On Monday morning, we left on our first summer family vacation. We traveled up to West Yellowstone, driving wherever we thought we'd like to. We saw some interesting things, and got some good quotes from the boys. One of my favorites was from Braden. We were driving through Newton, UT (just before you enter into Idaho), and the boys saw a field out their window that was full of yellow flowers. B said, "Oh, it's beautiful! That looks like a good place for a war! Mom, is that where the people that live in Newton have their wars???" Brandon & I just looked at each other and laughed and laughed! I'll have to figure out how to put all of their quotes on the side bar of the blog, or something, just so I can share them all.
Monday afternoon, we got to West Yellowstone, checked into our motel, and then decided to go see an IMAX film on Yellowstone. It was pretty good, although I've definitely seen better. When they showed Old Faithful, there was a bass track on the music, which made it seem like it boomed every time it shot out water. Needless to say, the boys and I were a bit disappointed to get to Old Faithful the next day and just have water and steam spout out. No booming!
Monday night, we went swimming in the motel pool and soaked in the hot tub. It was a lot of fun. Tuesday morning, we got up and headed into Yellowstone. We made several stops before we got to Old Faithful, to take pictures of some buffalo, elk, the river and mountains. It was gorgeous up there. We finally got to Old Faithful, and only had to wait for about ten minutes before it went off. Then, we started on a hike around the other geysers. My favorite was the Lion Geyser. It was just exploding water, and with the breeze that was blowing the water towards the boardwalk, we all got soaked. The boys hated it, but I was hot, and the water felt SO good.
By the time we made it around the loop and back to Old Faithful, it was just about time for it to go off again. We stood around for about another ten minutes, and every couple of minutes or so, it would shoot off a little steam and a burst of water, and then quit. Finally, it went off, and this time it was much more spectacular for us. It lasted for about five minutes total, and was shooting water and steam in hard bursts way up into the air!
Once we got inside, I realized just how sunburned I was. Being up in the mountains, I didn't even really think of suncreen, and it turned out to be a lot hotter than I was planning. We all got sunburned, but my poor face and especially my arms are really red. Ouch! Anyway, after we ate lunch, we packed back up, and the boys and I fell asleep - (minus Scott and Brandon, who was driving). We stopped at a couple of lakes to take some pictures and soak my poor tired feet, and finally made it into Jackson Hole. We looked into going on a tram ride, but they had apparantly closed for the day by the time we got there. So, we just hit Village Inn for dinner, and for a free slice (big slice, too) of birthday pie for Gavin. He was so excited to get pie for his birthday and to have the family sing to him.
We gave him his one gift that we brought for him (a big ball with little stringy things coming off it - I'll post a picture) and he thought it was great. We didn't have time to shop in Jackson Hole, and by the time we got to Afton, I was regretting that. I wanted to get a gift for him to "remember" our birthday trip for him, so we stopped in Afton at a gas station to change the boys (and me) into jammies. I found a cute little stuffed puppy dog for him, and we named him Jackson. (Gavin loves to pretend that he's a puppy dog, so this fit perfectly and he has already fallen in love with Jackson!)
Tuesday night (last night), we came home through Bear Lake and got home around 12:30 or so. Brandon saw about two times as many deer in Logan canyon as he did cars. It was kind of scary, but luckily, I kept drifting off, so I didn't have to see many of them. After getting the boys to bed, Brandon & I made it to bed around 1:00. I fell asleep almost immediately and was out. Yeah for Ibuprofen!! I'll have to post pictures and quotes later!
Monday afternoon, we got to West Yellowstone, checked into our motel, and then decided to go see an IMAX film on Yellowstone. It was pretty good, although I've definitely seen better. When they showed Old Faithful, there was a bass track on the music, which made it seem like it boomed every time it shot out water. Needless to say, the boys and I were a bit disappointed to get to Old Faithful the next day and just have water and steam spout out. No booming!
Monday night, we went swimming in the motel pool and soaked in the hot tub. It was a lot of fun. Tuesday morning, we got up and headed into Yellowstone. We made several stops before we got to Old Faithful, to take pictures of some buffalo, elk, the river and mountains. It was gorgeous up there. We finally got to Old Faithful, and only had to wait for about ten minutes before it went off. Then, we started on a hike around the other geysers. My favorite was the Lion Geyser. It was just exploding water, and with the breeze that was blowing the water towards the boardwalk, we all got soaked. The boys hated it, but I was hot, and the water felt SO good.
By the time we made it around the loop and back to Old Faithful, it was just about time for it to go off again. We stood around for about another ten minutes, and every couple of minutes or so, it would shoot off a little steam and a burst of water, and then quit. Finally, it went off, and this time it was much more spectacular for us. It lasted for about five minutes total, and was shooting water and steam in hard bursts way up into the air!
Once we got inside, I realized just how sunburned I was. Being up in the mountains, I didn't even really think of suncreen, and it turned out to be a lot hotter than I was planning. We all got sunburned, but my poor face and especially my arms are really red. Ouch! Anyway, after we ate lunch, we packed back up, and the boys and I fell asleep - (minus Scott and Brandon, who was driving). We stopped at a couple of lakes to take some pictures and soak my poor tired feet, and finally made it into Jackson Hole. We looked into going on a tram ride, but they had apparantly closed for the day by the time we got there. So, we just hit Village Inn for dinner, and for a free slice (big slice, too) of birthday pie for Gavin. He was so excited to get pie for his birthday and to have the family sing to him.
We gave him his one gift that we brought for him (a big ball with little stringy things coming off it - I'll post a picture) and he thought it was great. We didn't have time to shop in Jackson Hole, and by the time we got to Afton, I was regretting that. I wanted to get a gift for him to "remember" our birthday trip for him, so we stopped in Afton at a gas station to change the boys (and me) into jammies. I found a cute little stuffed puppy dog for him, and we named him Jackson. (Gavin loves to pretend that he's a puppy dog, so this fit perfectly and he has already fallen in love with Jackson!)
Tuesday night (last night), we came home through Bear Lake and got home around 12:30 or so. Brandon saw about two times as many deer in Logan canyon as he did cars. It was kind of scary, but luckily, I kept drifting off, so I didn't have to see many of them. After getting the boys to bed, Brandon & I made it to bed around 1:00. I fell asleep almost immediately and was out. Yeah for Ibuprofen!! I'll have to post pictures and quotes later!
1 comment:
Yay! I'm excited that you guys went to Yellowstone--I LOVE Yellowstone!! I've been there a few times (that's what happens when your family vacations take you to visit family in Montana every summer!!), and it's SOOOO beautiful! And isn't Jackson awesome? I love it there! The Tetons are AMAZING!! :) Glad you had such a good vacation, and hope that sunburn heals QUICKLY!
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