Grand Targhee / Jackson Hole

Chris has a project he'll be working on in Jackson Hole during the month of October. It will be sad to have him gone during my birthday month, but hey... I'm used to it. It's also the start of the Deer hunt.

He needed to get a contract signed so we headed up to Jackson for a quick trip and made a few stops along the way.  I had never been to Idaho Falls and we all needed a chance to stretch our legs.  We parked at the Idaho Falls Temple (which Brielle didn't think was appropriate on a Sunday???) and walked around for a while.

We stayed up at the Grand Targhee Resort that night (as it was $100 cheaper than staying in Jackson) and I'm glad we did. This was the only time we'd get to see the Grand Tetons, since the weather the next day was cloudy, rainy and wet.

There was a mountain biking tournament at the resort that weekend, so naturally, the resort was crawling with outdoorsy types -- you know, long hair, beards, and dressed like they'd just walked out of REI. It's a good thing we drove a Subaru or they may have asked the conservative Mormon family to leave.

Anyway, we decided to take a walk up the mountain to take a look at the bike trails that were used in the race earlier that day. And if there was any doubt that putting Brielle in the Acceleration program (CrossFit) at Logan Hospital did any good....

 

...it was squashed when Brielle not only ran the entire way up the mountain, but was the only one who made it up to the top.

This was Brielle's first trip to Jackson and I can't even recall the last time I vacationed here.  We didn't stay very long, but while Chris spent several hours meeting with clients, Brielle and I spent a lot of time wandering, looking at shops, buying souveniers and enjoying sweet treats.

 

My daughter is destined to be a hoarder, I'm afraid.  A trait she certainly didn't get from me.  If she had an endless supply of funds at her disposal, she'd buy up every little random trinket she could find.

Of course, when I told her that she'd have to spend her own money on those types of things, she quickly decided it wasn't worth it. Nevertheless, our several hours of girl was a lot of fun.

Just before leaving on this spontaneous trip, I had just returned from two work trips.  Leaving again wasn't something I really wanted to do.  But I'm quickly learning that these trips -- the spontaneous ones -- also seem to be the most fun.

Meet the Team

Being an Real Salt Lake Season Ticket Holder has its perks. For one, you don't miss a home match. LOVE RSL! Second, they give you stuff, like 25% off merchandise and a scarf to wear to the games. But one thing we really looked forward to was the "Meet the Team" night.

Players were grouped in 3's and spread out around Rio Tinto Stadium, giving Season Ticket Holders the chance to meet the players in person and grab an autograph.  As you can imagine, lines for certain popular players filled up fast and Chris and I soon realized that if we were going to get to as many players as possible, we needed to split up.

It worked out well. Chris would hit a line with Brielle while I went to another line.  By the time they were done, I was almost to the front of my line, so Brielle would jump in with me and Chris would take off to find another line. The things we do for our kids...

One thing that was a little disappointing (but understandable) is that they didn't allow for pictures with the players. Only autographs. I told Chris that Brielle needed to wear her jersey, that way, when they sign in, you could get a picture with the player.  Chris decided NOT to play rule breaker, but I though I was being quite clever. So, as it was, we got a picture of our favorite players and Brielle's arm.  Awesome.

I'll tell you what -- Kyle Beckerman, team captain, made Brielle's day.  He looked at her and said "I remember you! You've grown!"  Guess what... we've never met Kyle Beckerman.  But she was, I'm not kidding, giddy and blushing.  As was I.  He is really good looking in person.

She was a little less shy meeting Goal Keeper Nick Rimando and made him laugh when she told him that she'd seen a video of his cute daughter playing soccer on Instagram.

Super fun night. Attending these games have become our families favorite activity, and having the players be so gracious to meet with so many people was really exciting! We didn't get all the signatures of all the players, but we've already secured our tickets for 2014.

Back to School / 2nd Annual Mud Run

Well -- It happened.  Brielle started Middle School and is doing really well!  She handled the beginning of school much better than I did (I was a complete mess).  School has been in session for roughly a month now and Brielle is working hard to get a handle on the homework load (holy hell - there's a lot), has finally figured out her schedule and she seems to be back on a routine.  Jumping back several weeks, here are a few pics from the first days of school.

I quickly learned that decorating your locker was a very big deal.  Did you know they make carpet for lockers? Ya, neither did I.  I'd be very interested to know if her locker is still this clean? I highly doubt it.  She did not inherit her mother's organization gene...

First day of school -- waiting for the bus -- most beautiful smile I've ever seen.

We made a trip to the doctors office the very next week, only to find out that her arm still needed to be in cast. Thank goodness he gave her a brace she could take on and off rather than a new cast.  Wrapping her cast in Saran Wrap just to shower was becoming obnoxious and the smell -- oh the smell -- that cast had to go. Goodbye blue sparkle cast! Hello removable, washable, non-smelly cast.

Also that weekend was the 2nd annual Bunc-Ho's Mud Run at the American West Heritage Center.  It wasn't just for us, obviously.  Just the second time we'd participated.

Two things I learned this year...

1. No matter how much duct tape you use to secure your shoes to your feet, it won't.
2. Second, don't choose such a lop-sided tube. You'll immediately fall off, causing yourself to go down the water slide on the hard ground, resulting in you picking up way to much speed which will end with you barreling at high speeds into the hay bales at the bottom. And a bruised tail bone.