Yellowstone

With kids off track, and amazing weather I decided last minute to take off to Yellowstone. Mark couldn't go because of work so I called my Mom and asked if she would be ready to go in the morning early... of course she said yes... she is always up for a vacation.

Our first stop was in Idaho Falls... we got out at the Idaho Falls Temple Park and had a picnic...

Our first animal documented was this squirrel... the kids wanted me to have pictures of every animal and bird we saw.

Mace saw this old train across the street and had to go see it... he is still obsessed with trains!!!

This is the temple that Mom and Dad were married in... the falls are beautiful also.

On to Montana.... Yay almost there!!!

Our first stop was the Bear and Wolf Sanctuary...

We could see the wolves and bears up close... the wolves eyes are crazy if you look right into them!!

When we started in the park we first spotted some elk... we were pretty close along with 20 other people and then the elk started bugling and took off charging into the trees. Glad it wasn't us he was charging.

Mace balanced on every log in the park... we were always waiting for him to come along!!!

Mace was mesmerized by the steam vents and hot pots... he would just wait and stare until one of them blew... He loved it!

Some kind of Crane... document it!

That night we headed to the pool... it had this great slide the kids loved... what a great way to end the day.

All bundled up and ready to go to bed!!!

We went back to the sanctuary to see them feeding the Grizzlies... We saw the wolves again while we waited.

The Grizzlies are massive... and so strong... the people hid meat and bones all over their enclosure and this bear would move logs and boulders like they were pebbles. Amazing!!!

They had a Tee-Pee set up for the kids to see... Mace thought that was pretty cool.

Swan... again documenting...

Canadian Geese

More balancing...

Steam vents and mud pots.

Having fun being together...

Jacob and Mace looking over the valley... steam vents everywhere.

A bird... :)

Chipmunk

Different kind of chipmunk.

Hawk

Beautiful waterfall

I loved this crazy rock formation...

An then the highlight of the trip... we saw a real wild Black Bear... The kids were so excited and so were mom and I... we even broke the rules and stopped in a place where we weren't supposed to stop... We just had to get a picture... It was only about 50 ft from the road.

Mace got a sliver in his finger from a hand rail... he was so whiny... some people saw me and mom trying to get out the sliver and they came over to help... The guy started talking to him and pulled up his shirt to show Mason this massive scar on his chest... I was like gross !!!! Then his wife took the needle from me and started digging at his sliver... meanwhile another lady started pinching him saying, "It will make the pain go away." I was almost laughing out loud at these people but they got it out and we could move on with our vacation. Fun Times!!!

Mammoth Falls... This was one of my favorite spots... It looks so fake!

Goofy Kids... I think they are about driving my mom nuts at this point!

Elk traffic jam.

He casually moved in his own sweet time and started munching grass on the other side of the road.

We followed this guy for a good 10 minutes... I tried to pass a few times but he looked me in the eye and I backed off.

River Otters... I saw people pulled over looking at something so I followed suit and saw these cute little animals... these weren't even on the kids check list. Bonus!!!

Love this scene... Just beautiful!

And this one could be a postcard... Mommy, Baby and Daddy!

Painters Pots

And finally Old Faithful... they had a really cool exhibit inside for the kids... lots of hands on experiments... they loved it.

Old Faithful didn't let us down... there she blows!!!

After old faithful we headed home... I wanted to drive back through Jackson Hole... man it made for a long drive home... But the Grand Tetons were beautiful and the drive down the snake river brings back memories of the river run days... I loved the trip!