Small Town Couple: Letter Home

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thank you for a wonderful vacation! We thoroughly enjoyed playing cards and marbles, Cowley’s Day and going to the mountain. The kids loved the pool, 4-wheelers, and horses. I think I summed it up well once before when I said that Wyoming is kid heaven. It felt like a little piece of heaven to David and I as well. Wish we lived closer. I heard one of the kids mention on the drive back that Grandma and Grandpa’s would be so much closer if the Dakota’s disappeared :).

The trip back went well. We left your place at 5:10 a.m. and arrived here around 8:30 p.m. Not bad considering Mary threw up just outside of Dickinson, North Dakota. She was complaining that her belly hurt so we told her to look out the window and turned up the air. However, there were a lot of bumps on the freeway which made the van feel a little like a roller coaster. We were trying to reach Dickinson where we planned to stop, get gas, and let her walk around, but she couldn’t hold on and ended up getting sick in the car. That was a strong motivation to find a gas station which we did within a couple of miles. Luckily the store had vinegar so we cleaned everything up and were on our way pretty quickly. The only other major stop we made was for dinner so all in all we made excellent time.

I spent most of Friday getting Jacob ready for his first over-night backpacking trip. Thank goodness we already had a frame pack so after purchasing a mess kit, we spent the morning making sure Jacob could get his sleeping bag into the compression sack and then bungee it to the backpack. Jacob had a list of suggested items to bring so we gathered most of them and had him try on the pack. It was pretty heavy so he decided to downsize. He took out his jeans, put some band-aids in a baggy and left the first aid kit, and ditched the second water bottle he had planned to take. He would not, however, leave the hatchet. I was sure his leader would bring one, but Jacob insisted on carry that heavy thing. And it’s a good thing he did, as he was the only person who brought one.

After getting his pack situated, we had to come up with an idea for a tinfoil dinner since Jacob isn’t a big fan of the traditional contents (potatoes, onions, & hamburger). After some thought, he chose to thinly slice a potato, layering it generously with butter (to simulate a baked potato) and put 5 breakfast sausages (precooked) on top. He said it was excellent. I dropped him off at 4:30 and four scouts with two leaders hiked 5 miles to their campsite. Everyone came back the next day happy and healthy so I think we can call it a success.

As for the rest of us, we spent Saturday just trying to get things put away from our trip.

I’d better run. Thank you again for having us. And thanks for understanding that we needed to get back so Jacob could go on his scout trip – I think it was a really good experience for him. We love you and appreciate all of your love and support for us. Have a good week.

Love,

David, Ella, Jacob, Charlotte, Laurel, & Mary

Cowley's Day Fun Run: David, Jacob, & Charlotte all placed first in their age category.

Left to Right: Natalie, Kary, Max, Mom, Dad, Me. I couldn't seem to get enough of my family while home - I felt like a parched person finally getting a drink of water and frankly, I didn't get to drink long enough to satisfy my craving, but it will have to do :).