Back to Kansas

Time to say our goodbye's and start driving home. 

I love this place and I'm grateful that my family (old and new) has found it's way back here. 

We spied a moose on the way out!

Traveling with my girls has been a pleasure! They are easygoing and up for trying weird roadside cuisine. 

Until 2025! 

Moon Lake Monday

We had a lot to fit in today. We gotta make the most out of all that Moon Lake has to offer. We leave in the morning!

But first! We need to drive down the road a ways so we can get a signal, call dad, check our emails and not loose our daily streak on Lingvano and DuoLingo. The little girls don't have phones, so they weren't up for the drive. 

We made our way to the beach. Jordan leveled the sand for Mom's camp chair. He's a good egg. 

I'm forever amazed at how kids can acclimate to cold water. 

My feet go numb after a few seconds, but these two are happily excavating this huge log. 

The cousins spent every cent of their allowance at the lodge. I remember how wonderful that freedom was when I was a kid. Sneaking off and coming home with a candy bar or can of soda just for me. Kit Kat and a rootbeer. That's the taste of Moon Lake.   

We made to feed our little porch pirate before we got too involved with our own activities. He's wasting away to nothing!

More games with Aunt Bri! 

I did my best to broil some cookies (flipping them like pancakes works pretty well!)

And the kids settled in with a generous supply of paint pens and the flat rocks I illegally swiped from the dry Roaring River bed last week. 

We exude coolness. 

Ethan missed the whole thing. And I'm pretty sure he's not mad about it. 

Sunday Campfire Games

Sunday in the woods are a little weird. Each family handles it a little differently. Jordan and Cheyanne took their kids to Cheyanne for church in Duchesne. We opted for french toast.

Bri and Amanda organized a game for everyone and brought lots of treats for rewards. 

Games aren't my thing. They are never my idea.

But mostly I end up loving it and happy we all got to laugh and hang out together. 

The cousins ended the day reading out loud to each other. This is why we come...I hope they keep being friends as they get older!

Doing all the Moon Lake things

This is one of my favorite views. Right out the door of our little cabin. Breakfast cooking and the sun shining on the lake 💕

We planned to go on a horseback ride this morning. We had hoped that Ethan would be here with us, but he had some car trouble on the way up last night and didn't get her in time. Halli came along with us in his spot. 

Everly was NOT feeling confident about being on that horse. The only reason she ended up coming was the guide taking her horse on a lead line. 

And there was really no other choice. We were all heading out on horses and we couldn't leave her behind. 

That's a nervous look. 

There was a forest fire a couple years ago. The vibrant green saplings, the black trees and the bright blue sky were tragic and hopeful. It's so sad that all of those tall pines burned. It will be decades before they replace the old growth. But they will. 

We had to be careful not to let the horses pass to close to the burnt trees. The remaining branches were like knives. 

It was fun! I think we'll go again next time and see how much the saplings have grown. 

We spent some time down at the lake. Lara had a floating chair she wanted to try out. 

So, naturally, she stood on the beach and held a rope so the little girls didn't drift away. 

Meg and Laney found a quiet spot to do some sketching.

And Ethan finally arrived!! He wasted no time setting up a questionable target practice out the front door. He never got caught, so it must be ok!

Back down to the beach for a little hole diggin.

Some wildflowers from my firstborn pup!

Showing the cousins the wonders of color-flame packs!

Redneck's got redneck...

It was Kaira's night for a treat and she introduced us all to mango coconut rice. 

Live changing!! 

And the perfect ending to the perfect Moon Lake day. The sound of the heater making me feel perfectly happy.