Annual Yellowstone Trip!!!

The last weekend of September, we headed up to Jackson/Yellowstone with Kevin, Jen, and Jorie. My dad was so nice to let us borrow his vehicle, so we could all ride in one car and not have to pay for a rental. We were definitely packed in tightly; the boys were in the front, Jen and I were in the middle, and the kids were in the 3rd row. We picked Jess up from work and stopped in Smithfield to grab some dinner. Hunter had fallen asleep in Logan and woke up at McDonald's and I'm pretty sure he screamed for like 1 1/2 hours straight. Everything I offered him, he just pushed away. I was really worried at this point that this was going to be a much longer trip than even anticipated. We finally got to a little town and got him out and calmed down, and after that, he was fine. We slept in Alpine the first night, went swimming, and the boys went and got us some yummy Subway sandwiches. Jorie and Hunter were running around the room like crazy and being so funny, I think they were SOOO happy to be out of their carseats. After swimming and dinner, these two little stinkers had a bath. I was nervous about all of us sleeping in one open hotel room, because Hunter just usually has to lay in his crib and cry for a bit to go to sleep and if he can see you, then it makes it worse. But we turned off the lights and laid him down in the pack 'n play and he cried for a minuted and went to sleep, and Jorie slept with Kevin and Jen. We all survived the night!!





Saturday morning he got up, ate at the continental breakfast, and then we headed to Jackson. We got some groceries and a little more breakfast, some gas, and then we were off to Yellowstone. The kids were both tired, so we were hoping they would fall asleep and have a good nap! This was a beautiful sight while we were driving!!! Don't they look peaceful!! We found out there was a fire in the park and the main entrance to West Yellowstone was closed and the road to get to Mammoth was open at the time, but could close at anytime. We decided to drive all the way to Mammoth and we were really hoping we wouldn't get stuck up there or in the park somewhere, or have to detour through Bozeman, MT to get back to West. The boys were feeling adventurous and thought it would be fun if we got stuck in the park, but Jen and I were a little worried.

We stopped at the falls, had some lunch, and walked around. These two pics are pretty much the same, you just can't see Hunter's face in the first one. I was loving Jorie's wild hair!!!

Our little family!! Hunter was fascinated by the falls and all that water!!

I think Hunter was teasing Jorie. Of course they both wouldn't look at me:)!!

We finally made it to Mammoth after a lot of driving and got some yummy ice cream. Here's the dad's and the kids walking to find the elk.

Dad and Hunter

You can barely see that bull elk behind these cars and kind of under the tree, but we got chased by this big bugger, and it was scary!!! He had been laying down on the other side of a brick wall that's a little further back and had been bugeling. Jen and I were talking to a couple of rangers and Kevin and Jess were standing on the stairs of the tall building in the very back. He stood up and looked around so the rangers quickly started backing away, so I did too. Kevin, Jen, Jorie ran up on the stairs with the rangers, and Jess and I were heading away to get behind some of these cars. I tried not to run, but was walking very quickly. Then I looked over to the right and noticed Jess was between the bull and a calf and that bull was eyeing Jess up and walking toward him. He said he wasn't scared, but I was crapping my pants!! Jen asked the rangers if the doors to that building opened and the ranger said, "TRY THEM." That's not good when the rangers are scared. We all lived, but that was definitely too close for comfort.

Here's the bull with his cows

Hunter was about ready to be done, if you can't tell

And the three of us!! I know I look like I'm 5 months prego, but I think it's just how I'm standing (I hope) , I guess I need to do more ab exercises or eat less:)!

Aren't they cute, they were holding hands. They were really so good for being in the car. We left Mammoth to head back to West, but had to go clear down by Old Faihtful and back up to West, and we were just hoping the road was going to be open. It had been closed, then down to one lane and people were being escorted through with a pilot car. We drove from 9ish a.m. to 9ish p.m!! It was a long day!!

You can barely see it, but there's a nice bull on the right, and a bunch of cows on the left.

Sunday we headed to Old Faithful!! Hunter loved running around!! We had to wait forever for it to start. I think it started like 45 minutes late!! And boy was it cold!!

Hunter loved riding around on Jess's shoulders!

Just messin' around with dad. Jess kept pretending to drop Hunter off his shoulders and Hunter just laughed!!!

Watching Old Faithful!!

Chillin' outside the Old Faithful gift shop. Hunter loved these rocking chairs! After Old Faithful we were on the road again, and back to Jackson, and then to home.

Hunter and Mom in front of the Buffalo in Jackson Hole!

And here we are under the antlers!! We got some Harry Potter Jelly Beans from the candy store (a tradition - then we pass them around a have to taste test them, some are good and some aren't. You just never know what you're going to get!! We walked around Jackson for just a bit, and then we were on our way home!! It was fun so much fun, but I think next year it's just the adults!!!