Yellowstone (Day 3)

So for those of you that are following our family blog and are saying to yourself at this very moment, "holy crap, how long did they stay in Yellowstone", just remember one thing, the biggest reason I do a blog is so that I (me, myself and I) can remember what happened on our vacation, so that when I go to scrapbook our trip I can actually know in what order we did things and remember the names of such places. So enduldge me for a while, as I record yet another day in Yellowstone.

Monday morning came and with it came a little patch of sun, so we gathered the kids, packed our lunch and headed off to see the famed "Old Faithful",
we must have arrived just after one of the eruptions, so we were able to find pretty good seats. As we were sitting waiting for the show, we kept looking to the sky, because it looked like there was a storm brewin', we also met a family sitting behind us that was from Orem (and come to find out they are Ute fans, huh???), so just as Old Faithful was starting to sputter and spit, sure enough here came the rain, and of course here came the wind, just so happens that the wind was blowing our direction and so not only were we getting rained upon, but we were also having all the steam and other stuff that blows out of geysers soaking us as well. After Old Faithful blew, we ran for cover in the visitor's center, we did not have to wait long and as soon as the sun peeked out again we headed for the jaunt around Old Faithful, called the Geyser Basin, we got to see some really neat geysers up close and had a few erupt just as we were going by. Little did we know however that the best geysers were coming up. We took a little drive off the beaten path called the Firehole Lake Drive, where we found the White Dome Geyser which was by far the coolest geyser, it sprayed only 30-40 ft. in the air but we were so close and there were only 3 other families that we had to share the area with. After that we went over to Fountain Paint pot where we got to see the Mudpots and if you haven't ever seen boiling mud, let me tell you it is awesome, they were a definate favorite, especially with Zacky (I think mostly because he was the first to spot "boiling mud", but who knows), we ended our day at the Artist's Paint Pot (yes it is different from Fountain) and I loved that some of the pictures I took of the kids actually look like they are sitting in front of a fake background, again just a beautiful day and a perfect sunset to compliment the landscape.

Yellowstone (Day 2)

Day 2 dawned still early, but not so bright, there was a storm moving in and boy could you feel it in the air. We got up and headed northward again, we figured we would complete the north loop this day. We started out at the Tower-Roosevelt junction where we left off yesterday, and drove to the petrified tree, where we got caught in a downpour which turned into a hailstorm, as we were waiting we saw these 2hikers that were trying to find shelter from the storm, we told them we didn't have much room, but would be gald to squish, and so we ended up giving them a ride back to their car at the Roosevelt Lodge, they where very appreciative and we were very glad for the lesson of kindness this provided for our kids. By the time we got done with our little detour, the clouds had cleared and the trails were dried up enough that we stopped by Lava Creek and had our lunch and played in the water a little, where Zacky and Bradley tried to catch a fish bare handed (they just couldn't quite reach far enough, so alas the fish eluded them). From there we went on a 1 mi. hike to the Wraith Falls and Undine Falls, which again were truly magnificent. Just as we were finishing our hikes it started to rain a little again so we headed for Mammoth Springs and the Albright Visitors Center, still raining so we went to the store and had some ice cream and wrote some postcards, still raining so we went and parked the truck in front of the Travertines, where Scott and I took a nap and the kids waited out the storm watching a movie. When the storm finally let up we were able to explore Mammoth Springs and I think this spot was one of our favorites, we loved the deep springs of blue water, the ridges of crust left by the minerals in the waters,
and the mists that surrounded us, making the scenery breathtaking. After Mammoth Springs we were able to drive through the Hoo Doos, visit the top of Rustic Falls and then just before dark we made it to the Roaring Mountain (which may have been falling asleep, hence no roaring). So a busy and eventful 2nd day in Yellowstone. Oh! I will be taking bets on how many state license plates we found.

Chapter 28: Yellowstone (Day 1)

For our Summer Family Vacation we decided that we would travel to Yellowstone National Park, having never been there, Scott and I thought it would be quite an adventure for not only ourselves but for the kids as well. As many of you know traveling in a car for more than about 20 min. with kids sometimes makes you want to pull your hair out, so we started playing the license plate game and I can not believe how the kids really got into the game...(stay tuned to see how we did). We arrived at our campsite around midnight and hurried to get some sleep before our vacation offically began.

Our first day in Yellowstone dawned bright and beautiful, it just seemed to make us all the more excited to explore the Park. We stopped by the Fishing Bridge Visitor's Center and got some maps and off we went. Driving towards Canyon Village we were taken back by how many Buffalo we encountered,
we stopped at one point to let the kids get out and watch these buffalo that were just covering an entire hillside (don't worry we were at least 100 ft. from them). Next we decided to explore the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and see the majestic Lower Falls. We walked the short distance to see the falls and were completely amazed by the size and the sheer beauty of the waterfall, and seeing all the colors and the depth of the Grand Canyon was breathtaking. After enjoying the Falls we went and ate lunch at the Canyon Village Deli, then went to the Visitor Center there and walked around looking at the souveniors in the shops. When we got back on the road we continued Northward and ended up at the Tower Falls, which once again we had to marvel at the Beauty of Nature as well as enjoy the fallen logs in which the kids had to see if they could "walk the log". All in all a great first day of Vacation!!!

Chapter 27: Lainee Lines

A couple of nights ago Lainee and Scott were having a funny conversation and I just had to share:

Dad: Whoever gets their pajamas on will get? (and before he could announce the prize...)

Lainee shouts: "$7.00"

Laughing Dad says "No, they get......."

again interrupting Lainee "$8.00"

smiling Scott says "How about gets one penny?", when Scott sees Lainee's face he quickly decides to up the ante, "okay how about two pennies".

Rolling her eyes Lainee says "How about a quarter?"

Chuckling, Scott finally says "alright, alright, how about we compromise on a dime?"

Lainee's response is to hurry and beat the other kids to get her jammies on (I should mention that the other kids are all playing night games outside and won't be in for quite awhile, but nobody has told Lainee ;)

After her jammies are on she searches for Scott and gets her dime, as soon as Dad hands it to her, she instantly says "the quarter too right", (wink, wink). How can anyone resist her persistence, well good for us Scott can, so he made her another deal "First kid in bed and asleep will get this quarter under their pillow". (again I should mention the other kids are still outside playing night games), so guess who got the quarter. And all is well (and quiet) in Kingville, but not for long, time to go get the "other ones", huh? maybe I can strike a deal with them and still have a peaceful night!!! We'll see, miracles happen everyday.

Chapter 26: Happy 4th

Well now that it is the 10th of July, I know you have all been dying to know what we did on the 4th, because afterall, who wouldn't want to know what we King's do all the time. :)

What is more American than going to a Parade on the 4th.........well just about nothing, so that is what we did. We were able to get prime seating thanks to some awesome relatives, and we were even able to see a familiar face in the parade (although I was trying to pretend not to know him, since he was on top of a fire truck squirting water on everybody, and I had a camera). The kids had a great time and the gallon ziploc baggies Grandma gave them to collect their candy was almost to small to handle their large cache. After the parade we went up to Tridell to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa Merkley, Scott set up their trampoline and the kids got some suckers from Grandpa's bus stash, we ate lunch there and got to enjoy some fresh garden peas, and 1 raspberry each. (yum-yum-lucky us!!!) Off then to the Horrocks Pavillion for a BBQ dinner, a boat story wonderfully narrated by Great-Grandma Ada with "props", a kids parade of 4-wheelers with our very own Grand Marshall leading the pack in her golf cart; Ada Horrocks aka Great-Grandma. Following the parade was the sparkler show and then topping off the night, a wonderful display of fireworks with the Roosevelt fireworks show in the background. I loved this day filled with family, fun, food and fireworks :)

Chapter 25: Boys and Chickens

As I stepped out into the arena and felt the dirt kick up around my feet, I knew I was ready for the fight of my life, I was ready to conquer. I took my position by the gate, my hands felt sweaty with excitement, my feet were itching for a chase. The big man in charge raised his arm to signal for all to get ready, and as he was lowering his hand giving us the go, my heart leapt inside my chest as the thrill of the chase began. With my feet barley touching the soft brown dirt I took off, all I saw was a blur of other kids and the prize in which I desired............a chicken. I set my sights on my bird of choice, his eyes were wide with fright, his feet were moving fast, but mine were faster. I charged straight ahead never lowering my eyes from his, he dodged right, I followed. He moved left, I followed. He turned his head for a quick moment to scope out another escape route and that is when I pounced like a lion upon his prey. When the dust settled around me, I raised my head and as I got to my feet, I proudly raised for all to see, my prize, my chicken.

This is the story I saw while watching Zachary at the Neola Kids Rodeo, he was so excited to be chasing a chicken, and when it was finally his turn, he really tore it up. Bradley not to be outdone by his brother went out to prove his worth and came back with not 1 but 2 chickens, (I don't know if it was really legal for him to catch 2, but he was on cloud 9, so we just let it go.) We had so much fun watching them chase those chickens. So began the story of Cooper (aka Beth Cooper, aka Coop), Timmy and Goldie Locks, albeit a short story because as most of you know, we live in the city, we have no room at the inn for chickens. So after spending 30 hours with their new "best pets ever", they lovingly gave them to William and Stephanie Merkley who so graciously told the boys they could come and visit whenever they wanted. p.s. Lainee did also try to get in the action but once the feathers were flying she got a little chicken shy.

Chapter 24: Girls just wanna have FUN!!!

Girls week ROCKED!!! This year we went to the City that never sleeps New York, New York :) (Of course what we did find out is that although NY never sleeps New Jersey on the other hand goes to sleep at approx. 1:20 a.m. so if you miss your bus, you may be walkin'.)

I really am just going to let the pictures do the talking for me this time, because I know I would just go on and on and on about this trip, I absolutely loved spending time with my sisters they are soooooo fun to be around, and yes Cassie I am including you in the "sisters" part, who also couldn't love spending time with Mom and Aunt Pam (and yes everybody, she left the chicken chunks at home, and I am feeling a little bit guilty about it, okay well not that guilty.), and we also brought Cassie's Mom Jeanne into our crazy sisterhood. There is just something special about a girl's week, it makes us act silly, it brings out the kid in us, and we definately laugh alot, but it also brings us closer, and makes bonds form that help our friendships grow deeper. So here's to you GIRLS: