Summer Update

Despite being pregnant and only getting larger as the summer went on, the time has flown by! Below are some pictures of what we did...I'll try to give you a summary of each set of pictures.

June

When Ryan wasn't called into work on the weekends, he was busy doing yard work, shoveling pea gravel, cutting down trees and getting a garden area ready for us. Andrew took advantage of the cut down trees and became our own little grizzly bear. He certainly has the growl to go with the actions! Ryan's dad came to visit at the end of June. The boys had a great time hanging out with grandpa and we went to see Pathfinder Dam during its overflow...one of the reasons Ryan would get called into work.

July

4th of July weekend, we made a trip to Utah for my nephew's baptism and since we were so close to the family in Idaho, we decided to go see them too. We let off fire works, went to a 4th of July parade (where Andrew made a haul with the candy!) and visited friends.

A couple of weeks after getting home from our Utah/Idaho trip, we went camping in the Big Horns. This was our first family camping trip this summer. The boys LOVED sleeping in the camper, especially since they got to "sleep up high" in the bunk. Who would have thought something so simple would be so exciting?! We also went on a hike into a lake where we saw a pack goat on the trail, ate lunch at the lake and the boys threw everything they could get their hands on into the lake. Andrew ran the trail all the to the lake while Ryan tried to keep him in sight and Caleb and I brought up the rear. Part way up, Caleb had to go into the kidpack (much to his dismay), but on the way back to camp he was ready and willing to get into the pack! Andrew was a trooper and kept his little legs going. Each time we stopped for a rest he would sit down, but he was always ready to go when it was time. The hike was 3.4 miles round trip, which I say is pretty good for a 4-year-old and a pregnant lady.

August

We took a week and camped with my family in the Buffalo Bill area. What began as a camping trip with my sister and her family grew into a camping trip to include my parents, grandparents and another sister and her husband. It was so much fun to be with so much family! Andrew and Caleb spent the days playing with their cousins and loving every minute of it. It makes me wish we all lived closer together so the kids could get together more often! Ryan went on a couple of good hikes and he and grandpa and uncle Cory took all the kids fishing. Since we were camped between Yellowstone and Cody, we decided to spend a day at each place. We had a great time and look forward to doing this again!

I tried to load pictures of Ryan's hikes, but it wasn't happening. He saw some amazing country. I'll get them on another post!