It's Fair Time!

The Teton County Fair is in town for the week and last night, we went to watch the Figure 8 races with Ted and Jess & Case. So much fun!

Packed stands...definitely one of the favorite events in the valley!

Basically beat-up cars race around a Figure 8-shaped track and the first to make 15 laps wins.

There was a lot of carnage which was cool.

Mud was flying after they watered down the track to slow it down.

Our awesome view from the fence.

There was a lot of smokin' wreckage

So much fun to watch, these drivers were crazy and there were cars pushed over the burms every few laps.

Speedy

We watched until it got dark, rode our bikes home and are getting ready for more Fair fun tonight! Have a great weekend!

Music Night

Tuesday night, I went with my friend Mindy and her kids to check out a free show by the Grand Teton Music Festival...I have to say, I love the fun free summer things there are to do around here!

Here is Walk Festival Hall before all the musicians took their seats.

Mindy was very excited for the concert!

And this night happened to be geared towards kids, so after the concert was over, they all got to run around and learn the instruments and even play them. This is Mindy's daughter Sarah getting a solo concert played just for her!

Mindy's son Brian banging away on the xylophone.

And Sarah on the harp....fun night, I love firsts.

Belly Series - Week 20

My friend Jess who just moved here for the summer is preggers, so I decided I wanted to do something great for her and this is what we came up with...a weekly belly series shot with a blurb from her to her son. We have just begun and I will continue posting them in the weeks to come!

(Click image to see it larger)

Also posted (along with a bunch of other pretty things) on my new design blog, Design It Pretty!

This is how we roll

Those of you who know Trevor, know that when he hears weekend, he instantly plans for at least 14 activities to try to accomplish before the work week arrives...and this last weekend was no exception. Since we were heading over to Dubois for Katie & Mark's wedding, we decided to make the most of the trip and I can vouch that that was definitely accomplished. Luckily Case and Jess were driving too, so we could bring twice as much gear!

Trevor and I pulled the driftboat and had two kayaks on top of our truck, while Case and Jess pulled the pop-up (isn't it a beauty!) with their canoe on top of it.

On Saturday before the wedding, Trev and Case went golfing while Jess and I practiced some watercolor skills at the campground (sorry no pics of that one, but you aren't missing out too much!) Then we took the boats out on Ring Lake for a little paddle.

There is something about being on the water...definitely mandatory for a complete summer day!

Some pretty lichen.

Luckily we had our bartender Case around to properly prepare us for our lake cruising.

Jess and the doggies walking on water.

Jess and Salix lounging canoe-style.

Then off to the wedding...here are a couple more pics of the beautiful event.

Katie and her dad about to walk the aisle.

The scene.

There wasn't a lack of color, that's for sure!
Nicole, Robin, ME, Katie Niner, Catherine Holland, Katie the beautiful bride, Carly Platt, Allison Reilly and Tracy Ross

Katie and Mark dancing the night away.

The tent was aglow long after the sun went down. Thanks for such a great night guys!

On our drive home from Dubois the next day, we floated the Snake and this was Case's big monster catch of the day! : )

No complaining about this view. We fished and swam and painted and wasted the day away on the river, soaking up the sun and summer and all commenting on how much we love life. I am not sure it could get an better!

Wedding Weekend

This weekend was so so so much fun that I am almost too tired to write this blog (so more to follow later in the week!) We definitely squeezed every bit of fun out of it that we could...loving summer to death right now!

We headed over to Dubois, Wyoming for Katie Stevenson & Mark Seacat's wedding this weekend and had a blast. They had it at the beautiful EA Ranch that seemed like a little bit of an oasis in the middle of the dry desert. I have to say that seeing the pies when we walked in got me really excited...definitely my weakness.

Case and Jess...our weekend playmates. We all headed over together and slept in the pop-up, slumber party-style without it tipping once...the perfect accommodations (especially when you can camp out in the parking lot at a wedding!)

Katie walking down the aisle with her dad and looking beautiful, like always.

It couldn't have been a more perfect summer day for a wedding.

And now introducing....Katie & Mark Seacat!
(I think that was the best introduction I have ever made!)
Congrats guys!!!

Squeezing post work floats

Bit of bummer to be on the downward slide of the summer solstice and having the days get shorter, but there is still plenty of time to float and fish after work. Went with a couple of buds tonight south of town. We pulled into the boat launch at dark, very content having caught a bunch of fish.

Awesome.

The Brawler

The escapades of little Stevie strike again. Any of you that have visited us here in Jackson know that our neighborhood is somewhat of a "ghetto" when compared to the McMansion's that litter the rest of the Valley.
Stevie regularly gets into tussles with other bullies in the neighborhood. These fights are getting to be expensive. This little wound cost us to the tune of over $100. Ahh, the things you do for your loved ones.
Stevie, you will be happy to know, is healing well, however, he still has this crazy scar on his back. Wish him well and a speedy recovery.

Raspberry Muffins

With all the yummy berries around the house I decided I would do a little baking to put them to good use. And Raspberry Muffins it was and they turned out so delicious that I ate most of them and Trevor only got 3 and got mad at me for not leaving him any more. So you should make them too because even though they are healthy boys like them too.

In the parenthesis are my substitutes I made to make them vegan and with less sugar. For egg replacements you can use half a banana=1 egg or 1/4 cup applesauce=1 egg. I used a banana and it gave them a nice hint of banana flavor as an added bonus.

Yummy Raspberry Banana Muffins

• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used spelt flour)
  
• 3/4 cup white sugar (I used 1/2 cup brown rice syrup, maple syrup might be interesting too!)
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup plain soy yogurt
• 3 tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 tbs. lemon juice
• 2 egg replacements (I used one mashed banana which gave it a great flavor too)
  
• 1 cup raspberries (I think I may try with blueberries next time since we have a lot of those now!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line with paper liners.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the soy yogurt, oil, lemon juice and egg replacements (I used one banana here).
   
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix until just blended.
6. Gently stir in the raspberries.
7. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top springs back when lightly touched.
9. Cool muffins in the tin on a wire rack.

1. 

Enjoy!

Summer Love

I am loving summer! Seriously, it just seems like everyone is happier and no one has a care in the world (at least on the weekends!) and this weekend was no exception. We walked away with nothing but big smiles on our faces. Thank you summer!

On Saturday morning while Trev went to play golf, Jess and Allison and I rode our cruisers to the Farmer's Market and then the Art Fair to stock up on the goods. Bummer I forgot to bring my camera, but here is what I brought home, some green beans, Rainier cherries, blueberries, a little basil plant and a bag of greens...yum!

Next on the list for the day, a float down the Snake with Jess and Case.

We found a nice kind of beachy spot about half way and pulled over to wade around while the boys kept fishing.

Lots of eagles on this float and we even ended up seeing a little family of otters swim right by us!

Jess and Case loving their Jackson summer so far, I mean really, how could you not? Anyone else want to join our party?

At the end of the float we got a little (well, big) treat, a golden eagle! It was amazing how close he let us get to the low branch he was perched on before he flew away. Look at those claws, eek! Hope summer is treating everyone well!