Yellowstone Revisited

We took our annual Labor Day trip to Yellowstone again and it was great! We were just there at the end of June, but we love going back with just us for Labor Day. The weather is amazing and the crowds are gone. It was a bit different with Owen this time and we had to be a little more flexible, but it was even more fun to have him to enjoy the vacation with us!

We drove up on Thursday afternoon and got to our hotel just about bed time for the baby. We stayed in the same place as last year (Evergreen Motel) and LOVED it. It was awesome and clean and the bed was amazing and the owners are great. I HIGHLY recommend it! It’s right in town and has great reviews on TripAdvisor (that’s how we found it!). I just love these boys.

We got a room with a small kitchen and a fridge which was really convenient. We were able to wedge Owen’s pack in play in the kitchen area and after we turned on his sound machine and covered his crib with a blanket, he fell right to sleep! The next day we hit the road and went into the park. Owen did great and slept a lot and just played by himself in the back seat. He’s the best! We stopped at Mammoth and ate some lunch in the shade.

We wandered around Mammoth a little bit and got back in the car and continue the drive, hoping to see some animals. Dan is obsessed with seeing bear or wolves but we didn’t see any bear this trip! Bummer, but he did get to see two wolves so it was still a success!

We stopped at Mount Washburn to check out the hike and decided to do some of it. We weren’t planning on the full hike to the top since it is about 4 miles one way and pretty steep. We loaded Owen into the backpack and enjoyed the amazing views.

He loves being in the backpack and kept grabbing Dan’s face, ears and hair and just laughing hysterically. it was pretty precious.

There were some tornado-like winds, but luckily it was still pretty warm and Owen thought the wind was really funny and kept laughing.

We only hiked about 20 minutes one way then decided to turn back since the wind was getting worse. But it was still cool to be up that high and we made plans to do the full hike next time we go!

The next day we drove to Old Faithful and watched it go off right when we got there. Owen was way more interested in me taking the picture behind him than watching the exploding geyser right in front of him.

Dan’s brother and his family happened to be up there at the same time so we met up with them at Old Faithful. The kids were excited to see Owen and they kept him entertained most of the time.

We went to the balcony of the lodge and ate our lunches and watched Old Faithful go off again.

Then we drove a few minutes away from the lodge to do a hike to Mystic Falls. It was really easy and only about 1.5 miles each way but it was perfect for us with all the kids. Amanda’s sister and her family was there too so there was 6 adults and 9 kids in our group.

Owen fell asleep pretty quickly in the backpack and slept the entire hike up. It was pretty precious and I was really glad that he was so comfortable and was able to sleep.

The falls were pretty impressive but  we didn’t get right up close to them. The hike ended across a little valley but the view was still really pretty.

The cute kiddos. They look like they are right on the edge of a cliff but it wasn’t as bad as it looks luckily!

We had some yummy dinners at our favorite restaurants and we tried to keep Owen entertained by feeding him water from a straw. It worked for about 1.7 seconds.

On Sunday we walked about 3 blocks and went to Sacrament meeting. We met Dave’s family at a park and had some lunch and snacks and then went back to the hotel for a bit. We drove into the park again and drove to Dave and Amanda’s campsite which was about 1.5 hours from our hotel. We visited and had dinner and just chilled for a while.

Owen slept in the car and then was as happy as a clam just sitting in a blanket and being entertained by his cousins. They were showing him their bow and arrows and he loved it. Watching them with him makes me excited to have more kids some day!

He was smiling at Aunt Amanda. Such a happy baby!

On Monday, we checked out of our hotel and walked around West Yellowstone a bit. We got a delicious HUGE cinnamon roll and bagel (they were amazing) from a bakery and then wandered the shops a bit before heading out. We stopped at Big Springs on the way out and then we stopped in Rexburg for a quick lunch at a park.

Dan’s awesome moose shirt was his souvenir from the trip.

We had tons of fun on our trip and it is so weird to think that last year I was just pregnant with Owen and we were talking about having the baby with us! We had a blast together and love doing things as a family. Now all of our vacations are behind us so we need to plan the next one so we have something to look forward to!

August

It’s not quite over yet, but August has been a busy and fun month. I can’t remember if we celebrated in July or August, but my niece Brioney turned 1 and we had a fun party at their house with a slip n slide and a pool. The kids (and the grown men) loved it.

I’ve said it before but this girl is a WILD CHILD. She is crazy and spastic and so cute! She destroyed her cupcake and then wanted me to hold her…I ran for my life. We love this little lady.

Auntie Steph mauled loved Owen whenever we were around…she just loves him and he is lucky to have her!

I got to spend a little more time with Shelley before they left for a new adventure in Austin. We met with our moms for lunch downtown and had a fun chatting. She gave Owen lots of loves!

Bre and Shelley and the kids came over for the Final Farewell…aka we said our goodbyes and cried a lot. It was hard and I hate how my best friend always has to leave! I love her and her family so much and I just wish she were closer so our kids could play and grow up together. But maybe some day they will end up around here. I will keep hoping.

We went on a hike with our friends, the Saldivars and it was pretty tough but really fun. Owen took a snooze in the backpack and did awesome!

A rare cuddle moment with our buddy. He never cuddles!

Owen trying to rip Jack’s face off. It was a friendly attack.

The only time in our lives where my baby might look a tiny bit like me! I love this pic so much!

Dan and I went to the Bees game for Dan’s work and we got 3rd row seats! It was really fun and it’s always nice to go out together and know that Owen is safe and sound at home with my mom! She is awesome.

Church is a blast with a kid…I had heard a million times before that it’s rough but now I really know. He usually takes a nap around 9 or 10 so starting church at 9 is difficult especially when he won’t fall asleep while we’re holding him. The past few weeks we have gotten him to take a little nap on the floor. Dan took off his shoes so he was more comfortable . But it was pretty dang cute.

Last week, Danny’s grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary! Pretty amazing and they had a party with a cupcake/ice cream truck! It was a major hit and I think some of the kids had about 12 treats each…yikes. I’m keeping Owen away from most sweets while he is still too young to know better! Eventually he will beg for it and I’m sure he will have plenty of treats, but for now, I just give him a tiny bite!

We have had plenty of entertainment from this kid. He keeps us on our toes and is tons of fun. Trying to juggle work and take care of him all day is pretty difficult, but I am so glad I can work from home so I can be with him! He is such a happy kid and it is so fun to watch him grow up and learn.

I cannot handle the cuteness of this child. He is full of rolls and I adore his chub! This was after a bath and we were seriously dying at his chubbiness and I love his bent knee! So awesome and so cute!

I bought him the cutest winter hat from H&M (wow they have cute baby stuff!) for our upcoming trip to Yellowstone and I think he liked it! He is getting so big and I just love watching him grow up. He still has no interest in crawling but I’m okay with it. He’s getting close and can roll just about anywhere he wants so I’m sure it will happen any day now!

Dan is also going to be starting a new job in a few weeks! He has felt like he wanted to make a move and he got an offer to do sales at CompHealth which is where two of his brothers work! It is one of the top companies to work for (by Fortune), has great sales training, has good benefits and atmosphere, and he feels like there is a lot of potential there. So we are excited for a new phase in our lives and hope that he loves it there! He will be working further away and will get home a lot later but hopefully it will pay off for us!

Bear Lake

A few weeks ago, my family was able to stay at a cabin at Bear Lake. It was owned by an awesome family in my mom’s ward who were nice enough to offer the cabin to us! The dad has been the bishop a few times and in the stake presidency and we have known them forever. We took them up on their offer and had an awesome time.

Dan and I were meeting my mom there on Wednesday afternoon and as we were going up the canyon to Bear Lake, we came across some people having car trouble. It was a young girl and her younger siblings as well as her grandma and they were pretty freaked out. Dan and some people helped them push the car to the side of the road and I drove her a few miles ahead to find the rest of her group (since there was no cell service). My mom ended up taking the grandma to the family’s cabin because it was hot and she was pretty stressed out. After about an hour delay, we got back on the road and made it to the cabin!

We were pretty stoked because it was right on the lake! Technically it was about .2 miles down a path to the lake but that was just because the water level was low. It was such a fun place and had plenty of room for us and Owen even got his own room! They had everything we might need there and we really just had to bring clothes and food.

We got settled and walked a few blocks to get some delicious Raspberry milkshakes of course!

They had a fire pit and we roasted s’mores and enjoyed the beautiful view. The temperature was PERFECT and not too hot at all! I was in heaven.

The next day we just relaxed and Dan swam in the lake (he did that about 3 times a day). The cabin was really shaded so we just read our books, played with Owen, and ate A LOT.

Steph and Andrew came Thursday evening and we did a few fireworks since it was the 24th and Owen didn’t get to see any fireworks on the 4th! He wasn’t scared at all and he just had really wide eyes the entire time.

It was pretty cute to watch him and see his reactions to the fireworks.

Steph, Andrew and I did a pretty killer work out while Dan swam in the lake. I didn’t bring any work out clothes so I improvised with my swimsuit and Chuck Taylors.

We played in the lake and laid out for a while and read our books. We drank Diet Coke and ate a lot of food. If you haven’t noticed, we kind of developed a routine…I think Owen got more worn out by all the new things because he took long naps every day. It was pretty awesome and we were able to put him down then go to the lake while my mom stayed at the cabin. She was happy as a clam to read her book and enjoy the view so it worked out for everyone!

We got yummy pizza and Owen just chilled on the grass. Luckily he has the best aunt and uncle to play with him all the time!

On Friday, my aunt and uncle came up and visited for a while. We all drove to Preston for the RODEO! This was our 4th time (my 5th) going to the rodeo and everyone loved it. Except Owen. I didn’t expect him to love it, given that it started an hour after his bedtime. But we survived.

We went to the awesome parade before the rodeo and it was a hit with the fam. We love small town parades.

The rodeo grounds are right next to the carnival grounds so there was a lot of great people watching.

We had earplugs for Owen and he actually didn’t try to pull them out, but they kept falling out so it didn’t help a ton. He was good for the first 30 minutes or so but I finally left with him after about 45 minutes and we just went back to the car and he fell asleep. I was sad to miss the rodeo, but I mostly just cared that Owen could sleep and he was happy. And the rest of the family loved it so it worked out!

My cousin Seth and his wife Ashley and their daughter Emma came up to visit on Saturday. It was fun to see them and Owen’s face is priceless. He was really tired and was just staring blankly at everyone. He looks terrified but he was just staring at my cousin while he held him. So funny.

My mom left on Saturday evening and we all stayed until Sunday. We walked to get more milkshakes on Saturday with Steph and Andrew and then the boys jumped in the lake! Brrrr!

The views were pretty awesome and it was so nice that this was just a few minute walk from the cabin.

Dan enjoyed a breakfast of champions-Oreos and milk.

Cutest grandpa smile ever! And he has a little bit of hair! We are making slow progress in that department…

On the way home Sunday evening, we saw two moose right off the road! This one was only a few feet away and another was on the side of the mountain. It was a pretty great way to end the trip! We had so much fun and hopefully we can make it an annual tradition for the family to go to Bear Lake every summer! Dan and I are also daydreaming about having a cabin up there one day!