We Love Visitors!

Back in September Keith's parents and little sis came to visit us for a week in Casper!! We went down to Denver on Wednesday, the second of September and picked them up.

We started our fun on Thursday by shopping the day away getting Krista everything she needed for her first semester of college at BYUI. Afterwards we showed them around Casper Mountain, Bridle Waterfall and attempted to go to Crimson Dawn Museum on the mountain but it closed just before we got there. We ended up walking around the museum there because they have a trail you can follow and stories along the trail.

Friday we finished up the shopping and went to Alcova Lake and had plans of swimming and fishing because it was supposed to be a nice day, but a storm rolled in so we thought we'd wait it out but we mostly just hung out in the car. The boys did fish a bit. At least his family got to see the lake. I don't have any pics of this day :(

Saturday we headed out to Devil's Tower because Krista had never been. We had lunch on the way and spent the day there walking around the tower.

Sunday was church and we just hung out afterwards and skyped family.

Monday was Labor Day so we decided to head to Natural Bridge and then have a BBQ when we got back. Everyone seemed to have the same idea as us because it was packed, but it was a gorgeous day and super fun!

 Tuesday was Carson's first day of preschool so Keith's mom, Keith and I all went and dropped him off. Afterwards we ran errands and hung out at the house. Later Keith took everyone to Martin's Cove while I went to YWs.

Wednesday we had a museum day and went to the National Historic Trails Museum and the Fort Caspar Musuem.

Outside the Historic Trails Museum overlooking Casper.

Thursday we headed out to Rexburg to take Krista to college. On the way we stopped at Sacajawea's grave in Fort Washakie, WY.

 Friday I spent the day with my family in Idaho Falls. I did an art lesson for my sister Misiti's second grade class and then Misti, my mom and dad, brother Kirk and niece Brecka all went to Pizza Pie Cafe for Misti's early birthday dinner. We went back to my aunt's house and went hot tubbing and hung out.

This is a pic Keith took of Brandon (his brother) and his daughter Ivory and Carson holding hands on a walk in Rexburg.

Pizza coma!!

Saturday we had a BBQ at Porter Park that my family came up for, it was so warm that Carson and Ivory even played at the splash pad. We split into teams and played an awesome game of ultimate frisbee! We also had cake and ice cream for Misti. We ended the night by watching the Boise State/BYU game. Yeah...don't talk to me about it...at least that's the only game BSU has lost so far...

Sunday we all went to church and had lasagna for lunch after and then watched The Cokeville Miracle-- a true story about a bombing at a Wyoming school in the 1980s. Soo good! Then we headed back to Casper.

The following Wednesday Keith's parents drove back to Casper with Keith's other sister Catherine and her husband. We got to hang out with them until Saturday. We went to the river, fishing, the Tate Dinosaur Museum and back to the waterfall again. Saturday they flew out of Denver and we miss everyone!! So those of you (hint hint-- Brandon, Shae, Nikki, Misti, Kirk, Mom & Dad and many others who haven't visited yet, COME!!!)

At the Tate Museum

Preschool Boy

Carson started preschool September 8th (the day after Labor Day). He was so excited about going and it was a special treat to have Grandma and Grandpa Penrod in town also. Carson has never gone to preschool, I've loved having him at home and have just always worked with him at home teaching him his colors, letters, numbers, shapes, sight words, letter sounds, writing etc..., but this year I decided it would be good for him to go since next year is all day Kindergarten, I wanted him to get used to a little bit of school before he has a full day next year! So this year he goes M-TH in the afternoons (which I prefer, so not a morning person), and he just loves it. He even loves coming home to do his homework-- which is just writing his letters.

So far they've already done one field trip to Edness K. Wilkins State Park here in Casper. They got to fish, play in the sand & on the playground and a few more activities. They also have a field trip to the fire station and the corn maze planned for this month, I love being able to accompany him.

When did you grow up little guy?

Dropping him off

A picture his teacher sent me

Fishing at EKW

Trying to climb the big buffalo

Games with the class

Hole in the Wall

Yesterday we took a trip to Hole in the Wall Wyoming with my friend Carol and one of her friends. Carol is my go to girl for everything WYOMING! She has been everywhere and knows so many interesting things about Wyoming. A lot of the places she's been are historic sites that not many people know about or go to because you do have to drive a ways to them.

Hole-in-the-Wall is a remote pass in the Big Horn Mountains of Johnson County, Wyoming. In the late 19th century the Hole in the Wall Gang and Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang met at the log cabin which is now preserved at the Old Trail Town museum in Cody, Wyoming. 
The area was remote and secluded, easily defended because of its narrow passes, and impossible for lawmen to approach without alerting the outlaws. From the late 1860s to around 1910, the pass was used frequently by numerous outlaw gangs. Eventually it faded into history, with gangs using it less frequently. At its height it featured several cabins that gangs used to lie up during the harsh Wyoming winters, and it had a livery stable, a corral, livestock, and supplies, with each gang contributing to the upkeep of the site.(wikipedia)

We got back from our "daycation" around 6 pm and decided to tackle our crazy yard! Keith decided to pull out the lawn mower and go at it! I can't believe our lawn mower conquered the crazy yard!

Before

After...!!!

Today after church we decided to take a scenic drive to castle gardens, we had to bring Carol along with us again, of course, because she is the best tour guide!

The Castle Gardens Petroglyph Site is located in central Wyoming approximately 45 miles east of Riverton. The name of the area comes from the outcropping of sandstone which the wind has eroded into fanciful shapes resembling the turrets and towers of castle. This unusual formation has been luring visitors for thousands of years, and many of them left their mark in the soft sandstone--the area holds a treasure of Native American rock art, or petroglyphs. The most famous petroglyphs were done in the Castle Gardens Shield Style, the oldest recognizable example of the shield-bearing warrior figure type. It is described as "elaborate and carefully made figures," and it "combines several different manufacturing techniques that serve to distinguish the style as unique in the Bighorn and Wind River Basins. The style is also unique in that it depicts shields alone as well as shield-bearing warriors" (Francis & Loendorf 2002:136).(wikipedia)

Some of the shield petroglyphs 

What a fun weekend! Now onto prepping for visitors (Keith's parents) on Wednesday!

Reunion Fun!

Two weeks ago (Aug. 6th) we packed up the car and headed to Idaho for a week! On our way Carson and I spent a day with my sister Misti in Idaho Falls helping her set up her 2nd grade classroom, while Keith spent a day with his brother in Rexburg. I can't believe Misti is going to be a teacher! Whoo! So excited for her, man it's a lot of work getting everything ready.

When we got to Boise on Saturday the 8th, I dropped Keith off at the airport and he spent the whole week in Alaska hunting caribou and fishing with my brother and nephew, meanwhile, Carson and I spent time with my family, enjoying many sleepovers, splash pads and time with cousins. Part of our trip was spent in Nyssa, Oregon at the LDS church Camp Hycliff for my mom's family (Brown) reunion. We had a blast going down the water slide till we were sore, playing night games, eating yummy food, swimming at Owhyee Reservoir, skits, a pinata, and just enjoying time with my mom's family that we really only see like once a year.

Some exciting news we learned at the reunion is....my parents announced that they will be putting their papers in within the next month or two to serve another mission! We are so excited and happy for them! I think this calls for another trip to Boise to see them before they leave :)

We had lots of sleepovers with cousins--cuz they're just the best.
Saturday night- Cousins-- Brielle and Malia's house
Sunday night- Cousins-- Hailey, Katy, Aiden & Abby's house
Monday night- Cousins--Alexa, Tristan, Brecka, Brynlee & Tyson's house
Tuesday night-- Cousin- Emma's house!
We gotta fit as many in a week as we can.

Monday night sleepover

Tuesday night sleepover

Meanwhile.....in Alaska

They got 2 caribou

Meanwhile in Oregon....

It was more smooth of a ride with a tube for sure, but it was definitely more thrilling going down without one!

Not sure if they tipped but they sure had fun.

Love that Carson has 36 cousins on my side alone. (shaving cream and a tarp = pure fun)

Squeezing in the back of my brother Kirk's truck to go to Owhyee Reservoir. Oh this reminds me of the 90s.


Meanwhile....when we got back to Casper...
I got in full house mode for visitors coming next month (Keith's parents and sister)

A little sneak peak....my house is finally coming along, decor wise. I still have a lot of hanging of pictures etc., but slowing it's coming along. We finally have all the furniture we need!

The start of Carson's room...more to come.

All new furniture--rug, couch, and curtains. More pics to come...

One Year Already?!!!

One year ago today, (July 26th, 2014) on a Saturday afternoon we pulled into Casper, Wyoming for the first time. I was born and raised in the Boise area and went to school in Rexburg, ID for four years then we moved back to Boise for three years so Idaho is all I've ever known. I'm not gonna lie, Wyoming wasn't the first place I would have chosen to move to, but Keith got an amazing job here that we were pretty excited about, we feel this is where the Lord wants us right now, and I have actually really come to love Wyoming and the people here. We've taken some pretty fun trips around the state, lived in three different wards already with the ward changes (really love and miss the 3rd ward), made some amazing new friends, had an incredible amount of fun girls nights out, bought a home and just enjoyed this beautiful state.

Here's my loves about Wyoming and things I miss about Boise

Loves:

Church members and friends- the church members here are AMAZING! I have never been surrounded by such incredible people. They are so outgoing, friendly and everyone is literally friends with everyone. They get together all the time and really make you fall in love with living here. And my friends I've come to meet here (Athena and Jasmine) are incredible. I can talk for hours with these girls and it's so nice for Carson to be buddies with their kids. Love those girls.

No state income tax--Yippee!!

Keith's job--it's incredible and we feel truly blessed for Keith to have this career. He loves all his co-workers, boss and everything about his job and what he does.

Wyoming has the best schools in the West--Sorry Idaho but you are lacking in the education department. Every article I've read has Wyoming consistently in the top 10 ten states for the best schools! All the other top performing states are on the East Coast, woot woot for Wyoming representing the West!! Oh and p.s. in Casper it's open enrollment so you can choose what school you want your kids to go to, luckily the school I want Carson to go to happens to be the one right down the street from our new home!

The Summers--I've found I'm not a heat girl so the Summers are PERFECT!

Eggingtons- Seriously though, best breakfast place I've ever been to!! Come visit and I'll take ya there!

Everything is so close-- If I needed to go somewhere in Boise it could take between 15-45 min depending on where and traffic etc....here I can get EVERYWHERE I need to go within 15 minutes MAX!! There is no traffic here, at least I've never experienced any--HALLELUJAH!

Least populated state- Keith and I really have come to love that there aren't a lot of people here, less issues.

Alcova--Gorgeous lake just down the road from us! Hello Summer!

My house--I love it! Hoping to make many memories in our first home.

All the cowboy boots and big trucks-- Keith sure loves his truck (there are so many white trucks in Casper, and Carson will always get compliments on his cowboy boots when he wears them around.) Love the Wyoming spirit!

Trick or Treating on Stafford St.--Helloooo king size candy bars!!

Wild West--Antelope roaming the parks and streets,where else do you see that? Ok besides maybe Alaska, I didn't even see wildlife as much in Montana as I do here.

Miss

Family-  11 of my 14 siblings are in Idaho and that means most of Carson's cousins are there, it's a little sad missing out on everything but it's been fun making memories together just the three of us.

Temple- Once the Meridian temple is completed the Boise area will have two temples. Wyoming is just now getting their first temple but it's almost 6 hours from us in Star Valley, so.....we drive to either Billings or Denver (4 hours away to go to the temple). Don't take the temple for granted if you live near one, just don't, or the Lord will send you to Wyoming. j/k.

Winco--Ummmm I don't need to say much other than this store is heaven!

A major airport close---yeah....driving to Denver or paying more to fly out of Casper are our options.

Now come visit!!

Homeowners!!

As of July 9th we officially became homeowners! Woo hoo! After  7 1/2 years of marriage you can bet we were pretty excited to finally purchase our first home. We were always traveling a lot or in school before, but since life is now settled in WY and Keith has an amazing job, we figure we'll be here a good while so it was the perfect time for us to buy.

Ours is quite the story, back around the 22nd of May the home we bought was on the market, we got outbid though and so we didn't get the home, a week later we put in another offer on a different home and got outbid again. Needless to say we were pretty frustrated but kept on looking, a home came on the market on a Saturday that I really wanted to look at since it was in a neighborhood that I loved, I called our realtor and she said the earliest we could see it was the next day (Sunday) and that we probably wanted to jump on this one so she set up the time for Sunday afternoon to look at the house, we weren't too sure since we knew it was Sunday and didn't want to be looking at homes on the Sabbath but agreed to it anyway. That night was stake conference and the theme was keeping the Sabbath day holy. Keith came home from the Priesthood meeting and said he felt strongly that we needed to reschedule for Monday, that we shouldn't look at homes on the Lord's day but that day should be dedicated to him, how can the Lord bless us if we aren't showing him obedience and following his commandments? I agreed and we rescheduled for Monday. We went and looked at the house but it didn't have much of a backyard so we decided not to go for it.

Monday evening we went and looked at another home we loved but it was A LOT higher than we wanted to go (still within budget, just top of budget), we decided to sleep on it. So Wednesday we decided yeah, ok maybe we should just go for this higher one, we prayed and prayed, didn't feel much either way but then Keith got a call from his boss saying the position in Star Valley will most likely be opening up because his co-worker is moving. We had previously talked about moving to Star Valley because it's only 5 1/2 hrs from Boise instead of 11, they're getting Wyoming's first temple, the schools are fantastic and it's an amazing LDS community to raise our family in. There are some downfalls with not having much commercially there or big grocery stores like Winco and Walmart (the nearest would be almost 2 hrs in Idaho Falls). So we thought about it, slept on it and were seriously considering it but Keith was talking to his boss about where he would prefer Keith to be and his boss said Casper because there is more opportunity to get recognized here and be promoted. So that threw us for a loop and we didn't know what to do, after Keith told me that I started looking at homes again online in Casper, I immediately spotted the first home we put an offer on, it was back on the market!! I didn't know if it was a flook or what, but they had previously taken the listing down, so I immediately called the listing agent and she said it had been back on the market for 2 hours! We called our realtor and put in another offer right away! The previous people who put in an offer lost their job and so the loan fell through. The rest is history! We got the house!!

Funny thing is, is that Sunday after our offer was accepted we were sitting in Stake Conference in Kansas City, MO (we were on our Church History trip) and the speaker was Kim B. Clark (former pres. of BYU-IDAHO) and he was talking about keeping the Sabbath day holy and promised blessings that will come from obeying and trying to be better about following this commandment. It was in that moment that Keith and I realized, that us getting that home was a direct blessing from keeping the Sabbath holy and deciding not to go look at homes on the Sabbath but dedicating that day to the Lord. The Lord knew it wasn't just any home but THE HOME that we wanted, out of all the ones we looked at, this was the one we loved the most. I will forever treasure that experience and try to do better about enriching my Sabbath days with spiritual things.

Wow...that was a lot but I mostly wanted to write it down for my sake. So here's some more from the rest of July....

Our first Sunday in our new house!

Fruit pizza for the 4th of July

Keith smoked ribs all day, we ate a wonderful BBQ then went swimming for the 4th

The day before the 4th we roasted hot dogs on Casper Mtn. I love that the mountain is only 15 min from our house!

These next two were in late June but hey--water and shaving cream fun for the kids at Athena's.

Father's Day Celebration (on a Saturday) at Washington Park in Casper.

Keith got two awards--Employee of the Month-not sure why they didn't give it to him till almost July when it was for April but whatev, and the Above and Beyond award! Congrats Babe! Already doing great things!

Keith took Carson to the fair so I could unpack things at our new home.

Moving madness

Carson was so excited to ride his first bike! It's yellow too--his favorite color!

Hope you all are staying cool this July!