What I Did on my Summer Vacation, Part 1

Well, that was one FABULOUS vacation. I do love road trips! And despite a little extra orneriness (okay, a LOT), Little M seemed to have a great time, too. We drove to West Yellowstone for the Eagle's Store 100th anniversary celebration (Go, Pioneer Family Business!). We stayed in a condo with the family for several days, which was super fun. Finally got to meet baby MaryEllen, and Little M had a great time being the bigger cousin. She decided her official job was amusing her little cousin, and everytime MaryEllen cried, M was there with funny antics to distract her.

Among the highlights of the 100th were several family dinners, with lots of people I didn't know (well, I haven't exactly overcome that anti-social thing yet, have I?), a ribbon cutting ceremony to usher in the next 100 years, and an exciting team effort (Dad, Sally and I) selling commerative envelopes with cancelled vintage stamps, honoring the years my Great-Grandpa Sam Eagle was postmaster. I guess I can now say I've officially worked at the family store. Woo-hoo!

The coolest thing for me was riding through the park, and back to I.F., in Dad's '23 White touring bus. Other fun highlights of our stay in West include playing Pop 5, and checking out the old Fountain Hotel site (where great-grandparents, Sam and Ida worked and met), and wearing silly hats. Seeing a young grizzly on our way up through Teton was cool, too.

M especially enjoyed learning to crack eggs with Grandma Joy and Aunt Amanda, exploring arts and crafts with Aunt Sally, and playing video games with Uncle Oliver. She's much better at the games than her mom. They make me nervous, but she's a natural. She also delighted in receiving a new Barbie and horse, that her very own Aunt Sally helped design. Way cool! M is definitely ready for Barbie, and off to a good start on her collection. And she also got some fabulous red cowgirl boots from Eagle's Store. Dang, that girl is stylin'!

After our time in West, we rode the bus back to I.F. and spent several days there. We had tea in the playhouse, played with the color castle, went to the Tauphus Zoo, fed the ducks at the river, played on Aunt Sally's new Wii, watched a Chuckers game, and saw the Fireworks. All around, a fun-filled, yet thoroughly relaxing vacation!

As always, it was also good to get home again. The drive was long, but we were happy to be able to break it up both ways with a stop at Grandma Mary Ann's, and some leg-stretching time with Aunt Cindy. Our little coyote does love going to school, and was excited to see her friends again. Now we've got about 3 weeks to feel normal before the next trip. Now THAT'S summer!

Oh, plus, we sold the old house while we were gone. How cool is that? No more hustling to clean for showings! The new house is now slated to be done on 7/29, and we have to be out of here 7/31. And we leave 8/1. This might be interesting...

BTW, if you want to see more vacation pics, you can find them here.