Fall Flag Football

Jacob is loving this game...

He begs us constantly to play tackle... our deal with him is, "You start eating meat... you can play tackle." We are taking baby steps... he does eat chicken when forced. Not totally sure if a few bites of chicken count... so we are still working on our decision.

Does laughing make you run faster?

Mace practicing his kick-off skills.

He loves being quarterback and the coaches let him run a few passing plays... he got a few touch downs this way but scored plenty with his quarterback sneak.

Here are two video's of touchdowns... I'm a proud mama!

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!

Jacob's Birthday

This is a little lame but this is the only picture I have of his birthday... this is what he chose to have for dinner!!! I thought it was funny so I took the pic.

Mac & Cheese and Corn on the Cob

This is what I failed to take a picture of...

I told him he was getting too old to have a friend birthday party but he could ask his closest buddies to go do something fun. We went to classic fun center and had a blast... the kids played and I read, read, read, for 4 hours...I loved it!!! Then we came home and he wanted mac & cheese for dinner and an ice cream cake...
He of course got some Bronco gear and then some science stuff like a gyroscope and a marble labyrinth... He had a great day!!
I am so proud of who he is becoming... Man I love my boy!!

Burley, ID

Here we come!!!

Off to visit Kevin and Michelle

Mace and Sawyer little super heroes riding their bikes...

Super Cute!

Mace thought it was pretty cool to ride on dirt!

This poor kitten's legs didn't touch the ground the whole time we were visiting...

Kevin set up the pitching machine and the boys had a blast... I even jumped in and took a few swings... boy am I rusty.

Iree and Sammy walking the kittens... they made bead collars for them... and hooked Odie's leashes up... these poor kittens didn't know what to do.

We took the boat out for a few hours on the Snake River... It is so beautiful here... the houses on the river have it great!!

While pulling us on the tube the boat hit a sand bar/gravel bar and came to a dead stop in a few inches of water... Mark was fuming... that ended the boat trip and we went back to survey the damage.

Ouch... The prop took a big hit... good thing this was the last trip of the year!

Kevin got out the guns and Scott and Jacob shot for hours... everything from bb guns, shot guns, a 22, and a 357 Magnum. Jacob was in heaven.

While playing baseball in the dark... Jacob took a ball to the eye!!! We thought it would go black but it never did.

We shot some family pictures for Michelle while we were there... we rushed to get all the kids ready, dressed and situated and took some great shots only to come in and see that none of them turned out because they were over exposed... We had to do it all over in the evening but I think we got some great shots... Seriously these guys have the cutest kids ever!!!

These boys are so cute... I love it!!!

Best Buddies!

We didn't see much of the girls the whole trip... they were here in their hideout with the kittens.

It was my birthday while we were up there... Michelle made a cake and Mark put the fruit on... The best present ever... getting to go hang out with my sister and her awesome family.

When we got home the kids were asking when we get to go back...