Fall Photos

Hi all! Fall is here and the leaves are turning. Usually this is a major dread for me as all the leaves on my trees taunt me, fall, and then create four days worth of work. Then this year our landscapers came and took all the leaves away. I love my new neighborhood and I love, love not raking leaves. 

We decided on Sunday to venture out an attempt a family photo. It turned out pretty good, Oscar's single photo is by far the best. We should just stick to taking photos of him. 

Fall Bling

Apparently during my first pumpkin spiced latte this fall, I decided to go all Matha Stewart on my front porch/ front door. So on Saturday Oscar and I went to the grocery store to get pumpkins, Staples to get thumb tacks, and Stitch N Time to get a straw wreath and fabric. Then in my caffeine madness I proceeded to push 1000 thumb tacks into four pumpkins to make beautiful fall "bling" pumpkins. Oscar picked out several little pumpkins and I put them in plant containers that are no longer holding geraniums. On Sunday I tore the black and gold strips (yes, Saints colors, I love my husband) and tied them around my straw wreath mold. I am hoping the pumpkins will last through Thanksgiving since I did not carve them, we will see. Happy fall and I hope a pumpkin spiced latte finds you soon!

Kelly in Kelly, WY

Of course one of the things we had to do while the Jaubears were in Jackson, was to take Kelly to Kelly, Wyoming. Little known fact: this town was actually named after her. We drove there to see the buffalo herd that usually inhabits the area, but they were elsewhere, so we stopped for coffee and to take photos of Kelly,WY signs. After our Kelly-Kelly fun, we drove back into town and took the chairlift to the Alpine Slide.

The Alpine Slide is a slide that goes 2,500 feet down Snow King Mountain, pretty mush like Blue Bayou, but without the water. You have to take one of the chairlifts to get to the top, which Kelly was not so happy about, but soon realized chairlifts are not so scary, unless you fall out.  Lilya had a great time on the chairlift- she is a little snow bunny in the making. We played mini golf after the slide and of course "Chris I win at everything Jaubert" beat all of us, but at least Roger and I gave him a run to the very end. Roger even got a hole in one! Kelly.....well she did good on the first nine holes, but then had a Happy Gilmore meltdown on the back nine. At least a town is named after her. 

I Don't Know How She Does It

Courtney Roth is a mom from Ponchatoula whose only child, her son Tripp, has EB (Epidermolysis bullosa). I have been reading her blog, http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/ since last fall when I found it by happenstance. I have known Courtney's family forever and I honestly think she is just the most amazing person I know. She is such an amazing mom and she constantly inspires me to be a better mom and to be truly thankful for all the blessings I have. The way she cares for her son is just amazing. Obviously I am not the only person who thinks Courtney & Tripp are amazing- Elmo, yes Elmo, is writing Tripp a song. The Elmo, not a local impersonator, the one that lives on Sesame Street and is on TV everyday. How cool is that? I have never mention Courtney or Tripp before, but when I read her blog today, I want to share something so positive with my readers. It is wonderful that someone like Elmo, who Tripp is obsessed with, would take the time to do something so wonderful for such a family. There are truly wonderful, amazing people in this world. 

Jauberry & Jaubears

The Jaubears are here visiting the Jauberry gang for Labor Day weekend! We are going to cowboy it up and Jauberry will be back on Tuesday with details of our adventures. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Date Night!!

For Chris' 30th birthday, one of his friends gave him tickets to the Punch Brothers performing at the Center for the Arts. Last night was their show, so Chris & I had a date night! Date nights happen so few and far between that when they come around, I get all dressed up like I am going to the Oscars. Well not quite, but I definitely get excited because who knows when I am going to be able to wear earrings and silk again without consequences, i.e. major drying cleaning bill. Since Trey bought the tickets we had no idea where our seats were until we got there- they were front row center- they were awesome! When Chris Thile did an acoustic mandolin solo later on in the show, we could hear his shoes squeak against the wood stage. The concert was phenomenal!! Every musician in the group is beyond talented and it was so amazing to see them live. After the concert, Chris and I had planned to get dessert at Dolce, but they were closed. We were bummed for a second, but in the end we came up with something even better- a Jr.Frosty and fries. The fries were perfect- hot and salty- it was the best dessert ever! Just a perfect ending to an epic date night! 

Village Boy

Teton Village has an outdoor summer concert series that runs for five Sundays in July & August. We went to everyone of them, brought dinner, sat on a blanket, and had a great time enjoying the summer and good music. The Village went through a major makeover several years ago and completely updated the grounds for summer activities .They put in a playground, creek, pond, an amphitheater, and a water feature that has LED lights in the stone floor that shoot up water in different intervals. All these features are great additions for families because before there was nothing to keep children entertained at the village. Oscar had fun playing in the water feature and playground and would occasionally do his "Oscar dance" while the music played. Did I mention all these concerts are completely free? It is nice to live in a county full of millionaires. 

Bubbles and Spray Bottle Chase

Oscar loves bubbles and he always wants you to blow "big bubbles", then he pops it, and wants you to keep them coming like you are a bubble factory. Most days after work/school, we hang out on the deck and Oscar blows bubbles and plays with his water toys. His favorite is this hot pink spray bottle that I used for ironing, until a year ago when he decided it was his. He loves filling it and spraying everything in site including his parents. He chased Chris around the yard for thirty minutes and was cracking up laughing. Obviously Chris was not that taxed as he was still able to carry his beer while playing chase. Priorities. 

Field Trip- Yay!

Oscar's class took their first out of state field trip on Wednesday- they went to the Idaho Falls Zoo! Oscar has been talking about this field trip since June and he has been so excited. Also, he was going to be able to ride a bus there! His school has two buses that are equipped with car seats strapped to the benches, so they are able to brings the kids places. They have been to the library, museum, etc, but this zoo trip is by far the farthest they have gone on a field trip. Chris & I took off of work to accompany his class and his teachers, they were very thankful for the extra help they received from us and two other parents. When you have ten two-three year olds, you need as many parents as you can get. The kids had such a wonderful time and they were so excited to see the animals. They saw this tortoise and all the kids starting shouting that is was "Crush" from the movie Nemo - totally cute! Oscar is still talking about how he saw "Crush". I am so thankful that we were able to go and that his school allows the children to have these experiences together. 

Hudson - Jesse - Oscar
(Oscar's equivalent of BFFs)

Oscar trying to talk to the pelicans. 

"Crush"

Oscar + Butter Shoes = Cuteness

Is this photo Chris took of Oscar not adorable? He has great taste in shoes. 

Evil Chris Knievel

Chris loves adventure. Adventure meaning things most people do not attempt because they would like to live. Chris also loves mountain biking, as obvious by previous entries, so it is no surprise that he likes downhill mountain biking. This sport takes a lovely thing like riding on a cruiser bike in the sun, and turns it into a sport where you are advised to wear a full face helmet, neck brace, knee pads, pretty much wrap yourself in bubble wrap and say your prayers. Also it is sad for me, because Chris is pretty good at downhill mountain biking, and the better he gets the bigger the jumps get.............. see below. 

Bigger jumps for Chris = heart palpitations for Jessica. 

Strawberry Farmer

Earlier this spring, while on a trip to the hardware store, I saw strawberry plants for sale for 89 cents. These plants were suspicious, mainly because they were planted in what looked like plastic cups thrown at a parade. However, my soft spot for strawberries could not let me pass them up. I bought two figuring if I was out a whopping $1.78, I would manage to survive. Surprisingly these plants have done very well, and Oscar has helped me water and take care of them. Oscar gets so excited when he sees a new strawberry, and will ask everyday if it is ready (for him to eat of course). Well finally, yesterday, one strawberry was ready to eat. Oscar was kind enough to let me have a nibble, and it was an amazing strawberry. So good! Oscar cannot wait for the next one to fully ripen. Currently we have about 10 strawberries between the two plants. While this is not a great harvest, it is enough to keep us entertained and turn my little boy into the mogul of strawberry farming in Jackson, WY. 

All You Need is Love, Love

Vonny & Don are getting MARRIED! 

(Chris' mom, for those jauberry readers that do not know)

We are so happy for such a wonderful couple and look forward to celebrating many happy years together!

Feed the Birds

We went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and while buying collard greens, spinach, and bing cherries, I bought a Sugar Pine cone. The Sugar Pine is supposedly the world's tallest pine tree, which produces the largest pine cones in the world. There is always a booth at the market where a lady is always selling lavender, pastries, and these pine cones. I have bought lavender from her several times in the past, but I am not one of those people who collect pine cones as decoration. However, this past Saturday, I came up with a use for these mammoth pine cones- a bird feeder project with Oscar! As I waited in line, I was so excited and I told the woman selling them what I was going to do with my pine cone. Apparently she thought this was no life for her beautiful pine cones, but as I said above, I am not decorating my house with pine cones, sticks, leaves or anything except maybe flowers from trees. On Sunday, after Oscar's nap, we brought out all the supplies for the bird feeder. Oscar, Chris, and I worked together spreading peanut butter and sprinkling wild bird seed all over the pine cone. Oscar really liked helping with the bird seed and he was so proud of his bird feeder. Chris hung it up right outside our dining room window, so hopefully we can watch the birds eat while we eat. 

Louisiana Saturday Mornings

There is a small urban type market half a mile from our house called Aspens Market. This is the market you go to when the Whole Foods in town seems too cheap. I go there when we need milk or something small and look around because they carry specialty items that you cannot find anywhere else like...... Cafe du Monde Beignet mix!! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was to see that familiar gold, brown, and white box. I am a made from scratch kind of girl except when it come to beignets. I have never found a recipe that makes them light, fluffy and oh so delicious like a Cafe du Monde beignet, and when someone has been in business making only one food item for 149 years, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. So I bought a box and surprised Chris with beignets on Saturday morning. They looked wonderful and it was great to have memories of home and teach Oscar about Louisiana culture. 

Popsicle Time!

It is so hot in Jackson... sometimes it can be 80, even 85 degrees with little humidity! Oh the humanity! (How hot is it in Louisiana right now? :)  Oscar's class made popsicles on Friday and today his teacher Heather sent me a photo of our cute little boy stirring the mix. 

Thanks Carlie for the new clothes!