This last week we photographed the exterior of our home. We'll probably be listing it in the spring, so this was our last chance to get pictures before everything starts to die. Anyway, I realized that I never shared pictures of our finished patio. Here she is! 

Isn't she pretty? We took it out for the pictures, but usually we have a propane fire pit by the table so we can s'mores it up. 
I'm so pleased with how everything turned out! Having a patio living space makes our backyard way prettier and way more usable. Here are the before/progress pictures. If we were going to live here for another summer I would have changed out the sconce by the door to something more modern, and I would've stained the pergola black and maybe cut off the wood hanging over on the top. But at this point, it doesn't feel worth it. Gotta save a few projects for the next homeowners, right?


My favorite parts of the patio are the bistro lights and the herb planter box that Jared and I built together. It isn't perfect, but we built it ourselves and I'm so proud of us!! There are some honeysuckle vines planted in there that are still babies. Over the next 2-3 years they should climb all the way to the top of the trellises. I'm sad I won't be here to see it, but hopefully the next people who live here will love it. I've loooved having fresh basil and dill and oregano right outside my door all summer long. 

I've also loved hanging up a screen and having special projector-movie date nights every so-often. You can take the sofa's back cushions off and it's wide enough for two people to lay on it and watch a movie or look up at the starry Wyoming sky. Last week we brought one of our living room couches out to the patio and pushed it up next to the outdoor couch. Then we piled on tons of blankets and pillows, loaded the arched shelf with candy and butterbeer, and watched the last Harry Potter movie on our projector. It was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be. As excited as we are for our next phase of life, I'm really going to miss this first home of ours out on the open Wyoming prairie. 
Farewell to Patio Season

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On Saturday we took Jack to a corn maze. It was very overpriced, but only half as much as Cornbellies, and also the only corn maze/fall activity within a 4-hour radius. Yay Wyoming. We actually love Wyoming, but if there's something we can't find in Casper, our next closest option would probably be 4 hours away, most likely in Denver. So off we went To Green Acres, a farm past the airport. Us along with everyone else in town. It must be the only kid-friendly activity around this time of year, because all our neighbors were there. 

We started off with a tractor ride to the other side of the farm. 
Then Jack's favorite part--all the animals! There were ducks and furry pigs and donkeys and llamas and bunnies. 
We also played some tetherball. 
And Jack hated every second of this swing. 
Jack conned us into getting some rainbow kettle corn (it was actually amazing, so no regrets), and then we went through the corn maze. 
The corn was all dead because of the week-long freeze/snowstorm we had a month ago. But it was still fun. Jack and Jared took turns hiding around the corners and jumping out to scare each other. 
We finished our morning out with another tractor ride and then Jack found some toy dump trucks to play with. Which led to us having to drag him away from the farm kicking and screaming a few minutes later since it was already past his nap time and we had a longish drive home ahead of us. It was a really fun morning! Jack loved it, memories made, all that good stuff. We have crazy high winds forecast here all week so I'm sure the leaves will all be gone by the end of it. Glad we made the most of the season while it lasted. Happy Fall!
Dead Corn Maze

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If you ever make it to Mt. Rushmore, try and add a day or so at Custer Park! It was so beautiful, but we only had one morning to spend there before we had to head home. It definitely deserves at least a full day, especially considering the $20 entrance fee. We spent most of our time hiking around and picnicking at Sylvan Lake.

^^Mom fixing Dad's hair
^^Dad delivering our lunch of leftovers from our various meals, all of which were delicious. We particularly loved our food from Guadalajara in Keystone. Our expectations were low because the restaurant was pretty empty compared to all the other places to eat, but the food was so so good. Dad's crema enchilada was tops. 
^^Jared and Jack. Jack is our outdoorsboi. He LOVES hiking, climbing, "fishing," and all other nature activities. 
^^Mom is the champion! This looked like a flat, easy walk around the lake when we started. About halfway through we hit all these ups and downs and stairs. She rocked it. Hope she's been taking it easier this week though.
!!!!! Are we kidding?! So gorgeous. We saw a wedding being set up with this view behind it. Good life choice. 
Jack practically ran the full mile around the like with this big "fishing rod" stick in his hand. He's very into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse right now and there are several fishing episodes. He's into it. Two older ladies stopped him to ask if he was going fishing, and he said, "Ya!" Then they asked if he was going to catch a small fish or a big fish, and he said, "Bigger!" They loved that. 
After lunch we drove the Needles Highway. Did not disappoint! The Needles Highway is a motorcyclist mecca. Every year there's a motorcycle convention where thousands and thousands come from all over the country to enjoy this scenic, curvy ride. You can't really see it in this picture, but there was a narrow tunnel cut through the mountain for one car to go through at a time. Then you weave in and out and around all these "needles" with a great view of the valley below. I wish we'd had time to do the wildlife loop too, but I'm so happy we got to do this drive. 

Custer State Park

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The pictures for this post loaded backwards, but it's too much of a hassle to try and move them all around so I'm leaving them as is. This was our second time visiting Mt. Rushmore and it was even more magical than the first. I caught things that I didn't last time, like how the eyes are formed with big stone shafts in the middle to make them more lifelike. If I ever make it back I want to visit the museum. This time we made it right as it was closing. Bummer, but at least most people were leaving then so our time at the monument was very uncrowded. 

^^Last time we visited half of the Presidents' Trail was closed so we never made it to the stairs. As it turns out, there are an actual million stairs. Jack and my mom did really great considering all the ups and downs. Mom's still recovering from her brain surgery earlier this year so I was really impressed with how well she did with all the walking on rough terrain this trip. 
This goob was living his best life all weekend. Trains, hikes, grandma and grandpa, a hotel swimming pool, lots of Mickey Mouse during long drives, pizza, tons of social time, and staying up late. Jack's actual dream weekend. He was so happy. Still is.
^^So cool, right?? We also got to see it lit up at night in the dark a few times while we were driving by. 10/10, would recommend a multiple-day trip to Mt. Rushmore & the surrounding sites. We could've done several days at Custer Park alone. 
Dad with his doppelganger. Should've kept his beard and then shaved off all but the chin right before this trip. That would've been so funny. 
And last but certainly not least, Jack during one of his many scenic diaper changes. We have a picture like this of him being changed with Devil's Tower off in the distance. We'll have to do this with our future kids too and then make a coffee table book of scenic diaper changes. 


Mt. Rushmore 2020!

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We just got back from the BEST weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota with my parents. My mom had never been to Mt. Rushmore before, and seeing as this is the last fall we'll be here in Casper (a great jumping off point to get to the Black Hills), they decided they'd better get a move on this trip before winter sneaks up on us. I nudged them into choosing this weekend so Jared and I could join them and see some pretty fall leaves. With how few trees there are in the town where we live and how windy it is in Casper, fall is pretty short-lived here. Luckily we caught the Black Hills at a beautiful time. Most of the trees are evergreens (dark green ponderosas with black bark--hence the "Black Hills"), but there were enough aspens interspersed for some amazing pops of yellow. 

I'm going to divide our weekend in Black Hills into 2 or 3 posts to keep the pictures to a manageable level. I haven't taken this many pictures on my DSLR in a long time. Part one will be our ride on the 1080 train from Keystone to Hill City, SD. This was a highlight for everyone! It's the most Hogwarts Express feeling train I've ever been on--a double steam locomotive? I wished we'd brought some jellybeans and chocolate frogs. They don't always use this beautiful historic train--we just got lucky being there on the day it was in use. 
The ride was the perfect length of time for a two-year-old. We did a one-way trip that took about an hour. Jack was pretty wiggly, but we passed him back and forth over the seat to Grandma and Grandpa and back and he did great. He loved looking for animals and trees out the big windows. I'm so grateful Jared was able to join us. There was a covid-related work fiasco where Jared was going to have to work through the weekend on backup duty. Luckily one of his kind friends agreed to take his Saturday shift so he could join us for most of the trip. He did have to drive up in a separate car but that wound up working in our favor for being able take the train just one way.
Jack just adores grandma and grandpa. Definitely made the experience more magical (if a bit more exhausting) to have a toddler yelling "wow!" and "toot toot!" and "yay! again!" every minute or two. Also there was an adult man (likely with some kind of disability) who chased the train in a white minivan through the entire ride and would get out of the car at every corner to enthusiastically wave and give the biggest smile to everyone on the train. He was delightful. 
Now that we're back home Jack keeps playing with his wooden train set as though he's reliving his train ride experience. He detaches the front engine, takes it to get cleaned and fueled, and then pulls it back and aggressively attaches it to the rest of the train. 
Afterward we got lunch at Cruizzers Pizza--it was really good! Also it was just around the corner from our Ramada Hotel in Keystone (great location, would recommend). Hopefully you'll get a part two tomorrow. For now I've got to order a grocery pickup because our fridge is vacant. 
1080 Train

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