Summer fun, camping, friends, family reunion...

Gosh...has it really been a month already since I last blogged on here?  Another few busy weeks are behind us, and I thought I would post some pictures from our recent camping trip and family reunion.  We were lucky enough to be able to stay at a campground just outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming for a few days with some friends who made the trip from Colorado to camp with us.  It just happened to work out that the Bake family reunion was being planned for the weekend immediately following our previously scheduled camping trip, so the trip stretched into 9 days worth of traveling and camping for us.

We started out last Saturday by driving about 2 hours and setting up camp at a campground at the base of the Palisade Dam in eastern Idaho.  Our original plan was to spend the next day on an 8 mile hike up to a mountain lake, but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate.  We experienced rain and thunderstorms for the first two days of our trip, so we had to improvise with our activities.  We went for a lot of (short) walks, even in the rain, Chris and the kids fished, for as long as they could stand being in the rain, and the rest of the time we spent in the camper - reading, coloring, playing DS, eating - whatever kept the kids occupied.

Monday morning we packed up and headed up towards Jackson Hole, another 45 minutes and we were at the Gros Ventre Campground.  From our campsite, nestled below towering cottonwoods, we had an amazing view of the Teton Mountains.

We set up camp again, and then spent some time exploring the new area.  We saw several moose in the trees on the edge of the campground, actually in the campground! That afternoon our friends arrived to join up with us and it was great to see them after a couple of years since our last visit.  They have four kids also and they all get along really well with our kids so we had a lot of fun with them.

During the three days we spent camping there with them, we went to the visitor's center in the town of Moose, we went on several short (1-2 mile) hikes around some of the most picturesque areas, took the kids on a 5 mile hike that led to a place called Hidden Falls, where we had a picnic lunch before hiking back to our cars, we went on drives in search of wildlife, went to downtown Jackson for treats, and spent the rest of our time enjoying yummy dutch oven food, and catching up.  We're hoping to make this an annual event.

When our time at Gros Ventre was done, we had one night to spend wherever we wanted before heading back down to the Palisade area for the Bake family reunion, but since we had been camping without electrical hook-ups for the previous 3 days, we needed to camp somewhere with hook-ups so we could recharge the  battery in our trailer, dump our tanks and fill up with water.  We decided to spend Thursday night at Colter Bay RV Park, which is right in Grand Teton National Park.  On our way, we encountered a "bear jam" about a mile from the RV park.  Chris dropped me off where all the people were on the side of the road while he drove the trailer further up where he could pull of and park temporarily.

  I was able to take a lot of photos of a mama grizzly with 3 cubs in a meadow on the side of the main park road.  After that excitement, we went and set up camp a third time.

 At the RV park there were no campfires allowed, so after we ate and got cleaned up, we spent the rest of that day exploring the Colter Bay area and driving through the park looking for wildlife.  We got lucky and had several more bear sightings, up close and personal!  We also saw a moose, some elk and of course, bison.  We enjoyed every minute of it, right up until it was too dark to see and we headed back to camp.

Friday morning we packed up again and started making our way down to the family reunion.  After a stop at the grocery store in Jackson, we finally arrived at our final camping destination on Friday afternoon, Big Elk Creek Campground near the Palisade Reservoir in Idaho.

Once we were set up, we spent most of the day sitting in the shade of our trailer awning, visiting with family members and watching the kids play with their cousins.  Saturday morning a few of the adults, including myself, Chris, three of his brothers, one sister and his dad, all rounded up some of the kids and ventured out for a hike on a trail that heads out from the campground and goes on for miles and miles.

We weren't sure how far we would go, but I wore my Garmin gps watch so I could keep track.  About a mile and a half in, most of the kids were complaining they were done, so Chris' brother Dean, and their step-mom Anita took the littler kids and turned around and headed back to camp.  The rest of us, including Chris and I and our little Nick, continued on for a little longer and ended up doing 6 miles round-trip.  Although we didn't see any mountain goats as we had hoped, we all really enjoyed each other's company and the beautiful scenery as we hiked, not to mention sweating a lot and burning off a few of the extra calories from all the yummy camp food!  Nicolas was such a little trooper that we told him we would soon get him his own Camelback-type backpack, and he was very excited about that. Later in the day on Saturday, some of us gathered with the kids down near the "creek", which was more like a small lake, where the kids played in the water and uncle Wil gave them rides in his drift boat.

I'm pretty sure that boat was the hit of the reunion with the kids.  After we had soaked up enough sun and everyone was feeling worn out, we went back to camp for dinner.  Our kids went to bed well that night, and Chris and I were able to stay up a little later enjoying some time around the campfire with some of the other family members, and I got to hold my baby niece, Trinity until she fell asleep...around 11pm!  It was fun to love on a little baby, it's been a while since we've had one that small!  Sunday morning was spent cleaning and packing up, then we made the 2 1/2 hour drive home, where I spent the rest of the day doing laundry!  It was definitely a fun trip, and now I feel like the rest of the summer will be sort of anti-climactic.  ;)

More catching up...

May has been a busy month for our family.  On the 5th the kids had Grandparent's Day at their school, where they were able to show off some of their artwork, sing songs and do skits.  I went to the school to watch them in lieu of their grandparents, and took some pictures to share.

On the 8th was my birthday, which also happened to fall on Mother's Day.  The kids made me lots of sweet notes, cards and pictures, and from Chris I received a heartfelt "love-note" with a couple of my favorite treats - a Snickers bar and a Diet Coke. :)

On May 12 we celebrated Chris' birthday with cake and ice cream with the kids.  The next day Chris came to help me out with my cub scout meeting, fulfilling the Law Enforcement Requirement for the Bears.  The boys love it when he comes to talk with them and they get to ask all kinds of (silly) questions and see the inside of his patrol car and all his gear.  That night Chris went with Noah on his first overnight scout campout.  They did their water safety training and had a great time.

During the week of the 16th we actually had a couple of days that were sunny with temperatures near 70 so we had to get out and enjoy it, taking a few pictures along the way...



On the 20th we drove down to Salt Lake City where we stayed with some family friends for a couple of nights so I could run the Ogden Marathon on the 21st.  The kids enjoyed getting to swim a little bit, after we took a drive up through the Ogden Canyon so I could check out the marathon course.

We stopped at the Union Station in Ogden to pick up our race bibs and packets and walked around the race expo a little bit.

On Saturday morning my friend, Marsden, and I woke up at 3am to a few sprinkles, but by the time the race began at 7am the sky was clear and the sun was shining.  We had an amazing 26.2 mile run through the winding downhills of the canyon.  It was a very memorable marathon experience.  (If you want to read more about it, check out my other blog: http://www.amarathonmom2b.blogspot.com/)

 This photo was taken of me the morning after.  I actually felt pretty good, albeit a little sore and a lot sunburned!

Now the kids are out of school for the year, and we're excited to begin a fun summer break.  We're just waiting for the summer-like weather to begin here in Idaho.  This morning we woke up to snow, and all the waterways are overflowing and flooding the area.

Easter.

I just wanted to post a few pictures from our Easter weekend.  It was nice to have Chris home from work and to be able to enjoy time as a family.  Saturday and Sunday were nice days, so we spent some time outside.  Today is a different story, as it has been snowing all day long. :(

Spring Break!

Every year we try to do something fun while the kids are on their spring break.  In recent years, we have gone camping, even though the temperatures are usually cold.  This year we decided to do something different, so we took a little trip over to Jackson, WY and stayed a couple of nights in a fun hotel with an indoor pool complex.  The ski hills all closed up on April 4, making this past week a prime time to find a hotel room for dirt cheap.

We stayed in a "condo" style place with a full kitchen, 1 1/2 baths (with a washer/dryer), 2 queen beds in a bedroom, and a living room area with a queen size sleeper-sofa and a fireplace - all for $79 a night!  We didn't even have to eat in any restaurants because with the kitchen stocked with all the necessities, all I did was pick up some groceries at the local Albertson's and made all our meals for the time we were there. 

In Jackson there aren't a ton of hotels with pools, being that it's a mountain resort area and the warm months are very short, but this place http://www.jacksonholelodge.com/ had an indoor pool complex with a large heated pool, a smaller kid's pool, two hot tubs, a sauna and a game room.  Needless to say, the kids were in heaven!  We all swam and relaxed while we watched the snow coming down outside!

Chris and I also got to do our favorite thing while we were there: wildlife viewing.  We went for a few drives up around the Tetons and through parts of Grand Teton National Park, at least the part that was open for driving.  There is still a lot of snow on the ground, but it was beautiful and we were lucky enough to spot lots of moose, elk, bighorn sheep, deer and even a lone wolf.  I just love that we live so close to such an a gorgeous place.  It was a great time.