Jackson Hole part one

We took a 5-day trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week in honor of my dad's big 5-0 milestone and as a Christmas gift to us. He has always wanted to see the old west so what a better opportunity than your 50th birthday?

The trip marked Georgia Grace's first time flying. We had an EARLY flight and left home at 4:30am so we both look a little puffy and sleepy :)

Georgia the jet setter!

The flights there with her were a dream. She hardly even acknowledged the take offs and landings. We did give her a bottle during those times to help with her ears popping. I am going to do a separate post on all the things you have to do when you fly with a baby so I won't go into detail now but it really was a great experience. I love my flying cupcake!

We had a connection flight in Salt Lake City and this was the view from my window that took my breath away. God outdone himself. I've been to SLC during my college days for my dietetic internship and it is beautiful from the ground too.

And then a short 37 minute flight and we were in the Hole!
Jackson Hole airport is super small so there are no terminals. You literally step off the plane onto snow. A beautiful mountain landscape is behind you and cowboys are in front of you ready to take you to your destination. Simple and so so awesome.

After about 4 hours in a plane she was still all smiles. Her "OOTD" was footed pajamas and I'm glad I chose easy over fashion for her. She was comfy and everyone loved that she was in her jams :)

The first night we went out to explore Jackson and learn our way around. Our lodge (The Lodge at Jackson Hole-more pictures to come) had a beautiful lobby with a big stone fireplace and moose head above the mantle. Georgia Grace enjoyed spending time here greeting everyone coming in and out. I think that was her favorite part of the trip.

After a day full of flying and exploring this girl was toast. Bless it.

Like all type-A travelers, I made an itinerary and the first stop was the National Museum of Wildlife Art.

She slept through 75% of it. What irony huh? Here she was enjoying herself in the children's museum portion.

She roused at the end and enjoyed looking at the elk across the street. This girl is crazy about her poppa and he is crazy about her.

Saturday was THE game day so we had to represent our team.

Our favorite piece in the museum was Chief. It literally felt like he was coming out at you.

I love this picture of us with the museum moose because you can see the National Elk Refuge in the background. The museum was neat (for a museum) and we enjoyed a climate controlled activity.

After the museum we hopped over to take a sleigh ride through the National Elk Refuge. One of the things that made me fall in love with the town of Jackson and the surrounding area is that everything is so close. You don't have to travel all day to see all the sights. We were in a tiny economy rental car so long trips were not what we were looking for.

The refuge is not an all fenced-in area. There is a fence next to the main road to prevent accidents but there is no fence on the other side so they are free to roam and come and go. It's amazing how they let you get so close. There are over 7,000 elk on the refuge.

We had Georgia in a quilted, fleece-lined snowsuit, toboggan, mittens (she didn't care for them though) and double blankets. I think she stayed pretty toasty.

Our 20 passenger sleigh ride included all southerners. We were amazed at how almost everyone we met was from the south. One of them gladly took our picture for us which included several candid ones like this ha!

The scenery was to die for.

We spotted a few coyotes on the refuge during our sleigh ride along with a bald eagle and mule deer on a hillside. Wildlife is in abundance in these parts.

My favorite picture I captured. Two young bulls just playing around, probably trying to toughen themselves up for mating season.

The sleigh ride was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I'm thankful for this memory.

After the day activities, we headed to a sports bar to watch the UK UL game. They even let us watch the game on their main big screen which was really nice. What an awesome game!! So proud of our Cats and hoping this is the turnaround they needed.

I'll try to post the rest of our trip in the next few days after I get caught up on everything. We came home to a broken clothes dryer and Christmas everywhere. Back to reality!

Happy 2014!

This is a throwback to when we rang in the new year in Times Square. Still can't believe we did it. So thankful we did!

NYE this year was flannel pjs, a warm fireplace, and a bedtime before midnight. I'm thankful for that too.