Jackson Hole with the Bushell Family!

Hello online world and pallies!I have just returned from one of the most fantastic vacations ever. Last Wednesday at the crack of dawn I drove to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with Kate and her family!!! This was less than 48 hours since I got back from my insane trip to St. George with Justi but that is another story altogether. Anywho what I'm trying to say is that although it is chaotic to live out of a suitcase, I love continuous vacations to the point of excessiveness. So the first day we got there we had to park stuff at our saved campsites because the ranger was sort of freaking out that no one was sleeping there. So we spread out all our stuff in the woods and folded up the trailer. Can I just say that trailers are genius?!?! Those things are amazing! It's like an entire living space that all folds up perfectly into a little box and expands beautifully whenever you want it to! Ok enough about my obsession with camping technology. So after we got all set up, me Kate and Jayne went into town! Now if you've never been to Jackson Hole before you are missing out on one of the cutest towns in the world. It is just so...earthy and artsy (they've got about a million art galleries) and delicious as a place can get. We went to the tiny movie theater there where we saw Julie & Julia. It was a pretty good movie! I really loved Meryl Streep's performance but Amy Adams' character was kind of whiney/annoying. But all in all, it was still a good movie! When we got back to camp we played some card games with the scouts who were there from the Jackson's ward. It's too bad they were all like 12 years old. Or just creeper-ish haha. Oh! There was a meteor shower that first night so we got to sit outside and watch all the shooting stars! It was beautimous. We actually saw one with this HUGE bluish tail (would that be a comet then?) that lasted forever; it was sooo worth sitting out in the cold.
ThursdayMe and Kate woke up the next morning at the crack of nine to get in our swimsuits and go to....THE RIVER!!!!!!!!!!!When we got the the mouth of the Snake River I suddenly realized I ran this river last summer for girls camp. What a crazy coincidence! Here is a picture of our boat going down the rapid so aptly named Big Kahuna. We got back around 1 or 2ish, had lunch, and then got ready to go back! I thought it would be wayyy exhausting to run it twice in one day but I had a lot of fun the second run! Even though it started raining haha. Somehow the rain made the rapids bigger. Or maybe we just felt more intense. Plus Kate's cousins Christian, Sam, Megan, Sarah #2, and Sarah #3 (can you guess who was #1?) made it really fun.
FridayWe ran the river again in the morning and it turned out to be a very eventful trip! We hadn't been floating for more than five minutes when Tom (Kate's dad) yells from the other boat "The first person to push Sara Bezdjian in gets five bucks!" Then someone else upped the bounty and said "No make it ten!""Fifteen!" yelled someone else. "Twenty!"I barely had time to hold my breath before alllll of Kate's cousins leaped onto me and shoved me off. The water was very cold >:(Then Tom's boat blocked our path so our raft got wedged in some rocks!! Sam actually had to get out of the boat and shove us off. At that point, it was more than just river-fun. It was war.
I eventually pirated their boat and shoved Ali and Drew out into the frigid waters. Muahahahahaaha!
Kharma kinda got me back tho. I fell off on Big Kahuna!!! It was really scary but totally thrilling at the same time. I was in the front and when we hit the wave I just bounced off the raft and shot into the water. Before we had set off Christian (who was guiding us that day) told all of us that our paddle was precious and we should never let go of it even in death. I really took what he said to heart because as I was gasping in the rapids I had a tight grip on my dumb paddle haha. Swimming with a paddle in one hand isn't exactly an ideal situation but I made it out alive. (Oh and Tom fell out on Big Kahuna too so I guess there really is justice in the universe)
Anyway. On to SaturdayIt was really cold/rainy this day so we all decided against rivering and we went to the Granite Hot Springs instead!! If you ever get a chance to visit them, GO. The water felt amazing AND Kate told me that the minerals are good for your hair and skin!That night we went into town for dinner and after we explored around. Me and Kate found these statues of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus outside this church that was down the street. Kate + her camera + statues + me = hilarious photo op!! So I took some pretty funny (bordering on scandalous) pictures with the statues. I'll put them on here as soon as Kate publishes them on fbook. For now let's just say Joseph's hands were in a very compromising position when I threw myself into his arms.
SundayPacking day. Oh the grief. I hate bonding with people to just pack up and leave a few days later :( I think special vacations (i.e. camping, road trips) really unite people with a unique union. But it's one of those things where you know that as soon as you get back into your daily routines you won't ever talk to these awesome people again. It was only appropriate that I cope with leaving by pretending I was a Queen of Russia and all the children there were my grandchildren. With the exception of Christian--he was so hostile that I knew despite his deceptive disguise, he was none other than Rasputin! Can I just say that I would make the most awesome yet unappreciated grandma ever?? I offered everyone cookies and milk and quilted panties but none of them would so much as hold my hand. Maybe they couldn't understand my Russian aggghghghccent?Ah well. I guess the Russian kingdom will have to be passed on to someone else. So keep St. Petersburg and the whole Siberian landscape in the back of your mind next time you think about dissing me. Hahaha wow. What a trip. This description I wrote isn't even a smidgen of all that really happened but it will have to suffice. Loves and kisses!
p.s. Lily Allen seems like a great person. You should pray for her because I heard on the radio this morning that she cried in her last concert. Or just listen to her cute British accent in one of her songs.