WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT

9/8 - Today we decided it would be fun to venture into Teton National Park to go on a boat ride across Jenny Lake and mini hike on the other end with the kids (if you can call it that). The last time we were here, we hiked the trail to the waterfall - but because Ethan, Anna Claire & Mariah aren't exactly "hiking" age, we opted for a brief walk along a trail. What a gorgeous day, view etc. Little wonder why we love this place so much! Here's a little taste of the scenery today.











Along out little walk, I spotted a really fuzzy black and yellow caterpiller. Scot picked it up to show the kids & they seemed to like it enough to spend at least a minute watching it crawl along his finger. It's fun to watch kids learn and experience new things.









Ethan and Anna Claire loved exploring the path together, but we had to reign them in before we reached the "horse path" section of the trail. Smart thinking huh? The kids found a good sitting rock and rested for a minute - we tried to get a good picture of the 3 together, but it was impossible to get a perfect shot.


The boat ride over was about 10 minutes and we spent about another 10 walking with the kids...then we headed back to the boat with our crew so that we could make it out of the park and back home for the kids naps. Short trip, but worth it for sure. Ethan LOVED his first big boat ride.


The kids woke up from their naps and we immediately packed them into the cars to head down to the LOTOJA bike race to watch Uncle Rob, Uncle Jared & Uncle Ted cross the finish line. (Actually, we stood about 200 meters from the finish line to avoid the crowds and moreso so that we could see them and they could see us cheering them on). Grandma Judie was yelling "Aley aley" to all the riders who passed (which at the Tour de France is a recognized saying meaning "GO GO"). Ethan watched Grandma very intently as she cheered everyone on, and as soon as she stopped yelling, Ethan picked up where she left off with "Alllley allllley". Now that's was some seriously entertaining stuff. Rob was the first to pass us and then about a half hour behind came Jared. There was a serious difference in their dispositions - Rob was not feeling well & had a tough race with a flat tire etc. but still raced very well...Jared looked like he had just started the race and had a smile a mile wide (we later learned that Jared had foregone the energy gels etc. and had stopped off for a sandwich at Maverick & also consumed a Snickers bar he found along the way...hillarious). Unfortunately, Ethan was at meltdown point and we had to leave before Uncle Ted came across - but Congratulations to all for riding a great race! We're proud of you!