I will start by saying how annoyed I am by this blog site. I turned and rotated all of these photos and put them in order before uploading them. Anyhow, now I will tell you about our amazing trip!!
We started by flying to Salt Lake City and spending a night there. We went to Temple Square, which was amazing. It looks like I imagine the Garden of Eden to look, with all of the flowers! Brian picked us up at the SLC airport and the next day we drove 5.5 hours to Jackson. It was a gorgeous drive and all I kept saying was "I love it here. I want to live here."
The pictures are totally out of order so I'll tell you what we did in order and then explain the pictures. Saturday when we got there we went in the pool. The pool is the carrot that keeps the kids from asking us to stop 1000 times to pee. We tell them that stopping is taking away pool time. So we went in the pool about 10 minutes after we checked into the hotel. I made an easy dinner and the kids went to bed.
On Sunday morning we woke up and took some bikes and trailers on a 15 mile bike ride. We rode down to Fish Creek which runs next to a super popular bagel joint. The kids threw rocks in the river and were as pleased as punch about it. We had lunch and then rode back. On the way back, pulling a trailer with 2 children, I ran out of energy! It was the middle of the afternoon and super hot. Nevertheless, it was gorgeous and I would do it every day I could! Then we went in the pool, drove through the Grand Teton National Park, and saw a beaver! It was a glorious and beautiful day.
On Monday we woke up late and had some breakfast. Then we went to town to walk around and get sandwiches for our afternoon adventure. We had friends come into town and took the aerial tram to the top of Rendezvous, which is 10,450 feet in elevation. It was so amazing up there and there was still snow! We hung out with our friends all afternoon and then went to change because Brian and I had a date that night. As it turned out, we ran into the friends again in the town square. That was fun.
On Tuesday we spent the morning in the pool and at the trampoline place. It was really fun to watch the boys go way high up in the sky! Then Brian and I went white water rafting (a favorite). We came back, showered and played with the kids and drove through Grand Teton national park. Then we had dinner at the Handle Bar. We sat outside where the kids could play on an open field and we could enjoy our meal. It was nice once Landon woke up from his grumpy mood after a nap.
Wednesday we rode the Alpine Slide and rode the Stagecoach through town. It was really fun to sit in that old stagecoach that was an exact replica of the ones they used to cross the plains. I felt like I was back in the 1800s in a small western town. Then we went for a drive out to Moulton barn (a famous barn on Mormon row) and drove through the park again. That night we went over to Tom and Sue's house for dinner. They made a wonderful dinner in their backyard and then some of their friends stopped by. It was nice to just sit by the campfire and visit with this great couple (and extremely talented photographer - Thomas Mangelsen). His backyard is incredible, as it sits on the border of the National Park. He has views of the majestic Tetons and a pond in the backyard that moose frequently visit (because who needs fences in Moose, Wyoming?) It was definitely a highlight of the trip for me.
Thursday was July 4th! What better thing to do than go on a boat ride and hike in the National Park? Last time we were there we saw a black bear. We had never hiked with the kids before so I was nervous. They did AWESOME! They loved the boat ride and enjoyed jumping (eek) all the way up the mountain. I couldn't believe they made it to the end of the hike at Hidden Falls. It was gorgeous. Brian has better pictures on his nice camera so I'll upload those separately. It was poor planning on my part that i had only brought carrots and apples (no lunch.) When we got back to the convenience store everyone was starving. We got chips (yuck) and sandwiches and ate in the car as we drove back through the National Park. We rested and showered so that we could go on the chuck wagon like we did last year. We ended up on the same wagon as last year! The boys were so excited that Smith and Wesson were our horses again. They loved the show and the food and it was a great night. We got back to the hotel and little Ms. was so tired that I put her to bed and Brian took the boys to see fireworks at 10 pm! It was an awesome 4th.
Friday we spent the day by the pool. It was beautiful and perfect weather to sit by the pool. The kids enjoyed it thoroughly. That night we went out on our last date night and walked around town, circling back through the park as we drove home. We just love it there. It got dark at around 9:30 every night. The natural beauty and the feeling you get from being there cannot be duplicated. Saturday morning we got up and drove to Park City.
When we arrived in Park City, we again went directly to the pool. We were staying in an uber fancy hotel. I didn't love it, except that they had smores out for the kids (and big kids - Brian!) It poured rain shortly after getting to the pool so we got showered and went to the cute main street. Then we went to the Biglers beautiful house! I wish we had taken some pictures. It was so nice to see them and such a surprise that they were in town and available!
The next morning (Sunday) we drove to Las Vegas. This was the longest of our drives, logging in at almost 7 hours including the lunch stop! Let me back up for a second. On Saturday night when we arrived in Jackson our boys made friends with some boys on the lawn. Some men who worked for the hotel were piloting a program to have kids camp out under the stars in Jackson. Later that night I walked out to videotape the aspen trees blowing in the wind (yes, I'm a hippie) and one of the men asked if my boys and I would like to join them for s'mores. My boys had gone to sleep and Brian was working but I am always happy to sit by a campfire. So, I sat by a campfire and talked to the 2 men. After talking for awhile, I asked what their positions were at the hotel. It turns out that I was sitting with the general manager and the resort manager of the entire hotel! They were so sweet and i never imagined that! I thought they were the outdoor guys who ran base camp (biking, fishing, etc.) Anyhow, the next day the general manager sent us some treats to the room to say it was nice to meet us. So fast forward to Vegas....we arrived at the hotel and the manager wanted to meet us (weird.) Then they said we had been upgraded "several categories" to the Sunrise sunset suite. At the 4 Seasons. Brian and I just looked at each other and grinned. So they took us up to the room (pictures below) and it was incredible. We had a full view of the airport (the kids were glued to the window) and a full strip view. This room was so big that you couldn't see the end of it from one end to the other! We had a lot of fun on Sunday in the pool and at dinner. Later that evening we received a buffet of foods with a note from the general manager AND our general manager friend in Jackson. Brian had mentioned that we were heading to the 4 Seasons in Vegas and the GM called ahead and had us taken care of. How sweet is that? This guy was really really kind.
On Monday we woke up and hung out at the pool for awhile longer. We had a late checkout and enjoyed our massive room and let Aspen nap. Then....we went to my Dad and Kathey's house! We spent some time with Kathey, playing in the pool and chatting. My Dad came home from work and met my kids for the first time! Then we all had dinner together. It was an enjoyable time for everyone. The kids loved being fussed over by sweet Kathey and meeting my Dad (who they are so curious about and always ask questions about him.) It felt so normal to be sitting at dinner with him and chatting. We spent a few hours there and then drove home at night. We arrived at 12:30! At 8 am Hunter started camp and Landon went to school at 9. I went grocery shopping, unpacked and had everything washed and put away by 12. It's nice to be "home" and I know I am a brat but, Jackson feels like home to me too. I can hardly complain about Manhattan Beach but my heart is in Wyoming. We had an amazing trip!
Under the elk antler arch
With our friends before going up the aerial tram
1 comment:
what phenomenal pictures you got from this trip!! it looks and sounds like it was an amazing time!! your family is so adorable and you are so blessed to have them! what a lucky lady you are!!! :)
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