Yellowstone Vacation

Here are the kids swimming in the Fire Hole River. Supposedly it is warmer because of hot water draining in upstream. I guess it wasn't freezing, as the kids were all disappointed when it was time to leave.

Here I am with the kids just above the water fall.

The kids also enjoyed climbing rocks near the falls.

Here are the kids at our camp site. The had a fun time playing balancing games on this log.

This is a buffalo that we got to see REALLY close up, just outside our van walking down the road.

Addie is quite happy with her granola bar in one hand and her cookie in the other!

<-- Here are the kids waiting for Old Faithful to erupt.

Ashley was the talented photographer taking this picture of Ryan and Me outside the Old Faithful Lodge. Proof that he finally got to go with us on one of our summer adventures!! YAY!!

Here is a picture of the kids in front of one of the many hot pots throughout the park. This was quite the norm, on this trip, for Adalyn to be climbing on the fence hoping for a better look.

We had an awesome time and enjoyable 3-day vacation from our regular schedules. The first night was pretty cold, dropping below 40. The kids didn't complain too much until they got out of the tent and nearly froze. The second night was not quite as cold, though I had a hard time getting comfortable and woke up several times during the night. I finally got some decent sleep on night 3 of our trip, until Ashley woke up at 3:00 a.m. with a tummy ache and I was up with her for an hour.

We went to church on Sunday at the amphitheater located in our campground. It was really different going to church in our jeans and t-shirts, but that's how everyone was dressed, except for those participating in the sacrament meeting program. Andrew even helped to pass the sacrament, which was a rare opportunity not wearing a white shirt and tie. It wasn't a long meeting, just under an hour, but I enjoyed the speaker we had.

Luckily we did not have any serious injuries on this trip. I managed to get several scrapes on my arm from breaking up firewood, but nothing that bled for very long.

The kids will be off track for another 2 weeks and Andrew will start 8th grade next Monday. Things are getting back to normal around here and it has been quite helpful to have Ryan home the last couple of days to keep the kids busy while I get my work done. I even cooked a real dinner today!

Well, I better work on getting the kids to bed soon so I can watch the Olympics for a bit before I go to bed. Julie :-)