T, B & T and little she: Day 2 "Scotts North Trip " Cody, Wyoming

The easy riders

The "Fun" group (name given by my Dad, the trip planner)

Love Tyson's (my brother) face in this photo! He and Ben thought they would be fine without rain gear. So I'm pretty sure that's how they ended up in the front :)

My face (smack in the middle)- true bliss right there!!!

Our first adventure on Saturday morning, bright and early, was White water rafting down the Shoshone River. My brother Cameron asked if he could wear some protective rain gear because he literally turns blue in water and gets so cold. We all poked fun until our guide told us there was ice on the river the day before and the water temperature that day was 32 degrees!!!!!!! So we all quickly grabbed some rain gear!

We split into two groups- the easy ride for younger kids (Berkleigh, Merrick, Jacob, Nataleigh), Megan, Jana, Grandpa and recent brain surgery survivor, Jen.

Then the "Fun" group (Tyson, "Smitty", Ben, Mackenzie, David, Cameron, Me, and Brooke) which rafted down class 4 rapids. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect. Tyson and I felt like we could really breathe! Without the humidity of Virginia, we were taking in deep breathes and soaking in the 75 degree weather. The surroundings were amazing, almost fake looking because it all seemed like it was taken straight from a book.

I started out paddling on one side of the boat but about half way down the river I switched with Cameron (who was in the middle of the boat) because I had lost feeling in my feet- it was SOOOOOO COLD!!!! Every time the water would splash up into the boat, it would take our breathe away. But being cold was worth the experience. Our guide told us we were one of the best groups that have ever floated down the river and he's been doing this for ten years. He said we really listened, had fun, and everyone was helpful. Woohoo!

Successful trip!! One of my favorite memories was the lunch our group had, put on by the Rafting crew. It was simple- build your own sandwich, salads, water, and cheese cake. But what I loved most was sitting as a group talking about river rafting, how we were still frozen, music, jobs etc… Such a great time!

While the big kids and adults went River rafting, Grandma watched 5 kids under 4.5 years old. It was no small feet but she rocked it! Hadleigh and Taryn even got their toes and finger nails painted. Quincy painted grandma's toes and did such a great job ;)

Some of the group went to the Buffalo Bill's Museum in-between events and enjoyed learning more about the area, Buffalo Bill , and watching the bird show.

We grabbed our seats for the Gun Fight outside the Buffalo Bill's Irma Hotel (where we were staying) and watched as Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and other western outlaws fight it out, loud guns and all.

These two were inseparable the whole trip. The first thing Taryn would ask for in the morning was "Cousins!!!" and would ask where Nataleigh was if they ever got separated. It was so sweet to see our girls get so much cousin time in. We hardly ever saw Taryn during the day because if we were on the rode, she was in the Rasmussen RV. Couldn't have been a better place the the cousins to gather on our long road trip stretches. Hadleigh did miss her car riding buddy though. Hadleigh had already mastered baby Margot's name before the trip but now she says "Keense" (Quincy), "Nahlee" (Nataleigh), "Berkee" (Berkleigh) all the time!

The gun fire scared Hadleigh so much that she burst into tears and Tyson had to take her off to the side.

Our next activity on Saturday was a Rodeo! It was really fun to get all dressed up in our cowboy garbs. This was about the time I realized I had forgotten to pack Tyson's cowboy shirt and white shirt for Sunday. Cody, Wyoming Walmart to the rescue! I think I grabbed a white shirt and this cowboy shirt within seconds and ran to the register. When your schedule is planned to a tee, making little unplanned stops like this have to be super quick!

I asked Hadleigh to show me her hat so she flipped around and posed.

Then there was more posing from these cute girls! I love that Hadleigh put her hands up on her sides like that for the photos. I have no idea where she got that from but it's just adorable!

Showing off their matching shirts and little boots! (Thanks for the great friend Aunt Megan!)

This is definitely my new favorite photo of me and my girls!

Ugh- I just couldn't watch this stuff. It made my insides hurt and I'm pretty sure I was more jumpy than the actual riders. Can't believe people willingly sign up for this!

The kids were called out to the field for a fun little game of trying to catch a little calf. The kids were hilarious ! Taryn is the little pink running girl

"Hi, Mom!"

Grandma and Grandpa and baby Margot

Cameron and Dad

Best buddies!

Watching the Rodeo. Hadleigh kept wondering down the bleachers and so we had to distract her to not get in the way of those walking up and down and watching the Rodeo. So phone to the rescue! I was surprised that the rodeo was hard for Taryn to watch too. She would have rather been running up and down the bleachers. We had a hard time keeping her out of peoples way and sitting (one thing she doesn't like to do!) - phew!