A Moose, a River, a Mountian...Our Trip to Idaho

As Emily (A.K.A. Boo Radley) is catching up with all of the messes I’ve made, I decided I should start working on the Blogg.

It all started earlier this year when my brother, Jeff, called and invited my family to the Ripplinger family cabin in Driggs, Idaho. At the time, all I knew was Driggs is located somewhere in Idaho (I thought it was near Boise). When I found out it was near Rexburg, home of the infamous BYU Idaho (gasp! that’s a swear in our house hold).
This discovery caused a slight tear in my space-time continuum. When I thought cats and dogs would be living together, my wise and intelligent wife informed me that Driggs was closer to the Teton Mountain Range than Rexburg…oh happy day!!! All was well in the world, cats and dogs will still hate each other. This gave me so much joy I nearly cried.
When D-Day came, on the heels of the girls birthdays, I was so excited to go fishing, hiking, and lounging with my girls…and family too. When we arrived at the cabin Ellie saw the large Moose head above the entrance and had a slight freak-out. After I was able to pry her finder nails from my neck Jeff and I were able to convince her that the Moose was just a “toy,” named Mortimer. A slight stretch of the truth, but we convinced Ellie that the Moose was a friend. Ginny on the other hand, wanted to play with the Moose. I sometimes caught her trying to climb up to the Moose to play.

The next day was a day never to be forgotten…unfortunately, I had an incident with a microwave and the metal plate in my head. When the microwave was turned on, I wet myself and forgot who I was for an hour (or I just spent an intense day going all over the place, travelling not my strong suit). As part of the fallout from that incident, I’ve lost my memory of most of that day. All I can recall is there was something involving an old time family portrait, a Chuck Wagon dinner, pictures of the east face of the Tetons, and a place called Jackson, Wyoming.
With Jackson out of the way I was able to start fulfilling my Griswold family vacation aspirations (see National Lampoon’s Vacation movies for further insight) and take Ellie fishing for the first time on the Teton River the next morning. As the good and humble parent I am, I didn’t prepare Ellie for this fishing trip at all, thinking that she could handle anything I throw at her…including a capsized canoe. The fishing trip started out according to plan with me, Ellie, and Mike (my brother-in-law) all in the canoe, with Ellie between Mike and I. In my over-zealous state of mind we charged down the river without thinking of the others in the larger, less capsizeable, fishing boat.
As we rounded a bend in the river I looked back to see if the other boat was coming…it wasn’t. That was unexpected, but no worries…me David, me outdoorsman, me can handle anything on river. Well, not really.
While looking back for the other boat I felt the canoe violently tip to one side. As a seasoned Boy Scout with two (I think) merit badges on my sash, I knew instantly I was going into the water. With the panic that any parent worth their salt would have, I struggled to get into a position to get Ellie. By the time I actually had my head above water Mike had the canoe upright and was at Ellie’s side.
As Mike swam down river to get the equipment which went overboard, I pushed the canoe to the shore, muttering words that would make a sailor blush (I’m still surprised Ellie hasn’t told Mommy what Daddy said on the river). As I was worrying about Ellie and the cold, I saw the other boat come around the bend. A sharp, but brief, exchange occurred between Jeff and me about the recent events and how he couldn’t get the motor started on the bigger boat. Around that time my inner monolog told me, Emily should know about this so we can get help. I reached for my cell phone and it was gone.
In retrospect, I was an idiot for taking my cell with me on the canoe, especially without any water proofing, but prior to setting out on this little adventure I was assured “you can’t tip the canoe, it’s too hard, you’ll be fine Dave.” Taking that advice to heart, I thought everything would be OK, and my cell would be safe, but alas, it is now sleeping with the fishes, literally (If anyone reading this finds a Black Jack II at the bottom of the Teton River near Driggs, call me, just not on my cell phone!).
When the larger boat finally made it to me my temper had abated and I just wanted to get Ellie out of there. My mom took Ellie and “loved her” by wrapping Bug in her jacket for the remainder of the float down the river. Being only a quarter mile from the boat launch I volunteered to paddle up river, get a car, and meet everyone at the next landing (about 3 miles downriver). As mister outdoorsman I took to the river with authority. Paddling left then right and right then left, until I couldn’t feel my muscles, about ten minutes later. After an ordeal lasting 3 hours I was nothing more than a heap of sore muscle and joint tissue. While floating down the river I have often wondered what some of the locals thought as they saw this moron city slicker struggling to make it up river…the looks I got were priceless.
When I finally made it to the launch I was soaked and tired, but with a mission still to complete I forged ahead. Getting into my Parent’s 2008 GMC Acadia I sped down the road to the landing. When I hit about a 100 mph I noticed my car coming the other way. I slammed on the brakes and in a cloud of burnt rubber I was face to face with Lindsay, who stayed at the cabin and received a call from Jeff on the river. With a slight tear in my eye I traded Lindsay vehicles and took my car back to the cabin. I honestly can’t remember much about the rest of the day other than playing Phase Ten with my siblings and hanging my mother’s bra on the Mortimer the Moose, a perfect way to end a crazy day.
All in all, the trip was a blast. We have fallen in love with the Driggs area. Hopefully we will hit the lottery jackpot and will purchase a cabin in the area…someday, if I could cheat on the lottery (hum…). I was privy to seeing one of the most beautiful places on earth. I can’t wait until we can make it there again. Maybe I’ll find my cell phone. We do have pictures and we’ll be posting them when we get the chance.


-Dave

P.S. Seriously, if there is anyone that finds my phone at the bottom of the Teton River near Driggs call me.

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You...

No, Boo Radley syndrome has not taken hold again. (At least not to any significant degree, anyway!) I have just survived (and at times relished, lest my tone seem too negative) a powerful cocktail of birthday week (for the girls) and a Shaw family reunion (in the Tetons). (For those of you who don't know, when the ability to multi-task was handed out, I was reading in a corner, too distracted to line up! Ergo, blogging while experiencing the aforementioned activities was out of the question.) The past couple of weeks were intense to say the least, and fraught with juicy tidbits I hope to share over the coming days. At the moment, however, I am playing a mad game of catch up as I return to my regularly-scheduled life. In fact, I am taking a break from some desperately needed writing time to provide this scant - if charming - teaser. Newsy updates and photos of a July that will live in infamy (well, not really, except for the capsizing canoe....) are forthcoming! I'm sure at least two of you will be thrilled (or at least tepidly cheerful) with this news! As for now, it's back to the Anglo-Dutch wars! (Good times will be had by all!) Cheers!

P.S. Kari, if you are out there, congratulations on getting into the new home! FINALLY!

Family of Nerds

This evening I convinced Em to allow me to add to this Blog...after secretly determining her password (1234...what kind of password is that??) I was able to hack into the secure mainframe of Blogspot!
Truth be told, she has wanted me to add an entry for many moons. Feeling the pressure, I needed to think of something that I could discuss on the Blog (unfortunately, my job in the rocket business is uninteresting to most, except those pyros out there...I'm talking to you Ben!). So I've come up with a master plan...I'll shout to the world that I'm a nerd...oh yes a nerd to the extreme. Well, according to the professionals at oneplusyou.com.
I am a true master, maxing out at 87%...ouch (kind of stings, truth can really hurt)! I admit, I carry a pocket protector with color coordinated pens, but I never expected this...maybe I should've. Trying to not make myself too depressed, I convinced Emily to take the quiz. She earned a respectable 50%, not bad for a Historian.
This only tells me we are as nerdy as any one family can be (although I wonder about some people at work...I'm talking to you, man with the horn-rim glasses I've only seen in Apollo 13). God bless our kids, they don't have a chance at a normal life...please keep them in your prayers...

ME:
87% Geek

EM:
50% Geek

-Dave

P.S. If anyone knows where I can get some 1960's era horn-rim glasses let me know!

Strike a Pose, There's Nothing to it!

Over the past several weeks, I have received many inquiries regarding if and/or when I might get around to putting some pictures up on my blog. I can only say that any and all reluctance on my part has been the direct result of my abiding inability to work with all things technological ( I can barely type the word for crying out loud) and my general suspicion of those who are more adept at it then I (which is just about everyone on the planet). Nevertheless, at the urging of Dave I hereby acquiesce. But first, a word of explanation. These girls are ying and yang, John and Paul, Simon and Garfunkel, Mac and Cheese; two very different chickadees who often bicker but who adore each other utterly and completely. One would be lost without the other. When Gramma and Poppy sent two highly coveted nightgowns depicting Snow White and Sleeping Beauty respectively, a high-end fashion show naturally ensued with absolute coordination. Paris? Milan? They tremble and pale by comparison. And so I offer a glimpse into the world of the fabulous Bug and Bear!

And on the Eighth Day God Created Ikea....

Okay, so this suggestion may border on sacrilegious. But have you seen this place?!?! With birthday week rapidly approaching, Dave and I find ourselves immersed in our annual rush to finish birthday shopping in spite of our sincerest intentions to do so a minimum of a month in advance. (And I wonder why I don't meet my deadlines. Has ANY parent EVER finished ANYTHING early? If you are reading this thinking "I do all of the time", please stop reading now. I cannot relate to you.) So this year, our rush toward completion involves one final gift: Ellie's big girl bed. Yes, our bug is moving up in the world and within the week will call a full sized bed her own. For the record, our initial intention was to use an antique brass bed that once belonged to one of Ellie's namesakes. Upon extricating said bed out of storage, however, we were met with rusted metal, bent rails, and exposed screws. Not exactly ideal for the preschool set. (Sorry Grammy!) This left us with plan B - go out and find a new bed to purchase for our girl with less than two weeks to go before her birthday. Good times.
Our first stop on our great, if slightly frantic, quest was a local furniture institution which shall remain nameless but has until very recently maintained a stranglehold on the home furnishings market in our area. (We discovered that a Furniture Row - FURNITURE ROW!!! - is under construction next door to Ikea, but its opening date has yet to be determined. Sigh. That remains a dream for another day. And for those of you who haven't lived along the front range, patience. Soon you too will understand.) We attempted to stifle our potentially uproarious laughter as we looked at price tag after price tag for beds priced upwards of $700. The Hannah Montana and Disney Princess decor surrounding said beds did nothing to temper the sticker shock involved, or justify the prices themselves. (Although the decorations did elicit repeated requests - one might say desperate pleadings - for a "princess bed" that bordered on obsessive and which were, I am certain, their primary objective.) Needless to say, we promptly abandoned the hallowed halls of traditional furniture monopoly and found ourselves needing to regroup.
Since no shift in strategy can possibly take place with starving children who threaten to shrivel up if they are not fed, we spontaneously (?) selected a tried-and-true restaurant as our home base for future operations. As luck would have it, said tried-and-true restaurant was no more than a few miles from a place we have meant to visit since it opened to much hoopla and even more meatballs a few months ago - IKEA. So, in the immortal words of our countless forefathers who have lived in the shadows of the everlasting hills, we decided "what the heck?!?!"
Heavenly choirs of angels proffered their idyllic strains as we crossed the threshold.... Okay, so it wasn't quite that dramatic, but this place truly is transcendent. Even the girls were utterly enthralled by the sundry vignettes, brights colors, and seemingly never ending selections of, well, everything one could imagine. Dave and I even got a workout in the bargain as we were forced to chase our girls everywhere. (The chasing of the girls was followed by the enforced carrying of the would-be runaways for the remainder of our visit.) While we were unable to tarry quite as long as we would have liked (has anyone actually been able to carry a nearly four-year-old around Ikea, or anywhere for that matter, for longer than thirty minutes?), it was enough time to stumble upon nirvana. The elusive find. The un-gettable get. We found THE bed. And the "most beautiful fancy mirror Ellie has ever seen!" So as the upcoming birthday dawns, Dave and I will be prepared with the promised nocturnal trappings, and all will be right with the world. After all, the world is inhabited by Ikea.