More Grammy and Granddad

Grammy and Granddad came up to the cabin to be with us in the middle of the week. It was great to spend more time with them. Grammy watched the kids so Ryan and I could go to the temple in Rexburg. Thanks again for that. We also went for a hike with the dogs. Here's Grammy with their new puppy Cocoa.



Here's Glade enjoying the riverbank and being out of the pack.




Grammy with Glade.




Kim, as close as she can get without being wet and cold.




Granddad in the cabin with Harrison and Kimberly.




Ryan's brother Reed and his wife Katie came up to the cabin with their little Addie. And I do mean little. Addie was born 6 weeks early and now weighs a wopping 6 lbs at about 2 months old. (sorry if I got the numbers mixed up Reed and Katie!) It was great to meet her. She is a little doll.

Cabin Fever!

In a good way. We have always loved the cabin. Ryan and I spent our honeymoon there in late December with 4 feet of snow around us. We did get a few sprinkles of snow while we were there. Here are Kim and Glade enjoying the snow on the front porch.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas. . .

But not in mid-June. This is the scene that greeted us as we drove into Yellowstone on our way to the cabin. I couldn't believe how snowy it was. And it was still snowing on us. The ranger at the gate said that the road had been closed the night before so we were lucky to get through.





It was starting to clear up so we got out at one of the geyser basins. It was very cold though. We braved it one or two more times. The cold air made the normal steam VERY heavy.



On the way out, it got a lot more sunny so we got this good picture of Ryan. Then it was out through West Yellowstone with a quick stop at the grocery store and home to the cabin in Island Park for a week.

A Real Payne

My mom's maiden name is Payne. I have always really enjoyed my Grandma and Grandpa Payne and was blessed to grow up near them. When I traveled to Cleveland for the WREB, I noticed that Payne was quite a prominent name where I was. I intended to research this, but haven't done it yet.

Hat

I made this cute hat for Glade. I love the way it turned out. It reminds me of Granddad Abbott's fishing hats.

Captain Abbott

The day after graduation, Ryan was made a Captain in the United States Army. Then we were off for Ft. Lewis, WA. By the way, we really liked having our things packed for us and look forward to having them unpacked also.

Mt. Rushmore

As I said in the last post, Ryan's parents traveled back out West with us. They
drove the Smurf most of the way. One of the most fun things we did is go to Mt. Rushmore. I have never been there before and it seems like the kind of thing you should see at least once in your life. I didn't know that the artist had much more planned, but died before it was completed. They sketches they had showed some of the Presidents to the waist.

Dr. Abbott

I am finally getting the pictures up so I can make this post. Although it was a month ago, It was one of the proudest days of my life. Four years of hard work and it is finally finished! Ryan, we are so proud of you and all of your hard work.

Ryan and I in the Merschon lobby area! It was kind of fun. He was the first one across the stage since they had the class in alphabetical order. There are some advantages to being and Abbott! It was wonderful to hear "Dr. Ryan Abbott."


Ryan's parents came from Idaho Falls, ID to be with us for the occassion. They also helped us drive out West. We appreciate the effort to be with us and the help.


Kim gives her Dad a BIG hug!


Ryan with some good friends, Peter and Austin.


Wendy and I. It was hard to say goodbye to some good friends.


Ryan and some other friends: Michael, Mike, Kendall, Nate, and Jake


Kim and I. Katie, I am sad I didn't get a picture with you!


There was a nice luncheon on the lawn afterward. It was a nice day for the celebration.

Homeless

We arrived here in Washington on Tuesday evening and things are going pretty well. Ryan has been in-processing here at Ft. Lewis since then. I have a million things that I want to post about, but I want to wait until I have my pictures, which won't happen until we actually FIND a place to live. That's right, we are in lodging on-base (basically a hotel). It has been pretty good, but you can only go so long each day with all 3 (or 4 if Ryan is around) of us in the same room. I am starting to go a little crazy! We have finally figured out which area we would like to live in, but we haven't picked out a house in that area. Luckily for us, we have 10 paid days here at the hotel to do so. So here's to hoping that we find a place to live soon before I loose my mind!

By the way, I haven't forgotten you Brooke, I just haven't had the desktop computer yet. Remind me again in a few weeks if I haven't gotten the pictures to you by then.

Travelling

Well, we have spent the last few days watching our house get packed up, and driving across the country. we have been in 6 states since Tuesday. Kim is now a world traveller since her trip to Florida with Dad. She will have 14 states in under three weeks under her belt by the time we get to Washington. We are currently in a little town called Worland, WY. Pretty nice little town. Yesterday when we finally got back to the mountains I realized how much the West feels like home. Even though I have never been through the part that we drove last night, just driving down a beautiful canyon felt like coming home. I'll have to post more later since we are trying to get out of here.

Miss you all in Ohio!