She was so excited!

The family salutes the flag and the soldiers that carried it to start the parade. (Please excuse the non-matching outfit Bella has on. She threw up all over herself on the way up to Red Lodge.) Story to follow at a later date.

Bella feeling very patriotic!

Adventures in Wyoming - Part 2

We are still having lots of fun in Wyoming and I don't think my parents are sick of us...yet! Which is good, because we have another 6 weeks to go until we leave to go back to Oklahoma. For all of our Oklahoma friends who might be wondering what we have been up to or what life in my little town of Cowley looks like- this blogs for you! (You too babe!)


Alyssa assisting grandpa fix her bike. The chain came off and she was so depressed about it. Grandpa came in and saved the day!

We celebrated my dad's 57th birthday. Here he is with his chocolate silk pie and me and his grandkids.

Alyssa and Bella helping grandma vacumn the couch and floors. Grandma thought she would teach her grandkids a lesson and give them all chores to do whenever they complained of being bored. Too bad it backfired on her, because Alyssa LOVES to clean! Where ever would she get that from??

I paid $1.00 each to my two nephews and Alyssa for washing my van the other day. I got a clean car and it gave them something fun to do in the water on a warm day. WIN..WIN!

This is the street going by the elementary school in my home town. Quiet, peaceful, and kind of cute isn't it?

This is the old Cowley high school and log gym that my parent's attened high school and played sports at. Now it is used for office space and for town events.

Aunt Tamara, Ethan, Bella, Garrett, and Alyssa (me behind with the camera) taking a walk around town.

Alyssa feeding some horses nearby our house.

We have been taking lot of walks and bike rides around town. Here Bella and her cousin Garrett enjoying a ride in the radio flyer wagon. It even has seat belts! Buckle up...it's the law!

We went to the Queen Bee Honey Candy Store the other day, and they had a bunch of old time hats on display. Of course Alyssa had to do a little fashion show for everyone. Here she is standing at attention. (Something I don't see very often!)

Excuse me Miss!?

Going to the chapel and I'm going to get married hat!

Every morning the girls watch cartoons in Grandpa's TV chair in his "man room."

For You My Love...

We are so lucky to have you as the man in our lives. You have always taken so great care of us. We love you so much for sacrificing your time with us to give us the chance to be here in Wyoming this summer. We are having so much fun here and my family is taking great care of us.
We miss you terribly and we are counting down the days until we see you again.

Goodnight - XOXO

Shana, Alyssa, and Isabella