Jenny Lake

 

Good morning Grand Teton!

  

On the Jenny Lake boat dock

Such a beloved spot for me! I remember hiking around sections of Jenny Lake as a youth and one year, my mom and I hiked around the whole thing—a solid 7 mile hike but it was so pretty with the water ever in our view. One day I will do the same with my little ones, but this time, with so many toddler legs, we opted for the boat ride across to the Hidden Falls trail head and a short 1/2 mile hike up to the falls. Olivia only had one meltdown on the way up so we consider her ascent a big success!

 

 Hair happily out of my lady's face

 Our big crew setting off to the falls

 Fall is beginning to make her appearance in the Tetons 

(plus I love the funny shape Heidi and Sadie are making in the background :)

 My parents with half of their grandkids

 Sweet Sadie

 Hidden Falls: we made it!

 

 Livs earned a free-ride on the way back

Classic Smith family throwback: Jenny Lake hike (past Hidden Falls at Observation Point) and water-skiing on the glacial waters of Jackson Lake  (1992)

Jackson Hole

We just spent the weekend up in Wyoming in one of my favorite places. And yet I haven't been back to Jackson since my teenage years...how did that happen? It was high time I took my husband and family to such a beautiful place! Luckily my parents were on board with such an adventure and some of my siblings joined us too—I do love letting my littles bond with cousins.

Our weekend up there was swift: we left at 6:30 am on Friday morning and dropped our darling baby off at Nanny and Grandpa's on our way. We wanted to fit in as much hiking and biking and outdoor play time as we could and Luke's lovely schedule just doesn't allow for such things right now. We are so lucky to have Ruth Ann and Neil to watch over and dote on our baby bear—he would have hated the 5 hour car ride let alone all our outings.

Then we were on the road with only 3 kids! We had so much space! And they were so content watching movies, doing crafts, coloring, snacking and listening to music with us. Bigger kids can be pretty low maintenance! We arrived in Teton Village just after lunch time and Joseph and I were itching to fit in a bike ride. Luckily Aunt Heidi and Aunt Stacey entertained our trio while we hit the trail over to Wilson. So pretty out there with the lush, green valley sweeping right up to the Teton Range. And the trail was totally flat for miles and miles on end! This is not the case in my hometown and I have had to get used to many climbs on the old bike. It was a fun change to keep our pace up and enjoy the even ground.

After our ride we ventured out with the kids on a short walk down the hill to see some horses. The darlings loved the animals and looked so cute petting them.

 of course Olivia's hair is in her face...love that this picture caught that

We had dinner at our place that night (the kids called it our cabin—which it basically was but in a condo/village set-up with many close neighbors) the children played happily in the little backyard stream, and enjoyed some hot-tub time together before bed. We had a big closet in our room and turned it into our kids' bedroom during our stay with our king-size air mattress. It was nice to have them close but still in their own space.

 

Livs and Sadie started playing more often as a pair of little girl buddies on this trip 

which was fun (and always cute) to see

The next day we were eager to get closer to those striking Teton peaks...

Back to School

"Fall is here, hear the yell. 

Back to school, ring the bell. 

Brand new shoes, walking blues. 

Climb the fence, books and pens.

I can tell that we are gonna be friends."

                                      

—We're Going to be Friends by the White Stripes, Napoleon Dynamite soundtrack

That song is such a great one, and it's been running through my head a ton as we've just finished our first week of first days back to school.

Olivia started preschool on Tuesday, a day before the big kids started, so they were very helpful in making her feel excited and ready, and cheering her on as we dropped her off:

 Princess "pack-pack' hand-me-down from big sister. Livs LOVES it.

 The little lady chose her own outfit all the way down to the socks. Too fun :)

 1st grade girl!

3rd grade boy!

(never mind the watermelon we had cleaned the mud off of and hadn't yet taken inside :)

The kids all did so well this week. Caroline has been falling to sleep in record time at night—she is not used to waking up at 7:15! It's been a great start so far, 3 days in anyway. And I have to admit it's been lovely to have 2 kids around most of the day—we got so much done: cleaning the toy room, tons of laundry, a 3 mile run with the double stroller, and an ever blissful Costco outing with both children sitting happily in the cart :)

8 Months

Growing like a weed this boy! He just seems to be getting longer and longer and stretching out some of his delicious fat rolls...so sad for me. Yes, he is still plenty beefy but he slips out of the Bumbo more easily lately—a sign that his thighs are slimming down. And he hardly fits in the Bumbo anyway since his legs dangle way down and kick against the table as I feed him. 

Luke is officially on the go and moving everywhere. He still hasn't figured out how to go from sitting to crawling but when he tumbles over he is eager to get moving on his belly. He has sprouted 5 teeth and has 1 more cutting very close. He jabbers and talks and sings all the time. When he is feeling frustrated he truly jabbers "mom mom mom" and it gets me every time. I know it's just an easy sound for babes to make but how cute that it sounds like he's calling for his mommy, right?

Another new trick: Luke has learned where the door is in his room. Whenever he wakes from a nap he now turns himself perpendicular in his crib, pulls down on the bumper pad and peers up over the edge of the bed so he is staring right at me when I come to get him. It is pretty adorable—especially because he gets so excited with great big grins and squirming wiggles of joy.

Needless to say Luke is the darling of our family, always the favorite amusement for the bigger kids, and still our soft, sweet, baby boy. We cannot get enough of him and love him immensely!

End of Summer Fun

School is right around the corner but we're not there yet! We have been playing a lot the past week and enjoying the freedom from schedules and homework and lessons.

Luckily our Joseph has a birthday in August so we can always count on him for crazy fun.

He took the kids to Boondocks 2 days in a row! Once to play laser tag with a big group from the office (happy birthday Mike!) and then again since he got a free unlimited pass on his birthday (and I came then too). The crazies got soaked on the bumper boats and then we all made bank in tickets playing Skee-ball:

 The birthday boy and his new Tarmac (he bought it used from his Uncle Dave but I hear it is fast, "like a rocket" according to my brother-in-law who rode with Joseph this morning).

And a delicious German chocolate cake from the master herself, Ruth Ann. I love how Nanny still spoils her kids by making their favorite treats.

Saw this idea on Pinterest and it was a huge hit. It was so easy to make too--I just found random things in the junk drawer and in the basket to head back up to the toy room, threw in some leftover gems from Cares' birthday party, added water to this big tupperware, and stored it in the freezer overnight.

We learned a few minutes into it that sunglasses were important to wear as little ice chunks were flying all over. It was a surprisingly wet and cooling activity for a summer afternoon and the big kids especially loved being "antarctic archeologists"--coined by Bentley of course.

A fun park day at a spot we haven't visited for a long time--gotta love the cool sand excavators.  

Today we hit the aquarium. Huge highlights: baby sharks in the shark tank (my kids thought they were the cutest), and sharks out for petting: a leopard shark, a horn shark and lots of cat sharks. Such a great addendum to our Shark Week feast last week!

Blackridge Reservior

We finally made time to play at the Blackridge Reservoir just right up the hill. It really is such a close beach and completely free but somehow we mainly end up at Draper pool when we need some water play in the summer. Now, after washing out sand from towels and swimsuits the past few days I realize why the pool is so grand! We actually love swimming outdoors anywhere we can.

We did have fun up there last week. The kids and I played at the lake on Wednesday afternoon and then we met up with our friends there again on Saturday. We love the Barnes! All our kids match up exactly in age and get along so well (plus Bentley needs that surge of boydom when he lives with so many girls :)

35 for the Birthday Boy

35 reasons why I love my 35-year-old husband:

(I've never done one of these lists before so here goes--should be easy because my Joseph is pretty much awesome :) 

1. He's so very funny. He makes me laugh at least 10 times every day. Aren't all great marriages built on humor?

2. He's tall (which means he gives me the perfect hugs where I fit right under his chin and feel so small and safe wrapped up in his arms.)

3. His curls.

4. He's smart.

5. He's easily the most creative person I know and I love that he gets to use his artistic skills for his full-time, real-life, grown-up job.

6. He's kind.

7. He's very friendly and outgoing and has helped me become more so during our marriage.

8. He's completely trustworthy and reliable (and all that other scouting stuff...)

9. He loved his mission and served with all his heart.

10. He loves the Gospel and the Savior.

11. He loves me perfectly even with all my imperfections.

12. He is an amazing father and serves/plays with/adores/teaches our kids in all the right ways. Plus, I am pretty sure he LOVES being a dad.

13. He loves his family and has great friendships with them, and he continually prays for them too. I appreciate his loyalty to and love for them so much (and that he is equally engaged with my family too)

14. He loves sunsets and taking pictures of them often.

15. He is a true Apple devotee and has taught me everything I know about computers.

16. He is always warm. Love that during our cold Utah winters :)

17. He smells so good. Yes, just before work in the morning all fresh and clean. But even during our long sweaty bike rides he smells just like his Old Spice deodorant. (Lucky!)

18. He's officially way too good at every game. Ever. So I just try to have him on my team whenever I can (unless it's Canasta and then I have to play girls against boys just to see if I can win for once!)

19. He's strong...ask him about the time he helped our landscaping crew move the hot-tub...

20. He's determined.

21. He loves to try new activities/foods/vacations while I like to keep with what I know and love. He helps me push the envelope every now and again.

22. He's so hard-working.

23. He's the best sleeper I've ever met.

24. He lets me sleep in way more than I ever let him.

25. His family is...amazing...all of them. I love them!

26. He is so very patient, especially with me and very forgiving.

27. He likes to scare people. Now, this is not my favorite when it comes to scaring me but if I am privy to his plans to get someone like my little brother or Bentley then it is very fun :)

28. He is fast on his bike and has incredible stamina. I am so proud of him when he crushes my times on Strava!

29. He gives the best homemade gifts (it helps that he is a graphic designer and has so many options at his fingertips, but he truly puts a lot of time and thought into them which always shows through the final product).

30. He loves candy. It's so endearing to me that he truly lights up "like a kid in candy shop" when he is in a candy shop!

31. He tells the best bedtime stories to our kids and their cousins when we are together.

32. He loves to travel as much as I do.

33. He is the most calming and peaceful force in our home.

34. He loves to be nerdy with me and just hang out on the couch together basking in the glow of our laptops :)

35. He is my favorite plain and simple.