It seems as though I have the inability to update the blog more than every 6 months. Oh well, I'm a slacker. Everyone should know this already. 😊 So this is what we have been up to this summer.
Lilly didn't get out of school until June 2nd, so our summer activities started a little bit later than usual. I do miss the schools getting out earlier in New Mexico and Oklahoma but its nice that the kids don't have to go back to school until the very end of August.
ANYHOO....
So we started our summer activities before school was officially over. We had never spent more than one day in Yellowstone and Grand Teton so decided to take advantage of Lilly's 4th grade National Park pass and spend a couple days. We were hoping that since it was still early in the season that there wouldn't be as many people in the park. Boy were we WRONG. There were SOOOO many tourists that we were unable to go to many of the sites because there was no where to park. We saw a few almost accidents and one minivan get high-centered when it tried to park on top of the curb. We did get to see some things though and it was nice for us to just be in the park and together. The kids loved Old Faithful and we saw a lot of wildlife including a black bear and a grizzly. The grizzly was right off of the road which was a bit scary but really cool. We also saw a lot of Asian tourists, buffalo, elk, deer, a fox, a badger, a rock chuck, chipmunks, antelope, and a bald eagle. Grand Teton was less crowded but we had spent so much time battling traffic and trying to see things in Yellowstone that we didn't get to spend as much time in Grand Teton. The kids loved it but I think next time we will wait till the fall and hope it will be less crowded.
Easton was practicing his Lewis & Clark pose.
So we started our summer activities before school was officially over. We had never spent more than one day in Yellowstone and Grand Teton so decided to take advantage of Lilly's 4th grade National Park pass and spend a couple days. We were hoping that since it was still early in the season that there wouldn't be as many people in the park. Boy were we WRONG. There were SOOOO many tourists that we were unable to go to many of the sites because there was no where to park. We saw a few almost accidents and one minivan get high-centered when it tried to park on top of the curb. We did get to see some things though and it was nice for us to just be in the park and together. The kids loved Old Faithful and we saw a lot of wildlife including a black bear and a grizzly. The grizzly was right off of the road which was a bit scary but really cool. We also saw a lot of Asian tourists, buffalo, elk, deer, a fox, a badger, a rock chuck, chipmunks, antelope, and a bald eagle. Grand Teton was less crowded but we had spent so much time battling traffic and trying to see things in Yellowstone that we didn't get to spend as much time in Grand Teton. The kids loved it but I think next time we will wait till the fall and hope it will be less crowded.
Not long after Lilly got out of school, we made a trip to Oklahoma to visit the fam. I always love going to visit mi familia but I could definitely do without the long L-O-N-G drive to and from, and I could also do without the extreme amount of humidity Oklahoma enjoys. I always forget how thick the air is down there. I love the dryness of Idaho, even if it does mean we go through a ton of lotion and chapstick every year.
Lilly got in a little trouble with the law in Wyoming.
We had so much fun visiting my Dad & Callie and Amy & Sean + the nieces and Spring & John + kiddos. It really made me wish that we all lived closer to each other. We also went and visited mom's grave site and Dad and Callie helped place a foot stone that we bought for her. It was originally suppose to be her headstone but my uncles bought her a headstone without consulting anyone and we bought one for her without knowing. Oh well, what can ya do? It looks nice either way. I just can't believe its already been 2 yrs since she passed away. I still miss her and think of her every day. We also visited my Grandma Armstrong's grave and helped Dad and Callie fix her and my grandpa's headstone which had sunk after my grandma's funeral last fall. It was a long HOT day.
On a happier note, we had so much fun eating with and visiting with everybody. The kids were excited to help grandma and grandpa gather eggs from the chickens (even though one of them chased Carter out of the coop. He'll forever be scared of chickens.) They also got to go with grandma and grandpa to buy new chickens while Nate and I got to go on a date. It was so nice.
We also got to go to the Oklahoma Aquarium while in Tulsa. Easton LOVED the fish and sharks and he made friends with a beaver. They put their hands on the glass together. It was touching. 😪
We also got to go to the Oklahoma Aquarium while in Tulsa. Easton LOVED the fish and sharks and he made friends with a beaver. They put their hands on the glass together. It was touching. 😪
This is where Easton bonded with the Beaver.
Easton thinks he is big.
After we got back from Oklahoma we got to rest for 4 days and then we were off to the mountains on a fabulous 3 day 2 night camping trip with Grandma & Grandpa Brown. This was actually Easton's first time camping which is really sad that he had to wait till he was 2 before going camping for the first time. Lilly was 6 months when she first went and Carter was even younger at 4 months. Poor Easton. I will say that it was much easier camping with a 2yr old than with an infant. He loved every minute of it.
Nate also took Lilly and Carter fishing and Carter out fished everybody. Even Grandpa Brown. Carter caught 2 trout and Lilly caught 1 while Nate and Grandpa caught nothing. Both the kids were so excited but Carter refused to eat any of it (that's a big surprise). Easton and I just hung out at camp with Grandma and took a nap.
We left Sunday night and got home completely exhausted. It was so much fun though and we ate way too many smores. Easton's favorite part was stepping on all the bugs.
Stompin them bugs
The rest of our summer will consist of swimming lessons, dental appointments for Carter (he is starting the long road of fixing his under-bite and cross-bite and hopefully avoiding jaw surgery later in life), maybe some more camping trips, fishing, the eclipes (which is suppose to to bring 500k+ people to IF), and getting ready to send 2 kiddos to school this fall. Hopefully we all survive.
1 comment:
I read this a few weeks ago but never got the chance to write on here. I had some witty (but never as witty as you or April could be, of course!) things to say but after coming back from Oklahoma and me getting some pictures for you and Amy of your Momma, I'm gonna pass. I love you Marie. I'm not sure how to do it on here so I'll do it on Facebook.
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