Yellowstone 2008

Summer has been absolutely crazy! I can’t believe that August is here tomorrow. We have had a very busy, but fun summer. Two weekends ago we took a quick trip to Cedar City, Utah, to see our niece Whitney and her husband Tracy bless their darling baby Carter. They are such cute parents. As I was watching Whitney I couldn’t help but remember back to when Tyson and Bryn were little. The love that you feel and the emotions you have are overwhelming. They just seem to grow!

This last week we went to Yellowstone. Below this posting you will see pictures of our trip. Jeff asked the kids where they would like to go for our summer trip. We had mentioned California, Florida, or Yellowstone. We ruled out California because we are renting a beach house next year with all of the extended family and we are hoping to go to Florida to see the Rose gang soon. The kids really wanted to go to Yellowstone. Here is part of the reason why. This year for Jeff’s 40th birthday we put together a scrapbook with notes on “Over the Hill” stationary from people who have had a major impact on his life. The results were amazing. I still get choked up when I think of all of the people who we talked to and took the time to write. Needless to say it meant the world to Jeff. In many of the letters it talked about Yellowstone trips that Jeff took as a child. Our kids wanted to do everything that he did when he was little. It gave us a great itinerary.

We started the trip by going to Idaho Falls and seeing the falls. We had so much fun walking and exploring. The view of the Temple was amazing. Jeff and I had wanted to do a session, but I was too nervous to leave the kids in the hotel alone. We swam like crazy and I have to admit I love having my family all to myself! When we woke up the next morning we drove to Bear World which is about 19 miles outside of Idaho Falls. It was incredible! We had planned to stay about 2 hours but had to pull the kids away after 4 hours. As we drove through the park we had bears right next to our car. At one point we were all giggling! We got to see the bear cubs and walk through the petting zoo. They had deer, fawns, a pig, and goats. It was a blast. When we were ready to leave we drove through the park one more time. I received a huge surprise the next day when Jeff and the kids surprised me with a bear nativity. I love nativity sets and this one will have so many fun memories attached.

When we arrived in Yellowstone we stopped first at Macks Inn. This is the place that Jeff stayed every year when he was younger. As we were driving Jeff shared some of his favorite memories with the kids. They were excited. We took a look around and then began the search to find the cabin that he had experienced all of these fun memories. We searched for about 15 minutes. It is hard to drive to when all you remember is trails through the trees from Henry’s Fork River. We finally found it! It wasn’t quite as big as Jeff had remembered. In fact it looked as though it had been destroyed by termites and it was being renovated. You could see the flood of memories on Jeff’s face.

That night we walked Main Street in West Yellowstone and shopped till we dropped. We also had time to take in the Grizzly and Wolves reserve, which is always Tyson’s favorite place. When we arrived the wolves were all asleep. Bryn and I left Tyson and Jeff at the wolves to go watch the bears find their food. The next thing you know we hear all of these wolves howling in unison. Yes, Tyson and Jeff very secretively woke them up. It was hilarious. The guide was telling everyone all of these reasons that they could be behaving this way. Bryn and I knew that it was because the boys woke them up.

The next morning we woke-up early to go rafting. Again, another cherished memory that Jeff had. We were able to pack a lunch in the cooler and load up our life jackets and fishing gear. The water was so clear and relaxing, that is until Tyson decided to stir things up! I think that by the end of the trip we had all been pulled into the water by Tyson. His favorite attack plan was to swim under the boat and grab you from behind. At one point none of us were in the raft. Cherished memories! The kids wanted to go again. We had fun rowing, eating, laughing and being together.

On our second to last day we drove through the park and took in some amazing scenery. It was a trip that we all needed. My stomach still hurts from laughing so hard! We saw beautiful waterfalls, geysers, hot pots, bison, antelope, elk, a wolf, chipmunks, wild geese, ducks, you name it. It was so relaxing.

We came home and life quickly picked up where it left off. Tyson has started football and all of his hard work on the off season has really paid off. He is working so hard and having fun, if you call being sore and throwing up fun, and he is excited to be with his teammates again. He may make weight this year which is a first, although he absolutely loves being a lineman.

Well the Summer fun continues……