Oh Yes! Wyoming!

At the end of May I arranged to fly down to Las Vegas to help Paige drive her boys up to Wyoming so she could spend a few weeks with our sister DeNae.  She didn't want to drive all the way by herself and I was more than happy to get out of the house and have an adventure!

Wyoming Part 1:

My first flight in many months.  You had to wear a mask the entire flight and there was hardly anyone  on the airplane.  So many people are just staying home during this pandemic...which is totally understandable.  It sure made for a comfortable flight!

Silly Remy.  We hung out in Vegas for a few days before making the drive up to Wyoming.

Having fun in the pool with the babies at Chisa's house.  They are getting so brave.  They would stand on the side of the pool and jump right to me in the water!

It's always so beautiful driving up through southern Utah.  We decided it would be easier if we drove through the night to get to Wyoming so the kids would mostly just sleep in the car.  They did so great!  Our GPS said it would be about 14 hours to get to Gillette, Wyoming but with a few stops to let kids run around it took us closer to 16 hours to make the full drive.  The kids all slept in the car and when we got to DeNae's house (at about 6 in the morning) we put them in their beds and they all slept for another 4 hours!

Having fun at Doda DeNae's house.  She has such a fantastic playground in her yard and so much room to run and play.  It was great for Paige's kids because they had been cooped up in the house in Vegas because it's really too hot to go outside in the summer there.

Emmett and Cecil reading with Tia Tanya.  That's another great thing about visiting Wyoming, I have 3 sisters that live there so I got to hang out with them all, plus Paige!  It was a little reunion:)

Riann and I helping to paint Tanya's kitchen cabinets.  We worked hard on painting some walls and rearranging some furniture to make Tia's house look fabulous!  I have to add that I also successfully installed a ceiling fan for her...super proud of myself!

5 Johnson girls all together...so much fun!

Little Emmett turned 3 while we were there, it was so fun to celebrate his birthday.  He is such a cutie!

Emmett helping to prepare a salad for dinner...this kid loves to be naked!

We took a day trip over to Devils Tower for a short hike.  Here are all the cousins (plus a family friend) at Devils Tower

Sisters having fun hiking

All the kids were real good hikers.  These little guys even hiked most of the way around the 1.5 mile loop

Me with little Graham hiking along.  I love his big steps:)

The kids had so much fun climbing around these boulders and rocks at the base of the tower.

It was super sad to say goodbye to my wonderful family in Wyoming but I had to get back to Portland to take care of my kids that had been home by themselves this whole time.  Paige stayed on in Wyoming and the plan was for her husband, Zach, to fly up to Wyoming and then help her drive back to Vegas in a few weeks.

Wyoming Part 2:

Due to COVID-19 military personnel were banned from flying.  So Paige now had no way to drive back home to Vegas because her husband is in the Air Force.  So I bought a plane ticket and headed back to Wyoming to hang out for a bit and then help Paige drive home.  It didn't really work out that way but it was a fantastic time anyway!

Back in Wyoming playing on Uncle Stans 4 wheelers with these 2 cuties!

Owen and Remy (waaaay up in the tree)

The twins got their toenails painted and loved showing off their "special toes"

The twins loved DeNae's cat (not her cat) Bert.  It's really the neighbors cat but spends a lot of time at DeNae's house:)

On my second trip to Wyoming we got to celebrate Ethan's 16th birthday...what a treat!

I love these 2 boys so much!!

Restrictions on military personnel flying got lifted so Zach was able to fly up to Wyoming.  Which meant that I was going to fly back to Portland from Gillette.  No problem, right?

So, so hard saying goodbye to these 2 guys.  They were hanging on me and calling after me "Doo Ah" which is how they say Auntie Chelle:)

It was hard to say goodbye to my wonderful sisters as well.

BUT...then I missed my flight to Portland, so I got to stay in Wyoming!  Gillette has a really small airport and I must have gotten to the check in counter about 5 minutes too late to check in.  It was super stressful because I had never missed a flight before but the airline was really nice and rebooked my flight for the next available time with no charge.  So I guess things worked out for the best, even if I did feel really dumb for missing a flight!

We went on a beautiful hike through the Big Horn mountains.

Just chilling by the campfire.  We roasted steak and hot dogs and made s'mores...it was a wonderful evening...I was sort of glad I missed my flight:)

Nothing cuter than babies and marshmallows!

Yee-Haw Cecil:)

Checking out the baby geese on a little walk around a lake

Having fun with cousin Owen at the playground

Swimming at the Gillette community pool, everyone had a blast.

Wait!  What?  Why is Hyrum in Wyoming?  Well, since I missed my flight and the next available flight out of Gillette wasn't for 4 days Hyrum decided to pack our boys in the van and drive from Portland to Gillette to pick me up and take me home...what a treat!

I wanted to show Hyrum and my boys Devils Tower so we headed out there one day for a hike with our whole family and a few extra cousins for fun.

The cute prairie dogs at Devils Tower

All the "big kids" climbing on some rocks at Devils Tower...

...Remy didn't let his size stop him though.  He was right there exploring with all his big cousins.

The Durtschi's at Devils Tower.  I'm so glad I could show my boys this beautiful place.

We found a wonderful spot for a picnic lunch

Having fun at a indoor trampoline park

All the "older cousins" and their dads went for a fun mountain bike ride in the Big Horn mountains.  Stan had enough bikes so that there were plenty for my family plus Zach.  All the moms stayed back and played at the trampoline park.  From the description it sounds like it was a pretty tough bike ride but they hall said it was super fun.

Biking through the beautiful meadows with wild flowers

After they boys bike ride we headed home for Portland.  We drove over 2 days, stopping in Montana for the night.  It was so wonderful for my boys to get to meet their cousins and hang out at their house for a few days.  It was truly like a mini family reunion.  I had so much fun with my sister and all their kids!  What a great experience:)

We Bought a Boat!

With COVID-19 shutting the world down and with nothing to do except sit at home we decided to buy a sailboat.  We thought it would be a fun distraction for us and something new and fun to teach the boys.  We bought a 1975 O'Day 22 for $2000.  We decided to start small and old because we just weren't sure if we would even like sailing or if the kids would think it was fun.  We didn't want to invest too much money into this new hobby.  Hyrum had a little sail boat growing up that he had played around on but I had never really been sailing so everything was new to me.  It has been a lot of fun and Hyrum and I even took a 3 day sailing class together to learn the basics and how to feel confident on a sailboat.  I have to just add here that I got 100 on the final written exam for the sailing class, Hyrum got 99 😆 I just have to rub that in a bit because I was super nervous about taking the class and thought I wouldn't even pass the requirements to get certified.  But, I will admit Hyrum is a better sailer than me.  He is much more confident with handling the boat and tying all the many knots you have to know for all the rigging.  I just think it's fun to be out on the water and have found that it has given our family something to do while the world is mostly shut down.

The nice couple we bought our boat from.  They took us out for a sail before we bought the boat and showed us how it all works.

Townsend and Emerson drove down with Daddy to pick up the sailboat.  It looked so huge behind our little mini van but our van had no trouble hauling it 3 hours home.

Our new boat at our little sailboat dock on Sauvie Island.  The previous owners named the boat "Lil' Shelby" after their granddaughter.  We had a fun time as a family coming up with a new name for our sailboat.

Our newly christened boat, the "Skinny Dan".  A few years ago we were walking around a mall in Salt Lake City that had a water feature running through the center of it with trout swimming around.  For some reason Emerson named one of the trout "Skinny Dan" and it has stuck with us all these years.  We thought that was a perfect name for our new boat.

Julian and Daddy out for a sail

Heading up the Multnomah Channel to get out to the Willamette River for our sail.  It takes about 30 minutes to motor up the channel before we get to the river to sail.  

3 boys on a boat.  They enjoy sailing as long as it's about once every 2 weeks.  They don't like when we want to take them out every few days:)

We like to anchor off the shore of Sauvie Island and the boys can jump in the water and swim around for a bit.

Hyrum's fathers day gift, a Captains Hat:)

It's been fun taking friends out on the boat.  It's not a big boat but we can fit about 5 or 6 people on it. Emerson and his friend Landon chilling on the deck of the boat.

Julian with his friend Jacob

When we bought the sailboat the previous owners had just thrown down some old outdoor furniture mats to use for cushions.  Hyrum measured out the benches and then his sister Katrina sewed these beautiful cushions for us.  It makes the cabin look so clean and cozy.

Hyrum with our sailing instructor, Harold, in one of our sailing classes.

The newest graduates of American Sailboat Association Keelboat sailing course with our great teacher, Harold.

The sailboat has been a lot of fun.  I love just being outside and having something to do with my kids during the summer.  It has been a lot of fun learning to sail with Hyrum and I hope we have many more sailing adventures in our future!