She's not from around here...

Here's a little chuckle for ya....

At the end of the Jackson trip, we walked back to our car and Michaela stopped in front of the car above and said "Look! An electric car". Now I peered over the roof of ours and said "that thing's too old to be electric!" and she insisted I come around to her side - I already knew what she was seeing. An engine block heater's plug (click on photo to enlarge). And I was right! I was laughing so hard before gaining composure to explain what that device was for.

Jackson Hole: part II

Here are a few last photos taken on our trip to Jackson. Wanted to display just how touristy we were being!

One of the highlights was finding the "Yippee-i-o Candy Co.". This place is a fabulous sugar mecca complete with homemade fudge and an ice cream counter! The kids treat for the day was purchasing a pound of candy.. each! They're already asking if they can return on our next drive up.

A day in Jackson Hole

A couple weekends ago I decided we needed a trip out of the valley and we headed an hour north to Jackson. Jackson has changed A LOT in the 20+ years since my last visit. What a yuppy tourist trap this is! Don't get me wrong, it's still known for its great skiing and uphill sled runs (I'm talking snowmobiles here). But for a town of 8.5 thousand to have and support such stores at Eddie Bauer, Hagen Daaz and Coldwater Creek (to name a few) is insane. You literally have to be a millionaire to live there. Though many say the billionaires are forcing the millionaires farther down the valley. Actually, we have many that live in our area and make the hour commute to Jackson to work. We even have a parking area with a commuter bus pick-up/drop-off!

So we enjoyed the afternoon poking around and doing 'touristy' things.

Elk Antler Arches revisited

Ok, obviously, being in WY, these are a pretty common decor theme. These images are from the Town Square in Jackson Hole. They were in the midst of decorating them for the holidays and getting lights strung throughout the square. We'll trek back up to see them lit soon!

Learning the Alter Server ropes!

Rebecca was thrilled when on our first Sunday Mass in Afton the Deacon announced that anyone who was interested in being an Alter Server should talk to him after Mass.

She's been wanting to do this since I starting taking them to church, so how could I not say yes? Back in MN students had to be in 5th grade before they started training. Here, as long as you've received Eucharist, you can sign up! Perks of a small town where the Catholic population in the winter is maybe, 100?

She's been doing an excellent job and has picked up on it all very quickly in the 3 times she's done it.

Views from our 'hood

I gotta tell ya, it just plain feels good to be back in the Mountains! The air is better up here, it's a slower pace and I actually look forward to getting up because when I open the blinds, there's those gorgeous mountains! The week he was here, I often found Todd paused by the windows gazing out. I think the Flatlander will adjust nicely!

We've been blessed with delayed snow fall. Usually by now they have a foot or two. But it's been sunny and in the 40's and 50's. May get the occasional dustings, but it's been unseasonably fantastic thus far. Last year they logged over 700 inches of snow..yeah. 60 odd feet!!! Can ya just wait for those photos?

That is an ACTUAL photo of our community's post office! Looks straight out of Bonanza doesn't it?

Halloween Trunk-or-Treat

Popular here is the idea of trunk-or-treating. Where everyone parks in parking lot and kids get their goods going stall to stall getting candy. Of course this is great because the houses are VERY spread out here, plus, the kids don't get tired and whiney blocks from home.

Our local LDS church held one of these and we were invited to take part by several neighbors. They served chili and hot cocoa. And some people really got into it by decorating their cars! This was fantastic since we'd only arrived in town days before Halloween. And the weather was the most perfect I remember any Halloween ever being. The kids didn't even need jackets!

Actually, I will say. The WHOLE area really gets into Halloween here! It's fantastic! Kids got to have costume parades at school, even the HSers dressed up! All over town employees of businesses were in costume and during the afternoon the Afton Elementary kids get to trick or treat down the main drag (pictured above) and the business people hand out candies. The cops help direct traffic to keep the several hundred kids safe. It was great!

Sporting their stuffs

These photos were taken on Afton's main drag the last week of October. All the kids posed under the "World's Largest Elk Antler Arch" which spans Hwy 89/main street. Afton is about 16 miles south of where we rent our house in Bedford. It's a cute little town full of touristy items. Being an hour south of Jackson Hole, this is to be expected.

There isn't much here in the valley. Conveniences yes, but for cheaper and better shopping most travel an hour and a half to Idaho Falls. I have not yet done this. Been to Jackson a couple short trips and that's about an hour. The valley is made up of 12 small communities, Afton being the largest with 1800 people.

In that spot again...

Here I find myself behind on my postings again. So it's time for catch up. I know the last month has been busy with the move, unpacking, getting everyone settled, doing my school work and starting a new job. But this has been on my mind constantly and it's time!! I really do not just leave you guys stranded!

The move went pretty smoothly all in all. Though all of our stuff did not fit in the truck! We crammed what we could into the moving truck and our car and headed out. It was a long 2 days.

When we arrived several of our neighbors popped over and helped us unload our truck! And they check on us regularly to make sure all is well. I only unpacked what is 'necessary' and there is quite a bit stored in the basement. And Todd's bringing more this Tuesday. He went back to MN 3 weeks ago to help with some stuff at work and of course, to pack the rest of what didn't come the first time. We are missing him terribly and the next 2 days couldn't go quick enough!

The kids are settling in slowly. They like Star Valley, but of course, because we are not LDS, some interactions have been a little slow. Having grown up in this part of the country, I talked to the kids about this before the move. I don't think they really anticipated the severity of it at times. Unlike Marshall, where Catholics are the majority, we are now a huge minority. And unfortunately, there are some who treat non-members of the Mormon community quite differently than they would their own. Not very Christian in my opinion, but it is what it is, and it's their beliefs so I respect that. Now we have met several Mormon families that have been very welcoming and warm. So I don't want it to sound all gloom and doom! Our neighbors the Johnsons have been a God-send for sure!

Rebecca had her first WY sleep-over the other night at her friend Allison's around the corner. She had a great time! All the kids, even Michaela, want to join 4-H. So I gotta check into that. The kids all got rave reviews at Parent-Teacher conferences.

So let's get on to some other posts and get caught up..