Our Yellowstone Trip-Day 1

We went to Yellowstone with my parents and my sister's fam over UEA break in October.  We had a blast!! Here are some fun pics!







It was a little chilly so we all bundled up to go on our little adventures. We had a few pair of binoculars which the kids LOVED!

Here is Dallin's "Smile!" face!!  He is such a cutie.

We got to see a lot of elk.  The kids were way excited.  We let them just ride up in the front of the motor home most of the time.  I felt kind of guilty, but in the back they couldn't see anything!

Lots of elk!

We got to our trailer site on Wed. night, and Connor was up puking that whole night.  In the morning he felt well enough to go with us to the park, but he was definitely not 100%-more about that wonderful illness later . . .

Halley had SO much fun and was SO excited for every activity we did.

Buffalo and Hot Pots!

This guy just sat in the middle of the road for awhile.  The kids thought it was great!

Our first official stop (besides looking at wildlife and hot pots in the distance) was Old Faithful.  It was pretty chilly, but we had a lot of fun watching it erupt.

Connor and Halley were excited!!

There it goes!

Bradley, on the other hand, was not so excited.  He is such a funny kid.

 Dallin took naps with Wes both of our days out roaming around.  It was so cute.

 WOW!!

 So pretty!

 The kids kept talking about how much it stunk.  It was kind of funny.  Bradley was really excited to read all the names of the different geysers.  This one was called Spasm Geyser.

We had a very fun first day of exploring and then went back and ate yummy food and put the kids to bed in the trailer.  The adults all watched a movie in the motor home.  That is a great way to camp.  It was below freezing outside, but we were all warm and snuggly!

Just So Everyone Knows . . .

I LOVE THIS MAN!!!!!

 

Here's a little sneak peak at a few of the pictures from my trip out to see Wes. We had a blast!! This picture is of us riding the DC Metro which was a very fun and enlightening experience. We looked a little like beginners at first, but by the end of the day we were pros!!

I have a ton of pictures to post and write about, but here are a few of the ones I liked when just glancing through all the pictures. 

The Washington Monument 

We didn't get to go inside, but it was still so cool to see.

 

I loved the memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. It was really inspiring!

And here we are together at the Washington DC Temple. This was our last stop on our big site seeing day so we were pretty tired, but we were still in love!
I miss Wes so much, and I cannot wait to have him home!!!

A Day Off

These pictures are from President's Day. Connor took the picture of the flag. The kids always love it when we have a flag in our front yard. Connor always thinks we have to have a party or something. It's funny.
I gave the kids permission to use the camera this time, and these are the shots they got:They got some fun pictures of each other. I guess Connor was the one with the camera the whole time since there aren't any of him.They were having a lot of fun playing with these tents, and the boys actually set them up all by themselves. It's so nice that they are growing up, and I don't have to help with all their projects. I guess it's a little sad too . . .So much for the "Don't play on the furniture" rule . . .
Here is Bradley's take-off:And here is the landing:

From a Child's Perspective

Someone has been a little obsessed with our camera. I have found a lot of pictures that I don't remember taking. It seems we have a little photographer who wants to be like Aunt Cristi.

This section is entitled Lighting is Everything.

Light Through a Window

Elmo!

And here we have the lovely pieces in the collection Looking Up.

The Light and Smoke Detector

The Thermostat

And of course, The Savior.

These pieces come from a rare collection capturing the details of a messy home.

Home Is Where the Mess Is

The Counter Top

The Lone Shoe

And last, but not least, we have some photos that will reveal the artist's identity.

The Little One

Dallin is growing up so fast. Here are a few pictures I've taken over the last week or so that show his personality, and believe me, he has got a strong one!!

"What's up Mom?"

He has really started talking. Even today he learned a few new words: "Barbie" (he took the leg off of one of Halley's and said, "Uh-oh baw-bie."), "home," and "glasses."

His favorite words by far are "ball," "B"-which means balloon, and "aw-wee." It took me a long time to figure that last one out, but I am pretty sure he is either saying "water" or "a drink."

He LOVES to drink anything! Anytime he sees a cup or anything resembling a drink we hear, "aw-wee, aw-wee, aw-wee!!!"
He loves to put on clothes, hats, necklaces, and anything else he can get a hold of. He really loves shoes! It's funny. When we had been stuck in the house for so long with sick kids he started bringing me his shoes and saying, "Ooo, Ooo," like he wanted me to put his "oooos" on and take him somewhere!

He is our little runner. Most of the other kids kind of enjoyed staying at least in sight of mom, not this one.

He wants to go!

Even if he can't see where he's going!

Peek-a-Boo!

And here's a random one of Bradley because he felt left out! :)