Curtis and I marveled at how much Annabeth changed during our two weeks in Wyoming. This picture was taken on the day she started sitting up. She was using her hands but could sit for a long time.
Exactly one week later, when she happened to be wearing the same outfit, she was sitting with no hands. This is such a fun stage! I’m enjoying our last bit of time before she becomes mobile.
This was Annabeth’s first time in a restaurant high chair.
One night after my parents arrived, we had dinner on the deck at Signal Mountain Lodge. After that we walked down to Jackson Lake.
Jackson is embracing his big brother role a little more these days.
This is a picture of one of the cookouts we attended by the river.
Curtis and Annabeth challenged Jackson and his friend in a race.
Annabeth did not enjoy being a track star.
Here’s Baby Girl’s first time in a playground swing. I did not bring her enough cool-weather clothes, so I frequently resorted to pajamas.
One morning our whole family attended a breakfast cookout up on a mountain. Dad and I and joined the trail riders on horseback while Mom and Curtis brought the kids up in a car. We had hot chocolate, eggs, bacon, and pancakes. It was so much fun.
Jackson and his daddy played hide and seek in the town square. Here’s Jackson counting.
Here he is hiding.
A view of the Tetons from near our place.
Mt. Moran might be my favorite.
A deer in the river by our cabin.
The Sleeping Indian. Can you see him?
One day we visited Jenny Lake. You do not want to miss it if you ever visit Jackson Hole.
We took a shuttle boat across the lake to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.
Looking up at the mountain from the boat.
Here’s what we hiked to see.
We – mainly Jackson – got soaked on the boat ride back. The water was freezing! Jackson has always loved being splashed with cold water (seriously), so he had a great time. People around us were even trying to take pictures of him because he was so funny.
The pictures you are about to see are from The Greatest Day of Jackson’s Life.
We went to Snow King and did the alpine slide.
The slide was really fun, but I only did it once because the ski lift to the top of it scared me to death. Curt says it isn’t as freaky when there’s snow below you. The Moores aren’t skiers, so I wouldn’t really know.
Then Curtis and I went temporarily insane and let Jackson do the bungee trampoline. You are seeing the highlight of his three-year-old life.
Everyone within a mile heard him squealing.
After that, we had lunch at the Saddle Rock Family Saloon.
The only beer they served was root beer. Oh my word, it was the best ever!
Jackson capped the day off with a horse ride. This is Blizzard, the most chilled out horse known to man. Jackson looked like a baby on top of that big ole animal.
That concludes the Greatest Day of Jackson’s Life.
Here’s a bad picture of some elk in the valley.
This is our favorite pizza place. No visit is complete without it.
It’s our tradition to take a picture on this huge stump before we leave. Right after this, some very sad Joneses got in the car and drove to the airport. Sad, sad, sad.
Thanks for sharing our pictures!
For everyone going to Deeper Still in Orlando this weekend, have an awesome time with Jesus!
so glad the trampoline was BEFORE the meal.
These photos are making me want to hightail it to our mountain retreat in Boulder. *sigh*
I am one of the most cold-natured women on the planet. No I am not kidding. I have a heater in my office that I run every month during the year.
But, your pictures are so good that I am now tempted to go to Jackson Hole even if I have to wear my Michelin tire coat (a/k/a parka)!
Thanks for sharing!
Amanda,
Thank you so much for sharing with us. I love seeing your family together…oh the memories you are creating!!!
Thanks Again!
Andrea
Those are the greatest pix of what must have been the greatest getaway! Did Jackson's shirt have "champ" on it? The one he was wearing the day he got soaked with cold water? Well, I gotta say the name fits him!
love the picture of Jackson counting!
Those pics are great. I think if I had done all those things Jackson did, it would be my greatest day ever also. I have been to Jackson Hole only once and it was to ski. It is a really neat little town. Alpine slides are a blast. Thanks for sharing. Annabeth is growing so fast!
Jan
Wyoming–my home–glad it can be a second home for your family. So peaceful.
Love your pictures. My husband and I leave on Sunday to drive up to Yellowstone and Tetons for our vacation. We love it. Growing up, I went a lot as a child because I had grandparents in Montana. Now, my husband shares my love of it, but we are not campers:) We might get to see snow!
Amy in Wichita
I love thse pictures!
Loved Jackson's Greatest Day…is there really no better moment as a mom than watching your kids have the time of their life…squealing in delight??!!
The mountains are so majestic!!! Just beautiful.
And I loved the rootbeer served in a boot…:)
Thanks for sharing!
Michelle in VT
Loved the pics! By the way, are those leg warmers I see on Annabeth? Too cute 🙂 Loved the shot of Curtis racing with Annabeth 🙂
By the way, watch out for those alpine slides. My sled got away from me on one of them and I did a body slam against the concrete shelf. Nearly took off an ear. Good grief 🙂
Amanda,
These are some truly beautiful pictures. Jackson is a character! Are you sure people could only hear him squealing for a mile? It would seem like they could hear him for 5 at least! My youngest daughter went on the bungi trampoline when she was about Jackson's age and I know she hollered really loud! How totally fun!
Kels
Wyoming looks beautiful!!! We did an Alpine sled thingy in Germany and our girls LOVED it!
What a precious family!
Amanda, it is such a trip looking at your pictures. We took many of the same ones…ours just happen to have our family in them. LOVED Jenny Lake and the hike to the falls. We never made it all the way to Inspiration Point. And Mountain High Pizza was delish. It was the only time we ate out the week we were there. Didn't know about the alpine slide. Now we'll have to go back. Except I think I might have to be drugged in order to get to the top. Not a big fan of chair lifts. Makes my feet feel weird even thinking about it. Anyway, thanks for sharing more pics. The kids are growing way too fast!
Thank you for the beautiful pictures,
Amanda. Your children are so beautiful that I don't know how you stand it. I can imagine how your mom must feel. Glad you guys got to get away and have such a blessed time together.
Loved the pictures. When I was a "singing-dancing" nurse in Up With People our cast stayed in Jackson Hole for Thanksgiving. One of our cast members, LUIS, was from Guadalajara and had never seen snow. That was truly a great experience for me. Thanks for sharing the family with us. Love, Linda
I love Jackson Hole as one of my most favorite places in the universe. I honestly believe it's the slice of heaven God is allowing us to see down here. Do you think pizza is a food in heaven, because I certainly hope so! (Maybe you should ask Curtis and Melissa, get back to me on this, okay?) I am so jealous of the ski run, but I'm with you, the ride up is scary! You did go temporarily insane with the bungee jump, but guess what, he lived! Once more, it looks like he'd do it again in a nano-second! I am so glad you guys let him do that- it grows him as a little man! Love the pictures, although I am suffering at this point from pangs of envy. Love you girls- darling family! Wish we had an audio link on the blog, I'd love to hear your kids!
Love you-
Lisa in Kirkland, WA
Oh this pictures take me back to a family vacation we took in 2006 to Jackson Hole…makes me want to return…what a WONDERFUL place to vacation.
Oh, I love every single picture!
What a beautiful state and I am thankful and blessed for having the chance to visit this beautiful state back in May at the LPL conference.
I enjoyed seeing Jackson's best day ever!
One of my desires is to one day visit Jackson Hole. I would have loved the cool weather and if it happened to snow, bonus!
This state also makes me smile because of my fav Siestas lives there, well 2 of my favs, Roni and Melana!!
Praying for all going to Deeper Still this weekend!
Love,
Patty
So glad your family had a wonderful time exploring God's beauty! The pictures are awesome!
So fun! I love the pictures!! However I couldn't see the sleeping Indian. Ha! What are we looking for?
Love the pictures….Thank you <3
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the beautiful pictures and peek into your vacation, Amanda!
I so want to take my family to Jackson Hole too. I never knew how beautiful it was. Did you stay at the lodge you mentioned?
The Journey Continues ~
Beautiful Amanda,
I want to crawl into the photo and give that precious Annabeth a big SMOOCH and then take your "cool dude" Jackson and spin him around and around until he giggles with delight!!!
Thank you for the precious & priceless photo album of your family journey
If this is what us "Siesta's" get to enjoy for the Harvest in photos~ I can hardly wait for the CHRISTMAS SEASON PHOTOS!!!!!
YOU are blessed beyond words ~
I am in another city giving a baby shower & expecting over 100 women!! I have lost my ever lovin mind!!!! I need to go DEEPER STILL ~~~~
PRAYING TRAVEL SAFETY AND JOYOUS GLORY OVER YOUR MOM!!!!
With "Heaven Bound" blessings,
Kim Safina
Thanks for sharing! These are great photos–love the one of Jackson 'hiding'!! What a cutie-the one of him counting is priceless, but the hiding is hilarious. He's such a happy little Mister!
Annabeth will be mobile before you know it! She's a beauty, that's for sure. I love her clothes, even her pj's are adorable.
The Jones family picture is a great one! It looks like you're all saying — "til next year"!
Beautiful pictures. That place looks like it's very fun for kids.
M
What a wonderful family vacation! Thanks for sharing the pictures of all the memories you were making!
Your children are so adorable and fun. Your parents must be beside themselves with joy, Amanda. God is good!!!
And we thank you for sharing your pictures.
Amanda, it's so funny, because we just started "Beloved Disciple" last night at church, and there's that part in the intro session (which we're watching on VHS, if you can believe it!) where your mom talks about hiking. When I saw your hiking pics, I just kept picturing your mom running down the trail after seeing that baby bear, screaming, "Deliiiiight! Deliiiight!"
I just love when you post pictures. Somehow, it seems like I've known you all forever. Maybe it's my own pregnancy hormones, but I just looked at those pictures of Jackson and Annabeth together, and then of Annabeth sitting up all by her sweet self, and I got SO excited when I realized that God's letting me do it all again, one more time. He is just something else. I found out I was expecting #3 two weeks after LPL Pittsburgh, and I just threw up my arms and laughed and said, "Really, God??? You let me witness a live proposal right there on that stage, and now you're letting me be a mommy all over again at 36??? You are TOO MUCH!!!"
Anyway, I've written a book — didn't mean to. I just get all giddy when I think of how awesome and spacious and wide this beautiful world is, but how God manages to make it seem so small and intimate at times. There's just nothing cooler. I think all of you — Moores, Joneses, Fitzpatricks, and the whole lot of you — are just salt of the earth!
(You know what it is? I don't comment nearly as much as I'd like to, so I smoosh it all into one gargantuan comment every three months or so. I really need some discipline.)
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
Orlando is in my neck of the woods! So wish I could make it ot Deeper Still 🙁
Love this post! Reminds me of the BEST vacation we ever took – Tetons and Yellowstone! We did a 5 mi hike out to a rock beach w/ a wonderful view of Mt. Moran…then 5 mi back. Yikes! And, we loved Mt High pizza, too. We ate their on our first night!!! Thanks for sharing. This makes me want to go back 🙂
I love Annabeth's Babylegs! My daughter wears them all of the time!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful children with us!
Oh Amanda, your kids are too precious! Looks like a heavenly trip!
So beautiful! You have the sweetest family!
Pics are great…I felt like I got to go on a mini-vacation just looking at them 🙂
Oh what a FUN bunch of photos!! I love that trampoline one… a little boy's life must include things of that sort!!
And you all look so cute while hiking- I'm so impressed… I would have been a sweaty mess.
Have a wonderful weekend!
My Anna Grace (almost like Annabeth) has those same pink/brown stripe baby legs!
Looks like you had a fantastic time. Great pictures!
Blessings,
Shana in MN
I saw the Sleeping Indian!!!
Truly, I'm speechless. These pix make me want to move out there and live on that gorgeous piece of land known as Jackson Hole! UNBELIEVABLE!!!
Praying for the Orlando weekend.
God is up to something…I already can feel it. Praying for the entire team.
Hugs~
Fran
It looks like you guys had such a great time! We just got home from CO and I LOVED IT!! Jackson looked so happy on that jumping thing… what amazing parents he has! And I took Caroline on an early morning walk and we had an impromptu stop at the park. And I had no excuse that my 18 month old child was in her PJ's on the swing. I was thankful that I wasn't shunned by the other moms! HA!
It's amazine how these Rockies have so many sleeping people. I live in Steamboat Springs, CO and outside my window is the Sleeping Giant. Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing. It's a blessing to see how God has blessed us with such beauty.
Love the pic of your mom holding the sleeping Annabeth. So sweet!
Yeah, that alpine slide NEVER interested me either. Fast down a hill, rocks, pain…no thanks.
Worst part of a wonderful vacation…when it's over.
Melana in Wyoming
These pics are great. Thanks for sharing them with us!
You know – thank you so much for sharing your family pics. It is a blessing to see before my eyes pics of a family that loves each other, has chosen to stand beside each other through real life hard stuff. And then to see the multigenerational pics it just blesses my socks off. And it is inspiring and leads my heart towards hope when it's sometimes easier not to. I pray God blesses y'all mightily. PS SO SO SO glad you prioritize getting away on vacation!
Thank you so much for sharing your pictures! I grew up going to Lost Creek Ranch in Jackson Hole. Your pictures made my heart long to go back with my own family. We'll have to stay somewhere else since Lost Creek has turned into a seriously pricy place. I'm so glad you got away with your family to such a beautiful place!
Jenny from VA
These pictures are so fun! I've never been to Jackson Hole, but seeing all the fun and beauty there makes me want to visit!
~Kristin
Oh, those are great pictures! I am sure, based on the pictures, Jackson was the saddest Jones of all to be leaving.
Amanda,
Thanks so much for sharing your photos. They are wonderful. I love the one with Siesta Mama and Annabeth.
Another place to add to places to visit list – Jackson Hole, WY. It reminds me a lot of the Black Hills.
Thank you, Lord, for your work with nature. It is grander than we can ever imagine!
Namaste,
Mary Ann, Woodbury, MN
It would have been insane NOT to let Jackson do the bungee trampoline! I'm sure seeing his smile and hearing him laugh was worth it! It should be a tradition along with your tree stump family photo, especially when Annabeth is old enough to jump on it in a few years, too! 🙂
Thank you for sharing your memories!
amanda-love the pics!
is annabeth the proud wearer of 'leg warmers'? hey-i'm an 80's girl & spotted cute striped socks…wait…i…see..toes!!! those are leg warmers tooooo cute!
lovin life in Him-lisa
sunny at the beach 🙂