The carnival is in town!

We went to the carnival for a bit this Saturday. We did so much yard work that morning and decided to get out for a little fun once the kids got up from naps. Emmett was a bit more brave this year(no tears) and Jolene just rode in the snugglie with me while I took pictures. Same stuff as last year and most of the rides are still too big for Emmett, which makes us happy for the time being. Eventually, we'll have to give in and let him ride the "screws loose-broken down-operated by a looney" carny rides.

matching pj's

These pictures tell the story of two young children who did not want to pose for a nice photograph in their matching pajamas. typical.

What a cute tush!

I couldn't resist this shot!

Birthday at the Bounce Park

Emmett's friend, Wyatt(the red head in pics), turned four the other day and his birthday party was at the new indoor play park in Cody. The kids had a blast and Luke came for a bit to celebrate too. One of the moms made a Lightning McQueen cake that was the biggest hit of all(even with Jolene!). I think my favorite photo is of the two kids acting like they love each other(OK, actually it's the one of Emmett sneaking chips while we were singing Happy Birthday!). I usually think that Jolene looks like my side of the family, but certainly not when you put her on Luke's lap and have them make exactly the same expression.......yup, that's her daddy---no question.

First tent camping experience with 2 kids

We went camping with Jeff and Jessica and their kids plus another couple, AJ and Carol with their daughter Summer. We kept watching the weather and it looked like it was going to be a bit rainy and maybe cold, so Luke and I opted for only one night and headed out on Saturday morning to meet the crew. We went to Medicine Lodge Campground outside of Basin. It was a perfect camping spot for families. Lots of grass and play areas, even a stream to fish in- all right next to the campsite. Right at the end of the campground, is a wall of petroglyphs that you can walk around. They were pretty neat and fun to see. I'm not sure Emmett really understood or cared as he found a great stick to play with. He is really into sticks these days. ? a boy thing ? We drove up to a "lake" (more like a pond) and let the kids go "fishing" (more like tossing some fishing line into the lake with a stick attached to the end). It was fun to watch them get so excited. I had a great time enjoying a cold beer and watching! We went back to the campsite and started preparing our random feast. Everyone brought something to share. It started with some spaghetti with meat sauce and some Thai mango pork sausages. Then we threw some onions wrapped in foil with butter and bouillon-tastes just like french onion soup! and ended with corn on the cob. Jessica and Jeff prepare s'mores a bit differently than I have ever seen. They use Reese peanut butter cups for the chocolate! So ridiculously delicious! Jolene played around in an extra tent that Carol brought for the kids to play in. What a great idea- so they didn't mess up the sleeping bags and stuff in the "real" tents. It also sheltered her from the wind when it would pick up. It turned out to be a really fun trip, but it was a bit too cold for the kids to sleep outside. Luke and I were cold, so I know that they were too. We got up(I should say the kids woke us up) really early, about 6am and started the car to warm the kids up and to pack up our stuff. The temperature read 36 degrees when we left the campsite that morning. On our way out we saw a gaggle of wild turkeys and pheasants. We we definitely go back, but I think we'll wait till the weather warms up a bit.