Category: Family

We walked down the road to Brian, Andrea and Anika’s house for some barbeque this afternoon. It’s great having family next door, my sister dropped by, and little Annie entertained us with some pretty good piano…

Brians dad was in town recently and they had such a good time at the Bar J Chuckwagon in Jackson Hole he gave Steph and I some cash to go have dinner on him. A very nice gesture and we went last night. Brian joined us and we had a great time.

I was amazed quite frankly that they were able to feed so many people so efficiently. The food was good and the entertainment unique. Click the horses ass to see some shots.

Steph was back in Wahington state last week visiting her wild and wacky family. They’re all wrapped up in the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Fair which they actively participate in every year, even building structures, so she just added the event to her pictures of family. The result is a photoset I heartily recommend you watch.

btw: The Faerie Killer tried to take out my girl Tori! Click the photo for more…

Riley’s hot air balloon flight the other day earned him the First Flight Ceremony from Ross’s crew. I’ve done a bit of research on this and the ceremony ranges from a simple champagne toast with a story about the tradition to a more sadistic one where champagne is poured on the head and dirt rubbed in to celebrate the return to earth.

I think this shot that his wife Jess got pretty much shows which category his ceremony fell into, along with the fact that he took a shower when he got home :-)

My Fourth of July weekend couldn’t start any better than to have family over for a barbeque and a firepit in the back forty. In attendance were Riley and Jess, Dave and Cat, My sister Lorelle, Brian, and Steph of course.

I hooked up all of my electronic toys to an external hotspot, including my Echo who belted out any tune anybody wanted to hear, just by asking her. My new barbeque grill stayed on the deck while the boys bonded over cooking meat.

The firepit ignited with four matches and was well maintained by my boy, and sis was quite impressed by the fact that I obtained a fire permit for the night and called the sheriff’s office when I lit it up :-) Click the photo below for more…

My boys in town for our Fourth of July, finally. I’ve been telling him for years that he should be here and he and his wife Jess finally are. As a reward, he got to ride solo with one of the great balloonist that do this every year. His was the second leg so we followed the team to the first touchdown, the original party got out, and Riley took off.

They found out this was his virgin flight so at the end he got the traditional champagne bath. I missed that part because I drove the first party back to the fairgrounds. But, I now know what his hair feels like soaked in dried champagne! Click photo for more…

My son Riley and his wife Jess are coming down from the Seattle area next week, finally able to enjoy Teton Valley at it’s finest: during the Fourth of July. Huntsman’s not running the show this year but it looks like Driggs has it covered, and the city of Victor (8 miles down the road) has the morning handled with their amazing hometown parade, craft fair and breakfast.

The Balloon Rally is on for 7/2 thru 7/5, and Steph is the official tank filler for the sole provider, Suburban Propane, so a comp ride or two is in the making. There’s also Music On Main Thursday night and a rodeo on Friday.

Whew… I hope the weather will be perfect! (according to WU, it will be:)

Compare this to Phoenix for example:

I just got an email from my cousin Pat:

Hi, Jim!

My sister just sent me an old picture of your mother
and E.T. I don’t recall ever having seen it before, and
assume it must have come from an old picture album
my mother had that I must not have seen. She also
said when looking at this picture, it suddenly jogged
her memory, as she recalled Grandma Riza telling her
that she called E.T. “Pretty Boy” when he was young.
You may or may not have seen this picture before.

Hope you are enjoying your vacation!

Regards, Pat

I had not, it’s great! I think they’re both pretty :-)

Steph loaned me the SD card from the camera she took back to Betty’s memorial last week. I culled through the photos and found a few eclectic ones to share here. Her family is a definite hoot, and good people. These are just a few of the many shots she took, but they caught my eye, as did the rainbow in the cloud catch the family’s eye…

Steph’s sister Sandy is putting together a photo montage of their mom Betty for the service on May 30 at the First Baptist Church in Enumclaw, WA. and was asking around for photos. She knew her mom had a great time when she and Tori spent the summer with us a couple of years ago and asked me to find some photos.

I have so many photos, my head is spinning. I wish I had some face recognition software that could help me out, but I did come up with a couple of shots. The first one is under the famous arches down in Jackson and the second at a parade in St Anthony. Betty and Tori had a great time at both!

Here’s Sandy’s eulogy.

Some beautiful flowers, cards and a candle have come our way, honoring our lost mother and friend, Betty. I’m keeping a sharp watch on this blog to see if she tries to slip in a comment on this post, from heaven.

Stephs mom Betty has passed away. I loved her. She also loved this blog and was my number one commenter. She actually has more comments here then I have replies…

Here’s a birthday post I did for her, and here she is with Steph:

R.I.P. mom, my soul is very sad…

I just had a heartfelt and tearful talk with Steph about her mom. I believe she has just passed into the next space, the place where we will all arrive at, shortly. I am a spiritual man and I know there’s another dimension out there. I just don’t accept the organized religion stuff, sorry…

God has talked to me. I’ve heard his voice, and he saved my life. Thank you god. So, now we move forward. Wake up people! You need to live your life to it’s fullest, now!

Observe me, follow my adventures, and be inspired!

Went to my sister’s house in Alta, Wyoming for brunch today. All of the immediate family were there and it was quite nice actually. I didn’t focus my photos on people today, just things that caught my eye, like the new fence, a lack of nearby neighbors and a cool greenhouse. Coming home down Stateline a slow moving animal mosied across the road. It was very sloth like. Click the picture below for the photoset.

I discovered a great e-card vendor this morning: Jacquie Lawson! I paid $14 via PayPal for a one year subscription which allows me to send an unlimited number of customized e-cards to friends and family. Based on the positive feedback I’ve received so far, it was money well spent on Mother’s Day.

It’s a well constructed system, you even get a confirmation email when the recipient receives and views the card. Here are the previews of the ones I sent this morning:

• Dreams Of Love
• Colourful Cargo
• Water Colours
• A Tropical Treat
• Birds and Blooms
• The Florist
• Butterfly Bouquet

I went all out for Steph’s Mother’s Day tomorrow, today. After tying a big one on last night, after a generally shitty day, with my neighbor and nephew Brian, I got dressed and went grocery shopping with her!

Broulims was handing out free flowers to women that walked through the door and looked like they were probably mothers. How do they know? Anyway, Steph got this flower and I’m thinking phew, off the hook! Actually, I’m a good guy, I contributed to her airfare to Seattle this summer last night. Before I got drunk with Brian…

…and yes, we need a new screen door. I’m thinking of starting a gofundme page.