Playground Fun

Benjamin and I met our friends Kim and her little girl Mayzee at the playground the other day. Mayzee is ONE of Ben's TWO girlfriends! Enjoy.

Our Talented Child

So it's not every parents' dream to have their child eat out of his toes, but we figure he will do well on America's Got Talent!

Family Vacation to Wyoming

Our vacation to Jackson Hole, Wyoming was the best family vacation ever! What amazing country! Just a little synopsis of some of our more exciting moments to follow.

Anticipation of taking the first flight with our 2 yr. old, Benjamin, was something we were not looking terribly forward to doing. Fear of the unknown and fear of annoying every single passenger on the plane was at the top of the list. Thanks to Paul, we had easy connections in Atlanta on the way there and back. We started talking up the trip a week or so before we left. He knew that we were going on a jet plane for a vacation to "Wyomoming." Armed with a large bag of candy, toys, games, books, a DVD player/videos, Benadryl (thanks Jean!) and a little libation under our belts, we boarded the plane. Much to our delight and surprise, he was a perfect angel all the way to Atlanta. He was very excited to see clouds below him and had fun quietly making airplane noises and looking out the window. Made our connection easily and got settled for the longer portion of the flight. We set up the DVD player and much to our disgust, it did not work. All the Mickey movies and our plans for his entertainment out the window (if we could have, literally!). That's when plan B took effect. Medicate the kid. So we did what any first-time-flying-with-a-toddler-with-a-broken-DVD-player parents would do and shot him up with some beny. He was out like a light (probably partially from the excitement of the trip, we assured ourselves) and slept the entire four hours to Jackson Hole. He woke up just as we were landing. Pheeeewwwwww! One the way home to Charleston, it was basically a repeat of the trip out west!

Benjamin's favorite activity in Wyoming was throwing rocks into streams & lakes, or climbing on rocks. Our dreams are dashed of having a major league baseball player since he almost took out several people and small animals with his throwing technique.

Another highlight of the trip was Benjamin catching his first fish. He was sitting on Paul's lap with NO witnesses (at least ones w/cameras) when there was a tug...Paul helped Ben reel in the fish and told him he should kiss his first fish to which he replied, "no daddy, no kiss fish!" OK, pet it then, "NO DADDY!" Catch and release was executed. Paul caught some kind of trout, thanks to Tai and Wes's fly tying lessons.

After spending a day at Jenny Lake, we were heading back to the house when Ruth directed us to a road that had bison and other wildlife frequently grazing. Well, let me tell you, pictures don't do these things justice! We came up over a ridge to see hundreds, some with babies, grazing and starting to cross the road. Of course I jump out, much to Paul's chagrin, to try to get some good photos. I was not trampled or maimed in anyway in this little adventure.

So, a little run back to the car was just for exercise, I swear!

On Tuesday we went white water rafting, by far the most exciting part of our vacation! I'm sure all of you have heard and seen the pictures of Andrew, Spencer and I riding the bull. It was truly an experience of a lifetime!

Our 1.4 mile hike to String Lake the next day was taxing for a few of us and we won't name names! The wildflowers were beautiful along the trail and when it ended, the most beautiful mountain lake appeared. Here are the boys on the trail.

After we arrived at our spot, Paul, Andrew and Spencer hiked an additional 1.5 miles to the 25' rock on the other side of String Lake, where they, like fools, decided to jump off. Paul claims that the fall was high enough that he was able to change his mind three times in mid-flight.  He chose not to do it twice, but was happy that he did not wimp out.  

While Ruth, Karrina & I waited with the kids we were playing in the shallows when the kids spotted a small frog. He was a speedy little thing, avoiding the nets and little hands. We lost track of him, only to have Benjamin jump about three feet straight up in the air and the frog fell out of his bathing trunks! The kids caught the frog and Ben decided it was a good time to get out, sit on a rock and take a good poo. Guess it scared it out of him!

A big highlight of our trip was eating...no surprise there, we are Diephaus' after all! Had a wonderful dinner at Snake River Grill with the whole gang. The small kids were being watched by a great babysitter back at the house. Here's everyone enjoying the grill!

 

Paul and I had a great dinner at Rendezvous on his birthday, then took a drive up to Teton Pass to look back at the lights of Jackson Hole valley. It was one of the most incredible sights either of us have seen! Hope Ruth and Tai aren't having problems with their transmission in the mini van! No, it did surprisingly well!

On our last night, we had another great dinner at Osteria at Snow King resort. The Italian fare was scrumptious and there was a playground right outside of the restaurant's back door. Benjamin had not been on a slide or swing since we left Charleston and he was in heaven! Shea and NaNa had a blast too!

On the way back to the house, Paul, Benjamin and I saw our first moose. Actually, we saw a bunch of cars pulled over so that's a sure sign that something is close by! I jump out of the car, again, much to Paul's chagrin, to get closer to the moose. He was a HUGE animal with the biggest antlers, grazing on the trees and there was a smaller female nearby. They crossed the street into an apt. complex (no doubt to sign a lease) where several of us fools followed it. Later, Paul came to admit that he said a few bad words in the car, which Benjamin happily repeated since he is in his parrot stage! I must have taken a million pictures, but since it was at dusk, and I had a new camera, only one lousy picture turned out. 

 

OK, this is from Spencer's camera. Mine wasn't worth posting!

The next day I spent poking around downtown Jackson at all of the wonderful shops! Would highly recommend local artists gallery on Pearl Street, a bit off the beaten path, but full of affordable treasures! As I have a penchant for shopping, this was one of my favorite days, by far!

One day we rented a kayak in town and headed to Jackson Lake. Again, amazing scenery and the most beautiful place to kayak ever! We set up camp on the beach and took turns using the boat. Benjamin took to it right away, displaying impressive form! Another highlight was collecting rocks to take back to the house. We sat at the picnic table outside and had fun painting them with creative designs. The kids, big and small, had a lot of fun with this project!

This was the view from my kayak!

On our last day, we took to the Alpine slide. This is a track running down the mountain at a ski resort. Paul, Karrina, Shea, Nathan and I all went. You sit on a sled of sorts, with a brake. But the most fun was letting off the brake and banking up on the curves! So much fun, we went twice!

So, it's unanimous, we just took the BEST vacation ever! Thank you Ruth and Tai for hosting and happy 50th Tai!

OK MOM

Today was a fun day at the water park. Benji is now going down the big (well, big for him) slide all by himself...hence the "stay Mama!" declaration while climbing stairs that would make any new mom's heart skip a beat. Luckily, the lifeguards are everywhere and very helpful with the little ones. When Benji got to the top of the stairs, he proceeded to cut to the front of the line and attempt to get on the slide. The lifeguard put him at the back of the line and told him to wait. He just stood there looking confused. Finally the lifeguard let him go and when he landed it my arms at the bottom of the slide, it was time for a stern talking-to about taking turns, to which he said "OK MOM," with a heavy sigh.  So up he goes again. This time, not only did he wait his turn, he escorted every single kid who came up the stairs AFTER him with a gentle hand on the back toward the slide. The lifeguard picked him up and put him on the slide and he came sailing down with the biggest smile on his face. I told him I was so proud of how polite he was, but he needed to look out for himself as well. Again, the same confused look. Obviously, we have a bit more work to do on this lesson!