Jackson Hole

I tried to type a concise retelling of our awesome trip to Jackson Hole, but there was so much to say and my retelling kept going... and going... and going.  At dinner last night, the girls were still talking about their memories from the trip, so I collected their comments about Jackson Hole:

Reese's Comments (Sunday through Thursday):

For Nana's birthday, we all went to Jackin' Hole.
Daddy went early and hiked the mountains with Uncle Trey.  He saw a poke-e-pine.
Then we went on an oh-pwane to try to see him.  But the oh-pwane took so long when we was almost there.  (Mom Note: We stopped off in Denver for a layover but ended up on a plane that was delayed four hours and cancelled before it was uncancelled and got us there.  The kids did great and had better attitudes than I did most of the time.  At one point, we'd be waiting on the plane 3 hours and Kyle jumped up in his seat, yelling happily, "We're on an airplane!!"  They kept us smiling.)

On Thursday, we ride the gon-ah-la and we saw some animals like that, when we was on the gon-ah-la.  At the end of the ride, all of us on mountain!  We hiked on mountain.

Kate's Comments: (Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning)

Then we ate cake because it was Nana's birthday.
Then we rode on the top of a horse carriage.  The driver told us about the horses who were named Blueberry and Bluebell.

On Friday we went on snow ski lifts and rided down a mountain with scooters.  Reese says she was flying, but I went slow.  DD was my partner.

In the afternoon we hiked to Taggart Lake.  I was
out in the front a lot and then we tried to catch minnows in the water.  Me and Avery saw a moose before Mommy did because we were in front and it ran in front of Avery!

Then we all saw a moose eating with her baby.

We saw buffaloes from far away and then we rode a boat across Jenny Lake.  I think the boat was Kyle's favorite part.

Avery's Comments (Saturday afternoon and Sunday):

After that we got to ride horses.  I got to ride on a horse named Vegas and Daddy got to ride on a Clydesdale.  We went to the middle of the mountain and it felt really high.  The base of the mountain looked like it was in the distance we were so high. Then we swam... that was fun.

We flew home on Sunday.  It was better than the flight getting to Jackson because we didn't drop and because we didn't have to be delayed!

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A Frozen Birthday

She turned three, and she loves Frozen.

So, Frozen it was.  

With a two-story ice castle...

And a visit from the Frozen Sisters themselves...

With lots of special party guests...

And a very special, sweet, Frozen birthday princess.

All of our girls naturally gravitated towards princesses for their third birthday parties and Reese was no exception.  We had no complaints; we loved celebrating a magical girl in a magical way!

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Ebiz Family Retreat 2014

You might think the best part of an EBIZ family retreat at Great Wolf Lodge is the water slides.  Or you might think it's the swimming pool that is shallow enough for a toddler to stand up in.  Or you might suspect that it's about meeting all of Daddy's coworkers and their families.  All of that is wonderful...

...But for Kate, it was the unusual animatronic show entitled "There's Nothing to be Scared Of" that plays 4+ times a day.  Five minutes long, starring two animatronic people and many animatronic forest creatures, the show was truly enthralling for a five year old.  No matter what you are doing, at each possible opportunity, it is so important to drop everything and run to the show.  It's just that good.

...And for Avery, it was MagiQuest.  With wands doned with new toppers and a little confidence from familiarity with the game, Avery was on a mission to become Master Magi.  All over the hotel, there were figures, paintings, and chests of gold that lit up at the point of a wand.  Lots of them said silly things and the book that was down the hall from our room became a fast favorite.

...And for Reese, the craft room was the place to be.  Kate colored a pillow case, Avery chose sand art, and Reese picked a piggy bank shaped like a cupcake to decorate.  The first craft time was SO good that when it was time to pick the very last activity of our stay, it was no question.  Swimming is fun and water parks are exciting, but the craft room was hands-down the top choice for Reese and Amelia.

There is so, so much to love at Great Wolf Lodge.  The water park and EBIZ friends kept us busy for hours at a time, and then there was even more to love when water play was done for a while.  Great Wolf Lodge 2014... truly a magical experience!

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Summer Shenanigans

"Nana, you know that lotion you bought us?  We're running low. Maybe you can buy us some more...?"

And later, saying prayers: "...thank you that we got to have fun ice skating in our bathroom with the lotion, even though we got in trouble & had to scrub toilets... It was still so much fun!"

Summer gives plenty of time for cooking up bright ideas, like lotion-skating, concocting potions in the backyard with kitchen ingredients, adding handfuls of glitter to playdough, & just generally being a kid.

Here's to summer shenanigans!

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