Beautiful Wyoming

After driving through Wyoming, we discovered that not only is it pretty much out in the middle of nowhere (at least the part we drove through), but it is also actually really pretty! We got some really cool pictures as we drove, and I thought I'd share a bunch of them. I wish we had gotten a picture of one part of the drive, though - I think it's a little north of Evanston, you drive up a hill and all of a sudden there are windmills everywhere - maybe even a hundred or so. It was the coolest thing - I actually slept through most of it on the drive up, and it was dark on the way back. It was such a neat thing, some of them were really close to the road.

There was a satellite radio in the truck, and there was a Coldplay station that just played Coldplay all day long - we actually listened to it for a big portion of the trip and surprisingly didn't get tired of it at all - they are such a great band! We had a great time driving together as a little family, and I'm sure we'll go on lots more fun road trips like this one in the future.

Rockpile Museum

While planning our little trip to Wyoming, I did a little research online to find out if there was anything fun to do (or anything at all to do) in Gillette. Well, pretty much the only thing I came up with was the Rockpile Museum - which sounds fascinating, no? Well, it turns out it really isn't a museum dedicated to rocks, it actually has some cool pioneer/cowboy artifacts. We went for a little while and it was actually kind of fun.

my boys in front of a cool sheepherder's wagon

in front of a doctor's buggy

our little cowboy

Daddy showing James how to ride a horse

we couldn't pass up this opportunity...

my favorite

swimming!

We got to go swimming twice while we were in Wyoming, and James loved it! He is so much fun, we just love him :)

heading to the pool!

splashing with Daddy

kicking with Mommy - he was a great little kicker!

all warm and comfy

fun at the hotel

Here are some fun pictures from the hotel in Wyoming...

We ordered Chinese food - it was so good! We tried putting James in his playard while we ate, but he wanted to eat with us! He was very happy after we got him out. Here he is eating his "Chinese puffs" :)

playing in the room

our cute boy

me and my baby

what a cute kid!

James LOVED the big mirror in the room!

eating breakfast

I just know this kid is gonna be a little heart breaker when he grows up...what a handsome boy!

family trip to . . . . Gillette, Wyoming?

Yes, that's right - my boys and I took a little family vacation to a random city in Wyoming that we had never heard of before. A little bit random, but we had so much fun! Jonathan had to go to Gillette, Wyoming for his job, and James and I decided to go with him. We took a company truck and drove up there on Wednesday (about a nine-hour drive, but longer with a baby!), stayed in a hotel and then drove back on Thursday. It was a lot of driving, but it was nice to get away!

James and I in front of the truck. We totally want to get a truck now, it was a lot of fun! The seat in the back was just the right size to fit a car seat. I also loved the truck because it was red :)

My boys

Here is James, all ready to go! He was such a champ on the drive - he slept quite a bit, and was a little fussy (understandably) but overall he did great!

James' seat in the back seat of the truck - we set up his little mirror so we could see him more easily, and he loved looking in it during the drive!

Stopping somewhere in Wyoming...in the middle of nowhere...and James is so happy to be out of his seat!

James and Daddy taking a break from driving

lovely

Stopping for lunch

catching up

We have had a really fun weekend - we were able to have our friends Charles and Melissa and their son Henry over for dinner on Friday and we visited and played games with them. Henry is growing up so fast and is so cute! James was a little unsure at first and was a little taken aback by Henry's energy, but they were soon playing with toys together and had a fun time (despite being very tired). It was so fun to catch up with our old friends - Charles and Jonathan grew up in the same ward, and the four of us were all in the same ward when we were single. Here are some fun pictures -

playing with toys

all ready for bed

me and my cute husband

On Sunday we had dinner at my parents' house and James found some very fun toys there. Whenever we go there, he plays with Abby's birthday balloon (which, miraculously, is still up after over two months) - it is his favorite thing to play with. He also played in Abby's new ottoman and loved it. It was so cute.

such fun things to play with!

James in his new Sunday outfit

Liz is trying to help James learn how to drink from a sippy cup

James and his Aunt Liz!

After we ate dinner we went back home and some of Jonathan's family came over for a fun visit. Benjamin came, as well as Daniel and Bethany and their kids Hannah and Joshua. It was fun for the cousins to play together, and for us to catch up with Jonathan's siblings. We always have so much fun talking and visiting with them!

Uncle Benjamin with James and Joshua

cute cousins

Hannah and James

the kids having fun with the toy box

as you can see, they had lots of fun!

James has been discovering his new teeth lately and has started grinding them together - it is awful! He makes the funniest face, though -

how could you not love this kid?