Breckenridge

Some great friend from Utah, the Wards, were in Breckenridge this past weekend for a conference.  They invited us to stay in their condo with them, which was so sweet.  We had a great time in the quaint downtown area, the kids enjoyed each other's company, and we also went up to the ski resort to try out the alpine slide.  

Great time had by all.  Thanks Wards.

Monday Morning Lessons

1.  After spending last week at Girls Camp and the weekend in Breckenridge, I have mountains of laundry to do today.

2.  When I am busy doing laundry, Caleb will find trouble to get into.

3.  Caleb knows where the Vaseline is under my bathroom sink.

4.  Caleb can open the Vaseline jar.

5.  Caleb can spread Vaseline all over his face, hands, hair, clothes, etc...

6.  When I find him in the bathroom with Vaseline everywhere, I will scream, "No!  Stop!  Caleb!  Yuck!  No!  AHHHHH!"

7.  Caleb will cry because he knows he did something wrong and got yelled at.

8.  2 baths will still not get all the Vaseline out of his hair.

9.  I really miss Caleb's morning nap.

"First" day of 2nd Grade!

I blew it and forgot to take a picture of Haley on the actual first day of second grade (Tuesday, July 7th).  So, we took a picture today and are calling it good.  I can't believe she is almost 7 and in 2nd grade.  She is an amazing, obedient daughter and loving, sweet sister and we couldn't imagine our family without her.  Love that girl.

Yellowstone Trip - Day 6

On Day 6 we visited Grand Teton National Park.  It was stunning.  Much less crowded than Yellowstone.  Yellowstone was more drive around and see the sites, stop at a crowded parking lot and follow the crowd around the pathway to the geyser/waterfall/hot pool/mud pot.  Grand Teton was the total opposite.  You could drive around Grand Teton, but to see anything beside the Grand Tetons, you had to get out of your car and hike a bit.  We did a 2.5 mile hike around Jenny Lake to the Hidden Falls.  It was perfect.  The weather was cloudy and cool and the scenery, breathtaking.

The famous Grand Tetons.

The path for our hike.  Some of the hike was in dense forest like this, some was near the lake shore.

My angel mother and the child who could not walk and begged to be carried the whole way.

Hidden falls and the family.  Maya cannot smile for a family picture.

My angel father holding a cold Maya.

Let me speak a moment about my parents and how amazing they were the whole trip.  They were with us 24/7 and never tired of our children and their craziness.  It was great to have help with the kids and have their fun company.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

So, after the hike, we road a boat back across Jenny Lake, so we only had to hike 1 way.  We drove around the park some more, saw Jackson Lake, and ate lunch at Jackson Lake Lodge, which was probably too fancy for our kids, but they were good!

We went back to the condo, rested and then went back to downtown Jackson to see the shoot out (total disappointment), shop, and eat dinner.

The next morning (Saturday, July 4th), we left to drive back home.  Caleb had had enough car time and when he wasn't sleeping (45 minutes) or watching Elmo (45 minutes) he was crying.  It made for a very long drive home, which was made even longer with major traffic once we were 60 miles or so from Denver.  But we made it home and count this as one of the best family vacations yet!

Yellowstone Trip - Day 5

On Day 5, we left Yellowstone and the beautiful house in Ashton, ID and drove to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  We stayed in a beautiful condo in Teton Village, right up at the ski resort.  We ate lunch in downtown Jackson and shopped around a bit.  Then we took a tram ride up the mountain at the ski resort.  It was a beautiful ride up, but cold and windy on top.

Hey look, a cute picture of the whole family!

On our way to Jackson, we stopped in a little town of only 200, called Wilson, Wyoming.  My great-great-great-great grandpa, Elijah Wilson had a son, Elijah Nicholas Wilson, who was a pioneer that settled Wilson.  He was also the white indian boy (he lived with the Shoshone Indians - a book and movie were made about it).  

It was neat to see a little bit of family history.

Yellowstone Trip - Day 3 and 4

On the 3rd day, we actually ventured out to Yellowstone!  We spent 2 days there and saw lots of awesome things.  They were 2 long days in the car, but we probably saw about 2/3 of Yellowstone.  Lots of hot pools, bubbling mud pots, geysers, waterfalls, and Yellowstone Lake.  We didn't see any bears, but lots of elk and bison and 1 bald eagle.  We did get to see a group of bison run down a hill, cross a river and then cross the street.  They were booking it.  Which was strange, because they usually are just slowly grazing.

Here are our cute girls at a waterfall (which one?  I don't know, we saw quite a few on our trip).  Maya is still looking great!

Haley at a geyser.  We did see Old Faithful as well, but only took video of it.

Bubbling mud pots.

Blue, endlessly deep and stinky hot pools.

Cool yellow/orange run off from hot pools.

Yellowstone Trip - Day 2

The second day of our trip, we drove west, farther into Idaho.  We stopped in Rexburg and drove around the BYU - Idaho campus.  We also stopped by the temple and took another family picture.  Maya is not looking much happier.  However, the temple was gorgeous.  

We spent most of the day in Bear World.  This is a little amusement park place near Rexburg.  You can drive around and look at all the animals they have, safari style.  We saw elk, goats, bison, deer, and lots of bears.  And a few little baby bears like this guy.

After our safari, the park had several kiddy rides the children enjoyed.  Haley and Maya had fun playing with the other kids.  The other kids were my cousins and my cousins' kids.  I have no idea what that means they are to my kids.  Second cousins?  1st cousins once removed?  I haven't a clue.

Haley with Lizzy and Kiana.  They were buddies the whole trip.

Caleb on the train ride, his favorite.

Maya and me, loving the train.

We also had a lovely picnic lunch and fed ducks.  Then we visited the petting zoo inside Bear World.  Caleb thought it was the best thing yet and wanted to attack each animal.  He smacked a huge sleeping pig and we all thought we were goners.  However the pig only stirred and continued to sleep.  The animals must be used to lots of abuse from over eager toddlers.