We'll come to your fire if you come to our ball!

We made our annual trek to Jackson Hole for the Fireman's Ball. It's our girls get away weekend that we have been taking for a few years. Every year we add some new faces. This year Nicole's friend Liz joined us and two of our friends from work and quilting, Sandy and Kirsten.

Sandy, Kirsten and I were lucky enough to get Thursday off and head up early. Nicole and Liz joined us late that night. Unfortunately not in time to catch the midnight showing of Twilight. Due to them being distracted by the red light district in Afton, they missed the turn and the movie.

Friday morning Sandy and I quilted, Kirsten was the intellectual of the group reading The Grapes of Wrath and Nicole and Liz enjoyed some quiet mommy time. They deserved the sleep time since Isabelle called us at 6:45 with a loveable wake up call. Not really so cute after going to bed at 4:30! We wasted time waiting for Kel and Kristen at the moivees with all the screaming teenagers of Jackson Hole. We heart Edward :)

The only downfall of Jackson in November is that it is the off season. That means places are either closed til the slopes open or they close early. We had a few issues eating. Thank goodness Liz made us waffles for breakfast!

Off to the ball. OK, so it's not much of a ball. It's the hockey rink converted into a dance hall/auction house. It's all locals dressed up in all their glory. This could be a nice Stetson or a trampy dress they got from god knows where. Our entertainment is people watching. There was the purple prairie dress that would make any polygamist proud to be on the dancefloor. The ten gallon hat. The extraordinary mustaches that you can only find in cowboy towns. The girl we called Take Out because she was wearing chopsticks in her hair and was usually found hooked to the lips of Nascar Dude. He was really wearing a Polaris team shirt but Kristen didn't realize that and I didn't want to tell her because she was so proud of the nicknames.

When people watching got too boring, Nicole, Liz and Kristen disappeared. They created a new game for the ball. Get your picture taken with a Fireman! I found my sis and Liz wrapped around volunteer fireman Brad.

To wrap up the weekend Kristen and I stole a banner. We couldn't leave town without a souvenir and Huckleberry syrup or a carved bear didn't seem fitting. Our 6' tall red banner from the ball was what we needed. It took a few tries of pulling and falling off the top of my car but we were successfull. Sorry we didn't have to call for bail . . . maybe next year.

It was a good time and we can't wait for next year's adventures.

The Fireman's Ball in Jackson