jackson hole:: july 2012

okay so it has been OVER a month since we vacayed in jackson but i am finally posting our adventure! part of me had no idea which pictures to post so instead i just did pretty  much all of them.  i need carrie to do a post as well because she had so many great ones too. we said we were gonna combine photos but of course we just have done that yet!
to give a background of why we chose jackson for our family destination spot it all goes back to my wonderful bosses at Circa.  Jane & Cindy are two of the sweetest & most generous people around.  we work our butts off every day on crescent avenue but in the end they are always so giving & kind to me and my family.  last christmas they gave us the opportunity to take a vacation to jackson hole & let our whole family stay at jane's house......which i need to say is TOP of the line....felt very much like a ritz carlton! the house was so perfect for all of us and just waking out the back door was like walking in to a mountain paradise.
  i headed out the week before for an installation for a client and then everyone else came out the following saturday. we hit every adventure we could think of....family hike at leigh lake with a picnic lunch, mountain biking, the rodeo, 4th of july town parade, rafting down the snake, yellowstone for a day, & some super yummy restaurants. i would highly recommend it for a fun place for a family vacay spot....of course having the "circafied" home to stay in for the week did make the vacation a full 10 stars!
lots of pics below to enjoy. sorry i have bombarded with so many but i just love each and every one. i couldn't decide which ones to cut. hope everyone is having a great summer!

the entrance to Four Deer Ranch

the back yard view

 

 

 

uncle j provided most of the entertainment for the week

barefoot every day outside- the weather was perfect

ladder toss!! our game for the week

fran decided to try and use it gabby douglas style

bff's forever

 

one day he is going to bite it off!

my handsome man surprised me with a beard! i loved it!!!

pretty little lady

really in to hand clapping games these days. brings back some great memories!

the ONLY time he smiled for me to take his picture without me asking him to smile (the large moose in the background)

taking the canoe out for a spin

 

first day of piggies on this princess

packed up & headed to yellowstone for the day; hoping to spot some bears....ROOOOAAARRR

yeah.....old faithful wasn't so faithful.  kids both said afterwards "is that all it does?!?!"

4th of july parade in town. it really was one of the best parades i have ever seen. we sat on the corner and collected candy & goodies for about 2 hours. Hen & Lucy soaked up every minute.
anyone know somebody who offers smile lessons for 4 year olds??? henry could use just a little help!

short hike out to the snake river from our back yard

family hike at leigh lake

Rodeo Time! Ride 'em cowboy!!!

all prepped for our ride down the Snake River

we really did go on vacation....

this is how Fran feels about her mom not getting around to posting pics about Jackson Hole! we have been back home for weeks now and reality has totally set back in. to do's & work have been constant but hopefully i can get a full post out there soon. i thought i would just tie you over with a few fun pics for now. enjoy!!

 

love this of these two...the greatest uncle EVER

4th of july parade on town square

THIS large animal was in our back yard for about 20 minutes one day! so cool!!

Jackson

"we're going back to jackson....." .....oh  how i so wish that is what we were doing tomorrow but instead it is reality!!! work, school & camp!

just wanted to give you a sneak peek of two of our four cowboys and cowgirls from last week. i flew out two weeks ago for work and everyone else landed down in JH last Saturday the 30th. we packed as much in as possible....float trip, rodeo, parade, hiking, picnics, yummy meals, gondola riding....you name it, we did it!

hopefully a super long blog post will be coming sometime in the next week. carrie & i need to compile our pictures so we can show off what a beautiful place it is.

hope everyone is having a great summer!!!

fripp fun 2012

memorial day 2012
fripp island, south carolina
25th year
we hit the road for the beach and had a blast! when we go to "hog heaven" at Fripp we know we are in for a good time. aunt sue & uncle al have always been the best hosts and know how to party all weekend long! the kids had so much fun every second & were totally wiped out by the time we got back. second day home we had to wake them both up at 7:45 so we could get to work on time. be prepared- 28 photos below- too many good ones to leave out! many were taken by samone so i can't take the credit.  she is a great photographer!

walt: 10 months
(above- fran: 17 months)

henry: 4 1/2 (the half is super important)

Lucy: 6 years old

samdaddy with his 2 grandsons

all the grandkids, sandy & dewey

just some lovin'

champion eater for the weekend

kendall showing her volleyball skills with the big guys

lucy and kendall

i LOVE this

fran: "hey bud"

"why am i so white & you are so tan?"

 

seriously- she could not get enough of the pool. in and out. in and out. constant. of course she wouldn't wear any kind of a floatation device. what am i going to do this summer?!?!?

yippeee! i love the pool!!!!

daddy giving me a dunk

yea....she would stay in this for about 30 seconds

enjoying some s'mores....and he ate TWO! thatta boy!

just a little windy on the beach on the second day

walt watching the pinata fun

the newlyweds: mark & jen

showing off the pinata goodies thanks to uncle j!

plastic bag was just too small- shirt works better!

Thanks Sue & Al! Already counting down for next year!!

speeding bullets

speeding bullets: spring 2012
this season they only lost 2 games! woo-hoo!! we had a great time with most of the same boys this season. the really were starting to get the hang of it & the game actually looked like soccer at times! henry loved every saturday morning & usually had his jersey already on by 7:45am- ready to go!

number 9 so excited to get his trophy

carter, henry and price

family camp at windy gap

WINDY GAP
it really is one of my favorite places on earth. it is one of those places where you can just get away from life!  thankfully, i was lucky enough in high school to be a party of Charlotte Young Life. we would go to windy gap every fall for a weekend and i always left feeling completely refreshed and a new "me".  my group of friends and i had an awesome leader, melissa gibbs. she was the rock of our life for those 3 critical years of high school & she has continued to be there for us ever since.

when the opportunity for family camp came up i jumped on the chance immediately. i knew little miss fran would be too young so i thought it would be the perfect time for brett, henry and i to escape together on a weekend in the mountains. we were lucky enough to have lots of other friends and families attend & also meet so many new people from Charlotte. we spent the weekend just hanging out, enjoying each others company, no "to do" list, acting silly, and learning more about God's love for us. 
i forgot my camera (along with many other things since i packed us up in about 10 minutes) but i managed to get a few shots with the handy iphone. enjoy the ones below and think about going to family camp next year! you won't regret it!

scott and brett doing the zip line

then they moved on to the blog (that is brett on the end getting bounced into the water)

great shot of haley getting blobbed by scott....i tried to write her name right above her- you might need to click on the photo to blow it up