Thursday, July 31, 2008

Idaho Falls and Yellowstone

BE FOREWARNED: THIS MAY BE A LONG POST!

This past weekend, we went to Idaho Falls to see my sister and her family. Then we went to Yellowstone for a family reunion. I don't know about the rest of the family, but we had a GREAT time! (Even though we all got a little sunburned and didn't get enough sleep.) The girls liked everything, except for the driving, but I think their favorite part was the sing-a-longs. They have been singing camp songs ever since we left!

We first stopped at the Grand Tetons, since it was on the way to Idaho. I'd never been and they were pretty neat. And if you see this picture again, don't laugh. It may be as good as we get this year, as far as family pictures go, and it may wind up on a Christmas card. We'll see.
The girls loved playing with their cousins! And they all loved Carson's car. Here, Layla is actually pushing Carson around the patio, which he enjoyed too. Seryn loved it when Layla and Carson would join Lylli in the sandbox so she could have the car all to herself.
We found these lilys at the temple and thought it would be fun if we got a picture of Lylli with the lilys.
Of course, then Layla needed to get her picture taken with a Layla flower. So here is Layla with the "Layla."
Seryn loved the grass at the temple and loved the space she had to move about and explore!
Every night before bed, the kids talked Grandma or Grandpa into story time. Even Uncle Dean joined in on the fun!
This was in Yellowstone where we stopped for lunch. There was a river that the girls went and played in before we ate. I was surprised Seryn went wading because she has such an aversion to water. However, Aunt Michelle died the bath water purple the night before, and that must have cured her because she no longer has a problem with water of any kind.
This was a stop along the path at Mammoth Springs. The area is so beautiful!
Here is our family at Mammoth Springs, and Carson tracing the letters on the sign.
It's always more fun to catch everyone off guard when taking a picture. Then you are more likely to get faces in the picture! In the back is Dean and Dad, then Shane and Layla, then Lylli and Mom. (I don't know why Michelle and Mike never end up in these pictures.)
This is Lylli at Morning Glory, though I was a little disappointed with the pool. I remember it being so much prettier when I was a kid. But it was still neat.
This was Layla and Shane at one of the mud pits, Black Dragon, I think. And there is a buffalo just chillin' across the way.
This is Dragon's Mouth, another mud pit. The girls didn't like it too much because there were frequent rumbles from the cave and Uncle Dean kept telling them that there were real witches in the area. So for a while, Lylli was convinced there was a dragon in the cave. And I think Layla held her nose for a good portion of the walk.
I think this is another one of the Mammoth Springs.
This is Seryn after two days in the sun. I know I applied sunscreen several times, but she still got plenty of sun. And the thing on her nose is a blister. So this is how we ended our trip; a long drive home and a very miserable baby! We had to drain it three times before we got home!!! But we all had a good time and it felt incredibly good to take a nice long shower and sleep in our own beds when we got home! Thanks Mom and Dad for a fun reunion and thanks to Michelle and Mike for sharing your new home with us! We had a good time!

4 comments:

The Martinez Fam said...

It sounds like you guys had a great time at your family reunion!! The pictures are cute. Seryn's little nose looks so sore, the poor thing. I guess that's one thing I can be thankful for this summer--my kids' skin doesn't burn. I'm glad you had such a fun time!! Oh, by the way, we are coming to Casper next Friday, the 8th and we will probably be there until the 12th or 13th. We should get together while we're there.

THE BOWMAN'S said...

Rachel,
Kiana told me you guys were going to Yellowstone-looks like you had lots of fun. Isn't it nice to be able to just take the whole family and do fun things together? We finally got to go to our new ward yesterday, there are over 850 people-that go every week!
We sure miss you guys and tell the girls that you are invited to Wyatt's birthday, if they want to go on another long car ride. If not, we'll post some pictures. Have fun guys!

Michelle said...

Great pictures! How's Seryn's nose now? I don't have very many pictures of me or Mike either, so don't feel bad. We had fun too, and Carson keeps asking me when his friends will come visit again, and he is forever singing camp songs as well.

LindsC said...

Cute pics, it looks like you all had a great time!