Jackson Hole Obstacle Course

In the midst of trying to accomplish a difficult task, people often ask themselves: "Why did I think this was a good idea?" I have experienced this during various events in my life, including performances of challenging music, moving, and childbirth. Sometimes the sentiment comes as drama unfolds during family travel. Planning and executing a trip with loved ones--and trying to have fun--can be a difficult task!

Once these types of challenges are complete, however, feelings of regret and doubt fade away. I feel relieved, happy, and changed. All of the pain and effort expended seems worthwhile.

Our family recently took a short trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and as you might guess from the opening paragraph of this post, this trip was a challenge. For me and Forest, it often felt like some kind of obstacle course in parenting. The girls each took turns melting down, freaking out, and whining throughout the day, so there was almost always a damsel in serious distress (one in particular who took the drama queen role very seriously). To make matters worse, any efforts to calm or discipline these little ladies kept backfiring this particular week, leaving us feeling drained and discouraged much of the time. I am pretty sure there were moments when we asked ourselves: "Why did we think this was a good idea?"

Now those travels are finished, and I feel triumphant. We did it! We overcame, together, and made lots of good memories . . . look at all the happy pictures I have to show for it:

Our first morning, we took the aerial tram up to the top of Rendezvous Mountain, overlooking Teton Village.

There were several paragliders out that day. We got to watch one go airborne from the side of the mountain.

Once we got off the tram, a significant obstacle was apparent: Ramona was terrified to be at that particular altitude, and kept saying she felt like she was going to fall off the mountain. We took a couple of pictures and hoped her fear of heights would wear off.

But it wasn't that easy.  We tried one hiking trail--but there were too many tears, so we turned around . . .

. . . and tried another one.

We saw a woodchuck . . .

. . . and lots of pretty views, but Ramona was still upset, and the other kids were starting to get restless, as well. We made quite a scene there, on the top of the mountain, as crowds of more efficient hikers passed us by. The thought "Why did we think this was a good idea?" definitely crossed our minds.

We almost turned around again to take the tram back down to the village, but decided to take "hiking shifts" instead. Forest let me go off on a trail with Paula on my back while he stayed on a picnic bench with Ramona and Mika. I felt a little guilty for leaving part of my family behind on the trail, but not too much. The semi-alone time in nature was a much-needed recharge.

Once I got back from my little adventure, it was Forest's turn to hike. Miraculously, Ramona asked to go along. Apparently, after an hour and a half, she had finally acclimated to the altitude and was no longer paralyzed with fear. They took a completely different trail that went down the other side of the mountain.

Once they got back, it was time for some waffles from Corbet's Cabin.

Then, a few more photos . . .

. . . and we were back on the tram . . .

. . . and down in Teton Village.

That evening, we drove over to Jackson town square for pizza, the shootout show, and ice cream.

Paula didn't appreciate the gunshots during the shootout so she stayed with Daddy a little further away.

But Ramona and Mika loved watching the saloon girls, cowboys, and "fake dying."

Everyone loved Moo's ice cream.

We made it through day one of the Jackson Hole Obstacle Course!

Red Rocks and weed pizza

A lot of the time it seems like Forest and I don't "get out" much--I guess we are in a phase of life where we tend to let ourselves be tied down at home. Hauling kids around for frequent family outings is just not our forte, and hiring a babysitter to stay home for us is a "sometimes" treat.

Well, mid-July we gave ourselves a big "sometimes" treat by hiring a babysitter and driving over to a Wilco concert at Red Rocks. I think Forest has wanted to see a show at this venue for quite some time, and we finally did it! We got out and did something!

As might be expected, there were plenty of audience members enjoying concessions and recently legalized marijuana. At one point during the show, Forest turned to me and said it smelled like pizza-flavored weed. Not long after that, Jeff Tweedy expressed a similar sentiment, commenting from stage that he was getting wafts of what smelled like "weed pizza."

Aside from the exciting atmosphere, the best part of the show was definitely the music. Wilco sounds amazing in live performance. Also, check out what the keyboard player was playing in the photo on the far left, below:

I think it is called a "vibrandoneon." Part keyboard, part harmonica. Now that is something for a music dork to get excited about, am I right?

The kids did great for the babysitter and the babysitter did great with the kids and house while we were gone. Maybe we should get out more often.

Parades, popsicles, and pyromania

It has become a tradition for the neighborhood kids to decorate their various riding toys and put on a fourth of July parade for any interested spectators. Since there are way more kids in the neighborhood than interested spectators, the number of parade participants greatly exceeds the number of onlookers, but this year our family contributed to both groups. Forest, Ramona, and Mika were participants and Paula and I were onlookers parked on the corner of Claret and Sienna streets.

The kids all met at the park to pick out decorations, courtesy of a local church.

 At about 10am, they were off.

 Each at her own pace.

Paula seemed very serious about the whole parade experience. That little mouth of hers simply would not smile.

But she did get mildly excited about holding a blue balloon that fell off of someone's bike.

 We spotted Ramona a few minutes into the parade . . .

 . . . and eventually, Mika rolled in, too.

Mika finished her parade route right there next to me and Paula. Ramona went back to the park to get a red, white, and blue snow cone.

 Once inside, Paula seemed happier about the parade decorations than the parade itself.

 Later that afternoon, some friends came over to swim with us at the pool.

Then after dinner, we went out front to observe all of the excitement on our street. Lots of sparks, pops, and smoke to celebrate the fourth of July. The perfect entertainment to go with popsicles and ice cream sandwiches.

Once it was dark outside, our street had another level of entertainment--live fireworks, provided by our slightly pyromaniac but otherwise responsible neighbors. :)

Paula didn't appreciate the show very much so I put her to bed, but everyone else was happy to stay up and watch. Our neighbors held their breath when a police car pulled through the smoke after one display, but it just kept driving past as though there was nothing unusual to note. The show went on!