Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown!

3:45am: It's dark. Time to wake up!
3:50am: Load yourself with sugar, knowing full-well that one's body cannot possibly process this much sugar and you'll pay for it later. Hopefully AFTER the race.
4:15am: Board the bus and drive. Feel like you're headed to your death sentence, and wonder if you actually are.
4:30am: Exit the bus.
4:35am: Realize you are in the mountains. Ask yourself, "Why did I not bring a jacket?"
4:50am: Observe the die-hards, the ripped, the less-than ripped, the oldies and the kids. Ask yourself, "Kids? Why on earth would a kid sign up to do this? Crap, why on earth did I sign up to do this?"
5:15am: Wait in line to take a pee break in one of the 50 or so Jons.
5:30am: Find someone you know. Yay! Tell yourself, "See? Running races is fun! You get to see people you know!"
5:55am: Gut bomb; of course this happens 5 minutes till the gun shot. Take one last trip to the potty. Hope that pain in your stomach works it's way out; after all, this is your last chance.
5:58am: Recognize this isn't the end of your digestive troubles, but you'd best pull up your pants and line up.
5:59am: Stand elbow to elbow with 10 meellion other weirdoes who also signed up and actually paid money to do this. Pray that you come out alive.
6:00am: GUN SHOT!!! GO!!!!!! Feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off.

Yep, that's pretty much how a race goes, minus the part where you run, ENDLESSLY. And minus the part where you are sore; SO VERY SORE for days and days after. But look us:

All smiles! Yes, we were happy to have crossed the finish line all in one piece. But mostly, those are fake smiles. Running is not joy.

But that's two Half's, baby! You might even say we've run a whole marathon! Or...maybe not, if we're getting all technical here;)

Pioneer Day

Little Josh left to the MTC. His setting apart was a neat night where everyone shared why they thought he’d make a great missionary, which means there were lots of tears. The actual “setting apart” was rather long, probably a 20 minute prayer. I kept asking myself throughout, “Is it over yet? Should I be opening my eyes?” You know the feeling…

The next morning was the 24th. We got together with all the Blackhursts for bfast at Jim’s. It was yucky. Don’t go there. I’m serious. But we were glad we got to see him off.  I just think he’s a doll and would totally claim as my own.

Later that day we met up with the Blackhursts again. We all brought potlucks, ordered pizzas, and visiting while the kids swam. I’ll say it…I love Blackhurst get-togethers. The reasons are many, but the first and foremost reason:  I don’t have to watch my kids AT ALL. They are instantly swept up by older cousins and entertained until it’s time to leave. And that, well, is a bit of heaven at times. Also heaven, the caramel Melba corn, I almost single-handedly polished off that night. Doesn’t get better.

I’d say it was a pretty fantastic Pioneer Day!

Wild West 4th: Bear World

Our 4th of July adventures were winding down. For our last day of fun, we slept in a bit, had a delicious breakfast in the Three Bear Restaurant, packed up our suitcases and headed to Yellowstone Bear World. What a place! I loved it.

The first part of the park has a drive through area where you see bison, elk, deer, and the likes in their habitats, unfenced.

We kind of liked this seemingly albino elk:

For the next part of your drive-through visit, you enter into the bear park. They just roam all through the place, climbing in trees, bathing in rivers, sleeping in dens, and walking on the roadways. They’re all very tame. We learned this when one particular bear was getting miffed by a wolf chewing on (what looked like) a swimming noodle. A lady worker got out of her little car, took the noodle from the wolf, and then hung out with the wolf and bears for several minutes. I was hoping, I mean…concerned that there might be a little warfare between the wolf, the bear, and the woman. LUCKILY, all was resolved and no battle took place;) Either way, the bears were so fun, and slightly unnerving, having them brush right up against your car.

One bear’s muddy snout left his mark on our car door handle:

After all the drive-through stuff, you make your way to a rather large gift shop and café, a petting zoo, and an amusement park. You can pay extra to bottle feed baby bears, and go on a feeding truck to toss food at the bears. We didn’t do any of those, but found more than enough to do. This was probably my favorite part of the trip, and the kids too.

 

 

Coley BEAR Hugs, and Best Cousin, Kaden

 

Even big people like to ride rides, right Uncle Brian?;)

So with one more stop at Café Rio for lunch, we made the trek home and finished up our trip. It was a good one. A really good one. Happy 4th!

Wild West 4th: Yellowstone

Upon entering Yellowstone, we saw a black bear climbing up a hill on the side of the road. Swell! We thought we were in for a day of countless animal sightings. Hmmm…not so much. We literally saw ZERO animals for the rest of the day! So maybe "countless" was kind of accurate. Alas, we saw a few sights. There were a lot of crowds and it was really hot; so pretty exhausting overall.

This was at the Midway Geyser. I about lost my mind here. Cole refused to hold the hand of a grown-up while walking along the planks that hover directly above geysers with extremely hot temperatures. No handrails, just the littlest of people helping the littlest person. I was moments away from cardiac arrest.

 

So, yeah, we were all pretty much done with Jellystone after a half a day. It was good timing, too, because just as we were leaving an unusual hail and rainstorm swept through.

We ate dinner at Wild West Pizza. It was wonderful…mainly because good food makes all things right in the world, and it certainly made my day much more fulfilled. We got back to our hotel. I stayed in with the kids while Dave made an ice cream run for the kids and a hot chocolate run for me. Delightful.

Wild West 4th: Jackson Hole

Today was the actual 4th of July. We started if off right river-rafting down the Snake River. Coley stayed behind with Grandma and Grandpa, and broken-armed, Bella. Sissy was a bit nervous about this excursion. She fought tears as the boat launched, but in the end, LOVED it. And why wouldn’t she? It was a definite highlight to the trip! She wishes all the time that she could be riding down the river again. And so do the rest of us.

My Mad River hat goes especially great with my Mad-hatter face, don’t you think?

After cleaning up, we made it into downtown. Kate and Cole looked especially cute in their 4th of July Get-ups:

First stop, a trip down memory lane. The left pic is from a year and a half ago; same cute baby doll, just bigger and braver now:)

Of course a visit to the candy shop is a must. The kids love filling candy bags with a million types of candies, and then munching on them for days. But if you’re like me, I finish the bag in a matter of minutes. Those baby gummy bears…GEEZ!

Decisions, decisions…

Our river guide suggested a Mexican joint for dinner, The Merry Piglets. It really was awesome food, and accommodated our very large group, which was perfect. What was not perfect, was being seated right next to the bathrooms; kinda stinky.

Next, we rescued a little lost boy; that’s for real. Then we bought some souvies. Miss Kate and her Cammie cousin just HAD to get matching wolves. You might be able to tell from Sissy’s tear-stained face, that it was a little tricky finding the SAME wolf with the SAME matching pink bandana, but her daddy managed to track one down. Whew!

And last, but not least, ICE CREAM! Loved Kate’s action shot below, enjoying and licking her Key Lime ice cream…just moments before the ice cream fell off the cone and down to the ground:(

There were just enough hours left in the day for a little swimming pool time with all the cousins. Loved this! The parents were able to sit back and visit all while the big cousins entertained the little cousins in the water. AWESOME! I need big cousins for all my vacations. We had another firework show as we sat beside the pool. It was quite the romantical setting actually (if it were more of a romantical occasion, of course).

All in all, another perfect day in the Wild West.

Wild West 4th: Teton Village

Roadtrips. We avoid them at all costs, but occasionally, muster up enough strength to do them.  This was the case for our exciting 4th of July Weekend with Dave’s family!

FINALLY! We made it to the lovely, Teton Village. Hallelujah!

Our hotel was slightly dated, but it was in a good location and had a most comfy bed. Plus, nothing beats sleeping next door to cousins.

Up next, The Bar J Wranglers. If you’ve never been, here’s the rundown: walk the Western-themed grounds, catch a wagon ride, eat a cowboy dinner, and then watch 5 cowboys sing, dance, and joke.

All the cousins posing for a photo opp:

Baked beans, biscuits, applesauce, potatoes, MEAT, and lemonade all served in tinware:

Cowboys. I’m pretty sure these guys THINK they are funnier than they actually are, but the show was fun and their singing is pretty good:

Cole spent the first half of the show admiring the out of doors (and this trapper’s gun). The second half, he slept through the show on Dad’s shoulder. He was a trooper. And so was Cole;):

The night ended magnificently with a patriotic firework show right outside our hotel. What a great end to our first day!