they adore him

Little boys just ADORE Kirk! These two little guys were over at the house being "babysat" by one of the girls. James and Jackson are so into "Kirky" that they followed him up to our bedroom. Kirk was just coming up to watch TV and so the little guys made themselves at home....yeah, they fell sound asleep.

This little guy is Carson and he loves to follow Kirk around as well. I saw Kirk jumping on the trampoline with him and ran to get my camera. Turns out, he was teaching Carson how to do a drop sit. It was adorable watching Carson trying to do what Kirk was trying to teach him. I love this photo where Carson makes sure that he faces the same way that Kirk is facing.

Oh Christmas Tree...Oh Christmas Tree...

It was the state of Wyoming's turn to "gift" the U.S. Capital Christmas Tree this year. The tree was selected from the Pacific Creek area of the Bridger Teton National Forest. (approximately 1 hour north of Jackson) It was fun for our small town to have this celebration.

Little saplings were given out for free so we could all plant new little trees. The community band provided the music and the culinary students from the high school (of which Star and Sky are part of) handed out homemade, warm applesauce and ice cream.

Here's the tree just as it entered north of town...all the action was happening on the town square.

Here's the view as it passed by where I was standing.

The tree was stopping while some school kids were going to sing a special song written for the occasion. We are the only town to see the tree before it makes it to Washington, D.C. From town square it went to the fairgrounds where it was cradled and crated to make the long haul across the nation. It's heading to Georgia and then turning north to it's final destination.
This morning, as I was taking Lea to work, we noticed a bunch of police lights and realized that the tree was leaving Jackson on it's journey to the capital. It was completely enclosed so it couldn't be seen at all. There was also another truck following the tree and it contains several small trees that will be housed in various federal offices. It was a cool thing to watch and it was fun to see friends gathered together to welcome the tree and give it a festive send-off.

The last day!!!!!!

Yoo hoo, we are done and back home in Jackson now. Kirk's last treatment was on Thursday morning at 5 am. As we were coming out of the hotel and crossing the parking lot to the car, another car came out of nowhere and was coming towards us and flashing their brights--I honestly thought they were trying to run us over! NO.....it was Mark and Francisco and they had driven from L.A. (yes, they got up at 2:45 am to do this!) to take us to the hospital for the final treatment! The party was on with balloon hats, cards and flowers. We had quite the party waiting for Kirk to get his treatment and he surprised us by modeling his gown before he got his balloon. Mark, it was so thoughtful of you and Francisco to come and bring the party. I get a lump in my throat when I think about it. You were there for the first balloon...and the last. We love you and will always remember your thoughtfulness.