Jackson Hole 2013

 We managed to skip a day of school and slip up to Jackson for one last summer vacation. My family has a big family reunion up there every year and we just couldn't miss out on the fun.

 String Lake Day was so fun!! Jumping off the big rock, paddle boarding, trips around the lake in the raft. Lunch on the beach and then lots of lightening. We got poured on and ran for the cars. Luckily we had lots of thunder as warning. You can see the concern on James' face. I don't think he believes Tyler is rowing quite fast enough. The thunder was clapping directly overhead. It was pretty loud and intimidating.

 Cousins freezing by the lake and enjoying a bit of lunch.

 Byron was off looking for huckleberries when he ran across this cute little guy and his Mama bear. He came back to get us but by the time we hiked back to where the bears were the rangers had closed the trail. The bear were eating off a deer carcus and they didn't want any hikers getting into trouble. We hung around for a minute and the rangers managed to drag the carcas away from the trail and into the woods. They opened the trail and we managed to hike in quick enough to get a few pics of Mama and baby cub crossing over the trail following the scent trail to find their food again.

 We were all very excited about our close encounter with the bear. I had a bit of an adrenaline rush as Mama bear was walking straight at me while I was trying to get her photo. I eventually yielded the trail and she crossed exactly where I had been standing. Thanks for telling me I was standing in the scent trail of the carcas.

 Fun signage. We were there on 8-21-13. This Mama has been in a bit of trouble lately. In the last five days she had gotten into four coolers in the close vicinity.  They were hoping the deer carcas would slow down her people food habit she was getting into.

 Jonathan was hiking Ali back from viewing the moose who wandered through our condo units.

 They playhouse is a favorite activity of mine. We got great seats this year! Ali and Nathaniel enjoyed the front row action. Ali did manage to fall asleep before the end and I had a good chuckle watching five guys dance and sing their hearts out right above Ali while she slept like a baby. I don't know how she didn't wake up.

 Some of the playhouse crew. We bought sixteen tickets altogether. Troy was nice enough to run the five blocks through the rain to bring the car around for our crew. I love the animated faces of these cousins!!

 A little horseback riding adventure for us. We got more adventure than we had planned on.

 The horse is actually a mule named Fancy. The wrangler is actually a superhero in disguise. Garrett managed to save Ali's life during our trail ride. We are every so grateful and I have no doubt there were angels helping as well. This girl did get herself into a pickle, by no fault of her own though. About an hour into our ride Ali's MULE spooked, bucked and darted down the trail. Ali was not able to hold on and was thrown. Garrett said he heard the mule buck and turned around to see an empty saddle and Ali dangling by one leg being dragged under the running mule. He kicked his horse into high gear ran along beside the mule and did a flying leap for the stirrup. He somehow managed to free her foot but he got kicked in the chest. He told me he had never dismounted a running horse before and wasn't sure how he was able to get her foot free. It is a miracle she was not kicked or trampled or honestly hurt in any way. Not a scratch on her little body. She was drug through the mud for about twenty yards before Garrett managed to get her foot free. She was shaken up but didn't even cry, not one tear. Brave little lady we have on our hands.

I did not see all of this take place, thankfully, but I could hear sounds of terror coming through the trees. I yelled up the line asking if Ali was okay....nothing. Yelled again, is she okay? Finally I hear she got bucked off but is standing. I finally leaped off my horse and ran up the line to get my eyes on my little girl. I am so grateful for the angels who were watching over her and keeping her away from those hooves. Garrett was alright as well, not sure how you take a hoof to the chest and walk away from it but he did. I did tip my guide, my sister tipped our guide and when my Dad heard what happened he headed back to the ranch and tipped our guide again. By the time my Dad got over there Garrett had headed out on another trail ride. They said he was doing just fine, Fancy not so much...she will be retired. That was her last rodeo.

 This is Ali after her big adventure on Fancy the Mule. She lost her hat and a shoe flew off her foot during the run-away mule ride. It took some looking but we found the shoe. She was concerned they are her new school shoes after all. We sat on the porch so Mom could have a little cry and recover herself a bit. Ali just wanted to go jump on the bungee trampolines. I was far more shaken up than she was. We went to the tramps!

 Trampoline fun for the boys. They didn't want to be left out just because they didn't get bucked off a mule. We are proud to brag that all three kids did front and back flips on the tramp. They are getting so talented in their old age.

 More Teton Village fun. Luckily the rock wall does not buck.

 Candy store in Jackson. We visited twice in the four days we were in town. Carter left his candy at the Merry Piglets restaurant so we had to go back so he could restock. What else can you do if you loose all your candy?

 Will and Greg (Jake's twins) were holding Ali's new turtle for her. She was quite distressed that they would not stop sucking on the flippers. Such cute boys!!

 The fishing gang. Chandler really wanted a trip to go fish with Byron. We snuck down to the Snake River and they caught two fish between all of them.

 BUBBA'S!!! Nothing says a good breakfast like Bubba's. Biscuits and gravy, blueberry pancakes, pecan waffles, bacon, ummm. Byron decided the best way to do Bubba's is he orders the biscuits and gravy and then also eats off everyone elses plates so he gets a taste of everything. It worked out pretty well for him. He's lucky we are all so nice.

 Nearly ready to hit the road for home and Carter got a bee sting. A little mud fixed him right up. He didn't even cry, isn't he so brave. :-) Just kidding Carter, of course he wouldn't cry over a little bee sting. Especially not right after his sister flies off a bucking mule and doesn't cry. He's got to compete with a tough crowd.

First Day of School 2013

 I have a new trick. Kids are up and ready all on their own every morning so far. They are only allowed to play their favorite video game Mine Craft in the mornings before school and only if they are ready to walk out the door early. Loving school mornings thus far.

 So first day of school....kids were excited though they would never admit it.

 I even got cute statue poses from all of them.

 I do think their poses really sum up their personalities quite nicely.

 This tough girl is ready for anything.

 Ty's first day over at the big school. Not sure how they are growing up so fast but I do feel I frequently am having years stolen away from me. The fifth grade was moved over to the middle school earlier than expected. The missionary age has been lowered to 18. I am loosing years here people. Not a happy Mom about it.

 Ali is our lone girl at the Elementary. She kinda is loving the alone time in the car with me. No competition for ten whole minutes and she can tell me everything that happened without even having to listen to Tyler's two words he says about his day.

 So we celebrated the first day of school in the same fashion we celebrated the first day of summer break. Loving having Hawaiian shaved ice in the neighborhood. We only need to buy one more and we get our free one....Date night!!!

 These cute kids are happy and adjusting well to their new teachers and friends. I am loving all their teachers thus far and we are looking forward to an amazing year of school. That is not to say I didn't tear up a little on my drive home from school all by myself the first morning. I just love these kids so much and they are so fun to have around during the summer. Best kids ever!

Family Summer Vacation!

 Long Beach, Catalina Island and Seal Beach CA

Family vacations are so much fun!!! The kids and I are waiting for our food in the photo above.

So we headed off to California this year, southern California. It was much warmer than northern California so we were pleased with this weather change. We spent a night in Vegas on the drive to CA. We have decided we are no longer $49. Howard Johnson kind of people. I really thought that hotel was further off the strip than it was. Live and learn. The room was clean but smelled of smoke, so did the second room they showed us. Humm....not a big fan of Vegas people, next time we will probably just drive on through.

We spent a night in Long Beach when we arrived and then took the ferry over to Catalina Island. We had such a fun time on the Island. Our hotel was a bit further from the beach than I had imagined, well not so much further but really just higher in elevation than I had anticipated. We ended up adjusting to the shuttle service quite nicely though. Shuttle down each breakfast, shuttle up, grab your beach gear, shuttle down play at the beach, shuttle up shower play at pool, shuttle down, eat dinner, shuttle up.....you get it...lots of shuttling, lots of tipping. It was a really nice hotel though and we did enjoy it once we realized the shuttle was working out just fine.

Down on the boardwalk of Catalina. There is the cutest micro beach there filled with people lounging and swimming at the marina all afternoon long.

Ali could not get enough ice cream on this trip. It didn't help that we passed this cute ice cream sundae statue multiple times daily. She had ice cream on the brain. It was delicious and we were happy to indulge her at least once a day.

Hotel on Catalina...already forgotten it's name. Cool Spanish style with beautiful views.

Golf cart tour of the island. So fun to rent one of these babies and zip around for a bit. We snagged ice creams and enjoyed those while we drove about. The view from the top where this picture was taken is really quite extraordinary.

Fun fountain in the middle of town...not working. Wrigley needs to get on that.

Ali playing at the mini beach in the mini waves.

Ahhh..I caught a minute of relaxing while Ty and Ali played in the waves. Byron and Carter were off snorkeling, they couldn't get enough of it.

Beautiful beachy girl. Ali loves, loves the ocean.

Lovers cove was a great snorkeling site. We saw lots of different fish here and enjoyed the big kelp beds. Byron and the boys swam out and saw a really huge school of fish. They were ultimately impressed with it.

They they all are in their fancy new wet-suits. I purchased enough snorkel sets that we could all go out together this time. As luck would have it somehow a snorkel was lost or left or whatever out of one of the sets. I spent a lot of time photographing instead of snorkeling. Byron manages well with all the kids out in the water. I feel a bit nervous  trying to keep track of all three with just me out there.

Cruise ship day sure changed the feel of the island. Doesn't it always though. Luckily they came in a ten and were gone by three and we had the place to ourselves again.

I tortured my kids with a hike up to the botanical gardens. They were started by Mrs. Wrigley and it eventually became the memorial to she and her husband. Really cool memorial. We had fun taking statue poses and goofing off.

The tile on the memorial was beautiful. Would make a cool backdrop for a wedding photo shoot.

Goofing off with my camera. Love the variety of desert plants at the botanical gardens. I wonder if I could incorporate more of them into my landscaping. 

Someone set up this really cool rock maze. We enjoyed their creativity. I love stumbling across little fun adventures while on vacation.

Back to the mainland. This is the cutest little neighborhood. It is called Naples of California. This little canals wind around in a big circle and connects to a bay. The houses are so darling and the yards are all immaculate. You can go out and paddle board or kayak out to the ocean from your own front door. The more I see, the more I travel the harder it is going to be to pick where I want my beach house. Byron and I both really liked this neighborhood though! It would be warmer than Carmel and easier for the kids to visit than Hawaii.....tough decisions ahead of us. Byron is still pulling for the cabin in the woods. I will win him over though.

The Aquarium of the Pacific was so fun! We spent the afternoon wandering around and being amazed at all the cool creatures we share our planet with.

I love Carter's face in this photo. He was so pleased to be the first one to get this Lorakeet on his hand.

They sold us a little cup of nectar and the birds would very carefully come over for a drink. It is amazing that they are still so cautious though they are fed day after day by tourists. The kids were naturals. I never did get a bird onto my hand. I get pecked a few times and the bird I was trying to feed was happy to eat from a tree branch but if I put my fingers near his legs he pecked me. The best was when the bird stole the cup out of Carters hand and jumped up to a higher branch to drink it alone. Smart little Lorakeet.

Yes, Jellyfish petting. What? I know. I guess Moon Jellies are not very stingy and we got to pet them. Really cool feeling. Ali spent a good twenty minutes at this tank talking with the teenage girls and petting the jellies. Awesome!

Bakery....We found the best little bakery at Seal Beach. Yummm. We had a cake buffet in our hotel for a bedtime snack and for breakfast Byron ran over and brought us a cinnamon roll smorgusborgue. It's a good thing we didn't find said bakery until the last night.

Fun on seal beach playing in the waves. Seal beach has a really long shallow sandy area to boogey board on. The kids could walk out fifty or more yards into the ocean and still be touching. The waves would come in and brake right on the shallow area. Perfect for our young crew. We played and played and didn't have enough sunblock on our last day so yes we all got a little toasty. Perfect ending to our California vacation.

The boys doing a bit of paddle boarding around Catalina Island. They had races around the boats to see who could maneuver quicker through the obstacle course I would explain. They both got pretty dang good and getting those boats to go where they wanted. Neither of them fell in either which was surprising and slightly disappointing.

We stayed in Vegas again on our way home, Embassy Suites this time, much more our speed. We were all sad to come home. It is so nice that we can go away together and all still like each other when we get back.