Yellowstone

When we were talking about possible ideas for this year's summer vacations, Steve said he wanted to do something outdoors and since he has never been to Yellowstone (that he can remember) we decided it was the place to go. We booked a hotel in West Yellowstone for a few days before the 4th of July since it seems to be tradition to head to Rupert for the 4th. Then it turns out my Grandma Buckley had planned a reunion in Island Park the weekend before our trip and since it was conveniently on our way we went up a few days early and spent some relaxing time with my parents, Venessa and her girls in a cabin.

Left: the girls playing in a little stream that ran by the cabin. Right: making s'mores.

Sunday my parents and Nessa headed back to Rupert and we went in to Montana where we checked into the hotel. The girls seemed to be tired, but as soon as we got to the hotel they were wired so we got in the car and ventured into the park for a few hours.

We had only been in the park for about 5 minutes when I looked up from the map and saw this bison standing on the side of the road. I pointed it out to Steve, who slowed down just in time for him to decide that he was going to take over our lane for a few minutes.

Then we stopped by the the trail around Fountain Paint Pots (pictured on left). The girls were pretty impressed with all of the hot springs, mud pots, and geysers we saw there. Then we headed to the Old Faithful visitors center to pick-up their Junior Ranger packets and it so happened that Old Faithful (pictured on right) would be erupting soon so we took a seat and watched.  On our way out we saw little baby dear eating near a stream.

 






Monday, after having breakfast at the hotel (which the girls loved--they each ate 4 waffles, yogurt, boiled eggs, cereal  all in one sitting--Steve and I could not believe the amount of food they packed away) we went back into the park and found these elk sitting in the shade near a stream.

We decided to drive the loop North and stopped at Sheepeater's Cliff. Everyone enjoyed stretching their legs and climbing this spectacular cliff.

We then stopped at the North visitor's center near Mammoth Hot Springs and saw lots more elk. The girls also participated in the Wildlife Olympics where they tested their skills against the animals, if they could jump as far as a rabbit, or high as bison (those massive creatures can jump 6' high), keep their eyes open without blinking like an owl, or stand on one leg with your eyes closed like how many birds sleep. They also got to look at a few skulls of animals and impressed the rangers with their knowledge of the animals displayed. We then found a picnic spot and had lunch. The girls wanted to touch every stream or river we came close to and Steve was nice enough to let them get in and play here after lunch (pictured left). Then we did a short hike to Wraith Falls (pictured right) where we saw another elk on our way and a marmot playing in and around his hole.

 






The girls were beat so we made the rest of the loop out and around which took longer than anticipated. We ate dinner in West Yellowstone at a local cafe--it was yummy and then to the hotel for swimming. After swimming and showering we walked around West Yellowstone where the girls picked out their newest stuffed animals; Lila got a moose and Ellie got a wolf she calls Husky after her school mascot. Then we enjoyed some delicious ice cream before heading off to dreamland.

Tuesday, we decided since the girls had been going to bed a little later we would let them sleep in, go swimming after breakfast and then hit the park after lunch so we could stay in Yellowstone and try to see more animals during the cool evening hours. On our way in on Tuesday I wanted to stop and take a picture by this sign, I remember doing it as a kid with my family. Silly Lila held her moose in front of her face for all four pictures--it made me laugh so hard when I noticed while I was reviewing the pictures.

This elk was in the stream when we drove by, but by the time we got down to the bank to take a picture it was on shore.

This is our second hike. We hiked around an area of Yellowstone Lake. The girls were awarded their junior ranger badges shortly before and were wearing them with pride. We saw some trumpeter swan and geese while on the hike.

Here they are taking turns with the binoculars to see a coyote running through the fields. We also saw a grizzly bear and several herds of bison with babies on our drive towards the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone Grand Canyon and water falls--it was beautiful and my beauties there too. :)

We ate dinner at a restaurant in the park and Steve dared to try a bison burger. :) Then on our drive out we did see several animals out enjoying the cooler evening temperatures (I was hoping to see a moose, but no such luck).  The elk below walked across the street right in front of us.

We knew we would be driving to Rupert on Wednesday and so we didn't know if we dared do more driving in the park to make the time in the car seem so much longer so we decided to do the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center right there in West Yellowstone. It was very educational, we learned a lot and got to see wolves, bears, bald eagles, and a cute owl. The girls also made another smashed penny for their collector books.

Then on to Rupert for the 4th of July festivities.  The parade is always a hit with lots of fun floats and candy being tossed. Lila was funny this year--instead of just grabbing candy she would run out and see if it was something she liked before picking it up.

We celebrated Grandma Fern Olenslager's 80th birthday (which was on July 1st) and Siena's first birthday (which is on July 10th).

The girls spent the whole 3 days in their swimsuits playing in the kid pool, fishing, hot tubbing, boating, and paddle boarding. Jakey taught Ellie to cast and she spent almost an hour down there on the dock casting and reeling it in trying to catch a fish--maybe next time. :)

Lila got out of the pool to cozy up to Marcee who was reading a book on her kindle. Lila loved that the book didn't have any pages and that Marcee let her turn the page by pushing a button.

We took the girls out several times on the boards. We beached them one day in the shade and let the girls play around in the water. It was fun!

It's really hard to want to head home after such a relaxing weekend, but we made it home yesterday to our dog Zoe who was ecstatic to see us. Today the girls are tired and having a rough time transitioning into normal life (lots of crying for no reason-which is driving Steve crazy, I some how manage to ignore it pretty well). Hopefully a good night's sleep will help because tomorrow we're back to swimming lessons, tennis lessons, art classes, and Ellie has piano camp for the next two days at her teachers studio. We are truly enjoying summer!

Sweet Summer

I have to admit I think I was looking forward to school getting out more than my girls. I was ready to be done making sack lunches and doing drop-off and pick-up. I know I'm still responsible for lunches, but somehow making Ellie a hot lunch is way easier than packing her a lunch and although we try to keep a schedule for everyone's sanity, it is a bit more laid back during the summer and so far, summer has not disappointed any of us.  Ellie has started tennis lessons which she loves! After the first lesson she said, "Mom you have to get me in the rest of the classes." I told her she was and then I signed her up for July too.

We've done a session of swimming lessons with 2 more scheduled for July. Ellie got a wonderful teacher this time around who was really animated and engaged the kids--she really improved her skills.

They've gone to the movies twice--once with Mimi and once with me and Nessa and Izzy. We've been swimming with friends, and even drove to Lindon once to swim with Jake & Marcee. They are both taking an art class that they really enjoy and we have even made it to the park. It has been a perfect balance of activities and relaxing. The girls have played so well together. We've had a few moments of discontent, but overall it has been blissful--as I look out the window and see Lila hitting Ellie with a stick, excuse me while I give Lila a time out. Seriously, the one being punished is crying more than the one that got hit, but she knows better than to hit. Good times. Seriously though I wouldn't trade this summer for anything!

Other cute moments include Lila rubbing my belly every day and telling me it is getting bigger and that means the baby is getting bigger. The girls love talking about the baby and where he will sit and how they will help out. I'm enjoying the small flickers of movement I have started to feel from Bat Cloud (name given to baby by Lila, of course Ellie thinks we should name him Ben after her dear friend).  I am truly blessed and loving life!

Super Dad

Steve has been Super Dad these past few months as I have been pretty sick with first trimester fun; he managed to take the girls to soccer games, practice, do dinners since evenings were the worst for my morning sickness and do it so lovingly that I never felt like it was a huge burden for him which was an emotional boost for me because I was already tormented with how my body was handling this pregnancy.  I love him so much and am so grateful for the way he takes care of us!

Thank you for always providing and being there, even at times when we may not recognize it.  As the video states, noble fatherhood gives us a glimpse into the divine.  We love you!!

One Moore to Join Our Family

We are so excited to welcome a baby into our family. It has been quite a journey to get this little one here and I have to admit, after the first few weeks of nausea and other physical ailments, I wondered why we had tried so hard, but we cannot wait. The girls are excited to be big sisters and have been helpful and patient as I have not been feeling well. Our BOY is scheduled to arrive mid-November. 

Memorial Weekend Memories

It was a lovely weekend! The weather could not have been better in the 70s slightly overcast and we had a great time being outdoors most of the weekend (yes-I continued to ignore the inside of my house that was a colossal mess to enjoy this weekend with my family). We got Ellie out on her bike Friday night and she began to feel much more comfortable and enjoyed riding her bike. YAY! Steve got up early Saturday and went for a bike ride with Matt. They went 40 miles all the way down to the 215 interchange. I was still not feeling too well so I gave the girls a bowl of cereal, turned on Saturday morning cartoons, showered and went back to bed so I was asleep when he got home. When I awoke he told me that he had crashed and lost his phone so we would have to drive down and find it. I was more worried about the crash then the phone. He said they had just turned around and so he looked down to reset his bike computer because they had been fighting the wind on the way out and he wanted to compare the ride home, when he looked up there was a sharp 90 turn that he was going too fast for. He slammed on the breaks you can see the skid marks on the pavement and went down into the ditch, he landed down below those bushes he is standing next to in the last picture. He scraped up his knees, and bruised his arm, but I am so grateful he was not injured worse.

Since we were almost to Stephanie's house after retrieving his phone, we went down and spent a few hours with them. We enjoyed visiting in their backyard, roasting hot dogs with our fire-pit we brought, and then we let the kids ride their bikes down to the park where we attempted to fly a kite, but the wind just wouldn't cooperate.

On Monday, we slept in and just had a relaxed start to the day. Steve mowed and edged the lawn, then put in a water spout over on the RV pad near the garden (the reason why Lila and I dug out all that rock the other day). Then he worked on reinforcing the loft area in the garage for a bit while the girls and I enjoyed playing in the backyard, we did lawn darts, squirt guns, rode bikes, they talked the neighbors ear off while he trimmed his tree and then we had a little barbecue outside after which the girls raced "rolly polly" bugs across the table. Ellie said, "this was a great day we just got to play." Agreed! Sometimes you just need a play day!

Ellie Dares to be 7

Ellie knew her birthday was on a Tuesday after looking at a calendar a while back, but on Saturday when Mimi said we'll see you on Tuesday for your birthday she got this huge grin and said, "My birthday is this Tuesday!" She had eggs benedict for breakfast and then Steve and I told her we would take her out to lunch, but she wanted us to eat at school with her--so we told her we would get her a cheeseburger and come eat lunch with her. On our way to get the food, I received a phone call from the school.  Ellie was on the line and with a little tremor in her voice, "Momma, you forgot to pack me a home lunch and I don't want to eat school lunch." I giggled and told her we were bringing in cheeseburgers. She was excited to see us when we got there. :)  She also took a book for her teacher and fruit-by-the-foot to share with her class.  After school Mimi and Grandpa arrived and we let her open presents and then she wanted to go out for pizza for dinner so we went to the Pizza Factory where she ordered pasta (is this a tradition of not ordering the requested food when at the restaurant, you remember last year we took Lila to dinner of which she requested breakfast then ordered chicken strips). We then sang Happy Birthday over Tasty's Donuts and let the girls play.

She got princess polly pockets from us; legos and an American Girl magazine subscription from Mimi & Grandpa; and cash from G&G Moore.

I cannot believe how quickly she is growing. She is a wonderful big sister who sets a good example. We are working on understanding the principal of responsibility and doing what we need to do first and then we can play and have fun, but hey this is hard concept even for me at times. :) She has set a goal to read the Book of Mormon before she gets baptized next year and I have already caught her sitting on the couch reading. So glad she is part of our family! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

House of Horror

Well, well what a month we have had. Lila got a little cold at the beginning of May and then I feel like it has just kept morphing and being passed back-and-forth. Ellie was next and was out of school for 3 days which is a lot for her. She barely made it back in time for the Moms and Muffins. Then Lila got sick again--poor girl missed 2 weeks of joy school and kept asking me if joy school was over. She had so much flem that she would occasionally throw-up in the morning. Then her eyes got infected and she couldn't even open them in the morning because of all the eye boogies and it kept producing them all day long so I took her into the doctor and he gave me eye drops to help her eyes. Today I went to the doctor because I have the nasty cold that is making me cough, vomit, and all sorts of not so fun things, but mostly the sinus pressure is killing me. He gave me an antibiotic and said if the infection isn't bacterial I have another week of this (note: wasn't bacterial it took another week for me to start feeling better, but I do think the antibiotic helped with the sinus pressure because I have no doubt that would have been a nasty sinus infection). And the fun doesn't stop there. Lila has been having a lot of accidents at night and Steve noticed it really smelled so he asked her if it hurt when she went potty--you got it she has a urinary tract infection and we had to go back to the doctor to get another antibiotic for her. Poor girl, by the time we got to the doctor her stomach was hurting and everything--it also explains the hives she kept getting over the weekend. Hopefully we can all get healthy soon and enjoy a nice summer. This is also why Ellie's birthday (next post) is low key--because I was not feeling good. I had all of these plans again and then just couldn't do it. I told Steve that I guess both of the girls' birthdays will be low key this year due to illnesses.

Lila & Shapes

So I've been working on shapes with Lila. We've talked about squares, circles, rectangles, triangles, hexagons, and diamonds. She loves the shapes puzzles I bought and I enjoy watching her learn. This morning I had a project outdoors that involved digging out some rock so I told Lila I would pay her a dime if she helped me. She was on board. Of course her attention on the project was that of a 4-year-olds, but she didn't cause any trouble and when we got inside she asked for her dime. I got one out of my purse and handed it to her and she looked at it disappointingly. I told her it was worth 10 pennies she said, "but I thought it would be shaped like a dime." I said, "Oh you mean diamond." Lila, "Yeah I want a diamond." She sat the dime on the counter and walked away. Girl knows what she wants and she sets her sights high. :)

Mother's Day

I recently read an article where the author thought that Mother's Day was a frivilous holiday and unnecessary. She thinks that celebrating her on her birthday is enough because she wouldn't be a different person just because she has kids. I agree with the principal idea that generally people are either good or bad (I think most of us strive to be good), but you cannot tell me that having children does not change you and your perspective on the world. I am also in full agreement that this holiday is more about celebrating the women in our life who have influenced us because there are those who through no fault of their own do not have the opportunity to be mothers, but greatly influence those around them. I guess the bottom line for me is that I love to have a holiday where we celebrate each other, together. Sure the celebrating is mostly done in a family setting, but I think of all the women who have touched my life and thank my Father in Heaven for their influence and hope they for a moment feel extra love from me even though I may not be able to reach out to them on that day and I pray that I have a positive impact on those around me, my children, primary kids, neighborhood friends, etc. So Happy Mother's Day to all of you!! Enjoy the day, put your feet up and bask in the glory that is womanhood!!

My celebration began on Friday when I got to attend Mom and Muffins with Ellie and her class. Her teacher is such a loving person and Ellie loves to learn. It was fun to spend the morning with her. They were supposed to pick a book to read with us and she chose a dictionary. :) I explained to her what a dictionary was and we looked up a few words and looked at the pronunciation and read the definitions. Good times! :)

Then Steve stopped at Sam's club on his way home to pick up a few items and came home with flowers and a gas fire pit--something I have been wanting for a while. The girls roasted hot dogs that night and made smores. Sunday Steve made bacon and pancakes for breakfast then we went to church and the primary kids sang to all of the moms--we had one week notice so the song was a little unpolished, but all 150 smiling faces staring at you couldn't be better. My Mom & Dad were here and it was fun to have them. The girls made me cards and drew me pictures all week--love it! One card included a special note from Steve, he always knows just what to say! We went up to Nessa's house for some carne asada tacos and relaxed for a bit. Unfortunately I got a migraine and the rest of the day was toast for me, but I greatly appreciate my husband who just steps in and takes care of the kiddos and my parents who just enjoy being with their grandkids. On Monday my Mom & I went to this little boutique we have been waiting to walk through and picked up a few things and then they headed home. When Steve got home I got to open another present that came in the mail a few days earlier. He ordered a whole set of matching picture frames for this wall he knows I want to update with family pictures even though he knows that means more work for him to hang them up. LOVE THIS MAN and LOVE BEING A WOMAN!!

Lila's Planned Field Trip

As part of the joy school rotation we each took a turn to plan a field trip. Today was our day and Lila was so excited, she greeted everyone and was so excited to share our special treat at the end. We went to the local nursery and they told us all about plants, showed us some plants, let us smell herbs, feed the fish and look at poison dart frogs. We sure have loved this joy school and all the new friends we have made!!

Lila First Soccer Game

I found this Tiny Tot soccer league and thought we would try it and see if Lila likes soccer before registering for a whole AYSO season. She had her first game today and really really enjoyed it.

They took pictures before the game and I didn't buy any so Lila felt bad and I explained that it cost money and I would take pictures of her so here she is posed for a picture. :)

Before game practice.

A couple of game action shots.

Several of the little ones had a hard time staying focused on the game or even had a desire to play, but Lila listened to the coach and wanted to play as much as possible. Probably helps that she has watched Ellie play. Here's to a crazy season of soccer every Tuesday/Thursday for Lila and Wednesday/Saturday for Ellie for the month of April.

Lila's Dancing Her Way to 4

She woke up and came into our room where just a few days before she had noticed her birthday present sitting on my night stand (it had been there all week--I kept thinking I would feel well enough to wrap it one day and then she saw it).  She came in and said it's my birthday can I have that present now. So Steve and I tickled and gave her birthday spanks then let her have her present which was a new Leapster game which she immediately started playing.
 
Mimi and Grandpa drove down and we had a little lunch with them and the Durbanos in celebration.  

Grandpa gave Lila a giant Hershey Kiss--she couldn't believe it was all chocolate.

She wanted a ballerina on top of her cake and I had ordered decorations and made plans, but was still not feeling well enough to make a cake so I ordered an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen which is always yummy, but the decorations were a bit disappointing. Lila didn't mind after having a couple of bites she turned to me and said, THANK YOU! Although before she was worried about getting a cake at all because she hadn't seen me baking anything and asked, "Are you going to make me a cake?"

Venessa gave Lila a real manicure for her birthday which she was happy to show and tell everyone about for the next few days. Although her attention span may not quite be ready for this since after each step she would ask, "can we be done now?" Poor Ellie was having a hard time with all of the attention on Lila. Mimi gave Ellie a little manicure too. Then Grandpa read the girls some books before heading back to Idaho.

Lila also shared with us some of her awesome dance moves--since it was a dancing themed birthday. She seriously has some sass and it comes out in her dances and when she plays keep away with Steve she has these sassy moves. It cracks us up.

We made some banana muffins for her to take to joy school the next day and share with her friends. We used the ballerina slipper rings to decorate them. As I dropped her off I heard her say, "it's all about me." I quickly told her, her birthday was over and she needed to be nice and share with everyone--hopefully it all went well. :)

Spring Breaker

After Easter we headed back to Utah because the girls had dentist appointments and piano lessons on Monday. I realized kind of late that I had done nothing for April Fools' Day and we usually like to do a little something. So I quickly pulled together a Fool's Cafe dinner I found online.

Steve helped me setup a blanket to protect the bar from being seen so I could prepare their orders. It was fun and the girls had a good time.  For the first course Ellie ordered: 5 [jello], 6 [goldfish crackers], 7 [cucumbers], 9 [ham], 11 [fork] she did the best first round order; Lila ordered: 12 [spoon], 13 [knife], 14 [toothpick], 17 [ice cream], 19 [mint] she was ecstatic to eat ice cream first; Steve ordered: 1 [ice], 4 [gravy], 6 [goldfish crackers], 18 [chocolate syrup], 20 [soda] I asked him what he was doing ordering 6 and he thought I might actually throwout a piece of crusted Tilapia which he loves.  Then they proceeded to order the second course and discovering new items on the menu.

 

Mimi and Grandpa came down late Monday night so we decided to venture to the Aquarium in Sandy Tuesday afternoon. It was really packed due to spring break, but the girls enjoyed walking around looking at all of the different critters. Lila even recognized the jelly fish first as we turned the corner. We touched a shark and a sting-ray that knew it was almost feeding time and was jumping out of the water right at us.

Thursday, Venessa called and said she wanted to take the girls to baby animal days in Brigham City. Now I had not been feeling well at all this week so to get out and do the previous activities of the week took all my energy so I debated this and debated this and decided it was spring break and I needed to do another activity with the girls so I mustered up my strength, got us ready and we all headed out. We followed Venessa's GPS into Brigham City only to realize it had not found the correct address. After adjusting it sent us up the Logan canyon and I looked at Nessa and said are we going to Logan? Pretty much, she felt bad and I should have double checked, but it was a nice day so we thought we might as well try it and it would have been fun if it had not been so crowded like 3,000+ crowded so now we know, but the girls still got to hold baby bunnies and pet animals. Izzy got right in front of this goat that was just her size and was holding up her hand and saying, "Stay. Stay. Sit. Sit." The goat probably thought she was crazy, but Izzy thought she was totally in control. :)

I'm so glad the weather was nice for most of the week so the girls could go outside and play with bubbles, water paint, draw with sidewalk chalk, pick dandelions (yes we still have a few, but not nearly as many as last year--the yard is already greening up nicely), and just enjoy being outdoors together. 

We finished off spring break with Ellie's first spring soccer game on Saturday, which I didn't make it to because I didn't feel well, but Steve said she played hard and did really well. 

Easter in Idaho

My whole family decided to spend Easter in Idaho and it was fun.  The girls of course were so excited to go to Mimi and Grandpa's house. So much so that Lila pulled out all of her clothes in preparation for packing. I wondered what she was doing so quietly--we whittled it down to what we would need for a weekend trip.

The Easter Bunny is always fun. Lila got the much coveted Merida and her horse Angus, even Ellie knew how excited Lila would be.

Mimi and Grandpa gave the girls some clothes and beach towels. :)

Then we hunted for eggs after breakfast.  Uncle Jakey was a good assistant to the Easter Bunny--hiding the eggs while we finished opening Easter presents (it was too cold for the Eater Bunny to do it at night). There were a ton of eggs and the girls had a ball searching all over the large yard for them.

Checking out the loot.

We spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and hanging out. Steve and Grandpa went for a bike ride. The crew tried out the new paddle boards Grandpa bought and everybody enjoyed it including the girls sitting on the front while the adult paddled around (didn't get any picture though). It was a nice weekend to spend with family and the girls love going to Mimi and Grandpa's house.

I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. For His life and the opportunity that we get to celebrate that He lives and that through Him we can live again too!