Cokeville, Wyoming (July 25th)

So you would think that after a trip to Mass (some stress) and then Lake Powell (more stress), we might give ourselves a break. But when family calls, one must heed. So the day after we arrived home from Lake Powell, we headed up to Cokeville, Wyoming - the location of the Dayton Family Pioneer Day celebration/reunion. We mostly went because Brandon often misses this annual tradition because it usually coincides with San Diego Comic-Con - an important can't-miss-work event that he wasn't able to go to this year. But in some ways, we gave ourselves a little bit of a break - instead of heading directly to Cokeville from Lake Powell all in one day (Friday), we stayed overnight in our own beds at home and headed out the next morning (Saturday) for what we thought would be a day trip.

Cokeville was less stressful and bordered on enjoyable at times for me. I like the slower pace of life up there and because there is so much extended family visiting, it's easy to go off on your own to relax without feeling like there is an expectation for you to be anywhere or do anything. We missed the morning parade but made it for the fireside and lunch.Here we are at lunch with Brandon's mom. We were starving and the barbeque was delicious. Brandon's dad is always amazed when he watches me eat as I suppose he's never seen a girl pack it down like I can.

Brandon's dad with his mother, Grandma Dayton. She is 99 years old! And she is also one of the sweetest people ever. You know just from talking to her that she was (and is) a real lady. She has countless grandkids and great-grandkids but you never feel like a number to her, even when you've married into the family. She is equally loving and kind to everyone around her.

Brandon giving mom a break. He's always really good about taking her when he can.

The family has invested in building a cabin on the ranch and it is just about done:
There is some finish work that still needs to be completed like baseboards but overall, it's a really nice place.
Lucy seemed to enjoy it too - hanging out on the floor while the adults chatted away.

After our tour of the cabin and some visiting with family, we were off to Uncle Robert & Aunt Carol's home for dinner. Aunt Carol knows how to entertain a crowd like nobody's business and the food, again was excellent. And with so many baby-loving family members around, Lucy was whisked away for some lovin:
We ended up staying later than planned and figured it would be better to stay overnight in the cabin (even though we had nothing with us at all) than to drive back home (the 3 hours) so late at night. So we left early Sunday morning at the crack of dawn with the cows mooing to make it to church for Lucy's baby blessing that was scheduled (see next post).