Yellowstone Vacation

July 21-31
I remember Nathan praying in the car with all of us before we left on our long road trip with the boys.  He thanked God for the time, health and financial resources which makes it possible to take a vacation.  And he thanked God that we have each other to enjoy taking a vacation with.  I still remember it because it really struck me. Being with each other is what makes vacations so special! There are so many struggling and lonely people that it seems unfair.  But we will give thanks for our blessings and enjoy this special time with our boys!

Our first stop was spontaneous!  There was a Sculpture Park on the side of the interstate in South Dakota and we thought it was a good time to stop and stretch our legs.  Turns out it was a really strange Sculpture Park that cost more money than we anticipated, but we did get to run and take a short break from driving!

We saw part of the Badlands as we were driving through.

I loved seeing all 3 boys huddled together in the back seat...even though it was because they wanted to watch Dorian's DS game.  :)

We borrowed bear spray from a friend since it's recommended for hikes in the Yellowstone area.  We didn't think we'd encounter a bear on our first day!

We had a long day of driving on Friday, but made it all the way to Bozeman, Montana!  What a beautiful place!
On Saturday we found our that the Bozeman State Fair was going on about 5 minutes from our hotel.  The highlight was going to a Ranch Rodeo!

We also watched Dock Dogs compete for the longest jump off of the dock!  We'd never seen this or a Ranch Rodeo before so it was very entertaining.

Our hotel had a pool and Mason learned to swim!!!  We spent many hours swimming there.

On Sunday we had another new experience as a family...river tubing!  It was a beautiful afternoon.  It was the perfect balance of relaxation and entertainment.  The river was warm enough to jump in and get wet.  We had a cooler stocked with water, chocolate milk, go-gurt, and some other snacks.  The scenery was beautiful!

On Monday morning, Nathan took us on a hike!

Drinking Horse Mountain was a very popular trail to take your dogs and Mason asked to pet each and every one of them!  He had a lot of energy and motivation and was almost always in the lead!

The boys were excited to find a fort at the top of the mountain!

Thumbs up!  We all made it to the top.  :)

They were enjoying the view and I was enjoying seeing them having a precious moment together.

On Monday afternoon we drove to Lewis and Clark cave and took a walking tour inside the cave which the boys have never done before!

There were some tight spaces to walk through and even one spot we had to slide down to get through.  We got to experience the complete darkness when they turned the lights out!  And we also saw many interesting stalactites and stalagmites.

On Tuesday, we spent the morning swimming while Nathan caught up on some work projects.  Then in the afternoon Nathan gave a talk at the University there and I took the boys to a Grizzly viewing area and a museum at the University.

We met up with Nathan around supper time and then drove to the house we rented in West Yellowstone.  Dad and Mom, Kerry, Ashley, Emma, Claire, Heidi, Aniah, Eden and Adria were all there already!  The boys checked out the stream in the backyard, we ate supper and then settled into our rooms for the night.

Wednesday was our first day exploring in Yellowstone!  (Or Lellowstone as Mason says it!)

Some of his other words are chechup (ketchup), lellow (yellow), sank (thank), remount (amount).  I love to hear him talk, learn new words, and figure out new things every day!

How fun to be able to see Elk so close up!

Love this picture of Nathan and Mason!

Claire and Dorian spotted a bear on the other side of the river on our hike.  We were hoping to see a bear so the kids were thrilled!

After a day of a lot of walking, we ate supper and the kids enjoyed playing some games together!

Thursday was July 27...what a fun way to celebrate your birthday!

Levi had been working for a long time on this card for me with exactly 38 candles on it!  How sweet!

Levi really wanted to see a wolf!

Watching Old Faithful!

Dorian picked out a necklace for me at the gift shop with his own money.  What a sweet gift!

Mason picked out some binoculars at the gift shop with money from Grandpa and Grandma.  He picked those and a little stuffed animal wolf which he sleeps with.

Our family was playing the game to see how many license plates we could find on our trip.  Dorian was writing them down.  At one of our stops Claire spotted Alaska, which we never thought we'd find!  I think in the end we had all the states but Rhode Island, Mississippi and Hawaii.

The pictures are good reminders of everything that we saw, but don't do justice to the grand and unique beauty that we saw.  We have a very creative God.

We drove back to the house in the afternoon to let the kids have some down time.  We watched another rain storm roll in and enjoyed relaxing a bit.

For supper, Nathan took me out for supper for my birthday!  We were able to get away as adults while Ashley, Emma and Claire babysat for us.  What a treat!

On Friday, Nathan led us to the Mt. Washburn trail where we hiked to the top with our family plus Dad, Ashley and Emma!

Mason wasn't as motivated on this hike and Nathan's back was hurting, so I carried him in the pack part of the way.

We found snow!

So that requires a snowball fight!

Woohoo!  We made it to the top!

Time for lunch!  It was a popular trail with a wide path all the way and a fire  tower at the top so I felt like it was safe.  An answer to my prayers.

Mason's motivation to get back down the mountain was his share size bag of skittles that Grandpa tried to share with him.  :)

After we finished and were driving back, we saw a brown Black Bear very close to the road!  We joined the crowd of people already watching.  How fun to see a bear so close up and yet be very safe since the ranger was standing next to us with his tranquilizer gun.  :)

Then we found an amazing ice cream shop where they made fresh waffle cones while we watched!  That was a perfect treat after a long hike!

I love my nieces!

We made a couple more stops for elk and a buffalo that was walking on the road right next to us!

That evening some people went to a Rodeo.  Grandma, Nathan, Mason and I stayed home to get some sleep!

On Saturday, the kids went to the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center.  Some people went shopping downtown.

Then we met up to swim at a lake for the afternoon!

On Sunday morning, each family went there separate ways and we drove half way home to Mount Rushmore!

On Monday, we drove the rest of the way home.  We started thinking about our schedules and transitioning from vacation mode.  It's a blessing that Nathan can pretty much work from anywhere, so he was able to get some work done while I drove.

Our prayers for a safe trip were answered and we are thankful for so many precious memories.