Out West

Ahh, the time we had been looking forward to for so long: family vacation! Some of our close friends live in Jackson Hole, WY and had been trying to get us to visit for quite some time, and we finally made it out! Even with a small disaster (more on that later), I took over 200 photos. Don't worry, there are less than 40 uploaded to this blog. 

The first photo is actually one from the end of our trip taken on my cell phone, but you might be seeing this again via a Christmas card in your future. This is Jenny Lake behind us with the Teton Mountains. Pretty majestic huh? Our God is a great big God! (our theme song from this trip).

We left swiftly after church on Sunday to catch our American Airline flight to Dallas. We were excited to fly with Randal and Dele, special special people to us. Once in Dallas, surprisingly enough, we left on time with little drama. . .something I am not used to for DFW. 

Well, that was short lived anyway. About an hour into the flight, the pilot let us know that 1. we were turning back to Dallas, 2. one set of brakes was out, 3. we were declaring an emergency landing, 4. don't worry, the other set of brakes is still working so we will be safe. 

The other part to the story after more discussion with the stewards and pilot was that the plane really would land safely in Dallas but we couldn't land in Jackson Hole because their runways were so short-the plane needed all of its brakes functioning to stop before going into the Teton mountains. Made sense to me and helped calm the nerves. Something about sitting with your precious children in the plane adds a little anxiety when you can't control their safety. 

So- I prepared Lucas for what was going to happen: 1. we were now going to be on 3 planes today, 2. we were going back to Dallas and your day just got really long, 3. when we land, it would probably be harder than usual and bounce us a bit, 4. there were going to be emergency vehicles surrounding us to make sure we were ok, 5. we would be towed to the airport. 

Well, Lucas was understanding--maybe even more than I knew at the time-- as we were descending into DFW, he started singing a new song he learned in preschool praise that day, loud enough for all those in first class to hear, "Our God is a great big God, He holds us in His hands. . ."

We landed safely, got dinner, a new plane, and were off to Jackson Hole again. We didn't arrive until 11 PM Nashville time, but the boys were amazing, they both slept on all 3 flights, didn't cry or whine. All-stars. 

The view the next morning from "Lucas' barn". This is where we stayed for the week and Lucas fell in love and immediately claimed it.

After breakfast the first morning, Jackson took off with Lucas in tow on a tour of the fun things that all boys love-- water, rocks, teepees, kayaks, bikes, etc.

We traveled in a lift to the top of one peak in the Tetons for an extraordinary view! A storm was rolling in so we had to hurry back down, but we made time for a quick family photo and to get a warm Nutella waffle that they make in the little shop at the top. Can we say heavenly food? 

That evening, we went on a Chuck Wagon dinner. Since the boys were dressed up in their western cute, I took the opportunity to take some photos of them: 

The Chuck Wagon ride was so much fun, Lucas had his pretend cowboy gun ready for when the Indians came in to "attack" us. We were well protected with Lucas and Jackson there!

Even during dinner, Lucas was prepared in case they decided to come back and eat his dessert.

Our lovely morning view will never get old. 

Day 2: Kara has many firsts this day. I am here holding my very first fishing license and am about to go out on a boat for 6 hours and learn to fly fish on the Snake River. Don't tell that excited face just yet that she won't catch one, but at least she will enjoy the views! (For the record, Josh caught a bunch, I didn't fish the whole time and was a little more timid)

Taking a break on one of the banks for a picnic lunch:

Happy 8th Anniversary to us!

At the end of our fun fishing trip. A lot of fish were caught, a lot of laughs, and friendships deepened. You would think this was eventful enough of a day, but oh no, we kept going! We went back and got the kids and put floats in the river to raft down which was cold but so much fun--even when we had to lay flat on our backs to get under a bridge! After dinner we made smores outside and played volleyball--of which I am terrible at, but at least we got my two bad talents out of the way: fishing and volleyball.

Day 3. We biked 7 miles to this amazing pool where we played and had lunch, it was so much fun!

On the way back, the boys stopped after a few miles and went home, the girls continued on and we biked for almost 20 miles that day!

This picture. Ahh. not your typical Kara Graves photo I know. But it has meaning. It was the very last picture my camera would take on this trip. An unfortunate event happened in which my camera was dropped and the lens broke. My heart is still healing, but all will be well, a new lens is on its way to me. 

On our last day in Jackson Hole, we went out to Jenny Lake where we hiked to a waterfall, kayaked, and threw rocks in the river. What beautiful memories we made with our boys. Lucas' favorite was skipping rocks in the beautiful clear water at the base of the Tetons. Our God is a great big God!

The boys in our kayaks! They both did great, although Finn insisted on standing up the entire time.

After the day, we all collapsed once we got back home. My last meal in Jackson Hole was probably my very favorite: Shrimp and Grits and Katherine's chocolate dessert that she made us. The boys were fantastic again on the way home and we all fell asleep with smiles on our faces and sweet dreams of a great trip together. 

Thankful that I had a small lens to put on my camera and take a 40 week photo of Finn when we got home, he has now been out of my belly longer than he was in!