Yellowstone 2010

(I really want to blog about our trip to California, but first I must blog our adventure in Yellowstone. September was a crazy month so I didn't get this done when I wanted to :)

We went to Yellowstone over Labor Day Weekend with Andy, Mycah and Will.

We got a late start so we didn't arrive in West Yellowstone till 9pm on Friday night.

The campsite that we stayed at was falsely advertised as a campground.

It was nothing more than a dirt parking lot behind a motel. But it was late and a holiday weekend so we set up the trailer. The original plan was for Andy and Mycah to sleep in our cool truck tent, but Ches didn't feel right about that, so we squeezed them into the trailer. It was soo freezing cold that weekend that we were all glad to be snuggled together for warmth.



Saturday morning Andy and I planned our course for seeing Yellowstone

Ches brought along his binoculars to see the wild life. He was looking at some elk across the river. The kids loved to stop and see the animals.



One the geysers along the road.

Here we are at Upper Geyser Basin

So Beautiful

Andy, Mycah, and Will at Norris Geyser Basin

Mammoth Falls

More Mammoth Falls, I loved the two colors of the Falls

Kids being crazy at Mammoth

After a bathroom break at Mammoth, Andy and Mycah's car wouldn't start.

We tried jumping the battery, but it didn't help.

A storm had blown in so it was windy and rainy, so we spent a lot of time in the van. Kimmie and Willl had a lot of fun playing together.

The boys were really good at helping keep Will entertained as well.

Andy ended up calling a tow truck, they had the car towed back to West Yellowstone. By the time we got back into town and got things settled with the tow truck it was almost 8pm, so we bagged our original dinner plans (of beans and hot dogs) and went out for Mexican food. The food was soo good. It was Lee's birthday so he got a piece of pie ala mode and was a bit embarrassed by the attention.

Our original plan was to break camp Sunday morning and head home. But things were not going as planned. It was a great blessing that we brought the van and the truck, so we could figure out what to do about the broken car, and safely drive around. After breakfast Mycah and I broke camp while Ches and Andy took the car battery over to the local auto store to have it tested, it showed a charge, so they put it back in the car and it started!
What a blessing that they didn't have to get the car repaired in West Yellowstone.

We didn't get to Old Faithful on Saturday, so we decided to go back to Yellowstone to see more of the park. We left the car with the trailer and took the van and truck.

We stopped at Fountain Paint Pot Geysers. It was really cold and windy ~ helped keep the sulfur smell from being too strong.

Around lunch time we made it to Old Faithful. Kimmie and I are waiting on the bench.

The wait was a bit long so Mycah and Andy took the kids over to some fallen Lodge Pole pines and they played till it was time for the eruption. The boys made teeter totters out of the pines.

Ches passed the time watching YouTube on his Droid.

There were some ravens circling the geyser.

Family Photo after the eruption.

We loved having Mycah, Andy and Will with us. We drove home after seeing Old Faithful. Andy and Mycah stayed the night with us at home, (we were happy to get an extra day with them) and luckily car had no more problems.
In the end, we had a great adventure in Yellowstone this year.

Experiment

Kimmie needed to bring pictures of herself to show and tell tomorrow, so I went to Picasa and made this collage for her.

There was an option to blog it, so I thought I would give it a try.

Looks like it turned out pretty good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RICKIE!!!

Today is Rickie's 10th Birthday.

Jon Richard Curtis Barnes was born around 4pm at Jordan Valley Hospital.

He was 8 lbs 7 oz and 20 inches long.

He had the chubbiest cheecks it was so adorable.

minutes after birth

One month old ~ look at those cheeks



1 year old

2 yrs old

Rickie was always getting into mischief.

Sometimes it was of his own doing and sometimes it was because of his two older brothers.

There are many wonderful things about Rickie.

He is:

Intelligent

Spunky

Imaginative

DareDevil

BookLover

Competitive

Sensitive

Friendly

Affectionate

High-Spirited

and

Vital to our Family

Summer 2004

Rickie is the family thespian.

This picture is from a Father & Son camp out.

They had just set up the camp and Rickie needed a break.

October 2008

Rickie is also the family comedian.

This is at his baptism. He cracked a joke just loud enough for Granny and Gramps to hear just as the picture was taken.

Fall 2008
Rickie is a great student.

He has been student of the month every year in school.

Summer 2010

Rickie loves to swim.

He joined swim club this past summer and learned he is a great swimmer

Fall 2010

Rickie is such a fantastic person.

He is so fun to be around.

I'm so glad he is in our family.

Happy Birthday LEE!!!

I'm excited to do my first birthday post for my kids. Today is Lee's 14th birthday.

Our Little Guy was born at 6:30 pm at Jordan Valley Hospital in West Jordan UT.

He was 9lbs 6oz and 21 inches long.

minutes after birth

bath time with Dad

1 yr. old

4 yrs. old

Lee has been a joy and a challenge for us as we have learned to be parents.

There are so many wonderful things about Lee.

He is:

Outgoing

Talkative

Playful

Imaginative

Moody

Gregarious

Loyal

Polite

Stubborn

Sensitive

Adventurous

Spiritual

Intelligent

Loving

&

Essential to our family

Lee & Will

Oldest and Youngest Boy Cousins
December 2009

Lee at Cedar Badge (June 2009) ~ he loves scouting

Lee rocking our with his best friends Kayson and Scott (and Rickie) at a

Jeremy Buck & the Bang concert in 2008

Jeremy Buck & the Bang is Lee's favorite band.

Lee and his cousins Porter and Hunter at Kearns Pool July 2010

Swimming and being with his cousins are Lee's most favorite things.

Lee reading while camping July 2010

I'm amazed at how quickly he's grown into such a fine young man. I am so proud.
Happy Birthday Little Guy!

Flash Back Friday

This flash back only goes back to June of this year.

Ches and I celebrated our 15th Wedding anniversary, in Seattle. My parents kept the kids for a few days so we could go and play. It was the first time we had been on a vacation, just the two of us, since our honeymoon. We had a fabulous time. We discovered how much fun it is to vacation as a couple and how beautiful and fun Seattle is.

I still haven't perfected the picture thing so some of them are in a random order.

Seattle skyline from the roof of the Mediterranean hotel we stayed at.

Ches at Pikes Place Fish Market, home of the famous "flying fish"

Enjoying some clam chowder at Ivars on Pier 55

Seattle has underground streets. In 1889 the city of Seattle burned to the ground. The city officials decided to raise up the level of the city, because the original city was built at sea level and it kept flooding with the tide (founders were not so smart). So they saw this as a chance to build the city the right way. Brick retaining walls were built, some over 8 feet tall and the streets were paved. However most of the businesses had their store fronts at the original street level. For a while there were open ditches, but eventually the old streets were paved over and the underground tunnels remained. This is a picture of the "skylights" built to give light to the tunnels.

This is the same place from street level.

There are many brick archways and storefronts you see on the tour. There is even a haunted bank vault.

Standing in front of the famous Pike Place Market. It was almost overwhelming with all the vendors and shops, but it was a must see.

We visited the Science Fiction and Music museum. They had a huge column of guitars and drums. Ches' favorite room was the "Jammin Room" where you could play different instruments, and of course he totally rocked.

One of the tours we took was the Duck Tour. It is on this old WWII amphibious landing craft. You drive around the city then you drive into the bay. The driver was really crazy and it was a bit cold, but a lot of fun.

This is the famous "Sleepless in Seattle" floating house we saw on our Duck tour.

Jelly Fishing, Jelly Fishing!!

We went to the Seattle Aquarium. It was fascinating to see all the different kinds of sea life. We loved the tanks where you could touch sea creatures.

Some of the starfish and anemones we touched.

This is what we feed, a sea urchin

Feeding the sea urchin some seaweed

View of the Seattle skyline on the Puget Sound.

Another tour we went on was the Argosy Cruise to Blake Island. We took a ship across the Puget Sound to this island where a Native American Village was set up. On the island we learned about the NorthWest Coastal Native Americans, watched a stage dance about the histories of the people and enjoyed a Salmon buffet. It was the highlight of the trip.

Ches found this star fish while he was exploring the shore on the Island

Ches down at the shore on Blake Island

Inside the lodge/ visitors center on Blake Island. I loved learning about the native cultures. They explained why the NorthWest Coastal Indian had such a rich art history, it's because of the abundance of food from the salmon. That left a lot of time for them to develop their art.

This is one of the head pieces worn during the dance. It is made of solid wood, and very heavy. There is a string in it that allows the dancer to open and close the beak throughout the dance.

I tried taking a lot of pictures of the dance performance, but they didn't turnout so great, this is near the end during the mask dance.

This is a view of the shore on Blake Island. There were trails to explore the forest, but unfortunately not much time to do so.

Ches enjoying a clam, they were SO good!

When we arrived on Blake Island we were given a cup of clams in broth. As we ate our clams, we were asked to throw the shells on the ground and step on them. This is a tradition of the native people. The paths around the lodge was real pretty with all the purples and black colors from the crushed shells.

Inside the lodge there were some fire pit that they used to smoke the salmon for the buffet. The salmon was attached to Alder wood stakes, then cooked over the pit. This style of cooking is the traditional style of the NorthWest Coast Indians. It was, by far, the Best salmon we have ever eaten. The man by the pit is Joe, he was our guide on the cruise over to the Island.

This is Blake Island. The big long building is the lodge house where the salmon buffet and stage show "Dance of the Wind" is performed.

This is the ship we took our cruise on.

This is us at the Argosy, on Pier 55

We had such a great time together. We enjoyed the leisure and freedom of having no kids. I am so grateful for the time we had together and look forward to our next one (and it better not take another 15 yrs for it to happen :)