Home Sweet Home

I headed out December 19th...destination Atlanta, GA...HOME! Only my Dad knew I was coming home so I was able to surprise my Mom and sisters which was so fun! If I had only had a video camera to film Mom's reaction to me standing in the kitchen as she came around the corner brushing her teeth, we would have won America's Funniest Home Videos. My trip was short but I had the pleasure of seeing my entire family and all the little ones and some friends too. It was really nice :) I also ate lots of white cheese dip from Mexican restaurants because they don't serve white cheese dip in Jackson...weird I know. I also enjoyed some Chick-Fil-A with my Dad! I got to spend some time with Jenny R while I was home as well. And to update that situation...Jenny had surgery Friday and all went well...she is home and on the road to recovery. She is very eager to get back to Jackson and continue enjoying her life here!

It was really great seeing everyone...especially my family! The little ones are getting so big and growing up sooooo fast. But they still remember me so I was happy :) I mean I am their favorite Aunt ;) We had Christmas Breakfast on Sunday morning before I left. We cooked french toast and opened presents...so much fun! I am truly blessed to have such an amazing family and to be surrounded by such genuine and caring people.

So, I headed home Christmas Eve early in the morning. Little did I know I wouldn't actually make it home for 3 more days. Due to bad weather, I ended up stranded in Denver, CO. Our plane was unable to land in Jackson so they returned us to Denver. I thought no big deal...they will just put us on another plane later that day...but noooooo...there were no flights til the 28th!!! Very very very fortunately, my best friend Mary Berry lives in Denver and was able to let me crash with her til I could get out of Denver. Her parents were in town which was great...they are like family! I spent Christmas at Mary's boyfriends Mom's house...which was fantastic! I ended up getting out of Denver on the 27th with minor delays but none-the-less I made it home finally!

Michael (Mary's Mom), me, and Mary in the car


Mary and I with our favorite puppies, Bella and Reese!


My best friend Mary Lauren and I in Denver...thank goodness for her :)


Reese's first big snow experience in Denver!

Mike (Mary's boyfriend) and Mary with all the puppies...Zoe, Bella, and Reese...she was so kind to let us stay for 3 nights...love her :)

Mary and I getting ready to head out for some yummy Christmas dinner :)

Being back in Jackson is great...it has been snowing like crazy since I arrived back in town. I think we have gotten something like 2 feet over the past day. So needless to say...skiing is amazing right now! I also have a new addition here in Jackson...Reese...she came back with me! I absolutely love having her here...she makes for great companionship :) She is adjusting to the climate change and seems to be doing well!

I guess that is all for now. Hope all is well...love and miss you all bunches and bunches!

Big Time Bummer :(

A few days ago Jenny was up on the mountain skiing...finally feeling comfortable and confident when she took a bad fall and injured her knee. It wasn't just a strained knee or anything simple...it was really bad...she couldn't even walk. For most, this may not be a big deal, but for Jenny it was devastating. She knew how bad it was and knew it wasn't going to be an easy recovery. She ended up needing to travel back to Georgia to see her doctors there so she booked a flight and left Thursday. Needless to say, it is not the same with out her here :( She is very very very bummed about having to leave but is very optimistic about returning soon!!! Her MRI is scheduled for Monday so we will know more then but her doctor feels confident that it is a complete ACL tear and will most likely require surgery. I will keep you updated on her status. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. All of us in Jackson are wishing for a speedy and healthy recovery so she can get back here SOON!!! Love and miss you all...thinking about each of you so often and wishing you could be here to share in this amazing experience! That is all for now...See ya :)

Birthday's Continued and Other Adventures

This blog covers everything from my birthday to the Smith Party to skiing Grand Targhee..so much fun over the past week! With Megan's birthday and my birthday, I feel like we have been celebrating birthday's for weeks...which is awesome...just like home :) We finally had some significant snow fall Tuesday and Wednesday! So...I headed to the Gee (Grand Targhee) yesterday which was amazing! Here are some of my pictures from the past week...enjoy :)

Jenny and I in the Village on my birthday...it snowed!!! So beautiful!!!

Opening birthday presents from home! Thanks family :)

More presents...so FUN!

Best of all...Mom's Cookies...YUM!!!

Jenny wrote "Happy Birthday Rach!" in the snow on our front porch!

At The Wort for some Bluegrass music and drinks with great friends...Megan, Jenny, Robbie, Me, and Tori...they truly made my birthday soooo special :)

The girls on my birthday...love them!




The Smith Party at the Moose!


The Smith limo outside the Moose




Travis wearing Megan's jacket...I laughed til my checks hurt!

Jason and Jenny at the Moose.

Grand Targhee...skiing for the first time this season...so GREAT!



Looking down on Idaho from the ski lift.


Looking up the mountain from the ski lift...great first day of skiing!

So, that is all for now...more to come for sure! I am at work right now...pretty slow...but the mountain does open today which is very exciting :) Things are still going great out here in Jackson...I am continuously meeting new people and experiencing new things! Life is great! Love and miss you all bunches and bunches...thinking about you very often. I will be posting more pics and updates soon...see ya and love you :)

Thanksgiving Continued & Birthdays

Thanksgiving continues...we were truly blessed to have been able to celebrate Thanksgiving all week. We celebrated Monday and then twice on Thursday...it was perfect! On Thursday we had originally planned to go skiing but Targhee wasn't really ready for skiing yet so we decided not to go. Instead we started the day at Robbie's around 1:00. His parents were in town so we got to meet them and they were really nice and so much fun. We hung out there for a few hours...sampled their feast...played Bocci Ball...fried some turkeys...and drank some wine...it was really nice! We left there and went to Amy's (our boss ) house for dinner. She cooked everything and we enjoyed a great dinner there with some friends from work. We all ate soooo much that we were physically sick...so we left Amy's and went to the "Mansion" that Megan is house sitting for and got in the hot tub and just relaxed...a great ending to a fantastic day! Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving...again :)

This is everyone at Robbie's house...how about that view from his back porch?

The girls being silly!

Joesph getting the meat out of the geese for dinner...he hunted it that morning!

Me, Tori, and Jenny outside...how about those Teton's for a backyard?!?!

Amy and Mike in the kitchen finishing up dinner and cutting the turkey.

Cheersing Amy for a great meal!

Friday night was Megan's birthday so we decided to order chips and cheese dip from Merry Piglets (a fantastic mexican place in town) and make margarita's at the house. Some of our friends came over to the house to join us and then we went out to the bar for the rest of the evening! We had a blast...what I remember of it ;) And then on Sunday we had a combined dinner out to celebrate mine and Megan's birthday...we had sushi and it was fabulous!!! Here are some of the pictures from those nights...enjoy!

Megan's 26th Birthday was Friday and this is her banner we made for her!

Jenny having a great time getting ready to go out for the evening!

"Margarita Megan"...Megan getting down after some margarita's at the house.

Sunday night we went out for sushi to celebrate mine and Megan's birthdays...so much fun with these girls!!!

And they made us a cake too!!!

I think that is all for now! I hope you are enjoying the blog as much I am enjoying putting it together...it is a great way for me to reflect on everything we are doing here! I miss everyone at home more than you can ever imagine! Please know I am thinking about each of you often and that I love you very very very much! See ya :)

Thanksgiving in Jackson

So this was my first Thanksgiving away from home...it was tough but we really did a great job of putting everything together and making it feel like home. The meal was fantastic and the company was even better :) We decided to have an early Thanksgiving because a few people were going home for the holiday. We put our menu together on Sunday and had dinner on Monday...it went off without a hitch! Everyone brought something of their own and it was perfect...it was as close to home as I could have ever imagined! It's funny how over the years you pick-up little things your family does and ways to cook food...I didn't realize the things I have learned from Mom and everyone else over the years. I think we all surprised ourselves with what we knew. For most of us, this was our first Thanksgiving away from home. It was really fun to see everyone's different traditions...really a grand time! I loved it :)

Me, Jenny, Tori, and Megan getting things ready for dinner

A little cheese and wine for Jenny and Tori

This is the turkey I cooked...first time ever by myself! It turned out really good ( I think ) And, I am not sure what Robbie is doing the background :)

Justin cutting the turkey

Us girls cooking...so much fun!

Tori with her Mac n Cheese Casserole...very tasty!

Megan's gravy...first time ever...it was awesome!

This was our spread of food...how good does that look?!?!

All of us around the dinner table...we squeezed 10 people around a table that could probably seat 6 people...but it was so fun making it work :)

After dinner, we were so full all we could do was lay there :)

So, for our first Thanksgiving, it was perfect! We were all so proud of eachother!!! We are planning on spending Thanksgiving day on the slopes at Grand Targhee and then going to our friend Amy's house that evening for dinner...what a perfect day!!! I am going to miss spending Thanksgiving at home...terribly. But, I am trying not to think about it to much...it really helps to be surrounded by good friends out here to make things easier and so much fun! I miss you guys bunches and bunches...please know, in everything I do, I am thinking of you and loving you very very much! Love and miss you...see ya :)

First Week in Jackson

Hey everyone! I just wanted to put up some new pictures from the past week of my time in Jackson. I have been meeting so many new people and doing so many new things...I love it! It snowed a little but the snow in town is melted away but in the mountains there is tons of snow. They are expecting a lot of snow this weekend so we will see!!!


Megan, Jenny, Me, and Tori hanging out at Dave's. Getting ready for a great dinner out! I love these girls. This is our home during the first snow...everyone made fun of us because we were so excited about 2 inches of snow!
These are some of my new friends...Justin, Brian, Chapman, me, Jenny, Tori, and Robbie. We are all hanging out at Chapman's before we head to the bar!

The Mansion that we stayed in our 3rd night here. Megan was house sitting and we came to visit. Lucky us! Chapman wearing my GA vest because he lost his bet against GA in the GA vs. Auburn game...he is a huge UT fan...haha...it was hilarious :)


Tori, Jenny, and I toasting to a great time in Jackson!!!


Us girls hanging out at Chapman and Robbie's

This is where Chapman took me for my first fly fishing adventure...it was so beautiful...but too cold to catch anything.

Well, that is all for now. I hope you enjoy the pictures and I will definitely be posting more very soon...Love and miss you all!!!