Island Park...the end!

Okay, day 4. Island Park is about 2 hours away from Jackson Hole. We always choose a day to make the drive cause we love Jackson. I seriously didn't mind it one bit cause look at these views.

Miles and miles of God's green earth just stretched out in front of you. Somewhere near Driggs, Idaho. Go figure. It was amazing. Most beautiful scenery I have ever witnessed. Cruising along on freeway speeds over rolling hills with beautiful farmland stretched out as far as you can see. I was seriously freaking out, my nose was pressed right up against my window as I gawked at the beauty before me. Hands down, THE prettiest drive.

First up is always the Alpine Slide.

Obviously just my two big boys and their dad do this. Drake was too little, and even if he had been old enough I probably still wouldn't have let him quite yet. Makes me super nervous.

He is still to little to even realize he was missing out on something. Just hung out with the rest of us moms, chilling in his stroller. Happy as can be.

See, he was just fine.

There they go. Riding up the ski lift. Linc of course needed his dad, but Carson demanded he go with my cousin Markell. They went together last year and she lets my little speed demon go as fast as his little heart desires. This kid has no fear. Linc on the other hand, such a chicken.

Awe sisters. I love my sisters.

My babe started to get a little restless, so I let him out of the stroller.

He parked himself right in front of those lifts and was utterly fascinated for the remainder of the time. He's so easy to please.

Here they come. You could hear Carson's screams of delight all the way down the mountain. He loved it. Thiago said he thinks Lincoln did too. He stayed really still and clutched Thiago like no other. However, Thiago said he had a smile the entire time, so I take that as a success. They each got to go down one more time and then we headed into town.

Awe Jackson Hole. Do you have certain places that you hold super close to your heart, places that make you smile and cry all at the same time. Jackson does that for me. We vacationed every summer here when I was little. With these same people. My grandparents, 2 uncles and aunt and all my cousins. Only we were all so young back then and not nearly as many of us. This place haunts my memory. My parents were still married, my dad use to come alive on vacations. He was the life of the party. Every restaurant brings back a thought or memory, the street corners all look the same, the candy store, the T-shirt stores, Haggan-Daaz. All of it. Every last bit. They are good memories, just bittersweet. So much has changed since then, it is always a reminder to me of what used to be and what should have been. None the less. This place holds a very special place in my heart, and coming here always feels like coming home.

Me and my four boys. Here I go, getting all sentimental again. This picture seriously gets me all weepy though. I have so many pictures of my parents and me and my sisters sitting in this very spot. I love that I am now sitting here with a little family of my own.

My dad and his girls. He gets a little nostalgic himself.

We then hit the shops. I am always kinda sad that we don't have more time here. We only had about 3 hours and that included eating somewhere. So we kinda had to rush and I didn't get to hit nearly as many stores as I wanted to. Oh well. I was able to find the boys' some Jackson hoodies (which was my main agenda) and of course we found a toy store. Boys' each picked out a small prize.

The Merry Piglets...Mexican cafe. First on my list. I seriously have dreams about this place. I love it. THE best Mexican ever. Right smack in the middle of downtown. Yummmm. (Oh and Carlee...if you are reading this post, I keep meaning to tell you. The Mexican place you asked about in Layton is called "Cantina Grill" on Main Street in Layton. It is fairly new and super good, give it a try.)

Then we headed on back to the cabin, where this guy was out in 2.2 seconds. Poor babe.

Next day, one of our favorites. Floatin' the river day.

The weather was pretty dang perfect the whole week. High 70's to low 80's. Chilly in the mornings and nights but absolutely perfect during the day. Especially this day. We almost got hot. I obviously don't take my camera on the raft with us, so I always just try to snap a few pictures before as the kids are waiting to load up.

This little one surprises me. For a kid that is usually pretty timid and reserved, he sure thinks he is one of the big kids when it comes to water. He just cruises out there like nobody's business. Doesn't really like us holding his hand or stearing him in. Just wants to do his own thing. Well sorry charley, you are a one year old and that just ain't gonna happen.

Then there is my Lincoln. He really just isn't a whole lot of fun at water activities. He is just like me and is constantly cold. He seriously spends his entire time crying about getting splashed, or there is water on his shoe, or he is thirsty, or he is hungry and hates all the snacks I brought. Oh heck, he was fun. In his defense he was coming down with a low grade fever that day and I think that was contributing to his mood. He spent the first half of the river crying and the second half zonked out on my lap. Poor thing. The kid makes me all kinds a crazy, but oh my I sure do love him.

Oh hi Carson, were you on this trip?? This goofball, he was in seventh heaven. He spent his entire time dangling off the edge of the raft, making me a nervous wreck as he tries to become one with the river. Dang kid. He was off in his own little la-la land. Playing with sticks, talking to the paddles (no worries that it was a one sided conversation). He seriously marches to the beat of his own drum and it cracks me up . Love him.

Which brings us to day 6. Time to pack it up for another year and head on home. Sad.

Vacations are a big deal to me. Kinda like Christmas. They can get costly, and alot of work (especially as a mom to young kids), kids are all off their schedules and routines which makes for alot of bickering and emotions and drama. They sometimes take you out of your comfort zones and what not. However, that all being said I believe they are 100% priceless. They are one of those events that you as the parents are carving into their little life stories. They can be as simple or extravagant as you want. You can travel 2000 miles or just 20. Whatever. Whatever gets you out of the humdum of every day life, and celebrating the fact that you are with the ones you who mean the most to you in this life and you are doing something special and out of the norm. I find myself extending their bedtimes, saying sure sweet boy lets get you that icecream cone even though you didn't touch your dinner, we sing as loud as possible in the car and play countless games of I spy. (Heaven help you, if you ever play this with Lincoln, its interesting). We stop every hour and replenish treats at gas stations. We sandwich our boys in between us on busy streets, sending the signal to the world that they are ours and don't mess with them. We squish little bodies into one tiny bed. We laugh, we love, we make memories. And that is what it all is about. I am working my butt off to make sure my littles have a childhood to remember, I hope it is working.

My sweet grandparents. This whole vacation is in thanks to them. I am so grateful for my own little family, but also my extended family. Especially these two. I know how very rare it is for large families like ours to get the chance to do this once a year. It takes a lot of space and preparation to accomadate us all. We all have busy lives and busy schedules yet every year we make it happen. In recent years it is getting sweeter and sweeter cause we all know my grandparents are aging and time is getting away from us. We are trying to hold on to the love we all have for each other and especially for them. They have taught us all what true love and family is all about. They have left quite the legacy of love behind them and have set the bar high. My grandma's health has struggled recently, she is going through some things that have brought us closer together and strengthened our love and commitment to each other. We experienced a few priceless moments up there this year, moments where I felt the spirit very strong and was reminded of the love between forever families. These memories we are creating together are priceless and ones I know I will always carry with me. So grateful to be a part of it all. That wraps up another year...it was perfect.

And to end this post...miracle of all miracles. All three asleep on the drive home. What the what??? Never, I repeat never. Must have been tired....