Vacation Pictures, part 1

We recently returned from a trip to Middle O'Nowhere, Nevada.

Last year, I told the girls to climb up on the dino for a picture.  Turns out, it gets quite warm, so this year, I told them to just put their elbows on it.  This is the last fuel stop on the way there.

We saw a whole lot of this.  Which gave us the perfect opportunity to listen to a new audio drama that we'll be reviewing soon.  (affiliate link)

Josiah got to spend some time behind the wheel.  Including his first passing experience.

We had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows to make s'mores.

Which I'm guessing were yummy, from the reactions I got.

Personally, the only way I eat marshmallow is in Rice Krispy treats.

But the kids liked them, and that's what counts.

I can't tell if I caught Brianna brushing hair out of her face, or if she's trying to block the warmth of the flames.  I tried to explain that most people waited to roast marshmallows over the coals, but they weren't willing to wait that long when chocolate was involved.

The menfolk, talking.  That's my dad on the left and Paul on the right.

The next morning, we had big plans for a town picnic, and were a little concerned when it was all gross and rainy out.  Fortunately, the rain let up, and the plan went forth.

This is Brianna panning for gold.

And my sister, Amy, with her gold pan.  The gold tents were super crowded, so I couldn't step back for a better picture.

Josiah and I combined our gold dust in the same bottle.  There are a couple nuggets in there, but you can't see them in this shot.

After gold panning, we went to try our hand at the carnival games.

We managed to come home with 3 stuffed animals.

Jack won one of them throwing nerf balls at milk jugs.

Which he promptly gave to his baby sister, Katie.

Here, he's helping Hannah load her shots on the crossbow.

She could shoot, but she needed help getting it set up.

I turned around and the girls were eating cotton candy.  I don't even know who stood in line with them for it.

Josiah loves being in Nevada.  Here, he's playing soccer with Amy.

Hannah drove the riding mower (the "mow" is disabled).

Jack really mastered the mower, and can start, stop, go forward, and backwards, all by himself now.

One of the best parts of being here is getting to shoot things.  That's Paul with the bow, with Sam and Eli looking on.  I shot it a few times, too.

The town fireworks display was great, and most of us really enjoyed it.  Katie kept asking if it was over yet, and Jack doesn't like fireworks, since he got burned one year.

All in all, we had a lovely time, and I can't wait to download the camera pictures (these are all from my phone) and share those with you, as well.

This post may be linked up at these linky parties.

Thanks for clicking for us!