Yellowstone!!!

We have always wanted to take a family trip to Yellowstone.  This year we made it happen.  It was a long drive in the car but the kids did really well.

This was a typical scene on our trip. Kev with the map in hand figuring out where to go next.

On our way to the campsite we stopped at the first hot boiling pool that we came too.  The kids were excited to get out and finally see something.

It had been years since Kev and I had been to Yellowstone.  It has almost been twenty years since I last went.  It makes me feel really old to admit that.  It was a lot more green than I remembered it.  There were beautiful wild flowers everywhere we went.

Our next stop was to see the Upper Canyon Falls on the Yellowstone River.  It was a hike I remembered from when I last came.  We found some wild raspberries as we hiked along.

The girls just sat down at the side of the trail and ate. 

Kev with a heavy load to carry.  Hayden started whining about the hike so Kev put him up on his shoulders.  The hike ended up longer than I thought it would be.  The kids were complaining most of the way.

It was worth it to look down the valley from the upper falls.  The mist from the falls was the perfect way to cool off.

We then drove through Hayden valley.  Halle thought that was cool and kept saying, "We are in your valley Hayden!"  It was the best place to see all kinds of wildlife.  We stopped to watch the Bison from our car window.

This huge one decided to take a walk right down the road.  You can tell how big he is in comparison to the cars.

He wandered over to my side of the road and I was able to get this cool picture from the car window.  He was only a few feet away.

A little farther up the road we went on a bear hunt.  We saw a bunch of cars pulled over by the side of the road.  We went closer to see what was going on.  It was a black bear wandering through one of the picnic areas.  We were able to follow it along in our car just waiting to get a good picture.

We camped that night at Bridge bay.  My Aunt and Uncle let us borrow their tent trailer for the trip.  We were really grateful to have it especially when it started to rain.  There were two king beds on both ends and another bed that folded out from the table.  There was plenty of room for all of us.

We made dutch oven pizza's for dinner.  They were delicious! It was fun trying something new in the dutch oven.  They were easy to make and cooked fast too.

 

Parker and Halle both eating their greens and they were even smiling about it.

We roasted marshmallows and had smores after dinner.

The next day we were off to see Old Faithful.  It was nice that it was nearby our campsite.

We timed it just right and only had to wait ten minutes until it erupted.  It is amazing to see how high up the water shoots into the air.  We went to the visitor center after to learn more about the geysers and how they form.  Mckenna was really curious and wanted to know more.

 

We stopped for lunch at another picnic area.  The kids found this lean-to that someone had made.  They thought it was so cool and had fun playing in it. 

 

We then drove the Firehole Lake drive.  It is nice that they have these boardwalks everywhere so you can get up close.

The scenery was beautiful and I enjoyed capturing it with my camera.

Halle climbing up to get a closer look.

There are so many cool sites to see just from your car.  We drove right by this waterfall on Firehole Canyon drive.  There were even people swimming farther up the river.  It looked like a lot of fun.  It is one of the activities we would like to do when the kids are older.

Our next campsite was in Grant Village on what is called the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake.  It was right by the lake.  There were beautiful lodge pole pines everywhere. It was our favorite campsite of the trip.  We will be returning there in the future.  We are really glad that we reserved this spot ahead of time.  Another bonus was it had showers at the main lodge.  Kev and I would take turns going to shower each night. 

The kids had fun building a fort in the trees behind our camp spot.  Mckenna gathered pine needle bunches and strung them up. It provided hours of entertainment for them.

                                    

The kids were always excited to go to bed each night because they got to sleep in the tent trailer.  When we asked them what their favorite part of the trip was they each mentioned the tent trailer.  Thanks again to my awesome Aunt & Uncle for letting us borrow it.

The next day we were driving along when we saw a lot of cars pulled off the side of the road.  We couldn't wait to see what kind of animal they were watching.  It was an elk.  Kev hopped out of the car and went to get a closer look.

He was able to get these awesome close up shots of the elk.  It made me laugh because other people started following him to get a closer look as well.

 

We drove up the northeast side of the park to see the Mud Volcano's and the Sulpher Caldron.  These are the ones that smell like rotten eggs. 

This was one of my favorites called Dragons Mouth.  It puffed out smoke and water at different intervals.  I overheard a man say it should be called "Dragons Breath" because it smelled so bad.

We made a long drive all the way up to Mammoth hot springs.  It is on the border of Montana.  Kev and I remembered it as being really cool when we were kids.  We were slightly disappointed.  The hot springs have really changed over the years.  They have become dry.  There wasn't much water coming off them.

I asked a lady nearby if she would take our picture.  She had an accent and I could tell that she from another country.  When she took the picture she commented on what a "large" family we have.  We met people from all over on this trip.  Yellowstone really draws crowds from all over the world.  Kev heard lot of people speaking German as we walked around.  I also heard some French, Spanish, and Itlalian.

The last day of our trip we went and saw the Grand Prismatic Spring and the Midway Geyser Basin.  It was also one of my favorite sites we saw.

Addy at the Prismatic Spring.  She was such a good baby during our trip.  She adapted well to our unusual schedule.  She ate whenever we stopped and napped in the car.  We love our happy baby.

The colors of the spring were amazing.  The bright blues and yellows were impressive.  We had such a fun trip and saw most of the park.  We were lucky to see so many animals up close as well. 

a stroll down memory lane...

We drove up through Idaho to Rexburg for the first time in eight years.  It was a stop on our way to Yellowstone.  Kevin and I met in Rexburg twelve years ago to the month.  We both were attending Ricks college and were in the same ward.  It was great being back there again!  It brought back so many great memories.  It was fun to see the places where we met, dated, and fell in love.  We showed the kids the apartments where we lived.  It is amazing how much things have changed in the last eight years.  The campus had many new buildings. There are apartments and new stores everywhere.

One of the big changes is the new temple in Rexburg.  It is right above the campus and surrounded by fields. It was fun to take a family picture at the temple. We have come a long way since we met, and being there with our five kids proved that. Even with all the change that has taken place it still felt the same.  It made me feel young again just being there.  It really was a great reminder of my relationship with my husband and the love I have for him. I am so blessed to have him in my life.

camping with five kids...

We went up to Trial lake and camped for a few days.  It was our first camping adventure with all five kids.  Hayden was not a happy camper as you can see.  I think he had a meltdown because he couldn't get in the tent.  Luckily, it was short lived.

We invited our cousins Mark, Ruth, and their kids to come with us.  It was one of the highlights having them there with us.  Halle had fun playing with Gwen and Claire.  They were her shadows most of the time.

Parker came prepared with charged batteries for his water toy.  He got this great toy from his Uncle Spencer. 

Hayden spent the majority of his time cruising the road on his trike.  Mark compared him to the little kid on the movie Incredibles.  The little neighbor boy on his trike that is waiting for something incredible to happen.  You know you have kids when you are always quoting lines from Disney movies.

This is one of the frequent waiting spots at camp.  We spent lots of time waiting to use the outhouse.  When you have nine little kids there is always someone that has to go to the bathroom.  Hayden was my bathroom buddy.  He always asked if I needed to go to the bathroom.  He really just wanted an excuse to go for a ride on his trike.

Hayden and Claire are three months apart in age.  They were both anxiously waiting for a turn in the boat.  It makes me smile to see the matching dirt marks on their shorts.

Mark, Kev and a boat full of kids.  They usually took six of them fishing.

While the men where out fishing, Ruth and I had a good time back at camp.  We usually sat around and talked while taking care of our babies.  We both have baby girls that are a couple months apart in age.  Ruth was very good with the hatchet.  She had no problem chopping up some kindling and getting the fire ready.

Mckenna helping calm down Alice.  She put her on her hip and walked around with her.  She has lots of experience from being an older sister.

Addy has curious hands and got into a box of matches.  It cracks me up how Kev had to hold her back from getting her hands on those matches again.

We fried up some donuts after dinner one night.  Simon hadn't had donuts in years because of his egg allergy.  We found some biscuit dough that didn't have eggs in it.  We all had full tummies that night.

My favorite time of night is when the sun has just gone down.  It is so peaceful to sit and watch the water.  Simon was out walking along the shore. 

Addy and Hayden all ready for bed.  They didn't sleep well that night.  They both woke up whining at different intervals all night long.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep well either.

The fishing is good at Trial lake! The kids each caught several fish.  Mark even caught his first fish in years.

Our family always catches and then releases the fish.  Mark decided to gut his fish and then fry it up.

I had never tasted rainbow trout before.  I am not a big fan of fish.  I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised.  Mark said the trick is to use a whole lot of butter to get rid of the fishy taste.

Grandpa and Grandma Grant came up to spend a day.  Grandpa Grant is a favorite among the kids.  He always carries around a little case that is filled with m&m's.  It was fun having them there with us. We roasted some hot dogs for lunch when they got there.  Grandpa leaned back in his chair and said, "we are really living high on the hog."  I smiled and said, "Grandpa, we just ate the hog"

Grandpa and Grandma are two of my favorite people.  They started this great tradition of coming to camp here.  They looked so cute walking around holding hands.

I had a great time playing cards with the kids.  The wind was blowing hard that day.  We had the mustard, salt, pepper, and anything we could find to hold our cards down.

The not so fun part of our camping trip was when Halle woke up in the night and threw up in the tent.  Kev deserves Dad of the year for running her up to the bathroom several times that night.  Hayden slept right through it all. I took this picture of him at three in the morning since I was up.  We were very tired the next day and decided to pack it up and head home earlier than planned.