Thursday, July 14, 2011

Laramie Peak

Earlier this week we went camping at a nice little campground at the base of Laramie Peak. We were going to leave Monday afternoon and then come back on Wednesday but Brennen woke up for good at 5:30 Monday morning so we decided to just get up and go. It took about 2 hours to get out there and after we set up camp and ate lunch we headed out on quite the hike to to top of the peak. We went from about 7,200 ft. clear up to over 10, 000 ft. and the hike is about 1/2 mile vertical and just over 5.5 miles to the top so we hiked 11 miles in about 6 hours. It was really steep and rocky and I was about ready to die half way up. Matt carried Brennen in the front pack while I carried the much lighter backpack. We ended up going a little overboard on the water so we filled up from the creek and it was probably the best water I’ve ever tasted. The view was absolutely beautiful from the top and made the hike worth it. Pictures can never quite do it justice.

Half way up. Matt was such a trooper for carrying Brennen the whole way. And Brennen was happy as a clam as long as we kept giving him crackers.
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View from the top
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Walking down. When you get to the “falls” there are only 2 miles left to the bottom! IMG_0826IMG_0830

Click here if you want to read a short wikipedia article about the area. But it is seriously so beautiful up there. We’d been up there before but what I really liked this time is that the pine beetles haven’t devastated the trees there quite yet. There are a few that are dead or dying but most of the pines are still green and full unlike the trees in the mountains closer to Laramie.

Brennen was a good little camper. He still can’t quite get the hang of walking so he was crawling everywhere when we weren’t holding him. He loved kicking up the dirt with his hands and had no problem eating dropped food from the ground before I could stop him. He was incredibly filthy. He slept really well once we got him to sleep and only woke up once and he was really hyper and attacked us (well, ME while Matt went back to sleep…) until I finally got him to fall back asleep cuddled next to me in my sleeping bag. Then in the morning he just wanted to play in the tent and was mad when we got him out.
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Tuesaday morning we drove further west into some hills and Matt fished Labonte creek and caught 20 fish in about an hour, brook and rainbow trout. I only casted twice (no license…don’t tell!) and caught a little rainbow on my second cast (I put it back). :) Brennen loves it when we catch fish. We thought about staying another night after we were done fishing but we could tell Brennen had had enough so we headed home but it was still such a fun and relaxing trip.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Lately

Life has been pretty good lately! We traveled to Lyman again to be with my sister for her wedding and it was so amazing and wonderful to be able to be there and see her find happiness with an amazing man. It was a nice, relaxing trip and it was great to see all of my family again.

Around here we’ve just been hanging out doing the same old stuff. Matt’s working and I’m chillin’ out at home with Brennen. I’ve been doing some lawn mowing for Matt’s dad when he needs a little extra help so I’ve been able to earn us a little bit of money and spend some time outside working hard which is kinda nice after being at home so much the past year. But that being said I can really tell when I’ve been working for a few days because my house goes to pot then I have to catch up on all the cleaning.

This 4th of July weekend was pretty fun. Saturday we went up and hiked around the snowy range then last night we had a party with several of our friends. It was so much fun! We had a bbq and then just talked and played games and watched the fireworks.

Brennen is growing up so quickly all of a sudden. He can’t walk quite yet but I’m not worried ‘cause his dad didn’t walk until 15 months or so and I’ve heard other oldest children don’t walk very early. But he’s taken 5 steps at a time so he’s getting there! He loves to just stand at the window and look outside. He’ll stand there for such a long time but then if I take him outside he hates the grass and hates it when I put him down. Funny kid. He also says a few words like uh-oh, thank you, and ok. He also sees the dog at Matt’s parent’s house and he’ll say something that kinda sounds like dog so we’ll count it. :) But he “talks” and makes noise all the time. He entertains me constantly.

The Wedding
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Outdoor fun
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