Jenny Lake not Lotoja

Back in September Rick and I decided to take the kids with us as he rode Lotoja.  I thought, no big deal, one day in the car supporting Rick at the feed zones, and then we get to spend the weekend with our friends in Teton Village.  It'll be fine.  Mistake.

The kids were actually not that hard.  The hard part was getting them in and out of the car at every feed zone, finding bathrooms for them in a crowded rush trying not to miss Rick, and finding places to feed them before the hunger set in making them grouchy.  We just didn't plan right.  It could have been smoother.  I felt bad for Rick, he had a hard time because he was battling a serious chest cold and cough (it ended up taking almost a month for him to get better).  Then I'd show up at the feed zones with crying kids, no smile on my face and trying to get out of stopping at the next zone.  "Do you really want me to go to Afton?"  It wasn't my best day.  At the finish line, we didn't even take a picture together.  He wanted a shower, I wanted to let the kids run free.  I do have one good picture at the finish- of Sam and Rick.  I also have some great pictures of us years prior at the end.  This year just wasn't the happiest of times.  Even though I now know what to do if bringing kids to crew for my husband, I'll never crew that race again.  But I'll crew in Hawaii, Itlay, the Cayman Islands, even Leadville again (I love that one!).

I 'll also go to Jackson Hole again.  As soon as we got to the condo, (which was amazing, thank you Whitney!)  we all felt good again and the fun began. We had a great time at Jenny Lake.  I love those mountains.  I have so many great memories with my family there.  I love looking at the top of the Grand and knowing my Dad and sister climbed it.  Rick's brother had actually climbed it as well, the day of the race.  Very cool!  Those peaks are breathtaking.  The kids, and the big boys, Sam, Jamie and Rick had a great time throwing rocks in the lake.  I just loved being with my good friends, laughing and making good memories.

          How cool is it that Seth, Sambo and Parker made beds out of the armoire shelves?

                                     

                              

    The hot tub was so great!  The kids played in it all night.

Oh, and did you know Jamie can play guitar hero while he sleeps?  He rocks.  Nice race by the way, you so deserve that nap!

                                                

Nice huck Seth!

Tatum, Kendall and Millie had a great time together!

                                      

                           

                                   Shelle, Whitney and Holly

                                               

                        

        

                                         Rick, Jamie and Sam

Holly is very funny, and she has photoshop!

Happy Birthday Sage

Sage turned four on Monday, October 26th.  We had a perfect day.  Over the past few years we've started a tradition of making the kids their favorite breakfast, then opening presents.  It's probably for me that we start first thing in the morning, I hate to wait!

Next we headed to meet her cousins at Build-a-Bear.  Thank goodness for Tatum who literally planned her party for me.  I didn't realize most of her cousins hadn't been there before.  It was so fun to watch their little faces as their bears came to life.

Oh, the pose!

Then we headed home to get ready for another party with cousins and Grandparents.

       

She's been waiting to be four all year!

Fall Break

We headed south for fall break this year.  I guess it has been too long since we have camped because my children forgot everything about it.  Dug found the perfect camping spot for us close to Goblin Valley.  Sage woke up around 5 am in the tent and was so excited, she couldn't go back to sleep for a few hours. It is just cool to be in a tent with your whole family.  Except for when Rick snores I guess.  I had thought  everyone was asleep when I reached over to plug his nose.  I felt an eye on me and looked over to see Seth wide awake watching me pinch his Dad.  We both got the giggles, and Rick didn't even wake up.  See... the pinch works.

Seth and Tatum scored their first rides on dirt bikes thanks to the LeBlanc's and the Anderson's.  Erol kept laughing as he hauled by us.  He said Seth was all throttle.  Good one!

This was our kids first trip to Goblin Valley, and Arches. We had a blast hiking, and playing Sardines (an Anderson Family tradition).  Thanks to Kim for planning such a great trip!

              

                                                                                            

Whatever Seth does, Sage does- and she does it all by herself!

              

                                                        

                                                                                            

The Goon

Until today, my children have never been to Lagoon. We decided that a trip to Lagoon would be the reward if the kids could do their jobs all summer long. They worked really hard at it, even Sage who was clearly not aware of "what fun is." Sometimes when she was frustrated, she'd say "I don't want to go to the Goon" in hopes that she wouldn't have to do her job. Too bad.

We finally made it, to Frightmares. We had a great time. A few of my favorite moments include Tatum's first ride on the white, old, rickety roller coaster. She was excited and terrified. She screamed, cried and laughed all on the same ride. After the first big drop she yelled, "Mom, I couldn't breath." (That alone makes me laugh, George Lopez...) I kept telling her it is fun to be scared, and to just laugh. She eventually did, and couldn't wait to do it again. Me, I'm still dizzy twelve hours later. Sad.

My other favorite moment was on the Terroride. It is a haunted house ride that travels through dark hallways decorated in nightmarish scenes, with some creatures and scary people jumping out at you. Tatum, Seth and I were laughing and screaming trying to scare each other during the ride. We came around the last corner and I saw a figure out of the corner of my eye. The figure moved and I screamed so loud, because I could, it was a haunted house. Then as I was screaming, the figure screamed back at me.  I screamed louder.  It was a Lagoon employee that had been quietly waiting to exit the ride when I came around the corner and scared her.  Our ridiculously loud screams turned into ridiculously loud laughter. Poor girl, she was just trying to do her job. I am still laughing thinking about the surprise look on her face.  Ahh, good times!

Can you see the smile on Sage's face?  So cute!

... and the moose we saw running in our neighborhood as we drove in.  Great Day!