jackson hole: aka a little bit of heaven

our family vacation this year was jackson hole. the drive through wyoming to get to it was less than pleasant, although beth was a champion, thanks to a good friend lending us their car dvd kit. but jackson hole itself was a dream. our condo was nestled right up against the base of the amazing teton mountains, and we spent lots o' time (though still not enough) in the national park. amazingly beautiful place. awe inspiring. it was awesome. i wish we could have spent a whole other week, but alas, we live in the real world where jobs have to be had and money made. even still, the time with my family could not be beat. the laughter that abounds is unprecedented, and i love that we get along so well and love being together. no seriously guys, this was the best.family.reuion.ever.

all the hopes i had and high expectations for this place were absolutely met. there were lots of cowboys, incredible mountain views and lots of t-shirt shops and ice cream parlors. it was perfect. a few shots from this really spectacular hike we did our first day there:














and yes. we totally went to a chuckwagon show. it was perfectly entertaining. not so much hank's gig. but i loved it. to me, it was classic jackson hole.

the verdict is in

with little question, i might add. yes my friends, there was no mistaking that extra appendage today.
we are having a boy! and hank and i are both totally over the moon about it.

i'd forgotten how incredible it is to watch the screen as the tech moves that small handheld instrument over your stomach, deciphering each and every little body part of the life growing inside you, and suddenly it all becomes so real. five tiny toes on two feet, the lenses of each eye, seeing all four chambers of the heart open and close, beating to it's own rhythm... and we made this beautiful thing? you and me made this??? and it's growing inside of me? amazing. totally amazing. and today i became more excited than ever for this little guy to become another big part of our lives in just a few short months.

a few short months!!!! crazy to think we're already half way there. but now i am counting the days. let the preparations for blue and the fun begin...




some of our favorites from the ultrasound (if you can deciper them). the bottom left picture is the one that makes hank the most proud - let's just say he was excited that the tech told him that there was no mistaking what this baby was, and that our kid was a show off. that's daddy for ya...

3 1/2x12

his baby finally made it into a blog picture. and i'm not talking about beth, but that beauty she's sitting on. may i introduce you all to big bertha. hank's pride and joy. we've had some good times in that thing. not what this post is about, but worth mentioning for hank's sake. :)

i'm laughing hysterically in this photo because beth kept sitting on the edge of the truck bed and falling off in to hanks arms and was totally loving it. so we pulled out the camera and hit the timer button, hoping to catch it just as she was falling off. and of course she just sat there, and sat there, and sat there just like that and hank kept calling to her, trying to get her to come, and she just wouldn't take the leap. i had to laugh... she finally did it after the shutter closed. figures...

well my friends, we are off tomorrow to jackson hole. words cannot describe the excitement i feel right now. let's just say, this has not been the summer of george (seinfeld, anyone?). hank and i both are just ready to get away from work for a while and be disconnected from the world and just take a break from the chaos our summer has been. both of our hotels have been so busy - he's worked every weekend - and it's been hard for us to get out and do the things we normally do during these fantastic summer months. we have been so. lame. this year. so it's going to be so nice to get away for a while and hang with the banner fam. i have some pretty high expectations for this trip. i'm just saying, it better be filled with solid views of the tetons, sore cheeks and sides from outrageous laughter, the freshest air on the planet, some good cowboy sightings, and a phone/technology-free 5 days. i'm sure i won't be disappointed.

here's to 8 hours on the road to jackson - what i like to call, my own little graceland. see you next week...



ps: that's right, i said 3 1/2. due to come mid-january. i'll let you know on august 25 if it's pink or blue.

little purple chair

funny story about that little chair:

while vacationing in utah at my brother's house over memorial weekend, i had to make a quick trip to the grocery store for a few things we were going to take on our picnic lunch that day. right there by the cash registers were stacks and stacks of these little chairs, just the perfect size for beth. they had probably 10 or 12 colors to choose from, and the best part? only $3.50. HAD to have one. even if we did have to lug it all the way back to colorado. so extremely satisfied with my purchase, and knowing that hank would totally love it as much as i did, i proudly carried the chair out to the car.

i opened up the door to my trunk to find THE EXACT SAME CHAIR already back there. for a second there i was totally confused. only to realize that hank had made his own trip to the store earlier in the day. i laughed out loud right there in the parking lot.

what are the chances? exact same chair! exact same color! there were lots of other girlie colors to choose from. and we chose the exact same one, on the same day, without even knowing it. well, i threw the chair i had bought in the car and smiled all the way back to the house, thoroughly amused.

"hank, will you go look in the back of the car please?"

"oh no... what?"

"just go look"

a few minutes later he comes back in the house....

"did you buy her that chair?"

"yep. i just barely bought it at kohlers. did you???"

"yeah, but i got mine when i went to smiths. well..... i guess beth gets two little chairs then."


and she did. we brought both of the them home. i mean, clearly it wasn't worth our time to take back a little plastic chair that cost $3.50. so she got two. because you never know when one of those will break- no, disapp-, get los-..... okay, so she has two just because. we both got a kick out of it.



some other fun pictures of her going down the twisty slide at the park. love the smile on her face and the tongue sticking out at the end. love it.