WINNER! :)

Out of 74 entries, Emily was the winner of the SmartWool socks from Wind River Gear with her blog post comment:

EmilySJD said...

Our outdoor adventures are usually just the backyard or the park, but I love my Moby wrap so I can carry the baby and still keep up with the 3 year old!

Congratulations, Emily!  I will be emailing you shortly, or email me at mountainmamatales@gmail.com

Don't forget!  There are still a few more days left on the Patemm Pad giveaway!!!  Good luck!

Boys and Mama Hike

Husband is a brave man and spent the weekend chaperoning the local middle schoolers on a trip to Yellowstone (his 6th? year!)  Which meant it was me and the boys this weekend!  

I love that we can literally walk from our home out to the Badlands and hike.  It is a great place to run too (unless it has been wet and then it is much to mucky-slippery-gloopy to manage anything.)  The temperatures have been cooler, but the wind wasn't too bad and so we went.  J always gets excited about an "adventure" and I literally had to bribe him to get him to agree to get BACK in the pack after running around a bit so we could make it home before it started to rain (though it never did....)  

                     

The Joys of Trail Mix...

Trail Mix is a beautiful thing. In our family it is almost considered a staple.  Packed full of protein, crunch and, of course, chocolate.  It is great for Husband in his lunch since his job by its very nature requires a lot of energy.  We love it for hiking, for skiing (it won't even freeze!) and try to not let it be just a daily snack.  

This is a batch I made up the other day (the Pretzel M&Ms were on sale + I had a great coupon for them.)  It is never really the same from time to time, but this time it included:

M&Ms

Light Popcorn

Rice Chex Mix Cereal

Raisins

Craisins

Lightly salted peanuts

Cheerios 

And I just had to show this....taken from our wedding.  I filled a HUGE tub of whatever I could find - a bunch of different kinds of cereals, a few different types of M&Ms, pretzels, raisins, peanuts, cashews (we went all out!) - and it was the after-dinner snack for our 150 wedding guests (plus a center decoration.)  People still talk about it (or how they got to go home with a jar of it themselves.)

**Happy Weekend Adventuring!**

This Moment

*No words necessary, just a precious moment*

CLOSED! Changing Diapers and Cutting Wood (really) plus *GIVEAWAY!*

Fall is coming to Wyoming (very quickly....) and that means we need to get firewood now.  Our plan was to be restocked back in June, but with Husband's super busy fire season + the birth of P, it just was not going to happen.  So, this weekend we took advantage of TWO days off in a row as a family (really, that has not happened since June) to get some firewood and enjoy just being outside.

The whole infant thing (especially the ones that loves to be held) completely paralyzes me as a possible help to cutting or loading the truck, but I took on the job of going on an "Adventure" with J and P in the woods.  J found plenty of rocks to throw, dirt to roll in (and eat?!?!), and sticks/grasses to swish around.  P loves looking at the swaying leaves in the trees and slept soundly when he wore himself out.  The dog was thrilled to have no limitations. :)

Yes, we would have rather been hiking as a family (communicating is difficult over the sound of the chain saw) but we took advantage of an opportunity to explore and be together while we (ok, he) worked.

*Guest Post* Gardening With Kids

One of the most engaging, exciting outdoor things you can do with a kid is garden.

Now in our eleventh year at about 7500 feet, I feel like we've finally gotten the hang of gardening here. Unlike the ripe fertile soils of my youth, we battle gale force wind, quarter size hail, forty degree temperature changes in 24 hours, all manner of furry mammals and ungulates, and last, but certainly not least, winters that end in July and begin in September. And we are VICTORIOUS.

CLOSED! Great Things in a Small Town...**GIVEAWAY!**

Dubois is 70 miles from the nearest real town of any size (one that goes beyond a gas station and a bar.) It is one of the most secluded towns in the entire country. It boasts a population of about 1000 people, and residents are proud to call it home. Nestled in a valley and surrounded by mountains, this "Valley of the Warm Winds" is a gem in its own right and a stop-off point for travelers on their way to Yellowstone and Teton Parks.

Yes, I miss having some of the conveniences close to home (a trip to Wal-Mart is an all-day affair and the nearest Sam's Club, Costco or Target are 3+ hours away.) But, there is something about it here - the people, the striking beauty of the mountains and the opportunity for tons of community events that lure people in to stay....