Travel and Tetons day 1

We took a trip out west last month for our family vacation this year! We pulled the kids out of school on a Tuesday afternoon and then headed to the airport.

This was Rosie and Ben's third flight (the first two being out to Dulles to Phoenix and then Denver to Reagan last year for our National Park trip). This year we were flying from Norfolk to Denver. Originally we had kind of planned this trip partially so they could meet their new cousin who lives in Denver, but after we booked it, we found out their cousin was coming to stay with us a week after we got home so we scrapped that part of the trip since it would have been mid-week and during school/work. We are super excited for their visit!

Our flight was pretty late and eventually Rosie and Ben fell asleep (after all the kids switched seats a whole bunch). I am continuously surprised how well they do entertaining themselves. I feel a little stressed about not having a tablet or anything before a trip like this, but they always end up doing great.

When we landed we had to wait a bit for our bag (everyone packed in a backpack for the week and then we had one checked bag for boots/jackets and larger toiletries). Rosie was tiiiiiiired while we waited. We landed around 10:30 pm (which was 12:30 am our time). 

Chris and I had talked before the trip and decided to drive part of the distance into Wyoming that evening. We arrived quite late and the kids were very tired, but I think we were all thankful that the drive the next day wasn't as long and that we got to spend half the day in the Grand Tetons!

We made it! We came in the first day through the East entrance (in Wyoming). 

Our first stop was Oxbow Bend. This was basically our first view of the Tetons and even from a distance with their peaks covered in clouds, it was pretty majestic.

From there we headed up Signal Mountain to the overlook.

From there we went down to Jackson lake for a bit of a closer view of the mountains and water. 

We headed over to the Jenny Lake loop and went around the north side on the trail for just a bit knowing we were planning to head south later in the trip all the way across. It was just beautiful!