Throughout my childhood, I spent a lot of time at my grandparent's ranch in Lyman, Wyoming. It's been really special (and important to me) to see my kids having this special place as a part of their childhood, too. We were able to spend several different days over the summer up at the Ranch. Here are a few snapshots of those treasured times.
The highlight of our Wyoming travel this year was when my Grandpa was chosen to be the Bridger Valley July 24th Rodeo Grand Marshall. He rode in the parade and the whole family got to join him on a wagon ride through the rodeo grounds before the rodeo started. (See the following post for the information printed about him in the Bridger Valley Newspaper for the rodeo.) It was a lovely day where his posterity gathered around him to celebrate him and enjoy the 24th celebrations as well.
There was a parade and a BBQ lunch and bounchouses. Then we came back to the house to hang out before the rodeo. Grandpa pulled out his old phonograph and we listened to music.
We had a great time riding on the wagon through the rodeo grounds. It was so neat to see the impact that Grandpa has made on his community and the incredible legacy he has created for his posterity. He sure has a bunch of people that love him.
Lydia and Austin got to participate in one of the age-separated kids competitions. Austin chased a chicken and Lydia chased a goat. My cousin, Jessica, was trying to get a 3 person team of girls together to compete in the "Wild Goat Milking Contest" and, due to my recent "Power of Fun" mindfulness I decided to jump in and do it with her. Jessica, Becca, and I ran through the dirt, caught a goat, and got a drop of milk from it. There were some sketchy moments but we did it! It was fun. And also hilarious.
We stayed overnight because I wanted to be able to stay for the whole rodeo but I didn't know if Lucy would be able to hang. We rented a darling little cabin in Mountain View and the next morning we came to church with Grandpa. It was a great morning.
We came back in August at the very end of haying season, just managing to squeeze in before it was all over. The kids got to see Grandpa's tractor, climb the haystack, and ride 4 wheelers through the field.
Lydia had the really neat opportunity to go back, just her and my dad, and spend two days haying to finish the season off. She woke up with him early the first morning, drove to Wyoming, learned how to work a tractor for real (all by herself), and worked a 10 hour day with the crew. She ate lunch at Aunt Kim's, worked in the hayfield, and took a break to read her book on the top of the haystack. It was such a great experience for her and my dad can't stop talking about how proud he is of her and what a great job she did.
(While Lydia was in Wyoming the other kids and I stayed in Morgan and I binge watched Noble House with my mom and grandma. David was out of town and this was the perfect chance to hang out with my mom.)
