August Vacation - Part 1 in Idaho

          In early August, we left for a two-week long trip to Idaho and Utah.  It was a marathon trip with lots to see and do, but it was one of the best vacations we've ever taken!  We left after church and drove the rest of the day, arriving at my brother's in Layton around 2 in the morning.  We hung out there all day so the kids could play with their cousins and Brock and I could rest.  The next morning, to the sounds of lots of complaining about missing the cousins they just left (even though we were coming back to play with them in a week), we drove the final few hours to Rexburg, Idaho.  As a side note, you will notice that at this point, I have tons of pictures from our vacation.  That is because Kira is excellent at taking pictures, so I just let her click away and then copy them off her phone before I leave.  Thanks Kira!
         When we got to Rexburg, it had been raining, which it never does.  Because of this, it was a little cool while we were there but completely and utterly beautiful!  We had a great time enjoying Greg and Kira's green, lush yard and the lovely weather.  Flint tried a swing with me for the first time, and initially he hated it.  Very quickly though, he decided it was his favorite thing EVER and he would cry anytime I stopped.  It was so funny!

Flint and Grandpa Greg

I just love the expression on Trayson's face!

        In the 13 years since Brock and I have known each other, we have never once been to Yellowstone together - even though Brock grew up and his parents still live only a couple of hours away.  We decided that this needed to change and we needed to take our kids there.  So the day after we arrived in Rexburg, we took off to go experience Yellowstone.  Luckily, we were able to stay in a distant family member's cabin up in Mack's Inn.  It was built by Brock's great grandpa, so it was neat to stay there and learn some of its history.  We stayed there two nights and had a great time exploring the area.  We drove through parts of Yellowstone I had never seen before and found some really cool geysers near Old Faithful that often get overlooked because everybody's so busy paying attention to Old Faithful.  We saw some animals (no bears, unfortunately) and beautiful sights, and the kids tried relatively hard to enjoy themselves as we spent a lot of time driving in the car those two days.  It was a fun little trip, made even funner by the fact that Greg and Kira came with us.  Everything is always better with grandparents around!

Everyone's all smiles as the day begins

This is how Duke was feeling a few hours later.  HA!

We're so grateful Grandma and Grandpa came along!

Castle Geyser.  We thought it was pretty cool!

What a cheeser!

          There were times when the kids got REALLY tired of walking or driving too much, but they still did a pretty good job.  I'm so glad we went and that the kids got to experience one of the most beautiful parts of the world!

        Before we came back to Rexburg, Greg and Kira watched the kids so that Brock and I could watch his cousin, Miriam in a play at Mack's Inn.  She was the leading lady in "Lucky Stiff," and she was absolutely darling.  I couldn't help but smile every time she came on the stage, and the whole play was really fun and well done. 

Isn't she a cutie?

        On our way home from Yellowstone, we stopped at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in the town of West Yellowstone.  It was really cool, and we finally got a chance to see some bears and some wolves!

Look close and you can see 4 bears in the background

       Once we got back to Rexburg, we were so excited that Brock's sister Heather and her 4 kids came to visit, along with our niece Audrea.  We haven't seen them in a few years, so it was a special time for the kids to develop their relationships with their cousins.  They had a great time, and they all seemed to get along really well with each other!

A few of the cousins

All the cousins who were there, plus Grandma Rosie (their Great-Grandma)

         We had to get a picture of our family with Brock's Grandma Rosie.  When we got married, 7 of our grandparents were still alive.  Now, she is the only one left. What a sweet lady! 

         The kids REALLY wanted to catch a fish while we were in Idaho, and they tried REALLY hard to do it.  They tried a few times up at the cabin and a couple of times back in Rexburg.  One kind man even let them fish in his stocked lake!  We could see nice, big fish swimming all over in the lake, but not one kid caught a fish!  After about an hour and a half, they finally had enough and went for a canoe ride before jumping in in their clothes and playing in the water.  Such a fun memory for them, even if they didn't catch a fish!

Trayson trying to call forth the fish

     
 The kids' favorite part about coming to Idaho in the summer, is that Grandma and Grandpa flood their lawn to water it.  This creates an awesome play place for the kids, and they always look forward to it. 

 

Flint is not so sure what he thinks of this!

Grandma and Grandpa with all the kiddos, ready for church

        One of our favorite parts of our stay in Idaho, was when we had a little family history night.  Greg and Kira pulled out some pictures of their parents and shared all sort of interesting stories with us, and we got to see lots of pictures of family members from long ago.  It was a great night, and the Spirit was very strong.  I'm so grateful for eternal families, and the joy that is ours when we do what's necessary to live with them forever!
         And finally, no trip to Grandpa Greg's and Grandma Kitsey's house would be complete without an infamous tractor picture.  Unfortunately, Flint was sleeping when we took the pictures, and when we were in Idaho at Christmas, we didn't dare have him outside in the weather.  So Flint has missed out on his first two tractor pictures!  I guess we'll just have to make it up the next time we're there. 

         While Flint may have missed out on his opportunity to get a tractor picture, he did not miss out on his chance to flirt with a pretty girl!  He was smitten with my married niece, Audrea, and every time he looked at her, he'd tilt his head to the side and make this face:

"Hey Sugar - you want a piece of this?"

Work it, Flint!

        We had a wonderful time enjoying family and sites in Idaho, but had to leave so we could continue the rest of our vacation in Utah.  There was still a lot of fun stuff to do!