Daddy and Daughters Hike...

Donovan and the girls REALLY wanted to go for a hike this last Saturday. I wasn't feeling very well so I told Donovan to just take the girls up Dimond Fork Canyon to the Hot Pots and I would stay home and straighten the house. Donovan insisted that it was a short hike to the Hot Pots (only a mile) and that I should come. I said no, and waved goodbye to my Girls and Husband. This was around luch time. I am calling and calling Donovan's cell phone about 6 o'clock wondering where he and the girls are. Well no answer, as a mother when you know that your family is up in the mountains and looking around seeing thunderstorms heading right were they are you start to worry. I know Donovan is very experienced (to a point). I wasn't too worried until it was almost 8pm and still had not heard from them. I knew at this point it was past dinner time, Donovan DIDN'T pack any snacks and they would probably be hungry. I finally got through a little after 8pm and they were headed down the mountain back to the truck. Donovan then told me that it probably was a good thing that I had stayed behind because instead of being 1 mile it ended up being 2! So their total trip was 4 miles! I am sad I missed the fun they had, however with feeling the way I did I am grateful I stayed home! I'm glad you had a fun trip, I love you!

Day 4...Last Stop Grand Teton Mountains and Jackson Hole...

Our last stop on our long journey was Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We didn't sty too long unfortunately. I wasn't feeling well so I told Donovan and the Girls that we needed to cut our Jackson trip a little short. I am sad that we were not able to spend more time there. We were able to walk down Main Street, go to some of the shops (not too many due to grabby hands). Donovan and I love seeing some of the furniture and fine art galleries that Jackson has to offer, however with little ones around we can not do things like that, one accident and we would be signing away our lives on some of the art and furniture there. It was sad to have our family vacation end. Until next summer for the family! As for Donovan and I it maybe as soon as August for my Birthday! We love you Girls! I hope you all had a great time!

Day 3 Continued...Aunt Bonnie's for a Little Family Get Together...

Donovan and I were lucky enough to get to see some of his family we haven't seen for awhile. We had a small get together at Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Lee's cabin. It is such a cute and cozy place in the heart of Island Park. It was so nice of Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Lee to invite us to stay. However this night we still had our camp back in Norris. Aunt Bonnie had cooked a great dinner for everyone, it beats eating camping food! Thank you! Donovan's Aunt Jessie and Gordan was there, Aunt Jessie's son Morgan and his daughter Skye were there. It was great for the girls to play with another kid while out ruffing it. It was also nice for us to get a hot meal and a hot shower! Again, Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Lee, Thank you so much for the warm welcome, hot meals and comfy beds!

Day 3...Fishing with Daddy, a Clark's Nutcracker and Uncle Tom's Trail...

Donovan had to get his fishing in so we decided to make it a Girls morning and Daddy could have his "Man" time. When we got to Virgina Meadows Donovan asked the Girls who wanted to stay and fish with him and who wanted to go with me shopping. Well Ember and Ashlynn wanted to go with me and Kenzie stayed behind with her Daddy. There are pictures of their experience together. After picking Daddy and Kenzie up we went to have lunch. There was a Clark's Nutcracker trying get our food. After we ate we took the girls for a little hike. After cleaning up lunch we asked the Girls if they wanted to go to the Upper and Lower Falls. They all said "ME!" So we packed up the van and the girls and headed over to the Falls. While we were there we were looking at the Upper Falls and thought it would be fun to hike to the Artist Paint Spot. Then Donovan and I saw a sign for Uncle Tom's Trail. Asked the girls if they would like to go and and they all said "ME!" So off we went, all 328 steps down and back up a sheer cliff. It was a gorgeous hike. Ashlynn was lucky and was on Daddy's back, Kenzie when down clutching the railing and back up on her hands and knees, Ember, Donovan and I had a blast just hiking. Also after it was all said and done we were happy to know how fast we jump back from exercising. We were called the "Incredibles", Donovan "Man of the Hour" and a couple others that I can't remember. It was a lot of fun and how many people can say their 4 year old can hike like ours! Way to go Kenzie, we are so proud of you!

Day 2...Firehole Lake, Old Faithful and Steamboat Point...

On day two we thought it would be fun to head South to Old Faithful by way of the Firehole River drive and the Firehole Lake. First we wanted to show the girls where people go swimming every year in Firehole River. We told them that the reason they swim there is due to all the hot pots emptying into the river and keeping it warm. Well, due to all the snow and wet summer Yellowstone has had the park rangers closed the swimming hole. The postings were due to high water levels and fast currents. How sad. The squirrel pictured above was a little rascal, he really toyed with me, in the long run I won and got a couple of great pictures. Old Faithful was beautiful and stinky. By then I think the girls had just a little too much of geysers because they didn't pay much attention. After we stopped and ate lunch by Yellowstone Lake. Then headed off to Steamboat Point were we saw the Ravens that were not afraid of people. I am sad to say that when we went to Hayden Valley there were very few Buffalo due to the harsh winter Yellowstone had. I guess the park lost half of their buffalo population. How sad! I love Blue Jays and Blue Birds (they are just beautiful) so I thought I would include the one we saw. We then stopped to eat dinner in one of our favorite campgrounds called Pebble Creek. However this year was a little different about 10 miles North of where we were eating one camper 2 days earlier was attacked in his tent and the day before a fisherman was napping in his car and attacked by a Grizzly Bear. We still had a great evening and great dinner. Gorgeous area.

Day 1...Aunt Bonnie's to a Bald Eagle and Ending with a Big Bear...

We left for Yellowstone about 1:00pm Thursday afternoon, a couple of hours after we really wanted to head out. Knowing we would arrive at our campsite later then we would like we started on our journey. Once we arrived in Pocatello we realized that Donovan's Aunt Bonnie lived in Island Park about 2 1/2 hours away. So we called to see if we could stop in. Uncle Lee answered and offered us a room in their cabin for the night. The next morning we headed into Yellowstone. Right when we got into the park we saw the Bald Eagles and a Huge Elk (unfortunately the 1/3 of the Elk died over the winter). After seeing some of the sites we made it to our camp. We set up camp and thought we would walk around. In one of the camp spots there was a resident Buffalo. Very pretty, Very BIG! I would not want to mess with him! We then drove off to see the Norris Geysers. The girls had a lot of fun here, Kenzie called the Geysers (Gyvers, like MacGyver). Very Cute! After that we headed over to Lamar Valley stopping off on Black Tail road. This road is right off the main highway and is about 7 miles long. Every year we take this road and every year we have seen a bear. This year wasn't any different except that the Black Bear we came across was only 10-12 feet from my window. A little scary, but it was the best part of the whole trip! It was amazing watching him for about 10-15 minutes grubbing. They are amazing creatures! What a great end to our first day!

Wall Lake, Uinta Mountain Hike...

One weekend we decided to load the kids up for another family adventure. We were supposed to be going to Lava Hot Springs, however we thought it might be a little too much and too expensive since we would be traveling to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole the next weekend.

Sleeping Like a Baby...

I have always loved the expression 'Sleeping like a Baby!' If I could only sleep like this. Ashlynn fell asleep sitting up with a sheet of stickers in her mouth. She was like this for her 2 1/2 hour nap.

Sidewalk of Fire...

Thank you Jen and Tasha. Our family had such a good time watching the neighborhood firework display!

4th of July in Flaming Gorge...

Our family was blessed to take a trip to Flaming Gorge with Donovan's parents. We had such a great time fishing, hiking, playing in the water, watching fireworks! This was a vacation to remember. Thank you Don and Jeri for sharing this experience with our family. We love you both. Ember we love and wish you could have been here with us. Yellowstone will be a lot of fun.

Huff Family Reunion...

There was a lake a little down the hill from the family reunion so we thought it would be a great time to have the little girls go and see the ducks and geese. They had a lot of fun, Ashlynn kept chasing the big white goose. This thing was bigger then her, yet she still wanted hold it.

A Little Trip Up Payson Canyon to Payson Lakes...

These pretty yellow flowers are all over Black Hawk Campground, a beautiful site.

We stopped for lunch and tried to see a bear. No luck!

We had a lot of fun at Payson Lake, the girls waded in the water, Donovan fished, and I did the Mom stuff, take the pictures. After spending a few hours up the canyon we made our way back into Payson to the Huff Family Reunion.

Sorry it Has Been So Long to Post...

Father's Day Gift...

What more could a man want for Father's Day other than camping, hiking and 4-wheeling? Well I know one thing...a pair of Air Jordan's! Donovan is not only into camping, hiking, 4-wheeling, caving, fishing, he loves to play basketball. So for Father's Day the girls and I bought him a new pair of 12.5 Jordan's. A nice surprise since his last pair of shoes he had been sporting for the past 10 years or so. They needed to be retired! Happy Father's Day. We love you.