cody, yellowstone, mt rushmore, devils tower

Aaaaah, family vacations! As much I complain about Wyoming, there are stunning parts and we got to see them all last week. I included the photo of an extremely sticky Gianni who has a difficult time getting snack foods from convenience stores and gifts shops, due to his allergies. So, being the dimwit I am, I bought him a huge butterscotch sucker. If you look closely you will see that his eyelashes are indeed stuck to his eyelid, where they were glued for the better part of a long car ride through Yellowstone National Park. You'd think, wouldn't you, that it would hurt not to be able to blink, but my only guess is that the sugar rush took away his ability to feel pain.

We rented a lovely house in Cody with my family, where we met everyone for Papa's big 6 - 0 birthday. For his birthday gift, he got to sleep with Anna, who enjoys practicing gymnastics routines in her sleep - happy birthday, Dad, sorry about the size 12 footprint bruises up and down your ribcage. My wonderfully organized mother brought along copious amounts of wine and a large gallon of saurkraut that we carted all over Wyoming. Our innards are pickled nicely now. We went to dinosaur museums (Wyoming is indeed a hotbed for fossils) and oohed and ahhed over Devil's Tower National Monument and realized in our humble opinions, that areas by Sheridan are actually more crazy beautiful than Yellowstone is. Gianni can officially sleep anywhere now: he loves the cribs at the Holiday Inns and is an expert at pushing elevator buttons. Mike made calls on doctors on the towns we went through, earning us hotels paid for by his job, which was a great perk.

And now, home again, spring has finally sprung here in Cheyenne. $13 and a unused garden spot in my yard became a sandbox, and combined with a subtle hint to the neighbors who own a trampoline and yet do not own children to jump on said trampoline, our yard is fully equipped for summer fun. Fun for them. I on the other hand, spend my time walking behind Gianni with a small broom and dustpan. And Mike says no more letting him play outside in nothing but his diaper and binky, killjoy. It's easier to shake him out when there aren't any clothes to hide sand and rocks and dirt in. It was me that said my kids should be dirty and disgusting at the end of the day, huh? I must have been tipsy on saurkraut at the time.