Come On Over to Cody!

My sister and her husband came with their kids for a 9-day Cody vacation. So we gave them one! :)

Our friends the Renos took us 4-wheelin' up Rattlesnake Mt., about 15 mins. NW of Cody.

Me and Brandon. It was a perfect day to be on top of the world.

I would go anywhere with this girl. Time with Shelli is never long enough.

Shell and I in the backseat of the Razor.

One of the many breathtaking views. Carter Mts.

The men up front, and Todd and Claire blazing the trail ahead of us on the 4-wheeler.

Facing south.

Umm, power stance?

The Buffalo Bill Reservoir is just to the left. I liked this tree.

Little hidey-hole down a steep drop.

Someone's hunting cabin. Shelli DID NOT use the outhouse in back.

Corrals at the hunting cabin. Facing east. Heart Mtn behind us, which we climbed later that week. Cody is just off to the right.

Our Heart Mtn. hike crew. Trevor, Chelsea, Brandon, Rachel, Braeden, Tanner, and Jacob. I'm taking the picture.

We met a friend of ours on the way. Her son was up farther and he joined us for the rest of the hike up.

Resting.

This sign is posted at the treeline, about 30 mins. into the hike.

We like shade.

Hey, Trev, which way is the top?

See that big rock behind me? That's the top.

Viewpoint east, looking towards Cody.

North face trail.

Not the top, but so close.

Here we are! The boys are signing the log book kept at the top in a weatherproof box. People from all over the world have signed the books as proof they made it.

Ahhh, heading back down.

At the end of the week, we attended the Cody Nite Rodeo. It was a first for all of us, and we dressed for the occasion.

Well some of us did. These boys don't need anything extra, though, do they?

Neither do these ladies, but it sure looks fine, don't it?

An intense thunder shower came at us over Cedar Mtn.

Shelli and her girls. Work that wind!

Yeehaaw. Hang on.

These are just a few highlights of our week! It was so fun to have a vacation in our own backyard. We really are blessed to live in such a ruggedly beautiful place, with so much history and tradition. More pictures to come!

Spring Into Summer

This spring held a lot of main events for us. I attended an amazing 3-day writers conference in SLC. Maren turned 9 years old and about 3" taller. Easter was fun and sunny, but cold. Chelsea attended Prom and wowed her date. Then she had the nerve to graduate from LDS Seminary and Cody High, and my parents came for the event. Oh, and Jacob turned 13 and Brandon turned forty-something. In-between all that, I got an ear infection, and Brandon had a gall bladder attack.
It rained so hard we couldn't plant the vegetable garden until the 2nd week of June, so we only planted short season crops. Yay, turnips and radishes! Kinda.
Braeden left us for 3 weeks for smart camp at UofWY, and Jacob enjoyed a week of band camp, blowing his horn. We did a LOT of yardwork.
But then vacation time came and we spent 3 days in Denver playing hard at the Zoo, Imax, and Elitch Gardens.
Then the sprinkler guys came and dug up our yardwork to install the UG sprinklers we've been longing for. Yay, automatic timers! Brodie saw the nice men digging up the yard and decided it looked fun, so dug up our vegetable garden. Fortunately, he left the zucchini and tomatoes alone. Not that they have time to produce anything.
THEN, my sister Shelli and her family came to see us, but that's going to be it's own blog post.
But summer is finally here and as I've said before on this blog, Cody summers are just about perfect. Enjoy the pictures!