Les Trois Tetons

You know you have done life pretty well when 1) You have been married for fifty years 2) Your children and their families are excited to spend a week as one big happy group at a house in southern Idaho and 3) Everyone knows that while it is great to see each other, no one is going to be cheerful if you put off getting dinner ready.  Everyone except Brendan and Chris got in on July 4 and we had enough time to go to the local grocery store and pull off our first of many meals together.  It was a great way to start our week together to celebrate the wedding anniversary of Sport and Nana Banana.

Because of a long travel day for most of the crew we were only able to convince Sport to join us on a trip into Driggs to see their fireworks display.  It was a pretty impressive show for a town with a population of only about 1,500 people.  We even managed to get a perfect parking spot that let us sit on the back of our pretty fancy rental SUV to watch the fireworks and then put us in position to beat the traffic afterwards.

Of course even a fancy rental car isn't perfect.  The day after we picked it up in Salt Lake City it showed that one tire had low pressure.  It didn't seem like a huge deal and didn't go flat when we drove to Park City so we even drove all the way from Salt Lake to Driggs on it.  The morning after we arrived we finally decided to put some air in it.  Thanks to the common sense of the good people at Kaufman's OK Tire we decided to have them check the tire to see why it had low air pressure.  Turns out there was a sizable screw lodged in it.  Twenty minutes and fourteen dollars later, we were on the road and no longer threatened by a flat tire.

For our first full day we made our way into Jackson Hole and met up with the entire crew.  The downtown square has the iconic arches o'antlers on each corner, so of course we snagged a few pictures.  Callie and Reese were excited to hang out with their cousin Zoey and they loved all the attention from their aunts.

Just south of downtown is the Snow King ski resort, and at the base of the mountain is a cool park that had a playground, climbing rocks, and horseshoes.  We took advantage of all of the above, while eating lunch and discussing our plans for the rest of the week.

Just like any group of 13 people, we all had different ideas about fun ways to spend our time in Jackson Hole.  The thrill-seeking contingent decided to head over to check out the Cowboy Coaster at the Snow King Resort.  First up were Brendan with Reese and Chris with Callie.  The ride looked like fun but we weren't sure how the girls would react.  We should not have been worried.

Once the foursome came down we got the details from them, including that the driver of each cart had full control of the speed.  Sarah and John were going to go down individually, but Chris thought it was so much fun that he insisted the girls go down again. John was paired up with Reese and found out on the ride just how much Reese likes to go fast.  Although John was proud of himself for not constantly using the brake, Reese was never fully satisfied, and continued to shout "Faster!!!" the whole way down the hill.

Here is the first of many shots taken of the honorary guests.  Although normally a huge pile of antlers is not exactly their cup of tea, they spent most of the week with smiles on their faces, enjoying the beautiful scenery and the simple fact that they were getting to spend time with their family.

That night we ate dinner at The Lift restaurant.  They tried to put us at two different tables but didn't realize who they were dealing with.  We had a great meal, tried some local beers, and enjoyed each other's company.  These days it is not often that we are all together when it is not a holiday.  So it was nice to spend time without the pressure of all the things that holiday travel and planning involves.

And really, how can you not have fun when you are hanging out with these cool dudes.  The guys in the shades, by the way, came in a day late because they were both fencing at a national tournament. In other words, they are not just cool because they look good in shades.

We knew that in the time we had we couldn't do everything, but there were certainly some places we wanted to make sure we visited.  So on Wednesday, while the rest of the crew toured some great waterfalls in Idaho, the four of us headed to Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park.  We took a boat across the lake to meet up with a ranger led hike to Inspiration Point.

So on the difficulty scale, the hike was not all that tough.  We like to think it is because of our experience in Yosemite last year and our various trips to Kentucky's Natural Bridge State Park.  With that said, the views were gorgeous, and we were definitely inspired when we got to the top.

And here we have just one of many incredible views of the Grand Tetons, this time from the shores of Jackson Lake.  This national park doesn't get the press that others do, but the views are absolutely gorgeous.  We are also happy to admit that this was our view for lunch that day.  Something that we took away from last year's national park visit, there is no reason to have lunch at a picnic table when a little hike can get you to views like this.

We made our way to Coulter Bay Lodge where we watched a brief video about the history of the park.  We also had the good fortune to be there when they had an artist in residence who worked with the girls to make beaded necklaces.  He was very sweet with the girls and they loved the end product.

Our last stop before we headed back to Driggs was the iconic Mormon Row area right outside of Grand Teton National Park.  It took us a few attempts to get a good photo, but our patience was rewarded.  Also, you only see the two of us because our children  had had enough of beautiful scenery by this point and decided to stay in the car.

This is a picture illustrating "how the sausage gets made".  If you have ever been to any event with Sarah you might have noticed her passion for taking pictures of everything, including key landmarks or unique features to help capture the memories both for this blog and our family photo books.  But sometimes it involves running across a state highway to take a picture of a road sign.  John felt the need to document the behind the scenes moment in this particular instance.

On the Thursday of our trip we drove about two and a half hours in three cars to Yellowstone.  The drive was made memorable for us when 30 minutes in Reese threw up her breakfast all over herself.  The cars following us wondered why Sarah was holding a pair of shorts out the window for much of the rest of the journey.  The good news is that Reese rallied very well and was picture perfect when we sighted a herd of buffalo right after we entered the park.

We managed to get some great photos of the crew as we took in the incredible views.  There were buffalo and elk just hanging out in the valley meadow and it certainly started this portion of the trip off on the right foot.  After these photos we jumped in our cars and let Brian lead the way to the next sight seeing opportunity.  Yellowstone is just so big and we only had one day.  Brian's prior experience in the park made a huge difference to ensure we got the must-sees in.

Although Yellowstone has amazing natural beauty, some of those natural features are also incredibly unique and strange.  Our next stop took in one of those very features at the Fountain Paint Pots.  We stopped at several geyser and hot spring features, and there were a couple that the girls quickly described as "stinky".  The walkways throughout this section made it easy to get around, though, which was good for all ages.

The Grand Prismatic Spring was up next, and it was undoubtedly one of our favorites.  The colors were absolutely breathtaking.  What you don't see in these pictures, though, is just how crowded it was.  You had to be very careful as you walked so that you didn't push anyone off the walkway and so that you didn't fall off either.  In the midst of the craziness, though, we managed to take some great family photos.

And here are the five grandkids at Grand Prismatic.  It was fun to watch all of them interact with each other.  Although we were all in different cars, as soon as we got out the girls would run to find their cousins so they could check out the next big thing together.  And Brendan and Michael continue to be fantastic older cousins.  They handle their giggly, girlie cousins quite well.

We also managed to plan ahead and had yet another lunch without a picnic table.  This was more of a roadside pitstop, but it still kept the streak alive.  We had plenty of food to eat and got away from the crowds for a little bit.

If there is one thing you should do when you are wearing a knee brace for a possible meniscus tear, it is balance on your one good leg with your oldest granddaughter.  That, my friends, is love.  Or insanity.  In any case, Callie loved playing around with Sport on this day and every day of the trip.

Old Faithful Geyser was a must see attraction for several reasons.  One, the girls and us had watched the live feed of the geyser eruption in preparation for the trip and couldn't wait to see it in person.  Two, Nana Banana informed us that her parents had not only gone to Yellowstone on their honeymoon, but has vivid memories of a picture of them in front of the geyser from that trip.  Three, it is just really cool to see and certainly a natural phenomenon.

You try and temper your expectations heading into days like this, but we knew that we really, really, really wanted to see a buffalo up close.  Not, that buffalo calf looks cold let's put it in the car close, but a, wow, what an amazing creature right outside our window close.  We got that and more.  This is one of our favorite pictures, though.  What you can't see are all of the cars lined up around this intersection with people leaning out windows and sunroofs (that would be Sarah) capturing the moment.

The last big stop of the day was at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, where we managed to get a great family picture at yet another gorgeous vista.  Yellowstone definitely deserves far more than a single day, but we maximized the time we had and John promised Sarah that we would go back again.

Although we spent a lot of time checking out the natural beauty of the West, we also had fun fooling around back at the rental house. The girls loved that there was a mini-pool, a.k.a., hot tub, at the house.  And even the big kids got to enjoy it.

The day after Yellowstone we were back at it, hiking to Taggart Lake in Grand Teton.  The views were impressive, and John could not resist having a "the hills are alive with the sound of music" moment.  The hike was a good stretch your leg kind of exercise, but not all that challenging.  And at this point it seemed like we were spoiled because everywhere you looked was another beautiful sight.

For trips involving multiple generations, the key is finding activities that engage all interest levels and abilities.  The scenic float trip down the Snake River we did on Friday night hit the mark on all the counts.  The girls were excited, the weather was perfect, and the scenery was amazing.  We had high hopes that the evening float trip would lead to more wild animal sightings, and while we did see several bald eagles, a racoon, and a number of beavers, we did not see a moose.  Bummer.

Every turn in the river brought us another cool view of the Grand Tetons, and the photo opportunities were countless.  The trip lasted almost three hours and included a riverside dinner at the beginning. It was a great trip from start to finish and we are happy to report that the life jackets we were required to wear never had to get wet.

The very next morning Sarah and John hit another river, this time the Teton River in southern Idaho.  It was just the two of us and our guide, Dubs, and we were ready to learn all about fly fishing.  Dubs was fantastic, and even jumped in the water to play the role of the fish so that we would know the sensation when we got a bite on our line.

Needless to say there was a learning curve.  Well before either of us hooked a fish we managed to hook ourselves.  And at least once, Sarah got a special treat when John hooked her in the midsection.  The removal of that hook even drew blood.  Dubs tried to assure us that this was all normal, but we imagine that he was hoping for a big tip after dealing with us for five hours.

But you know what, the fish became secondary because we saw a moose!  We were just sitting there practicing our casting when John looked behind us on the river and saw a moose step out of the rushes on the bank and into the river.  It was incredible!  Then Dubs did his best to row us upstream to get a better view while the moose did his best to keep us at a safe distance.  The whole experience was awesome.

All in all, we did actually catch some fish.  We are pleased to say that this was not the biggest one.  Sarah caught a Brookie and one other, and John caught this small rainbow and then a cutthroat.  The bottom line is that we fished for about five hours non-stop and had an absolute blast.  It was a perfect Saturday in southern Idaho and we would do it again in an instant.

Sarah felt strongly that we shouldn't go out West without experiencing at least one rodeo.  So Saturday night we hit the Jackson Hole Rodeo to take in some local culture.  Those who had cowboy hats broke them out and the rest of us did our best to blend in.

It is not surprising that the events the Bowes family enjoyed the most were the barrel run and the dance contest.  We were all impressed by the horsemanship and horsewomanship on display, and a little taken aback by the four-year-olds riding the mini-bulls.  But we can all say that we have been to a rodeo.

On our last day together we headed back to Jackson Hole for one last shopping excursion and to give a kiss to the friends we made during our time there.  For the record, the sign on this moose says don't touch and Chris followed those instructions.  This picture perfectly illustrates why Sarah and Chris get along so well.

Every now and then we have a picture that has to be included because it just has to.  At the beginning of the trip Nana Banana bought herself a pink cowboy hat and sported it at all the appropriate activities.  She never knew she was going to have to arm wrestle her grandson for the privilege of wearing it.  And what teenage boy wears it better when drinking right from the milk jug?  This could potentially be a got milk ad.

After seven days together, countless hours in the car, and even more incredible views, the trip was a huge success.  We are so happy that we found a way to celebrate the love that Nana Banana and Sport have shared with each other and the rest of us for the past fifty years and more.

Salt Lake City and the Hallorans

Our big summer trip this year took us out west, but not to California.  The ultimate destination was Idaho for a celebration of Nana Banana and Sport's 50th wedding anniversary.  But we realized that we had an opportunity to work in a visit to some great friends if we flew into Salt Lake City.  And that is how we found ourselves pulling up to the front door of the Hallorans after a quick flight from Cincinnati.  This trip was well overdue since we had not seen Fiona, Charles, and Iain for about six years.  It is an understatement to say that we enjoyed hanging out with them.

Fiona knew that we would want to be active during our brief visit, so the morning after our arrival we all went on a hike up to Lake Mary which is at the Brighton Ski Resort north of Salt Lake. The hike was a lot of fun, and the scenery was spectacular.  We spent so much time with these crazy kids when they lived in Lexington, and it was good to see how easily we picked up right where we left off.  Of course, some things were a bit different.

For instance, Reese had not even been born yet when the Hallorans still lived in Lexington.  So, although Callie remembered the Hallorans, Reese was meeting them all for the first time.  But it took Reese only a few minutes to realize that Fiona is generous, smart, and funny, and clearly the adult you want to be around as much as possible.

At one point, Fiona was telling Callie all about Callie's birth and the early years of her life.  Callie was hanging on her every word, and loved hearing Fiona tell the stories of her life in a way that only Fiona can.  Needless to say, both Callie and Reese were more than happy to spend most of the hike with Fiona rather than their parents.  And that worked out just fine because we had some great conversations with Charles and Iain.

After our hike we drove over to the next canyon where we hit the Park City Silly Market.  Park City is a pretty cool place and we could have stayed there for hours on end, and the kids certainly enjoyed the pineapple/ice cream/slushy extravaganza that Fiona purchased for them.  And that was only the first part of the day, because then we went back to their house for a cookout with Megan and Ricky Sethi, who were also visiting the area with their son and Ricky's parents.  Ricky's parents may be two of the sweetest folks we have met and it was a wonderful evening.

Needless to say, all the kids have grown up a ton in the six years since the Hallorans left Lexington.  It was so great to see the three of them hang out reading books, getting a tutorial on Minecraft from Iain, and watching esoteric Japanese animated movies that Fiona explained quite well to the girls.

Unfortunately after two night we had to take off, leaving our wonderful hosts behind.  These three hold a special place in our hearts and we promise that it won't be another six years before we see them again.

Leaving Salt Lake City was tough, but we had to get on the road because it was over a four hour drive to our destination in southern Idaho.  Luckily everyone was prepared for the journey.  And lucky us, when we got our rental car we were upgraded to an SUV with Sirius radio.  The extra space and the variety of stations made everyone's lives better on the trip.

We also managed to keep a vacation tradition alive by stopping to eat our lunch in a scenic area.  This particular lunch occurred at a camp site in Caribou National Forest just over the border in Idaho.  We ate our sandwiches by the stream, stretched our legs, and prepared for the final push that would bring us together with the Bowes, Balestracci, and Hannen clans.

Summer Camp for Callie

For one of her summer camps this year, Callie went on a three night sleep-away camp with five of her friends from elementary school.  She was pretty excited about the whole deal and not nervous about being away from us at all.  The camp was in eastern Kentucky about 60 miles from Lexington, so it was far enough away to feel like she was really on her own but close enough for us to pick her up if the situation required.  That was not necessary.  Drop off was easy and perhaps a little too quick for our liking.  But Callie was ready and raring to go. Indeed, the person hit the hardest was Reese, who cried as we drove away.

We let Callie take a camera to capture all the moments of camp.  Out of all the pictures she took, this is the one we have selected.  We chose not to include the numerous videos of the songs she learned, and she learned a lot of songs which she quickly taught to Reese upon her return.  In short, Callie had an absolute blast and loved the whole experience.  She hiked to a bat cave, swam at 10pm, and even did some archery.  They kept her busy and entertained.  When John picked her up she was both happy and exhausted.  She also talked about wanting to do a whole week next summer.  Sounds good to us!

The Gift

For the fifth year we had the pleasure of watching Callie dance on stage at the Lexington Opera House as part of the annual Diana Evans Dance Recital.  Each year is a different theme, and often times they have to stretch to make the dances fit the theme.  This year took the cake, as Diana worked very hard to weave each dance into The Gift.  Take, for example, the picture to the left.  This was Callie's jazz number, that had the title, "Walk Like a Dinosaur".  The entire family agreed that this costume was the least appealing overall.  But it was fun to see a T-Rex incorporated into the number.

You wouldn't know it by her face, but Callie enjoyed her tap routine, titled, "Boogie Woogie Bugs".  Callie didn't start dance this year until January, but she quickly got up to speed and did a great job learning all three dances for the recital.  She has had a lot of fun with dance over the past five years, but we still aren't sure if we have to put this recital on our calendar for next year.

It's very possible that if she does dance again next year it will be with a more traditional ballet company.  One reason for this is practical, in that because she grows out of her shoes every year we would be much happier buying only one pair of dance shoes.  Besides, Callie very much enjoys ballet and is quite graceful when she puts her mind to it.

Jonah and the Whale

This June marked the sixth year that Callie has participated in our church's music and arts camp.  For Reese, it is year three and she had a great time.  The theme was Jonah and the Whale, and Reese loved learning the music with Mrs. H, who has also worked with the pre-school kids throughout the year in LOGOS.  One of the biggest things we are going to miss with Reese going into kindergarten is no longer having Mrs. H as a music teacher.

Callie is a veteran of these productions.  Each year we are always impressed with the overall production and the performance.  The teachers work very efficiently and very hard to put a show together over the course of a single week.  This year we could have sworn the kid who played Jonah was a professional.  She had solos, monologues, and a whole lot of personality.

Callie was selected to be part of the whale's mouth that swallowed Jonah.  She was pretty excited to be such an integral part of the show, though you can't really see her joy in this picture here.  You'll just have to trust us on this one.  Who knows what roles await her next year, but she continues to be comfortable singing in front of our congregation, so that's a good thing.

Six years ago we took a picture of these three girls that is very different from the one you see here.  Take a moment and go back to the post in July 2011 labeled, "Where Did June Go?" and you will see what we are talking about.  Both Vivie Ann and Callie wouldn't even look at the camera, and now they are ready for third grade.  Murphy, in the middle here, looked at the camera but was certainly not smiling.  And now she is about to enter fourth grade.  These three have really grown up to be fun and smart girls with a whole lot of personality.

But part of what made this week even more special was the fact that Libby and Lucy attended the camp as well.  This was Lucy's first year and Libby's second.  And for the whole week they stayed with Birdie and Pop, which meant they were right next door and we spent pretty much the whole week hanging out them.  Every morning before camp the girls played for a couple of hours and every night after camp we did a different activity.  The week was not boring to say the least, and we once again were able to prove our value as neighbors to Sharon and Chris.

St. Louis with Grammy

A summer tradition we have had for quite some time has been a summer visit with Grammy combined with a trip to a city within driving distance, and ideally one that has a baseball stadium.  This summer our destination was St. Louis.  Unfortunately, John was not able to join us because he was at a conference in Canada.  We did our best to have fun without him (and we were very successful).  Our first stop was the lobby of the Union Station Hotel.  It was gorgeous and the concierge tipped us off that if we came back later we could catch their nightly light show, which was pretty amazing.  The show had images of trains rolling back and forth across the ceiling and a full array of colors.

Because this was the first time for Grammy and both girls to see the Mississippi River, taking a river cruise was a necessary first step.  Grammy understood the historical journey more than the girls did, but Callie and Reese enjoyed pointing out the massive logs and other debris that was floating down the river along with us.

Of course you can't think of St. Louis without thinking of the Gateway Arch.  And we were quick to take advantage of the ride to the top of that architectural wonder.  It is not a trip for someone with claustrophobia, but it is a phenomenal view when you get to the top.

The girls enjoyed the ride to the top and because it was not crowded at the time we got our own little compartment for the trip.  Once we got to the viewing area Callie and Reese couldn't wait to look out the windows.  Sarah got the opportunity to talk about how she and John had been in this same observation deck over twelve years ago as they made their way across the country.

That's right, it's the arch again!  This time we needed to take the iconic picture from the courthouse where the Dred Scott trials began.  We spent quite a bit of time in the courthouse - we took a tour and participated in some national park ranger activities to learn more about the case.  In the end, Callie and Reese earned two different Junior Ranger badges.

Sometimes timing is everything.  The day that we decided to visit the arch happened to be the same day that they were celebrating the kickoff of summer, which meant food trucks and fireworks.  Since the girls are not huge fans of the noise that fireworks produce, we decided to watch them from the porch of the courthouse instead of the banks of the Mississippi.  From a pictorial standpoint it worked out perfectly.

St. Louis has a fantastic zoo that just happens to be free.  Because we have all become zoo aficionados we were quick to review the map and strategize the best approach to seeing all of our favorite animals while we were there. This picture is pretty cool because it mimics another photo of the girls when we were at the Atlanta Aquarium with Grammy and watched some belugas from the same viewpoint.

As we were making our way through the zoo, the girls and Sarah decided that the next zoo visit needs to be a photo shoot of only animal rears, inspired by the zebras' unwillingness to show us their faces.  So watch out, there may be more animal butts in future posts.

Grammy also wanted to check out the Botanical Gardens while we were in the Forest Park area, so we made our way over there.  This was certainly a beautiful spot with many unique features.  If we had more time we could have spent several hours walking through it all.

We can only imagine that many wedding and senior photo shoots take advantage of spots like these throughout the grounds.  The problem for us is looking at this picture we see how Callie is growing older and looking more mature.  Not to mention the fact that her legs seem to go on forever.  And third grade is right around the corner.

Speaking of school, this little confident five-year-old will be starting kindergarten before we know it.  We don't think she'll have a hard time making friends, or at the very least entertaining her teachers.  She seems to always have a good attitude and is always ready to crank up the energy for a few giggles.

One recommendation that we got before heading to St. Louis was to visit the City Museum.  We weren't sure what to expect, but we enjoyed it more than we thought we ever would.  The museum has a fascinating origin story - it basically began with one man's art studio in an old office building downtown.  He created some climbing structures for his kids and himself, and it grew into the ultimate hands-on museum experience.  Here you see Reese and Callie climbing and exploring in one of the wire tunnels.  Everyone is encouraged to explore.  There are no maps or brochures, no guides or docents.  Just come on in and have fun.  The only tip you get is to write your phone number on your kid's hand in case you get separated.

On the second floor there is the Snow Flake Lady, who has a room all to herself, dedicated to arts and crafts of all varieties.  She is particularly skilled and has a personality that is an intriguing mixture of directness, endearing sweetness, and folksy charm.  We had so much fun making snowflakes with her that we bought her book.  She has amazing talent when it comes to designing snowflakes that look like a variety of animals.

We took a break from the museum to eat a picnic lunch under the Arch, but while Reese and Grammy headed back to the hotel pool, Callie and Sarah decided they needed to take in more of the museum. This time they hit the wire tunnels on the outside of the museum and went down the ten-story slide. Seriously, if you are in St. Louis you need to check this place out.

Another must see on any child's visit to St. Louis is the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, of course.  Okay, maybe not a must see for kids, but the girls did enjoy seeing all the Clydesdales, along with Clyde the dalmation who roams the grounds. As pictured here, all of the wagons used for parades and other events are on display.

The adults enjoyed the two free samples of beer provided during the course of the tour.  It's amazing how many different beers Anheuser-Busch now distributes.  There were plenty of options to pick from and it was a great way to prep for the real reason we were here, to see the San Francisco Giants play the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

And here we have Grammy with Callie and Reese at what is now their fourth baseball stadium together.  (Callie and Grammy got in a fifth before Reese was born).  It is such a wonderful tradition, and we are already thinking about next year.  We hear Pittsburgh has a wonderful stadium.