Yellowstone

1,000 miles after our trip began, and 4 states, we arrived in Yellowstone. We had so much fun. Gorgeous pools, landscape, STINKY mudpots where we gagged on the smell, beautiful woods, and animals, the fun hotel in West Yellowstone with the Water slide, it was all so wonderful. If you haven't been, GO. Hopefully these pictures capture some of the wonder we got to experience.

It was a gorgeous day. A little cool, but not bad. (See this same location pictured the very next day. BIG CHANGES.)
DAY 2 Begins with Shopping and BEARS
In order to get some bear watching in, Dad took us to a Bear and Wolf preserve.



How to catch a bear! Oh I mean A Rachel, not my Rachel, this is Rachel S. What a sweetie!

My Rachel wasn't so sure about the bears!
That is one GINORMOUS Bear! Go the Grizzly.


The kids really enjoyed the bears!

We didn't linger long once it got chilly. Rachel was so worn out!It got so cold in the afternoon. It started to SNOW. Pictures below, Dad and Mom, Jacob & the Sherbelettes.

Hello Bison HERD! They were all around us. The kids were so excited! We came upon them just as we rounded the curve to Old Faithful. Pretty COOL.

Abby and Sidney
Did I mention it was COLD! My mom stayed with David in the car, while we waited for Old Faithful to do it's thing. Thanks MOM! I think she was a whole lot warmer than the rest of us!
Jacob, Dad, Winslow
shopping with grandma!
me taking pictures

Aren't these Falls Amazing! The adults braved a slippery bridge to see this gorgeous wonder.
He was such a trooper. He slept so good and put up with all the in and out of the car.
Jacob, Winslow, & Carrie waiting for Old Faithful in the SNOW.
Snowball fight
Paul Minson, I am so glad you and your family crashed our trip! We enjoyed spending time with you guys!

What a magnificent sunset with the Teton Mountains! We could see this thru the trees, and my dad was racing to the turnoff which he knew to be close so we could see it in it's full glory. We did and it was SOO worth it! It was gorgeous and we listented to the Elk bugle. What a fantastic end to a wonderful day.

Remember the picture of us sitting on the rocks, well this was 24 hours later at the same spot. Needless to say we did not go sit on the rocks for a picture this day!

Go the snow!

Back to Mom and Dad's for some WARMTH.

My Parents Gorgeous Home. So big! So much space for us all to come visit! We can hardly wait until this summer!

The four wheeler was fun. Winslow and I took a ride up to the Periodic spring earlier in the week. We took a short hike to the top of the spring. It was so pretty and it was so nice to have some alone time together. My dad took each of the kids for a ride. Abby kept saying "GO FASTER!" Winslow took each of the kids for one last ride before we left.

Midday breakfast at Denny's on the way back home. The kids had a good time and we stuffed ourselves with tasty food! I was way tired by this point can you tell!

Vacation Madness

Okay so far getting ready for vacation hasn't been sooo bad. I've just been so exhausted with this cruddy cold. 2 doctors visits this week for the little guys. YIKES the copay for Rachel's inhaler. The kids have been good about not destroying everything while I am trying to wash everyone's laundry and pack. So far I have everyone packed but ME! of course! Winslow has been sleeping on the front room floor due to my snoring. Sorry! I am hoping I am not tooo worn out for our trip. So forgive the absence of blogging for a while. I hope to have TONS of pictures of the Mountains and Yellowstone in the Fall. PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY! Wish us luck on our first long adventure with 4 kids!

Quick Post

Okay really quick cause the junk going around has finally hit me and i am exhausted! So tonight when we got home from wood chopping we pulled into the back yard to find a skunk. " So pretty" said Abby. "So stinky" said me!

Enrichment Madness

Okay this will be quick.(I HOPE!) I am totally wasted and it's not even 8pm yet! It's been a busy week.
Mon...JOB INTERVIEW don't know the outcome yet or if I will even take the job we'll see.
babysitter's husband ended up in the ER so I found a new babysitter. thanks Nancy!
Went wood cutting
Tues...Walked and did regular Mom stuff, helped tend kids for 2 friends, Reading under the
stars night at the primary school
Wed... Mad Dash to Walmart for most of you this isn't a big deal. For me it means an hour
drive just to get there. I needed stuff for the Super Enrichment day and my friend who
was going to get it broke down on the way! So after going on my walk and reading at story
time AND running to the school to arrange for Abby to go to a friends after school,(thanks
Aimee!) David, Rachel, & I drove across the mountain and back. Winslow & the big kids
cut wood while I stayed home with the babies and did medical billing.
Thurs....Playgroup, then RS presidency meeting at my house... so of course i tidied house. and
then we had the meeting outside on my lawn. The weather was in the 70's and gorgeous!
Spontaneous lunch with the girls at the new mexican resteraunt, yummy deserts!...thank
you Shane I needed that! Sue, Natalie, Shane, you are sooo fun!
More wood cutting as a family. Then tried to get as much organized as possible for RS
Saturday. Made phone calls etc.
Fri.... RAN AROUND LIKE A CHICKEN WITH ITS HEAD CUTT OFF!
Dropped off b-day stuff for VT, dropped off Abby's homework folder at school. (where the principal stopped me in the parking lot to tell me of my daughter in his office this week. there's more to the story hopefully i can tell all the funny things she did this week later!) Ran to the hardware store, and to like 5 other places to arrange for RS stuff. Thanks again Shane for taking the kids. 1/2 day of school so the big kids came home, had mac n cheese for lunch and then I loaded every one into the van and turned on a movie. The kids were marvelous for the next three hours as I ran around running errand after errand. Including going to the bank 2 times because I forgot the paycheck at the house the first time! Dropped kids off at Primary Activity day. Ran to set up the RS stuff at the Stake Center. Shane what would I do without such a fantastic RS PRES> you are the best! Back to our building to make copies of instructions. THANKS Sue! Picked up the kids. Put gas in the truck. Home for dinner. THANKS Winslow for the awesome grilled chicken. Off to the football Game!

Sat.... What a crazy day. Spent all day at the Stake Center doing crafts and helping direct others with the crafts we were in charge of. Thanks to ALL of you who helped. Ran home, fed baby, off to the company picinic. (where i was freezing dressed in a skirt so i could run back to the stake center for the RS broadcast.) RS broadcast...wonderful as always! And then home to a happy husband and kids! WHAT A CRAZY WEEK!

now i must go to BED! can I say I love my soft pink sweats and striped warm socks! Fall is here on the mountain!

All in a days work

Today's events. Fun day. Skipped our 4 mile walk. I miss that but David has a cold and it was a little too brisk in the mountain air.
Worked on decluttering my kitchen. You can finally get into the cabinets above the fridge. Hurray.
Grocery shopping...actually not so bad with just 2 kids. Rachel is a big help. Came home to unload and just as I brought David and his carseat in, Winslow called for a ride home. Pack back in the car and drive to the hospital...not that far down the road, but Winslow's lunch hour is short. Had a yummy lunch with Winslow and we tried to convince Rachel to eat her chicken nuggets. Then he headed back to the hospital.
Made phone calls to find a sitter for Monday.
Did some blogging and found long lost friends. HURRAY.
Read a chapter in John Grisham's non fiction book The Innocent Man. I am captivated, Winslow thought it was dry.
Abby came home and we chatted about school and fun things.
Tried to take video of David rolling over. (he's barely 3 months old!) But I couldn't get baby and camera in sinc. Now I need new batteries!
Then Jacob came home and of course Rachel ran out in her shirt and panties to the bus stop. ( part of the danger of potty training.)
Then we got ready for our Family Fun Night. If the kids do their chores all week then we have a movie night at home or go to the football game if it is a home game. They are loving it, and it has improved the atmostphere in our home. Hurray for inspiration and a loving husband who gently helps me to be a better mom.
Got a call for our truck load of wood and Wins and Jacob went to deliver it. Have to do something to earn all that money for GA$ to grandma's. I can't believe how expensive that is!
Cleaned up the kitchen with help from Rachel while Abby gave David a bottle for snack. He's such a big eater!
Worked on the finances. (Way easier with a new version of Quicken.)
The kids are happily watching the old Disney film In Search of the Castaways. And I am typing one handed with David in the other hand.
Such is a typical day at our house.

Bella Bella Dancerella

This is my Abigail 2 years ago. I love that all girls no matter how tough want to be the ballet princess.

Here is Rachel and G. I love these girls. They had fun dressing up as ballerinas Rachel is always asking to play with G. They have such a good time together. We go walking together most days of the week and they laugh and giggle and share snacks in the double stroller.

Ward Auction

Okay So we had a little too much fun at the ward auction fundraiser. We bought brownies and cupcakes, babysitting and this frog! I love it. We let Rachel do the bidding on this one. It reminds us a lot of Bryant's Frog. David already loves it, and the kids love giving it to him. Fast asleep with his froggy.
Ever wonder what High $ cupcakes look like. Wonder no more. We spent $24 on these cuties. Abby just kept raising her hand. She wanted them bad! They were tasty. But definitely pricey!