4th of July

Once upon a time, my family and relatives used to take an annual trip to the Grand Tetons and camp over the 4th of July. It has been quite some time since we last went (like 10 years or so long time) and this year, my youngest sister Kathryn decided we needed to reintroduce the tradition. We have talked about it many times, but this year Kathryn actually pulled through and reserved the campsite for us, so the trip actually happened!

We camped at Colter Bay in the Grand Tetons for 4 nights and spent our days visiting some sites. Unfortunately, we were there for such a short time that we couldn't fit everything in, but we were able to fit in a few highlights of beautiful of northwestern Wyoming.

We arrived Thursday night, July 1st and didn't have time to but anything but set up camp before heading to bed.

On Friday, we hiked around Jenny Lake and up to the waterfall then took a boat ride back. It was a long hike with a baby, 4 kids, and some out-of-shape adults, but it was fun.





Then on Saturday, we took the drive up to Yellowstone to visit Old Faithful and walked around the geysers. For some reason, those geysers seemed a lot cooler when I was younger, but we still had fun.



For the 4th, on Sunday, we had our own family sacrament meeting at the campsite. My dad and uncle Bruce organized a simple and nice little meeting. I was actually quite impressed for having been such a sporadic meeting, as we had planned on attending church at the Jackson Lake Lodge, but changed our plans once we found out Sacrament was not until 6:30pm. Dave and my brother Jeff prepared the sacrament, and Kathryn's fiance, Matt, and my cousin, Josh passed the sacrament. My uncle Bruce conducted the meeting and gave an inspirational talk about the blessing of the gospel being restored in our country and the responsibility we have as members of the gospel of Jesus Christ and citizens of this country to live righteously in order to maintain the freedoms we do. My dad added a few thoughts and then opened some time for testimonies. Although very simple, the meeting was a spiritual one. It was really neat to see the priesthood holders in my family gather together and provide the opportunity for us to partake of the sacrament, and to feel of the spirit as we sat together as a family in the sounds and scenery of the mountains. I felt as if that day and that meeting was a tender mercy. The simplicity and yet strength of that day was a testimony building experience for me.

After church, we traveled to Jackson Hole just in time to watch a really lame shoot-out near the town square, walk through a couple shops, and then make our way to the baseball park for the spectacular fireworks show. The night was definitely colder than I remember past 4ths in Jackson being, but the fireworks were pretty incredible, and in my opinion, they were the best that we've seen there.




After a long and late night in Jackson, the inevitable came, and we had to wake up early to get camp packed up and head back home. It was a very short few days, but they were fun. I always love spending time in nature, I love spending time with family, and I love having new experiences with my cute hubby and baby.