Thane - the First Decade

This little man recently celebrated his 10th birthday.  We are so grateful that God chose him to be in our lives.  He continues to love the great outdoors, especially huntin' and fishin' (although quite honestly he'd prefer if he were always catchin').

He's a great helper, and a good friend.

It's been fun to watch him grow and mature.  Thane is settling into life here in Wyoming, and he still talks about being a cowboy rancher game warden when he grows up.

Happy Birthday Thane - we love you!

Staking Our Claim

Last week we closed on a 2.3 acre parcel of land in a small subdivision just outside of the Sheridan city line.  The area is not super developed, and it's close proximity both to town and Jordan's grandparents make it ideal.  The gorgeous view of Cloud Peak in the Big Horn Mountains isn't bad either.  We hope to break ground in early spring.  To be continued...

Town House

Shortly before our RV trip, Jordan and I drove to Wyoming with a 26 ft UHaul full of our junk, er, stuff.  It was an exhausting 44 hr trip followed by a long day of moving all of our earthly possessions into a storage unit while battling altitude sickness.  Later we put an offer on this quaint little house in the city.  The house wasn't technically on the market, so we bought it sight unseen.  A gamble (we know), but the location and spacious grounds were perfect.

 

While we have since decided that we are going to build a house just out of town, we are definitely enjoying our new home.  We especially love the courtyard and lush gardens.

Unfortunately the infamous Lentz climate curse is running at full strength.  Every time we move to a new town, we experience the worst winter weather the area has seen in years.  True to form, since mid-October Sheridan has had more than a handful of snow storms with temperatures reaching below zero on a few occasions.  Still, we are happily fitting in to our new life here.  We just wish we could have enjoyed the garden more!

The End of the Road

On September 17th we parked the trailer for the last time on our trip.  What an adventure!  By the numbers:

• 13,010.6 miles
• 310 hours 46 minutes of driving
• 1,318.3 gallons of gas
• 81 days
• 30 stops
• 20 states
• 15 sets of family members seen
• 7 sets of friends visited
• 19 national & state parks and monuments 
• 1 Presidential Library
• 26 hiking trails
• 88.8 miles of hiking

To quote Dickens, it was definitely the best of times and the worst of times.  Trips like these tend to bring out the very best and worst in each of us.  But through it all, we learned to appreciate each other's strengths and forgive weaknesses.  We are extremely grateful for our amazing families and all of the incredible friends who hosted us.  We treasured each moment we were able to spend with you.  If you are ever in Wyoming, stop by for a spell.  We definitely owe ya!