Delta Steampunk

We took advantage of a free museum day to check out the Steampunk exhibit. It was a strange mix of Victorian fiction authors and science-y, mechanical art. It definitely wasn't our favorite; maybe it was for a little older audience. 

There were a few interesting, hands-on things, like the static electricity generator, that the kids enjoyed. Their favorite is still the kids' room (forest, teepee, and pioneer cabin), which hasn't changed much in the last 7 years.

The following day I joined a group of ladies for a serious hike in Grand Teton NP to Delta Lake. It was a 9-mile round-trip, out-and-back hike with 2400' of elevation gain, which basically meant it was going up most of the time and provided spectacular views of the valley below. The top picture is Bradley Lake (where we hiked 5 years ago).

The last mile or so is not maintained by the park (the lake is not even labeled on their map!) for whatever reason, so the trail wasn't in the best shape or even always clearly marked. That translates to steep, loose dirt and going over/under fallen trees, sometimes on all fours. We also had to traverse three "boulder fields", following cairns and stepping carefully. Can you see the "trail" in these pics?

It really was a difficult hike, and my legs felt like wobbly lead weights toward the end. Nothing like hiking to 9000' to remind me of my puny little Gulf Coast lungs. But we made it! It took about 3 hours to hike there, but the beautiful turquoise water at the base of the Grand Teton was almost worth it. Ha! 

Because I was a little preoccupied with not falling off the mountain, I didn't do a great job photographing the fall colors. But rest assured that autumn is here in the Tetons!

Fair September

We've been taking it easy in September. OK, there was that one day when I took the kids to some events at Cabela's and then drove Hadley to the East Idaho State Fair! But the rest has been quiet. Cabela's was having a Labor Day festival with face painting, games, archery, and crafts - all for free! I thought it was worth checking out on a Sunday afternoon when no one else was there.

My husband would say that, "we're not fair people", but Hadley wanted to see the animals, and I like doing stuff out of the ordinary. I'm glad the boys stayed home, because the fair is expensive! Hadley rode some rides and milked a fake cow for some chocolate milk.

A friend told us not to miss the penguin high-diving show! Penguins high-diving?! We were definitely not going to miss that. Alas, it was humans dressed as penguins, but still entertaining. They did acrobatics on trampolines, diving boards, and even a dive from 80-ft up in the air! I guess this is a career path for ex-competitive divers...

Hadley and Ollie, the cat, have struck a pseudo-friendship. Ollie must be starved for attention, because she puts up with a lot!

It's been pretty beautiful weather-wise here. It was even warm enough on Saturday to brave the gym pool, although it was a bit windy and looked like a front was about to come through. Our gamble paid off, in that we had the place to ourselves! The kids even got to lounge in the adults-only area!

Owen has been playing running back on his team again. He's gotten a few touchdowns! But this is not one of them. If I film a touchdown, I will repost it. :)

Hadley loves crafts! She finally had the skills and patience to use her mini-loom to make a couple of pot holders. She was so proud that she used them as her first subject (3 sentences and a picture) for sharing with her class at school. She has also been excited to start up gymnastics again this fall!

August Recap

Looking back at August... Our travels make the car dusty and bug-splattered, and the kids love washing the car! So, when they make the offer, I take it. I think Owen mostly likes to shoot the car with the spray nozzle, but I hope this lasts! 

We celebrated our anniversary with friends this year (another couple even shares our exact anniversary date!). Our neighbors had organized a progressive bike ride on that date (stopping sequentially at 5 couples' houses for apps and drinks throughout the evening). It was super fun! Our Aggie friends were out of town, so we stopped by their house and took this Hook 'Em pic to give them a hard time for missing out. Yass! Love our friends!

The library had another Awesome August party in which we partook of the festivities. This one was for rock stars, and I thought this picture was pretty cute of guitars the kids decorated themselves. Although they were playing ABBA songs when we arrived, and Owen gave me a LOOK (you know, future DJ), I think they ended up having fun.

Owen is still obsessed with football, so another season of flag football is upon us. This year, we don't know the coach or anyone on our team, so it's an interesting experience.

We also attended the annual Friends Don't Count Chromosomes Run/Walk as part of Team Eli. Owen had his first football game (and scored 2 touchdowns!) during the early part of the event, but they made it back in time for a team photo and the fun run. (See Owen in green and the rest of the team in red?)

Hadley stayed with me, while I filled up balloons, but she got to run the race with her brother. I saw them zip by while I was manning the pictures along the far point of the course. It's always a good time, and we had a fun afternoon with the rest of Team Eli at his house afterwards.

The day before school started, I had to twist the kids' arms to go to the zoo with me! My, how times have changed. I guess we won't need the membership anymore! Despite their lagging enthusiasm, we enjoyed our relaxed stroll around the zoo before school routines take over!