Yellowstone National Park

Our 4th day in Island Park we loaded up the cars and took a day trip to Yellowstone National Park.  Everyone else had been there before, but it was my first time!  It was beautiful!  We had to keep it kid friendly, so we stayed on the main loop and saw the "big attractions".  I'd love to go back when the boys are older and spend more time there!   

Brad & Ron checking out the first river of the day.  

Driving up to the "painted pots"-- different hot springs, geysers, and mud pots.

Hot spring

Owen was clearly thrilled to be there...

My siblings & I checking out the geyser

One of the mud pots

Next stop of the day was Old Faithful

The whole group (Hardcastle's & Urry's) at Old Faithful

There she goes!  It was actually not as impressive as other eruptions I've seen from it, but still amazing!

Porter catching a quick nap while we ate lunch

Yellowstone Lake

If you look closely you can see an elk in the trees.  There were about 8-10 elk in this area.

Hayden Valley-- one of my favorite parts of the drive!  It was gorgeous!!  Brad was dying to fish the river, but it isn't allowed in this area of the park.

More Hayden Valley

A few of the bison we saw as we drove

Next stop was at Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone-- the famous waterfall

Owen, me & my parents enjoying the view!

Finally the last stop was some swimming in Firehole River-- the water here is warmer than the other rivers, but not too warm.  It was similar to being in a swimming pool.  It was the perfect ending to the day!

"Aunt Ronda" made an appearance

What a fun day!

Game Night: Minute to Win it

One of the evenings we played some Minute to Win It games.  It was so fun to see all the different reactions from the family.  Some have quite the competitive edge (read: my mom), some get embarrassed pretty easily (read: my dad), and some have no problem making a complete fool of themselves (read: almost everyone else!)

I didn't take pictures of all the games, but I'll include the complete list anyways.

 Floatacious: Stack 5 cans on top of each other over water.

Don’t Blow the Joker: Blow all of the cards off, without blowing off the joker. 

A little Dicey: Popsicle stick in mouth and balance 6 dice on top.

Shake it: Kleenex box around your waist, shake the ping pong balls out without using 

hands.

*We've done this one before, and it is probably my favorite... so funny!*

Taryn was too skinny for the belt, and needed a little extra padding

 Cookie Face: Move a cookie from forehead to mouth using no hands.  

M&M Race: Move M&M’s from one plate to the empty plate with a straw.

Defying gravity: Keep 3 balloons off the floor for 1 minute

Bite Me: Cut 5 bags into different heights.  Pick them up with your mouth, no hands allowed!

Everyone was a good sport and participated (including those I didn't get pictures of: Luke, Anneda, Susie, me).  Overall a very fun night!

Island Park

A few weeks ago we headed up north to spend a week in Island Park with my family (minus Bry & Britni) & Brad's family (minus Chris & Angie... we missed them all).  It was a blast!  Island Park is so beautiful!  The boys fished at least a few hours every day, and would have fished more if we had let them.  We also explored Johnny Sack's cabin, spent a day at Yellowstone, saw the Mesa Falls, floated down the Snake River, went to a local rodeo, played lots of games (including Minute to Win it... see this post), and ate lots of yummy food!  

The cabin we stayed in was so nice.  I don't know if I can ever "camp" another way again.  Bathrooms, showers, fully stocked kitchen.  So much easier with the little ones!  

Here are a few of the fisherman's pictures from the week.   They fished everything from small creeks to wide stretches of river.  Some days were more successful than others, but they always came back happy because of how beautiful it was.  Can't argue with that!

Brad's first catch of the week, near Harriman State Park (one of the hardest sections of river to fish in the west!)

My brothers Luke (11) and Grant (15) are now budding fly fisherman thanks to Brad & his family.  They really enjoyed learning how to fish and getting to spend time with "the guys".  

Grant, Luke, and Ron

Luke caught this fish completely on his own, the last day we were there.  He was pretty excited!

Our first full day we spent the morning at  Big Springs & Johnny Sack's cabin.  

Brad's outfit for the day... no comment

The water comes from a spring directly out of the mountain.  It was crystal clear.

Owen & Taryn looking for river muskrats.  You can see Owen's eye starting to act up... it would get worse that night.  

My parents & my boys.  Obviously Owen was thrilled to be taking pictures.

My parents & siblings, just missing Bryant

Johnny Sack's cabin.  Built completely on his own, by hand in the early 1930's.  He was 4 ft 11 in. tall.  Guess I have nothing to complain about!

Owen's eye later that day.  :(   Yes, he got pink eye for the first time in his life while we were in the middle of nowhere!  An amazing doctor, small town pharmacist, and 2 hours of driving later, we had the medicine and were able to clear it up pretty fast.  

Luckily Uncle Ross & the tree swing helped keep him happy while we waited for the eye to clear up. 

 

Porter just hanging out in the cabin.

On our second full day we drove to the Upper & Lower Mesa Falls.  They were amazing!  

As pretty as some of the falls in Yosemite.  But much easier to access!  About a 10 minute walk from the parking lot.

Our family at the falls

We didn't take the backpack out to see the upper falls... Porter was loving the shoulder ride!

Keeping it real with this picture... so hard to get those boys to look at the camera, stay still, and smile.  

My parents and the boys.  Owen was a little happier this day!  His eye was feeling much better.  Porter is sporting some awesome hat hair.  

Porter & Grammy

Many a game was played at this table throughout the week!

Taryn & Porter.  Taryn was such a lifesaver on this trip!  She drove the 5 hours to and from Idaho in our car, as well as the whole Yellowstone day (9 hours) with us.  She fed Porter, passed snacks to Owen, loaded DVDs, read books, sang songs, and made the trip so much easier for us!  Love you Tiny T!

The next day was a Yellowstone day.  That will have its own post.  Too many pictures!

On our last full day my dad, Grant, Luke, Brad, and I floated down the Snake River.  The others fished, explored the Reservoir, or just lounged at the cabin.  The water was pretty low in some areas (ankle deep) so we would send the boys out to push us along.  It was a little more work than we expected due to the weak current, but we still had a blast.  The water was COLD but surprisingly felt good for an occasional dip.  Brad & my Dad took turns paddling, the boys took turns hanging on the outside or just floating alongside the raft, and I was mostly along for the ride!  

My dad & Grant

Luke

Brad eating some lunch and stretching out.  Both of my brothers, and maybe my Dad must have been out of the raft here because we were pretty crammed otherwise!

Don't let the oar fool you, I didn't actually do any of the work.  

Later that afternoon, a Bull Moose came & hung out just a few feet from the cabin!  It was amazing.  He probably stayed there for 3 hours, despite all the picture snapping and neighbors driving back and forth to check it out.  

It was the perfect end to a fun week!  I'm so glad we were able to spend the time with both of our families, and I am especially glad that they get along so well & genuinely like spending time together.