Yellowstone Vacation

after going through and editing over 400 pictures we took on this trip, I can finally blog about it!

Over Labor Day weekend we took the kids and grandma and grandpa to Yellowstone. We stayed in Grandpas new cabin and drove into West Yellowstone.

Just after a few minutes in the Park we saw a mommy and baby elk.

Then we saw Geysers and Buffalo. Jack loved the Geysers most of all!

Of course we saw Old Faithful!

And Lots of other stuff...

Then after a long day at the Park we headed to a Bear and Wolves museum where they had live Animals there.

Maddie got to plant some food for the Bears to find. They loved getting an up close view.

The Next day Grandma and Grandpa stayed back at the Cabin with Sam because he really hated sitting in his car seat all day. So we took Jack and Maddie back to the Park and saw some more stuff. We ended up seeing a whole herd of buffalo.

Sunday we went to Church at Island Park along with 1500 other people!

Then back home on Monday.

 

200+ miles, many hours of driving, 400+ pictures, 4 adults, 3 kids, and a dead seagull= Labor Day Fun!

(oh ya, one night when the wind was blowing, it threw a seagull into the cabin. We found it dead on the porch the next morning.)

One last Summer.....

with Labor Day this weekend we have one more chance to have summer go out with a bang. So we are taking the kids to Yellowstone today and staying at the brand spankin new Cabin at Island Park! The cabin is finally done after two summers since my dad bought the property and we are excited to go and have some fun with the kids.

To Be Continued...

First Day of School

Maddie has been so excited to start school. I have been ready to have more structure in my day too. But Jack is going to miss her so much. Sam is not quite old enough to entertain Jack. Jack grows bored playing with Sam just after a few minutes. But when Maddie is there they can all play together for hours. But Jack will start pre-school next week so that should help.

This morning Maddie went through her check list and got ready for the day. She has been counting down the days until school. So of course we took pictures this morning.

 

 

 

Maddie Good Luck on your First Day of School! I love you

 

Mom

Maddie's ready for school!

Maddie might be ready for school but I am not. We have hardly done any school shopping but she just hasn't grown that fast and I have a hard time spending money on clothes when she has some.

But she has been counting down the days until we meet her teacher at Back to School night. So we made this little card for her teacher.

Summer Highlights

K so I haven't been blogging very well this summer. SO here is a bit of an overview

Swimming lessons: Maddie and Jack had their first year of swimming lessons at the Clearfield Aquatic Center. It went good. Maddie loved it and it took Jack a little warming up to the idea. Some days were better than others. Sam was a handful but luckily they have a daycare so I usually sent him there for an hour.

Madisons Bday:

July 1st Maddie turned 7! I can't believe it. She is growing up so fast! We had a swimming party for her at the house with just a few friends and cousins.

 

Minnesota:

So I was in Minnesota for a Creative Memories Convention. I was gone for 5 days and the kids really had a hard time while I was gone. (Mostly Jack.) But it was a much needed break for me. For two days I got to R&R at Vicki Morgan's Lakehouse, which was soooo relaxing. Then back to Minneapolis for the Convention.

Summer is not summer without a day at Cherry Hill:

We of course went to Cherry Hill and to my surprised ran into Stacie from B.F.E. down for a day of swimming fun. Sam had his first bowl of Ice Cream and LOVED it! And Jack was looking forward to the Pirate Ship all day. Maddie's favorite is the warm Lazy River. She would spend all day in there if she could. And this year she was way too cool to wear water wings. Sam didn't like the water AT ALL! We did get him to float with grandpa in the Lazy River as long as the water wasn't touching him. Oddly enough he loves the bath.

 

Porter Family Reunion: Every year the Porter Family rents out Surf n' Swim for the reunion. So it happened to land on the day that I came home from Minnesota. So I came from the airport straight to Layton Park. So I was so lazy and did not get my camera out to take pictures. But by the end of the night Sam got in the water! And Maddie and Jack had a great time. I just don't have the photos to prove it.

I'll end it here since this is so long already!

Favorite Kids Websites

Ok So I have shared with a few friends my kids favorite websites. Maddie is a pro at the computer. She almost knows more about the computer than Riley.

So these are some of our favorite site with kids games...

This is my #1 Orisinal This one has the most darling games with music. Even if they are too hard for the kids and I just play they still love to watch.

Then of Course Disney Fairies are so fun. They can create their own fairy, clothes , hair, talent, decorate the room, and then they basically have their own site that other fairies and guests can visit. This is my Fairy that I made up to be Maddies Fairy friend.

Of course we have Webkinz. But you have to buy a Webkinz toy before you can play on this site, but it is very cute and fun.

And I love the Family Fun website for ideas for crafts and games. I acutally subscribe to their e-newletters which reminds me to have some arts and craft time with the kids.

And of course for Pre-schoolers we have been playing on the Playhouse Disney site since maddie was little

Just a few other sites of note:

http://www.gigglygear.com/giggly/ (came across this site and bookedmarked it but haven't

bought anything)

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/categories/preschool.shtml

http://www.preschoolprintables.com/

Anyone remember Joy School

music: http://www.ashleygramins.com/

just found this one: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

http://creativeorganizing.typepad.com/

These are made local http://www.justbeonline.com/

This is my friend: http://www.iasign.com/

This should keep you busy for awhile... ;)

Happy Birthday Madison

On Tuesday Madison turned 7! I can't believe it. She is growing up so fast. I love her so much. Madison is a great reader. She loves to play on the computer and LOVES to watch TV...oops She also loves to watch hunting shows with her dad and she likes to watch the history channel and the animal channel. She loves to ride her bike, especially without training wheels. She takes good care of her brothers. She is a little mother sometimes. She loves to take pictures and loves to color and draw.

She loves to eat her green beans. Whenever we have them she eats more green beans than anything else on her plate.

She is a joy to have in our lives. She has such a beautiful spirit and she just shines!

I love you Madison! Happy Birthday