Steve and I were honored to be invited by our church in
Idaho to lead a portion of a retreat, or Family Summit.
Our segment of course was on raising families, not
that we are experts, but we do have a lot of experience!!
All of us but Josh were able to attend.
We set out on a cold Wednesday morning (6:22 to be exact!),
March 24th.
Steve had flown out on Sunday to be with his mom and
dad during his dad's heart surgery, so it was the five
kids and myself on this adventure! A light dusting of
snow covered the car but the roads were clear.
I had
Anna as my co-pilot, with the promise she would not
fall asleep....and she didn't! She had the camera
and it kept her going taking all these nice photos...
well, a few of them were mine.
The first part of the trip was pretty quiet as everyone
but Anna and I were asleep.
The mountains were beautiful with the snow
and clouds.
We did encounter a little snow on the roads
in Hesperus but it wasn't bad.
The long road stretched before us.... Twila on the
ipod (at least for the first hour)...
.... Junior mints to keep me awake!
A little 'air guitar'... obviously no more Twila!!
The road goes on and on...
Trusty mom at the wheel...
April still asleep....
Movies for the little guys.
About 8:45 pm, after a stop in Idaho Falls for dinner... a short
trip to the mall... and a visit with some old friends,
the Shannors... we rolled into Alta, Wyoming.
We passed this lodge everytime we went to the ski
slope but had never been in it.
Here is our Summit banner.
The arcitecture was very amazing...
this is looking into the Teepee (40' up) with the center
pipe for the fireplace in the middle.
There was living space all around the massive fireplace
in the center... Tables for eating at.
18 rooms were around the outside of the teepee room.
Below were two dorm rooms for all the kids.
They had a game room with ping pong,
pool and whatever this game is called...?
The equipment from church was set up for
the break out sessions and for Sunday
morning church that would be held
here in the lodge as well.
Drew and his buddy Joe having
a great time.
Ruth and Joe's baby sister Rosie.
Lori and Jennifer
Had a great time visiting with friends.
Some of the youth.
A visit with the Mann's, Erin, Ethan and Elizabeth.
Ethan and Elizabeth, got to ski the slopes with them
as well, had a great time!!!
Sitting around the fireplace was a favorite.
The kids played 'mafia' there most nights
until the wee hours of the morning.
Or they played poker!
Bethany, she and her husband Joel led the
youth sessions.
They moved out of the Valley the year before
we did, so good to see them again!
Sara and Daniel Willers...
special friends are forever!
On Sunday after service with comedian
Brad Stine, we went to our dear friends
The Brunks!!
So many memories in this place...
so good to visit with them for a
few hours.
This is Don Brunk...
his everloving wife Jo. My adopted parents!!
This is the view of the Tetons from their
front room window...not too
shabby!! Man I miss
that view!
View of their front yard and the meadow...
and Sleeping Indian in the background.
Climbing out of their valley....
One more shot of that gorgeous view....
not that I could ever forget it!!
I used to watch the sun set on that mountain
peak everyday.
View of the ski slope in Jackson that all the
kids learned to ski on....not me!
I waited until we moved to Idaho to a slope that
was safe (almost) for beginners.
The long road stretched before us again bright and early
on Monday morning, but this time there were
two drivers. I did a lot of sleeping on the
first part of the trip to catch up on
all the long nights!!
So did Steven!
We arrived safely at home about 9 pm....
with lots of good memories and a successful
retreat!! Thanks to all you Wydaho friends...
you will always be loved and missed!
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