Jackson Hole

Last Thursday we packed up the car and the kids and headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My parents have a time-share and we like to help them make good use of it.

We lounged around on Friday. Me and my mom walked the board walk and window shopped with the two littlest kids while Dave and my dad took Taylor and Sara to the new Star Wars movie. Sara fell asleep within the first five minutes. Taylor was on the edge of his seat loving the entire thing and then requested that we take him again.

Late that night Russ & Nat, Mark & Annie, & Kristina showed up. The next morning we headed out to spend the day exploring Grand Teton National Park.

The girlies:

The boys (minus Spencer who was asleep):

Here is our cute little family just outside the Jackson Lake Lodge:

We had a picnic by the lake. As usual, Livvy did not disappoint in the entertainment area. After just a couple bites of her sandwich, she opened it up and took out the meat. She put it in her mouth and began chewing it (and chewing it and chewing it and chewing it). Then she pulled it out. You know, just to take a break. She walked the perimeter with her little snack in hand, then popped it back in for another chewing go-round. This went on for some time. She was more than happy to show everybody and anybody her "meat wad" but she wasn't about to give it up for anything. At one point she even held out her meat for the showing and with her tiny hand, squeezed drool and meat juice on to the ground. It was pretty funny, if not mildy disgusting. Thanks for the good times Liv!

We went back to Jackson Hole to see the shoot-out in the street.It was quite the disappointment this year. In the past they have had guys on roof tops and a stage coach that came through the crowd. Not this time- it was some lame song and dance thing. I just don't think that is how it went in the old wild west. But what do I know?

For dinner we went to a chuckwagon dinner in the town of Moose. It turned out to be a good time, especially for the kids because we go to eat our grub in a teepee. After Livvy was done eating her dinner she realized that the ground was covered in gravel. She was practically swimming in it, getting herself nice and dirty and having the time of her life. Sara joined in after a while but she didn't get herself so disasterously dirty as Livvy.

It is nice for me to have my sister and sister-in-laws around because 1. they are fun people and 2. they like to hold my baby.

The next day we hit Yellowstone.

Taylor standing in front of Old Faithful just before it erupted. He loved Old Faithful and has been talking about geysers every day since we've been home.

At the Old Faithful Lodge:

We had a great experience with the buffalo in Yellowstone. It was a lot of fun for the kids. They (the buffalo, not the kids...) were all over the road, crossing the street right in front of our van. Taylor was so excited. As we kept driving on we got to a point in the road where there was an incline on either side of us. The buffalo were kind of stuck in the road with nowhere to go. Traffic was getting backed up and we were surrounded by buffalo. At first it was fun but after a while it got a little nerve wracking. There was a guy a couple cars in front of us on some motorcycle thing, he kept revving his engine and making all kinds of noise. The buffalo started snorting and making scary (in my opinion, of course) buffalo noises. So crazy motorcycle guy pulled out of our lane and into the oncoming lane and drove right through the buffalo revving his engine the entire time. Seriously. What an idiot. Not only was he putting himself in danger, but the rest of us too! I wanted to roll up my window and crawl into the back of the van. But I quickly realized that rolling up my window would do absolutely nothing if the buffalo decided to charge. Freaky! Despite my paranoia, it was a good time and we made it safely through the herd of buffalo.

Here is crazy motorcycle guy making his exit:

Here are my peeps in front of something spectacular that I, of course, cannot recall the name of. Dave was back at the car with three sleeping kids. Isn't Taylor just so photogenic?

Some perty shots of the scenery:

Crazy. While we were driving out of the park, it was getting dark and the moon was out. For some crazy reason (end of the world, I'm sure) the moon was red. It was so cool. Dave got out and took some pictures but without a tripod it was hard to capture any great pictures.

The next day (Monday) Micah and Lora arrived. Taylor and Sara were thrilled to have little cousins to play with. We saved one of our favorite adventures for their arrival- hiking around Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls and taking the ferry back. It's a 2.5 mile hike. Taylor and Ethan were having so much fun. They cruised up to the top and arrived first with Dave, Mark, & Annie.

Taylor and Ethan on the ferry:

The kids just aren't cooperative when it comes to taking pictures. They had a fun time with their cousins and it's just too bad that we had to leave when they were just arriving.

We had a great trip. It's always so much fun to get together with our families. I love being on vacation where we can sit up all night (or until Aunt Nat falls asleep) and talk and laugh and have ourselves a good time. Thanks for the memories everyone!