Day 2: Island Park/Yellowstone...

October 3: We went to Yellowstone National Park...probably one of the most amazing places on Earth! Bridger has been asking for so long to go to Yellowstone...I am not really sure why, but I am glad we were able to take him! We were lucky because my grandma and Merlin both had Golden Age Passes so we were able to get into the park for free, which is great because they charge $25 to get in...what, that's crazy!! My grandma and Merlin were in their car, us in our car and we brought 2-way radios, so we were easily able to talk to each other...that was sweet! Anyway, not too far into the park we saw people pulled off to the side of the road, so we knew there was something...sure enough there were elk! Bridger thought it was awesome to be able to get out and see the elk.After a quick potty break, we saw this beautiful waterfall and of course I can't remember what is called (why did I take so long to journal this?!) Along this little scenic detour, we saw a warm swimming hole, that was complete with little changing houses, etc...how fun would that be during the summer?!


The paint pots are one of my favorite things to see at Yellowstone...they are so gorgeous and amazing to think of all the thermal activity that goes on to create them. We told Bridger how important it was to stay very close to us, so that he wouldn't fall off the walkway...he was very nervous about that the whole time...it was hard to get him close to the edge for pictures, which is why I am holding him in one!





We packed a picnic lunch and decided to eat lunch before we went to Old Faithful. We were trying to find a good area with picnic tables, and as we were doing so we kept climbing higher and higher and eventually saw snow...the first snow we had seen of the season! We finally found picnic tables, but they were covered in snow so we scraped them off, bundled up and enjoyed a yummy lunch. It was so super cold but beautiful too!
Cute little Kenna stayed with my grandma and Merlin for several of the places we had to walk around, such as the paint pots and Old Faithful. It was nice for us to not have to worry about her staying warm, etc and I think she had fun being entertained by her great grandma!

These are the Old Faithful Paint Pots...

Meet BILL! As in Buffalo Bill...ha ha...we got this for Bridger at the Old Faithful Lodge for his souvenir...he thought it was the best thing ever...my grandma helped him name him...good old Bill!
Bill likes to just "hang out" while we were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt!
Always awe-inspiring to see Old Faithful erupt! Bridger thought it was awesome!

After Old Faithful, we were going to head back to the car when we saw a buffalo a ways up...perfect, especially since Bridger just got a buffalo! He was so excited to see the buffalo. Okay funny story about the buffalo encounter...as we were getting ready to head back the buffalo decided to "do his business" which was gross, but Bridger was interested! So, the whole way back to the car Bill had to "do his business" everywhere (so we had to wait)...over the weeds, over the bridge into the water, etc...complete with sound effects...thank you Bridger! Seriously, yes that is gross, but it was also hilarious!

After we saw the buffalo, we drove around some more and saw some more elk and buffalo and then headed back to West Yellowstone. My grandma wanted us to go to Bear World (or whatever it is called) so she watched Kenna for us to make it easier, and we went in with Bridger. It was awesome and very interesting! The wolves were incredible to watch! They had several bears there and we were lucky enough to see them hide food around and then they let two bears go to find the food...the bears we saw were Sam and Illie, brother and sister. It was so cute watching these two bears run around to find food! Bridger was pretty much in heaven! Afterward we let him get a button with a picture of Sam on it and he was so proud of it! While we were watching the bears, my poor grandma came in with a crying Kenna...she had tried everything, but Kenna would not settle down, I think she was just over tired! She finally settled down when I took her (which is usually the way it is). We loved seeing the bears and wolves!

Alpha male and Alpha female...
Alpha female...


It is tradition to stop to eat at "Gus's" (really called Canyon Street Grill) in West Yellowstone. When my grandpa was in the stake presidency for church, he used to have meetings with Gus at his restraunt. Gus's is super delicious and is an old 50's diner atmosphere. We always get a chocolate cherry cordial shake and split it...we eat it while we're waiting for our burger and fries to come. Gus's never disappoints! Okay, so my dear Kenna has a major sweet tooth and makes us laugh when it comes to sweets! Here she is wanting some of my grandma's shake!



Mmm...yummy!!

After we finished eating, we headed home...exhausted from a full, but fun day! You really could spend several days in the park but with two little ones, one day is just right!

Contest

Hey all! Okay, I decided to enter a contest to win a Leapfrog Tag and had to blog about it...so if you are interested, check it out! www.babesandkidsreview.com

Day 1: Island Park/Yellowstone...

**This is long and probably more detailed than anyone cares for...lol...but I wanted it like that for journaling...so feel free to skim or skip over it all!**

October 2...My grandma and Merlin had a dentist appointment that they had scheduled way in advance and couldn't get anything better, so they went to Rexburg for that on Friday morning. While they were gone, we decided to all head over to Mesa Falls. Mesa Falls is awesome! They have a nice little walkway down to the Upper Falls...which is just beautiful! We bundled the kidlets up and headed over to the walkway. The walkway was slippery because there was frost on it...crazy...so Bridger held Josh's hand tightly. I took Kenna, who was in her stroller, around the handicap access route...when I got around I realized it doesn't take you very close to the falls at all, so I carried her stroller down an insane amount of stairs...seriously, you would have died if you saw how many stairs there were...so go me! Oh and my end of the walkway wasn't slippery because the sun was shining on it, so that was a bonus! The waterfall was spectacular as always, but Bridger didn't stay impressed for too long...lol...nor Kenna! So, after admiring the fall and snapping photos, we headed up the pathway...Josh carried the stroller up this time...woo-hoo for me! There was a lodge that had a little museum in it, so we decided to go in. It had pictures and history facts about the area, and was quite interesting. There was also a room that had animal paws, furs, skulls and nasty little bugs in vials...kind of gross! We looked at it all and headed back to the car.

On our way out, we saw a sign that said "Trail to Lower Mesa Falls". I had never been on this trail, so we decided to check it out...it was a mile each way and wasn't bad at all. They have markers along the trail that identify various plants, etc...you can grab a nifty little guide at the beginning of the trail and it tells you more about what is at each marker. We thought this would be fun for Bridger, so we started making a game out of finding the next number...he thought this was cool for the first few numbers (there were 16) and then started complaining...it was actually kind of funny, he would say things like, "Okay, we're done now. How about we head back to the car" or "I'm done now, let's go back" or "This is boring, let's go eat something." It was funny that he was complaining because he never does about walking. We made it to the end of the trail and it overlooked an even more stunning waterfall. Josh decided to be crazy and climb down this cliff...it was super steep and he wanted us to all go down with him....good thing I put the brakes on that one! We watched in oh so carefully make his way down the cliff and then we couldn't see him any more. I walked around with the kids, trying to keep them amused and keep Bridger away from the ledge. When Josh finally came back up, he said it was the most spectacular thing he has ever seen...the pics were awesome! We then headed back to the car and back to my grandma's. It was a fun and beautiful walk!

That afternoon, after Kenna's nap, we decided to take the kids to Big Springs to see the fish and ducks. My grandma made some popcorn for us to take so Bridger could feed the fish and ducks. Bridger was pretty excited about all the little critters he was feeding! Once the popcorn was gone, we walked around a bit and then headed back because it was freezing! That evening we just enjoyed each others' company again.

Island Park/Yellowstone...the trip up...

October 1...My grandma has a cabin in Island Park, Idaho (it's about an hour north of Rexburg)...it used to be her main residence, but now she lives in St. George during the winter. We absolutely love it up there...everything about it (except the insane amounts of snow...which is tolerable for a few days). It reminds me a lot of my grandpa, who passed away 9 1/2 years ago. We've spent a lot of time there over the years with Grandma and Grandpa, then just Grandma, and now Grandma and her new husband, Merlin (who is very nice). I can't quite explain how awesome it is; if you've been there, you know what I mean! Anyway, we had been wanting to go to IP for the whole summer especially since Bridger has been asking to go to Yellowstone. We were going to go the beginning of August, but my grandma had shingles, so we waited until she got better. Between Sheena's wedding and everything, it worked out that the best time for us to go was October 1-5. So, we picked Bridger up from preschool at 11:30 and made the approximately 6 hour drive up. We stopped along the way at Devil Creek Reservoir and used the picnic tables to have a lunch that I packed for us. It also gave us all some time to stretch our legs. We then continued on and I have to say the kids were awesome the whole way up! Bridger had his DVD player, but I don't think he even watched one entire movie...because I packed a bag full of coloring books, books, cars, etc...and they kept him entertained very nicely! Kenna was pretty much perfect the whole time too...yea! We made a quick stop in Rexburg to get some formula. We arrived at my grandma's at about 5:30 and soon after had yummy soup...which was perfect because it was freezing outside! We visited, got the kids in bed, visited some more and then went to bed...in a king size bed, I might add (We sleep in a queen at home, and I think a king is perfect)...sweet!

So much...

Okay, there is so much for me to catch up on...I am very behind on my blog...we have been having computer and internet problems. So, we now have faster internet...which is awesome!!! We also ordered a computer (the one we are using is one I got in college so it's about 8 or 9 years old...too old for a computer...lol). Anyway, with the internet working fabulous, I think I will not have any problems uploading pics. So, stay tuned and I will be updating the blog soon with some of the following...
*Kenna is crawling!!!
*Kenna has two teeth on top now!!!
*Bridger had a part in the primary program!!!
*Halloween Party #1!!!
*All of our Yellowstone/Island Park Pics
There will be much more to come...I am excited to get my blog up to date because I hate being so behind for journaling, etc... So be ready! LOL