Goodbyes are hard

On Tuesday morning, as the sun blazed over the Kaycee hills, spilling onto the prairie, I drove south toward the airport, the Big Horns in my rear view. As ready as I was to get back into a schedule and my own bed, I felt the familiar sadness that accompanies leaving my hometown. Though I haven't lived there for over a decade and I get to visit only way too seldom, it still seems like home to me.
These are my two traveling companions. One of them is old enough to need a fishing license! They liked hearing about my A&W days as a high schooler. This is the A&W at Wheatland.

Here's baby Keegan again. He's just the cutest! It doesn't seem all that long ago that his mother was this size--now she's carting around a new baby and all the responsibilities of adulthood. I'm quite proud of her, in case you can't tell.
I'm pretty proud of how Mariah is growing up, too. Here she is doing crafts with Madison and Makayla. It was her idea to buy the stuff (with money she earned) and take it up to the mountains for the girls. All you had to do was say the word and they were all over her with impish grins, begging to make something else. We all got several pipe cleaner bracelets, made in colors for every occasion. They also had fun making animals and creating inspiring works of art with stickers.Some of you might recognize this place. For those that don't, it's a wonderful restaurant to find breakfast called Pistol Pete's. All over Wyoming, it's expected that the heads of deer, elk, antelope and moose are mounted and displayed on the walls. This creature must have been hunted and captured before I was born.

As for Katie and my Dad, those will have to be blogs for another day. I'm still waiting on some pictures and they are stories of their own. More later!

Nieces and Nephews

My siblings and I planned a get-together camping trip up in the mountains. Matt is not only a terrific host, but a very welcome new member of the family. He and my sister Nicole are the proud parents of this sweet little baby to the left.

Here I am holding Keegan by Dullknife Reservoir. I've been waiting since February to see him! He's so sweet and lovable. He loves to talk and smile. Not that my hair was all that beautiful while camping anyway, but the wind wasn't helping any.



Here are all the Olson cousins (from left to right):
Keegan, Katie, Makayla, Madison, and Mariah.


















Madison and Makayla have grown up so much! Madison started kindergarten this year and they are both so smart. I loved getting to catch up with them and give them lots of hugs. Mariah and Katie also had a great time doting on their younger cousins! Today I have to get caught up on laundry and groceries and an eye appt. for Katie. (That's a whole other blog!) More to come for this trip. Thanks Nicole, for the pics!

Lookin' Good!

Yeah, it's come to this. I didn't really want to have to resort to such extremes, but he forced my hand. I bought him a scratching post, which he didn't touch. A bucketful of toys, which he does play with but it doesn't fill his need to scratch. Instead, he prefers the couch, the loveseat, the side of the bed, and the carpets. Honestly, I feel bad for my little Rillies. I do. But he has what my Grandma Lil used to call a mind of his own. Stubborn, not prone to bend his will to mine.

So I fixed him. Fixed him good. These are Soft Paws, a veterinarian recommended fake fingernail set for cats. They come off when cats normally shed their nails, every six weeks or so. Then you reapply them. In the meanwhile, they can't scratch your furniture. They're non-toxic and completely harmless, even if they happen to swallow them.



He was not amused. I only feel mildly sorry for him. Scratch to your heart's content, kitty boy!


It wasn't a fun process. But, I have to admit, the red is sorta flattering. Goes with his collar.
I think he'll recover, maybe start talking to me again in a few weeks. Or when he needs another scoop of kitty kibbles.

Smoky Mountain National Park

Here are some cute pics of Eastern TN... you can't tell how hot it was, but talk about sweltering weather! Those of us from the Oregon coast never thought we'd be relieved at 86 degree weather. Mariah and Katie love baby goats! They snuggled these newborns for a long time.












Here we are playing pooh-sticks.... not that there is much water this time of year , but it was still fun!

Beautiful Paris (Pa REE)

There's a little town in Tennessee called Paris. We went there for a wedding--one of Doug's coworkers. He grew up there and met his wife in high school. A year ago, they found each other again at their ten year reunion at the Elks Lodge (where the reception happened to be). Sweet love story, fun party, and dead camera batteries! We did get a couple pictures, though...

Here's the Eiffel Tower in Paris, TN.



And here's a Piggly Wiggly where we stopped to get some water, or something. Isn't it cute? It has all the charm of a Southern small-town grocery store.

A funny thing happened on the way to the petting zoo

"You can't feed an elk with your hands; they won't let you get close." I said in the car, hoping to end the discussion-turning-argument between my daughters in the back seat.
"Maybe in captivity,"Doug interjected.
"No," I corrected my husband. "Even the ones in the park in Sheridan won't let you get close. They're still wild." There, that did it. Darwin E. Creek's granddaughter knows about these things.

Right?




Um, no. Apparently not. This is Buddy. He's a 12 year old elk that wandered in a couple years ago. All of his girlfriends were up the hill with their babies on this sweltering Memorial Day weekend. He licked the corn out of my hands but turned up his nose at the pressed oats. This was after a shower from a garden hose held by a zoo worker. I have to admit, he was sorta sweet. What's next, a reindeer? Sheesh!!


FYI, reindeer like apples, not the carrots my Dad used to have me leave out with Santa's cookies. Makes me wonder who did eat the carrots. Easter bunny, maybe?

Stop and smell the roses

Here's Mariah in front of our house.

Katie had a full month of dance camp, but other than that, it's been really nice to just have a "normal" summer. After such a whirlwind move, then diving into full-time writing and homeschool, it's been good to just relax and enjoy our new home for a bit. I admit, I had good intentions when I started this blog, but I have been lazy. Promise to get posting more regularly!