Yellowstone

Ohhhh Yellowstone. We finally were able to make this trip after having to reschedule twice!  AJ led the charge on this after he read about Old Faithful in 2nd grade.  We were able to visit the library and get several books about Yellowstone before we left, which was an awesome way to spend the time that it took to get there.  LONG journey, but much better with books and technology!  The trip was my parents, the kids, and myself.  Russell stayed home.  Here were some of the highlights that I took  notes of:

• We pulled off to eat lunch with this awesome view of the Tetons.  Where we parked was a hill and at the bottom was the most amazing lake with clear water!  Ryker immediately headed down and within minutes was soaked from his head to toe.  It's like he knows how annoyed I get when he gets his shoes wet and he just can't help himself.  I both love that about him and it drives me bonkers.
• The whole trip we are constantly looking for animals.  While at the Old Faithful geyser area, Grandma spotted a snake.  It was a small guy and it provided an insane amount of entertainment for the kids.
• We lost Ryk for 10 seconds and it was insanely scary.  He went into the bathroom and somehow came out without anyone seeing him.  He hid himself behind a pillar.  When my parents and I went into action, this guy overheard us and let us know that he was hiding.  AGAIN, I love this about this guy but he drives me INSANE.
• We managed to catch 3 Old Faithful eruptions on the first day.  So pretty and inspiring.
• While walking around at the geysers we came across a geyser without a name.  It was small, yet very active and bubbly.  We called it "Dempsey Geyser" and continued to refer to it that way the whole time.
• Being in a truck and camper with 5 other people can be a bit....loud.  Russell let me borrow his noise-cancelling headphones.  After making a strong plea for someone to quit humming out loud, I remembered I had those puppies and put them on.  *SILENCE* 
• Ryker came up with the best mission statement for himself: "If there's a rock, I climb it.  If there's a hanging thing, I hang on it.  If there's water, I play in it."  GUH.
• AJ put out his intention that he just really, really, really wanted to see a bear.  Within hours, we were watching a sweet momma grizzly with her 2 young cubs play on the mountainside.  I thought AJ was about to cry because he was so happy.
• A storm came through on the last night while we were in the camper.  The loudest craziest hail ever.  Dad and I played this game where we talked really quiet and game-planned what we would do if this storm produced a tornado.  Dad had a small hatchet and was prepared to do what he needed to in this small building nearby.  Grandma played fun videos and laughed as hard as possible with the kids to help distract them from the insane noise of the hail hitting the camper.

It was a great trip and really fun to combine my memories of traveling with my parents, to traveling with my kids.  They were troopers, considering how much time we were in the car.  We got to see so many darn things that it made it easy to take pitstops everywhere.  I really think this trip will stick with my kids for a long-long time!
<3 p="">Mom