The end of May-first of June, our Aagard family took a family vacation up to Martin's Cove in Wyoming. We were slightly nervous about the long drive for Kayson, but he traveled so well the entire trip. I think Coby and I were a little bit more restless about the 7+ hr drive from Delta!
The first night at the hotel in Rawlins, we had to go swimming!
Jenny and her cute twinners Kaden and Bekah
As always, the water is a huge hit for everyone!
Our first night there was a little rough with Kayson. He threw up in the middle of the night, of which we thought was from possibly swallowing the pool water. He seemed fine in the morning and ate breakfast like normal, but on our drive from Rawlins to Martin's Cove, he threw up again... and a lot worse! Kayson had only ever threw up once in his life before this, so this was definitely abnormal for our little boy. He seemed so miserable. This pic was right after his violent puking episode! My sweet sweet boy!
We didn't know what to do with Kayson... if one of us should go back to the hotel with him or what, so we decided to start the trek and see how he did and just go with the flow of things.
This was up in the cove
Al-Nate-Christian
My awesome parents!
Kayson started of the day just being pulled/held in the handcarts, but by around noon, he was running around and hiking! He was having so much fun.
Going to Martin's Cove was something my dad has always wanted to do, and so we decided to make a family trip out of it. For those who may not know, my dad is a stage 4 cancer survivor, of which there are not many, and just in December finished his 4th very very tough and grueling round of chemo therapy! The whole trek was very spiritual and emotional for me, but seeing my dad make this trip was one of the greatest moments!! He is still in pain quite frequently, gets headaches, and has numbness and tingling in his legs and feet (neuropathy-side effect from chemo), but this was something he always wanted to do. I felt stupid just holding Kayson in the cart cause I wanted to walk and help pull, and getting my dad to sit was out of the question. He literally sat, only out of persuasion to give me a break from holding Kayson, for maybe 2 minutes, but insisted on walking the entire day's trek. This was not a easy task for many, but seeing my dad who is 59 and who has had a rough and tough last few years.... it was so inspirational and touching. My dad truly is a miracle!
Kays just relaxing on the trek!
"For some must push and some must pull"
Crossing the sweetwater!
We all had fun crossing the water, but I couldn't get out of my mind the history behind this particular site. Those selfless brave men who carried the women and children across this water in freezing temperatures.....
Going to Martin's cove was such a neat experience for our entire family! This was Coby's first time going, and although there was a little apprehension about the "fun-ness" of this trip, he thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. I had been on this trip before when I was in Young Women's, but this trip was a completely different experience. Having my own child along put things into such a different perspective. I couldn't imagine not being able to keep him warm at night, or be able to make sure he had a full belly at every meal. Hearing stories about the children crying themselves to sleep every night due to starvation and freezing temperatures, broke my heart!! There was one story in particular about a boy, who prayed every night that he could die in his sleep, as to not have to face another day with no food and freezing temperatures. I practically cry every time I think about this story. I am asked to do so little and have never had to face hard times such as these, and yet I still find time and room to complain about little tedious things in my life. With Kayson being sick the first day, I could not imagine having to press on treking with a sick child and not be able to take care of him, feed him, rest, and provide the comfort needed. [On the way home from Wyoming a few days later, a few of us caught the same similar sick bug that Kayson had, and were so so sick. I couldn't imagine, once again, having to press forward with the trek and the conditions they had, when I felt so miserable at home with my heating pad, throw up bucket, sprite and crackers, and a bathroom]
I truly am grateful for our forefathers and their faith, perseverance, and examples they have left for us!
Before leaving the area, we also stopped by Independence Rock
Jenny, Amanda, and I hiked clear to the top! It was so neat to see some of the names carved in the rock from the 1800's
~Pit stop on the way home~
On the drive home, we stopped to picnic at Flamming Gorge and decided to take a "dam" tour!
Our "dam" family
Amanda already stole a lot of my "dam" jokes, but I'll throw a few in here just for kicks! :)
We were able to go on the tour and travel clear down to the bottom to feed the "dam" fish
Kayson loved feeding the fish! There were tons of them
Flamming Gorge was a nice little stop.... we loved the whole "dam" thing!
We made our way back up into Wyoming and stopped at Fort Bridger for our last little venture (oh, I guess buying fireworks in Evanston was our last stop :)
Fort Bridger was a historical trading post, but it was late in the day so the site was closed. We were able to walk around the whole thing though.
Brooklyn and Kayson were being such good buddies!
What a fun fun trip we had and great memories made!
Can't wait for our next big family vacation!! :)
