God's Amazing Creation

Day 26 - Thursday, July 11th

I woke today for am amazing 4 mile sunrise run here at the Grand Tetons.  One could sit and stare for hours at their amazement and beauty.  I challenge anyone who says they're not "a believer" to come visit any one of these incredible national parks and not be moved by their splendor and creation.  

After my awesome chilly run in the 40 degrees, I packed some lunches, and we were off to Jackson Hole!  I was kind of nervous to downhill mountain bike ride again after my very defeating day at Schweitzer.  Curtis rode first and I read my book while the boys played on the playground....btw....Dan Brown's Inferno is a fantastic read, especially if you've ever been to Florence, Italy.

Aren't these boys the sweetest?!

Oh yeah, I left ALL of my hair products at the floathouse in Idaho....not good for a curly girl, so I get to wear braids until we get back to Frisco.  I'm very thankful for the straw cowboy hat purchase back at the Flying J's in New Mexico.

Curtis rode the bike trails for a while, then we met up to all ride the aerial team to the top.

It reminded me a lot of the sky tram in North Lake Tahoe....check out the awesome mustache on the Utah guy next to Curtis. Everyone we met was from Logan, Utah....seriously everyone.  Curtis and made a mental note to visit there one day.  

When we arrived up the peak it was very windy and chilly...our Texas boys didn't last very long up there...enough time for a few pictures at least.

It was such a beautiful view from the top

We rode the tram back down and found a picnic spot for our pb&j, then it was time for me to go ride, YAY!!!!!  The trails were incredible!  No rocks at all, and nice smooth, wide open switchbacks.  I rode the two greens, Lucky Charm and Trapper, then went back up the lift for another run down Lucky Charm.  The boys has given me an hour to ride, so I had only time for one more.  I decided to go for it and ride the blue, Bandit, and I was so happy I did!!!!  It was a fantastic run...lots of jumps, bridges, hills, valleys, and fun!!!  My legs were getting pretty tired after my run this morning, so I switched Mommy duty with Curtis.  This was how I found the boys....

No big surprise.....We put my bike up and it was time for him to play.  We all ride up the chair lift with him a few times for fun.

Poor Carson was scared to death on his first chair lift!  Curtis rode for a few more hours, and we headed back to the condo for naps.  We had a big evening planned!

Our dinner plans were a surprise for the boys at the Bar J Chuckwagon Suppers. This was our big "splurge" dinner of the trip.

It reminded me a lot of Babe's Chicken...except they featured BBQ and a cowboy band.  

The boys had fun!

The food quality wasn't anywhere near the awesomeness of our Texas BBQ like Dickey's....the meats weren't smoked at all, just giant crockpot with sauce....big disappointment.  

After the dinner was served, the family cowboy band came out to play.  Before they started they announced that Dick Cheney was in the audience!

That's him in the black hat....might as well been a Republican Party with all the people from Utah.  We sat with 2 other families from Logan, Utah...we fit right in.  

The cowboy band played and played.

Before we knew it, it was after 9:00 and everyone was exhausted.  We made one more stop at the wooden swing before we left.

Thankfully, our condo was 2 miles away. Everyone was too tired to load the car, so we just went to sleep.  Tomorrow will be a little later start than usual...oh well.  The alarm is set for 5:30 with a new destination!  

Day 27 - Friday, July 12th

Wow, that alarm came a lot sooner than I would have liked.  We were up and had a lot to do before heading out....it took us almost 2 hours to get everything packed and loaded in the van.  The goal was to be rolling by 7:00....we were driving by 7:15, not too shabby.  

If you've never driven through Wyoming, there's a whole lot of nothing.  They don't even have many gas stations, and very few towns....most with less than 100 people.  All 3 boys had to pee, so they had to improvise off the side of the road. Check out Carson's little tushy.  He's a pottytrained master.  

The big excitement of driving through Wyoming was hitting 5,000 miles on our trip....I had to celebrate by myself because all 3 Schettler boys were asleep.

We finally made it to Cheyenne and pulled off at McDonalds.  We've tried our best to avoid fast food on our trip, but 3 days straight of pb&j was really wearing on us.  This is what happens to your 2 year old when he's been in a car over 5,000 miles.

Well, that's what Crazy Carson would look like after no miles in a car, too....he's a silly boy!

After a few hours of traffic driving through Denver on a Friday during rush hour, we finally pulled up to my cousin's beautiful home in Morrison.  Oh my goodness, it's so beautiful up here!!!!

Dave and Sabrina greeted with smiles, hugs, cold beer, and hot dinner on the stove.  Aaaah, fantastic!!!!  Cole and Carson found new best friends in Shawn and Tori.

Yes, Curtis and I put our feet up and RELAXED while the kids played together....aaaah!  We all went in the hottub while the cool sprinkling rain hit our faces and snacked on vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone....Aunt Sabrina in the BEST!!!!  

The kids played a little more on the wii, and we treated ourselves to some pineapple infused vodka shots....mmmm!  Before we knew it, it was 10:00, and the rugrats needed to get some sleep before our fun day tomorrow, so we made a fort, gave hugs, and all went to bed.

We have the best family in the world!  I cannot wait to see the fun they have planned for us tomorrow!!!!