Family Weekend Logan

We made a trip to Logan the end of September for Family Weekend. Mark found such a steal on airfare, that we decided to fly instead of drive. It was great because it allowed us to take advantage of the few days we had. 

Kars was thrilled to see us and anxious to show us around her place now that she has settled in.

Kars has never been a slob, but it is funny to hear her talk about how messy her roommates are and how it drives her crazy!! I would have to agree ....

She claims she is the only one who cleans up;)

We spent a fair amount of time breathing in the autumn air in the canyon.

And planning our next meal in between

Took lots of walks around town

Got Aggie Ice Cream

More canyon time

Walks around campus. Kars is really liking her roommates which has been a godsend since there are no in person classes and there is very little in the way of campus activities. 

Goodbye was still hard, but I think she is beginning to feel more at home in this gorgeous town.

 

Laramie Love

 I love that we can go see our bug within an hour. We made plans to have lunch with her one Saturday and decided to take advantage of the fabulous fall weather and go hike around Vedauwoo until she finished work. 

It was perfect and very relaxing. 

When we picked her up for lunch, she had a birthday surprise for Emm. A cute tie dye sweatshirt, hair scrunchies, and a beautiful card she made. 

#14

This little gal turned 14. She did not want breakfast in bed this year because she needed to get ready for online school. Her only request was a Naked smoothie. 

After school we took her to get a second ear piercing.

She asked for homemade Mac N Cheese for dinner. 

She was thrilled to get wireless ear buds...

Some new hats ...

She was most excited about getting a phone that has a phone number;) I am afraid I will regret this.

Kars sent her an Aggie sweatshirt.

We had a sampling of cupcakes from the Cakery and Huckleberry ice cream.

Things have been hard for Emm this past year. She is not enjoying being home alone with us.

We know she loves us even though we are so ANNOYING! We love her the most!

She had her best bud Bella over for a sleepover on the weekend, which gave her a much needed break from her parents.

Spearfish, SD

 Labor Day weekend was spent in Spearfish with #3. At roughly 5 hours each way, it is a pretty short drive from our house. We checked out the DC Booth fish hatchery. 

The facilities were so beautiful and the weather was perfect!

We had a great time exploring the historic buildings and feeding the fish.

By afternoon, the temp was rising making our next stop extra refreshing. We hiked the Devils Bathtub trail with way too many people.

The appeal (especially on this day) is the natural slide at the end. 

Mark and Emm both ventured to give it a few tries. I was content to just get my feet wet.

We attempted to explore as much of the area as possible with the couple of days we had. We visited Spearfish and Roughlock Falls. 

Taking in Roughlock Falls

And then Spearfish Falls

On our way to Deadwood the next day we stopped to take a look around Lead, home of the Homestake Mine. Until it closed in 2002 it was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America.

Once in Deadwood, we wandered around the brick streets of downtown.

Found an old fashion ice cream shop

We also drove a little out of town to see the Mount Moriah Cemetery where several notable figures from the wild west are buried. 

We had enough time to do a short hike to see the Mount Roosevelt Friendship Tower. 

It was built and dedicated to President Theodore Roosevelt by a close friend.

At the top you get a fantastic view of the Black Hills.

Mark took advantage of serving as guide for Emmrey to fish Spearfish Creek.

I am told there were tons of fish, making it easy to stay engaged. Emm had success with the Brown Trout.

We made this trip to Spearfish, with no particular plans in mind and no real expectations and were pleasantly surprised.