The Grand Tetons

This morning started out wonderfully with me running to the window with shaving cream dripping down my legs. I know, it doesn't sound wonderful at first, but there were moose cruising by our condo window that Michael wouldn't let me miss. And by moose, I mean there were two. I'm not really sure of the plural form. My first guess was meese. Ok don't laugh. Goose, geese, moose, meese. No? Okay, we will go with moose.

Today we drove out to the Grand Tetons National Park. One of the Teton's just happens to be the mountain that I saw coming into Jackson Hole on the plane. Beautiful, no? The mountains of course, not us!

We drove into the Grand Teton National Park for a more up close look, but we stopped at some sight seeing points along the way with the highlight being the sight of Buffalo along the side of the road. How beautiful are these guys?

We also made a quick stop at the Jackson Lake Dam....

Then we headed up to Signal Mountain (which is curiously also the name of a mountain in Chattanooga, TN). The elevation was around 7,700 feet at this point and there were amazing views to be seen!

One of the things that has amazed me about Wyoming is how flat it is between the mountains and how much open land there is around here. It is so quiet and peaceful here. If I didn't suspect that the winter would be unbearable, I would say that I could more than happily live here.

After stopping for a quick picnic lunch we headed over to Jenny Lake for a boat ride to our next stop which was a hiking trail.

A supposedly easy hiking trail (or so said the brochure), but it was filled with paths like this...

It was worth it though! We saw some beautiful falls called The Cascade Falls.

We also made it up to Inspiration Point. Hilariously, at the beginning of the trail my dad pointed up to some hikers and we made remarks regarding how crazy they were for being up so high. Yep, that was straight where we were unknowingly headed. 

The views at the top were breath taking though.

Afterwards we headed back down the trail which wrapped around Jenny Lake. Honestly we should have just taken the boat back at this point. I could have done without this "scenic" part of the trail.

Once we made it back to the car we traveled back to our condo to do some more Montana beer testing. The results?


Slow Elk....reminded me a lot of the Moose Drool.

Scape Goat....a little bitter, but drinkable.

Big Sky IPA...bitter, and best served down the drain. Ick!

The best of the best is still our first taste which was Moose Drool. 

We immediately headed back to Albertson's to buy a 12 pack. Mmmm. Tasty!


A long day and lots of hiking equals lots of beer tasting I suppose. We definitely worked off the calories today that's for sure! Tomorrow we hit Yellowstone.

First Taste of the West

I got my very first taste of the west today when I looked up from my Kindle on the plane today and the largest mountain I have ever seen just about smacked me in the face. I do not have a decent picture of it yet, but don't worry, tomorrow we are going to visit it and I'm sure you will hear all about it.


The landscape here in Wyoming is absolutely breath taking and I have to say we are having the most amazing weather. It was 70 degrees here when we arrived, there's not an ounce of  humidity, and the air definitely holds that crispness of fall that I have been longing for.


It is more than refreshing after the summer we have had in Tennessee.


After we settled into our condo, we hit the grocery store to load up on supplies. That would be where we encountered our first REAL cowboy. Anyone can wear a flannel work shirt, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat, but only a real cowboy carries his large leather wallet in the side of his boot. I'm pretty sure the other boot had a gun in it, but that could be my imagination talking.


A long day of traveling always calls for a beer right? There are several brewing companies based out of Montana and being good travelers we decided to try out the local drink. We bought a variety pack and the first beer up for the test was Moose Drool.

It was much better than the name suggests, or so I assume. I've never encountered a moose, much less it's drool. It even had cute little sayings under the beer caps. It was a winner and I'm not even that adventurous when it comes to beer. I usually like them light, cold, and more specifically I like them to be Bud Light. So this darker beer was a pretty out there choice for me.

Next we drove down into the "city" of Jackson Hole to find something to eat. There were numerous shops and after walking into a few of them we discovered we were in a much more affluent place than we had originally thought. Apparently we are "roughing it" in the number 5 city for art, with $30/plate meals, $650 beaver skin hats, and $10K rugs. 

We finally found a decently priced restaurant to dine at called The Bunnery  where we partook of our very first Buffalo Burgers. 

It was easily the leanest meat I had ever put in my mouth. While it tasted it wonderful, it paled in comparison to a big juicy burger in my book. There's nothing wrong with a little grease every now and then or maybe that's just my Southern roots talking?


But the real reason we came to this restaurant was because I heard it had the best desserts. I immediately eyed the Raspberry Truffle Cake on the menu and was sold. I thought I was about to be disappointed when the waitress told me they were running low and she would have to go check the basement to see if they had more. 


Wait. Basement?


Oh yeah, of course, that's where you age your fine wines...and cakes? 


Turns out that's where the bakery is and let me just say they do turn out some very fine cakes!

The boys got impatient with my photography...

Worth every last calorie I tell you!

A Case of the Mommy Guilt

There is something that I have been beyond anxious about and honestly have put into the back of my mind until today. 


We are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning to fly to Wyoming. My very generous dad decided to let Michael and I tag along for his dream trip to Yellowstone. I am beyond excited to go. It's on my "must visit" list. So you might be wondering why I'm anxious?

See those two precious faces above?


I have to leave them both for the whole week. 


When we planned this trip in January I had no idea how I would feel about not taking Ethan. He was 3 months old at the time and I couldn't even imagine what he would be like at this point and couldn't figure out how we could bring him along without putting major crinkles in my dad's plans.

3 Month Flashback

I still feel like it's the best decision to leave him behind. It's a long flight with a layover each way. There are two hour drives to and from the Park to where we are staying every day as well as a 5 hour trip one day to another city for the last half of our trip. We will be hiking a lot as well as doing even more driving. None of this is conducive to an 11 month old. 


Now, I'm not one of those moms who have never been away from their child. I have. Just not for more than a day at a time. And Lola, yes, I've been away from her before obviously, but this will be the first time she has to be boarded and not stay with family (Dad is our normal dog sitter). And let's just say she hasn't adjusted very well to not being an only child and I'm hoping that boarding her doesn't send her over the edge.


I feel beyond lucky to be able to go to Yellowstone and I feel like a bad person for even complaining, but at the same time, I'm really sad to leave my everyday companions. 


I am going to miss an entire week of my little boys life! 


I'll laugh at this statement one day I'm sure, but for now when we are on the cusp of his very first birthday...it seems like a really big deal. I know he will be fine. He absolutely loves staying with his Bebe and Granddaddy. In fact, I hope they will still be willing to watch him again sometime after a full week of having him as a houseguest. I am just having some serious mommy guilt at the moment. 

Lola needs a hair cut, but I didn't want to inflict anymore torture!

I plan on blogging through this trip so I won't be totally absent around these parts. I will try to keep the "missing my baby" thoughts to a minimum in my trip posts. Let's just hope that Lola and I both come back mentally and emotionally unscathed and that Bebe and Granddaddy survive the week. As for Ethan? I'm more than certain that he will be okay and won't mind a bit.

Open House

A couple of weeks or so ago I saw that Erin from Blue-Eyed Bride had done a roll call of sorts and I think it's a fantastic idea. Over the past couple of months there have been several new readers around here, but unfortunately I haven't been able to meet you all! You see, my Google Friend Connect is a little wonky. It only tells me what sites you have joined, but leaves out the most important part which is your blog!


If you read this little blog of mine, whether you are a new reader or an old reader, a blogger or not,  I'd love for you to take a moment and say "Hello!". You could tell me where you are from, how long you have been reading or even ask me a question (I'd love to answer!). This could be a great way to find other great blogs to read as well so go ahead and participate even if you are an old friend who comments every day! 


Be sure to leave a link to your Blog, Twitter, or Pinterest so I can come visit you! And of course, get out there and visit each other because really that's what this is all about.

Ethan with his morning, hello smile!

Thank you so much for reading and for participating today! I write for me, but of course I love that other people get some kind of enjoyment from it as well. I can't wait to meet you all!

Ethan's 11 Months Old!

Oh, Ethan. You are one teeny tiny month away from being a toddler. I've buried myself in birthday party preparations so I don't really have to think about it. This month has passed by in a blink of an eye and I'm sure this next one will go even faster.

The big news this month is that you are beginning to do a little standing on your own. You pull up and tentatively let go for a little bit at a time. I see you getting braver and braver every day and I fully expect that you will be on your way to walking sometime this next month.

Still haven't gotten a hand's free picture!

Also making headlines this month are your teeth. Oh my goodness you had a ton of teeth come in and are still working on at least one at the moment. You now have 2 bottom teeth and 4 top teeth! Your mouth has been busy this month and we have all felt the effects of that to some degree! You are a tough little guy though who hardly ever complains so I'll count my lucky stars on that one. We actually began brushing your teeth this month (which you love) and had your first dental checkup with Granddaddy!

You are a HUGE eater these days. I actually can no longer share my plate with you when we go out to eat. If I do, I leave hungry! You are constantly trying new things and actually had your very first taste of Chinese last night and loved every bite! We have discovered that you respond well to the straw sippy cups and you are now fully switched over to those (bye-bye bottles). I have also started putting your food on a tray and giving you a fork or spoon. You are doing pretty well with this but no big progress yet.

You still enjoy playing by yourself. You have mastered the stacker and are now trying to put lids on tupperware (I see a shape sorter in your future!). You love trying to walk with your little walker toy and fetching balls. Yes, I said fetching. You will bring me a ball to throw and then go get it. I think you have gotten this from Lola! You have learned the "all done" sign and are working on learning the "more" sign. I'm pretty sure you say "What's that?" and "Who's that?"

I have to say you have become my little companion. You love going on errands with me and flirt with everyone you see. There is a Publix worker who calls you her little Pepito and you have fun sampling cheeses with me at their deli counter. When we clothes shop you love to "play" with all the clothing tags and make faces at yourself in the dressing room mirror. At checkout counters you always try to climb onto the conveyor belt and play with the credit card machine. Sometimes daddy offers to watch you while I do my errands, but really, I like having you around!

Speaking of shopping, mommy just bought you a whole new wardrobe. You are now in two piece clothing. You have a couple of onesies left but after you grow out of those we will be done with those for good! You look so grown up in your little T-shirts and two piece jammies. You are now wearing mostly 12 month clothing, 18 month jammies, and a few 9 month T-shirts (you have narrow shoulders). By my calculations you are weighing in at 20.5 pounds and measuring 29 inches long.

It's been another big month baby boy, and now the countdown begins for toddlerhood....