Oh, Home On The Range!

So my trip is over and done. So very happy, so very sad, and at the same time, very lost in the middle of a rushing world.

I'm happy to be back in touch with my Twitter (and blog and FaceBook and best friend and Relient K forums), happy to be reunited with Zunii, and so happy to see a flushing toilet that I could literally cry.

I'm sad to have left so soon, because I know that I will most likely not see many of my family members who I hadn't seen for years now, for even more years to come. This morning was full of teary goodbyes and hugs that refused to let go. Even from the teenage boys of the family. We all promised to play Farm Town on FaceBook, though, so I think we'll survive the years. If my farm animals survive my virtual gaming skills.

I'm also lost - so lost. I thought I had alot of my life figured out. I thought I knew exactly where I wanted to live, what I wanted to do, and who my role models were; being out in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do but think changed a few things. I think. The first thing that struck me that I didn't expect was the change in my cousins. I remember days when we would throw silly pool parties in their backyard and listen to country music at unsafe levels when our parents were out to dinner. Since then their family has crumbled and now I can't even see anything I once knew in any of them. At first I thought it was sad but now I'm not so sure it isn't a good thing... The next few uncertainties are still just that - uncertain. I'll probably get back around to those at a time when I'm running on more than 3 hours of sleep.

I will now proceed to create a mini blog post for the trip. I'll go day - by - day and try to explain things.

Day 1 - The Kelley House

Day one was mostly driving. Fun in one of those "I'm probably going to die if I have to hear this Beyonce song again" ways. I have never been more thankful for my headphones and more sorry to not have brought along Zunii.
The trip took most of the day and once we arrived at the house of my mom's sister, all I wanted was to sleep. Unfortunately, she is a dedicated video game fanatic, so instead I played Super Smash Brothers Melee with her for a few hours. I'll admit it was fun, but I was more than ready when she told me to get some sleep.

Day 2 - Strawberry Hill

Day two was Independence Day. We began the day riding on a float for a local karate school. I should probably back up and say that my 8 cousins from Texas showed up with their parents at 4 that morning. I was too unconscious to wake up, but then again, they were asleep within 5 minutes since their drive was 20 hours. Anyway, we all rode the float, even though none of us 1] live there or 2] do karate. It was fun I suppose. Afterwards we made the 2 hour trek to Strawberry Hill, the ranch owned by my grandparents.

And so the fun began.

All the females in the family were required to unload the two trailer-campers and motor home full of food. All the males were sent to retrieve the two port-a-potties (I feel like I'm 2 when I say that) that we would use for the days to come.

There were charcoal pits dug, tents set up (ours was an authentic Civil War tent. with no floor.), and cell phone batteries dying looking for service. It was a fun day filled with catching up with now-grown-up cousins and planning the following week. There was a strange lack of pyrotechnics, but I didn't really care all too much.

Day 3 and 4 - Rain

Who knew it rained so much in Wyoming? You would've thought we were in Washington state or something. It poured the entire third afternoon dashing our team's hopes in the cast-iron-cookoff. I suppose I should mention that part of things. The two of my mom's siblings living in Texas teamed up against my mom and her sister (who is from Wyoming) to make two cast-iron meals - breakfast and dinner. South made breakfast that day, but North's dinner was canceled due to rain. Not too fun, but it was alright I guess.

Day four was frightening. My mom and her sister went into town to feed her goats and chickens, and ended up taking the entire day due to tornado watches. Do you know how frightening it is to be told there's a tornado watch coming your way and all you have to hide in are port-a-potties and RV campers? It rained the entire day, and that night no word came from my mom or her sister. Being a firmly God-grounded family, all of us still at the ranch joined hands and sang hymns (and Christmas carols..haha) under the food tent. I cried. My cousin Savannah cried. Pretty much all the women there cried. But we continued to sing for three hours until the storm subsided and the two sisters returned from their day-trip. Looking back at the entire week, that night was the best night I think I had.

Day 5 and 6 - We Like The Flavor of Hay

The last two official days of the trip were spent doing the task we even went to Wyoming for - haying. My grandparents have three horses so they made 1200 bales of hay for them. How's that for logic? Anyway, you might think "oh, haying. yeah, you pick up the little bales and put them on the trailer". At least that's what I thought. I guess I was standing too far away from the 'little bales' - each one weighs from 75 - 125 pounds. Needless to say my arms hurt. And my legs. And my hands. And pretty much everything else. I also got a second-degree sunburn on my nose. Not cool. Not cool at all.

Day five, North made breakfast and it went over almost as well as the South's. Seeing as how 70% of the voters were on the South team, it seems a bit biased, but nobody cared about the prizes - just the fun of the competition. South made supper and it was probably the most delicious Mexican food I've ever had. My mom's brother-in-law is half-Mexican so he knew all these awesome recipes so they picked enchilada lasagna. I still need to ask him for that recipe...

Day six North made supper. It took too long, so we ate it at 11 PM. It was baked radiatore and focaccia bread. We even played Dean Martin through the car stereo to add the ambiance. And still, we lost by 3 points...(365 to 368 isn't bad though, I'd say). In a complete state of awesomeness, the South defaulted and gave us the prize, which was $100 per cook. I knew I should've helped instead of going for a walk...

Day six's night was spent wonderfully. My brother, Savannah, her sister Charity, and I played Mexican Train dominoes for hours after everybody else went to bed. After that Charity retired to the awful little tent and the three of us spent even more hours talking. We stayed awake until dawn and then spray-painted eachothers' hair pink and lime green. And then everybody else woke up and we had the aforementioned teary goodbye.

And on Day seven, we came home.

If you read that, you have way to much time on your hands, but thank you for caring enough to read it. I should probably sleep. Since I only got any sleep in the car today. I'll blog again soon.

Here's to Peace, Love & Multi-Colored Hairspray
~ Lola