Day 3: Jackson Hole / Yellowstone

Before we left Jackson Hole went to the Alpine Slide. Bill went down once - the kids twice. They loved it! Stella was hesitant at first about going down, but ended up having a blast! Tristan of course loved it too. Anything fast and competitive he enjoys. After that we left Jackson and headed out to Montana. The drive was beautiful but filled with road construction. I worried about my car. It tends to run hot on hills (especially in hot weather) not to mention has over 160,000 miles right now.

We finally got to our hotel about 4:00. After we got all checked in we went to some of the souvenir shops in town (per Stella's requests again). After which we went and got ice cream and a burger at our favorite Ice Cream and Sandwich shop. We went there several times on our last trip to Yellowstone and they have the BEST ice cream! Yum. 

That evening we went to the pool and hot tub to relax. Lucky for my kids they have a fun dad that will actually immerse himself in the pool and actually play. I hung out in the hot tub and watched them have fun! Tristan was reliving his glory days riding a ram by riding on Bill's back. The kids even found a few other children to play with in the pool. I'm always amazed how quickly kids make friends! When do we become so closed off to others? 

It was a day filled with driving and I think the kids were needing some space of their own. The pool was a great way to unwind and have some fun!

Day 2: Jenny Lake

Wednesday morning we woke up by 7:00. We got ready with the intention of doing some good family pictures. That idea was short lived. Didn't happen. We did get a few pictures together, but nothing posed or anything like that. We drove to Jenny Lake. To say it's beautiful is an understatement. The weather was warm and perfect. We walked around just enjoyed being in the mountains. 

We were going to do the tour boat ride, but it was a bit pricey for the 4 of us and we knew the kids would enjoy going on the canoes instead. We split up for a bit. Ron and Becky went on the tour boat while we went and did some canoeing. The kids absolutely loved it! And it was probably my most favorite part of our trip. Stella was nervous any time it would rock. Tristan declared this was his most favorite vacation ever. "Even better than Disneyland". He said he loved canoeing because he loved spending time with his family the most. He even said he loved me about 5 times as they dropped me off on a rock so I could take some pictures of them in the canoe. Awwww.

We drove around some more and stopped for lunch with the best view I've ever had on a picnic in the mountains. The mountains are just gorgeous and I feel so lucky to get to be here with my family! Later we took a rest and a nap (at least for Becky and me - stupid headache). In the evening we took a tram ride to the top of the mountain. I knew I had to face one of my biggest fears! My kids knew I was nervous and I'm not gonna lie - I had knots in my stomach just standing in line anticipating it.  It was beautiful. I wasn't as nervous once we got on. We were enclosed which made me feel safer. 

When we were heading back down the tram Tristan had a headache and was pretty quiet and wiped out (actually kind of nice - not to be mean! He's more sweet and calm when he doesn't feel good. I think all parents enjoy that part of kids not feeling well. Admit it!). We picked up some Wendy's for dinner and took it back to our room and snarfed it down. We were all starving by the time we got back to our motel. We'd had a busy, fun-filled day that hopefully the kids will remember and look back with fond memories! I know I will. These are the moments I live for as a wife and mom. 

I absolutely love how rugged these mountains are!

Miss Stella getting prettier everyday. 

Stella and Tristan on Little Mermaid rock as I referred to it. Check out those guns!

Squeeze those soft cheeks! My handsome little man.

Checking out the "map"

Stella taking pictures on the tram ride up. Taking a bit after her mom :)

I can just see the wheel turning in his mind. I love his curiosity.

Made it to the top!

This made my stomach churn standing here! You can see through the metal floor which is what I hated the most! I quickly but carefully made my way off this overlook after this picture! The things I'll do to show my kids you can face your fears!

T-Boy snuggling with his wolfie on our way back down. This is when he had his headache. Sad.

Day 1: Jackson Hole here we come!

So I have a lot to blog about. A weeks worth of vacation and pictures is a lot. Especially with how many pictures I take! 800 on this trip. I won't post that many pictures. No worries. We left around 8:30 on Tuesday morning and followed Ron and Becky to Jackson Hole. We were happy to have them join us on this trip. We've camped many times together, but have never done a big vacation together. 

We made a quick stop in front of the Star Valley sign in honor of my grandparents. They had a lot up there there would spend their summers there. They had many great memories made there and I have a few of my own. Some of my most cherished memories of spending time with my grandparents were time spent there. The song on the radio was playing "Young at Heart" as we drove through. Couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.

When we first got to Jackson Hole we stopped at Bubba's for some lunch. One of Bill's favorite places to eat. 

We checked into our motel and went shopping per Stella's persistent requests. She had money burning in her wallet the whole time we were on vacation! We've decided she needs to find herself a rich husband to support her habits when she gets older. We were able to see a "shoot off" outside the park that evening. The kids enjoyed that. Afterwards we grabbed some slushies/ice cream and went for a little drive around to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Bill, the kids and I took a walk on a walkway just outside our room to get some energy out of Tristan. I was impressed with how many trails and paths are around Jackson Hole! 

We attempted to go to the visitor center down the street from our motel but we only had 5 minutes in there before they closed for the evening.

Here Tristan is walking like a goose. Waddle waddle.

Fit for a Tween!

This past weekend we spent many hours re-decorating Miss Stella's bedroom. This has been a long time coming! I've been wanting and planning (on Pinterest and in my head) since she turned 8. We were going to go camping but decided to skip yet another bad weather trip and stay home. I was feeling SUPER motivated. Poor Bill. After spending about 4 hours and too much money we finally gave up on the really cute black and white peel-and-stick chevron print wallpaper. I'll never ever ever attempt that again. What a joke! It would stick together and then wrinkle. And we never could make it line up properly. Ugh. So dumb. We decided to skip wasting more time and money - not to mention our sanity and possible marriage counseling (kidding. Bill was a great sport) and turrets. 

My parents volunteered to take the kids overnight which was perfect! I've always wanted to redo their rooms and surprise them! After Bill and I went to the movies we stayed up til 2:00 A.M. painting Stella's room and decking out her dresser. So fun :)  When she saw it the next day she was shocked. She didn't say anything at first and just looked around. Then she declared us as "the best parents in the universe!" I heard her talking to herself in her bedroom. She kept saying, "This can't be real. I have to pinch myself." (insert pinching self here) "Nope. It's real! OK. Just calm down. I can't believe she did stripes!" I can't believe Bill let me paint anything BLACK! We both loved how it turned out.

I still have pictures to buy and hang on one of the walls and my wonderful mom is sewing her curtains and that should pretty much do it! I love her girly room and think it's perfect for a "tween"! Now I need a new project.....

Before:  

After:

Rodeo King and a Daredevil

This past weekend we were able to get away to the cabin to celebrate the 4th of July with Ron and Becky. We always look forward to cabin trips. Especially now that there is air conditioning at the cabin! Wahoo! Friday morning we kicked off our festivities with a pancake breakfast in the park. We walked around to all the "Mountain Man" tents to see what they had for sale. Later the boys went fishing and the girls went shopping and for ice cream/Icee's. Stella spent all of her hard earned money on some cute accessories and the boys didn't catch much.

That evening we went to the Mt. Pleasant rodeo. We had entered Tristan into the Mutton Bust contest. He, being raised a city boy, had never rode a sheep before. He was so excited and nervous I could tell. As soon as Bill said he had 5 minutes until we went back to the chutes he got his game face on. Pure seriousness. I love that look of focus he gets. We walked back by the sheep and waited for instructions. He pet a few of the sheep and watched all the rodeo preparations going on. 

Bill was with him to help put him on the sheep and I stood outside in the arena to get some video footage. I have to admit  I had a feeling of nervousness for him right before. Especially after seeing the little boy right before him get trapped for a few seconds under the sheep. Scary. He was fine though. 

They announced his name and out he came on his sheep, 'High Flyer'. He sat up tall and held on. The sheep circled around pretty much the whole arena before Tristan eventually started to tip over and he fell safely on the ground. The announcers said, "He made that look easy!" Tristan was escorted by the clowns and waved to the crowd. Bill and I were beaming with pride! We couldn't stop smiling the whole night. It was so much fun! We didn't really hear his score. I thought the one they had announced as his score was the one after him. When we got back to the stands Calder and his friend said that he got a 94. He won first place out of about 30 kids! He kept saying, "I couldn't believe how slow that ram was going. I didn't expect that!" Mr. Cool Guy.

There was some confusion while getting the trophies. Another mother thought her son had won first place instead of Tristan. I'm still not sure if the announcers had said the other boys name with Tristan's score. It was the kids right before him so I can see how that would happen. They figured it out and gave the boy a trophy for all the trouble. I was glad because the little boy looked heartbroken. We watched the rodeo and they had an awesome big firework show afterwards. It was great! What a fun night!

The next day we helped clear out a lot of dead tree's from the cabin property. Amy, Jason and their families came down to help. We got quite a bit done. Many hands make for light work, right?

That afternoon we went down to the pool. Bill and I had forgotten to pack our swimsuits, but the kids brought theirs. It was so hot so it was a great day to play in the pool. Stella, feeling brave, decided to give driving the 4-wheeler another try! It's been about 2 years since she fell off the kids 4-wheeler and scraped up her arm and got poked below her eye with a branch. I was so proud of her for wanting to try again! She did great driving around the cabin property. This morning she and Bill decided to venture out on the road. Apparently she got going pretty fast and then stopped too quickly and the 4-wheeler tipped over. She was fine. Scared mostly with a few minor scratches. I hope it doesn't deter her away from trying again next time. I tried to explain that at least now she knows another thing not to do from now on! A learning experience.