We just arrived home at 1:30 am on Monday morning from our annual post-harvest family trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming... and no matter how long we stay... it never seems long enough, at least for me :). I've learned that we can never officially set the dates for the trip pre-harvest, Phillip simply can't even begin to grasp the concept of leaving town at that time (his ambition, work ethic and drive is truly bitter-sweet!)... so his original plans were to leave Wednesday evening after work, and to drive home Sunday afternoon. Luckily, with the help of Steve (his father), some complicated tasks at work, an unruly farmer, and pure exhaustion from this summer... we convinced him to leave on Tuesday... buying us just one more day in the beautiful "big sky country" as Emily recently referred to it.
Our first two days were spent relaxing at Phillip's childhood home, which, far away from any grain elevators and the stresses of everyday life... he is actually able to unwind. Watching him transition from the high strung multi-facility manager to a more relaxed, easy going son, husband and father... is probably the main (selfish) reason I push so hard for this vacation every year. Mind you, the perks of having Steve and Louise to love and spoil us the entire time we're there is certainly the other factor that drives the need for this vacation!
It's been convenient for us to go every year around the last week of July, summer wheat harvest is fully wrapped up, it's Frontier Days in Cheyenne AND it's our favorite little man's birthday, Mavy! So needless to say... our vacation was wonderful... I tried to fight for just one more day, but work beckoned my husband home... and I was grateful for the time we had. I've truly married into a fabulous family and I know I'm so very blessed.
ANYwho... I'll stop rambling and will post the photos of our amazing trip! These are compiled from my camera, Steve's camera (those are obviously the best images!), and Louise's camera. So enjoy!
By request, the hammock was out in the 75 degree perfectly landscaped back yard under a large shade tree... after Phillip had spent some time enjoying (and being rocked by Callie in it)... it was Grandfather's turn for a rest... mind you, resting alone simply wasn't an option here.
(notice Grandfather is nicely covered up with one of Callie's blankey's... she didn't want him getting too cold :)
Grandfather is usually the one behind the camera... so having the opportunity to be on the other side of the lens is sort of something new ;) Grandfather with his silly little girl...
Thursday morning we got up and went to the Frontier Days parade! It was slightly cool-ish... and Callie had never seen so many horses in her life! She kept saying "yook! Anudder Hors!"
Callie might have a slight obsession with Maverick... she was SO excited to see him she was almost sheepish when he arrived on Friday to play. She loved every moment she got to spend with him!
On our way to the Carnival, on Friday the boys spent the afternoon racing a Camaro at a race track in Denver, so the girls took the babies to the Frontier Days Carnival!
Unfortunately, as I should have guessed, pregnant women are not allowed on rides (even silly kid rides) so Grammie Lou had to ride instead!
Grammie and her cotton-candy eating babies!
Mommy did suck her tummy in to get on this ride with Callie (which she insisted Mommy ride in back!) Poor little brother! :)
The funniest part of this ride was how serious she was about the whole driving part!! She never once took her hand off the wheel! Very intent, just like her father!
Looking at the jewelry booths at the end of our carnival experience, the babies were exhausted... but never once had a meltdown!
Reading a story before bed...
The sweet Sweet cousins! Their spontaneous hugs were the BEST!
And hanging out with Uncle Phil isn't so bad either!
Mommies and little Calpal... I loved the Cars themed décor!
Callie obviously being super helpful while Mavy opens his birthday gifts!
I love this photo taken by Grandfather... I think my baby is beautiful (sure, she could've used a haircut prior to the trip... but her features are simply gorgeous to me... God knew what He was doing when he made my precious baby girl).
And certainly the birthday party favorite... Callie driving Mav around in the Corvette! Poor Mav's legs are just a bit shorter than Callie's, so she was able to reach the pedal, while he couldn't! She LOVED it! (This might be the last time Mav EVER lets a girl drive him around!)
And my favorite photo from the trip... Grandfather captures the most amazing memories... I'm fairly certain this will be framed and placed somewhere in our living room :)
We had so much fun... and as I said, my only complaint was not having more time to spend in Cheyenne.
Thanks for reading everyone! Choosing from the 300+ photos to post on here was nearly impossible... Steve hasn't even shared the race track photos yet!
Love, Kisses, Licks and baby kicks!
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