Monday, February 18, 2013

Disneyland Day 1

We decided to take a much needed vacation and get away from the freezing winter.  Shane promised the kids that he would take us to Disneyland.  It was the first time for all of us and the kids were so excited.  It was all Mason could talk about at school for the week before we left.  We left Saturday morning and drove to The Nevada / California border and stayed at the Buffalo Bills Casino / Hotel.  It was so busy since it was Superbowl weekend.  The next morning we ate breakfast and headed toward Disneyland.  The closer we got to LA the warmer it got.  By the time we got to our hotel by Disneyland it was 78 degrees!  It was so nice!  We checked into the hotel and all changed into shorts and went to dinner.  After dinner we came back and changed into out swimsuits.  The pool was a little too cold but we had lots of fun in the hot tub.  After the hot tub we tried to go to sleep but the kids were so excited that it took a long time to calm down and go to sleep.

On Monday we got up bright and early to catch the shuttle to Disneyland.  We got to the gate and was very surprised to see the huge lines.  Once we final got in to the park the first place the kids wanted to go was to the castle.









Mason and Morgan in the car in front of Toad Wild Ride.



Morgan was so excited to wear her princess outfit all day long and to meet princesses.


Morgie on the Merry-Go-Round
Daddy and Mason on the Merry-Go-Round
The ride Mason really wanted to ride on was the teacups but since it was off season the ride was closed for repairs.  The kids were really dissapointed but there was a teacup available to get a picture taken in. 
We had to stay late for the parade and the kids were so excited to see some of the Disney characters.  We got front row seats for the parade.  There were a lot of dancers in the parade and there were a few floats with princesses and other characters on it. 
After the parade we made it back to the shuttle.  Once loaded onto the shuttle the kids promptly fell asleep.  It was an awsome first day at Disneyland.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Yellowstone Day 3

Our last day in Yellowstone started of rainy and cold. We walked to the lobby in the hotel for breakfast and watched out the window at the pouring rain. Not really our idea weather for walking around outside. We checked out of the hotel and headed to go see Old Faithful. One the drive to Old Faithful we kept seeing steam off in the distance. We finally drove up to a huge gyser bed. We got out the umbrellas and strapped the puppy backpack on Morgie and set off.
Despite the rain the kids loved walking around a looking at the hot pots and gysers.

We could stand fairly close to the one and if you weren't paying attention you would get wet with all the overspray from the gyser.
We headed off the Olf Faithful and we just missed the big gyser by a few minutes so we had about an hour and a half to look around. Morgie took the oportunity to fall asleep on me and was not about to be woken up. So Mason and daddy walked around and looked at all of the smaller gysers and enjoyed time together. I took Morgie to the lodge so she could sleep while we waited to Old Faithful to spew. Daddy and Mase came back and found up and when Morgie woke up we ate lunch from the deli which was out of almost everything since that was the last weekend Yellowstone was open to the public for the season.


Old Faithful was about 6 minutes early so we were glad we decided to chance the rain and go down there early. The kids thought was was neat and stood by the edge to watch. I remember Old Faithful being a lot bigger but maybe I was a lot smaller the last time I saw it.
On the way home with had to sop in a huge field to take some pictures since the leaves were so pretty. We set up the tripod and took a few shots. Mason wasn't interested in taking pictures at this point but it turned out pretty good otherwise.
Then the kids started to explore the field. This is usually how it works - Mason is the leader and Morgie follows and they both end up in trouble :-)


One the way back home we were driving through Jackson and there were a ton of cars pulled off the side of the road so of course we had to as well. Shane figured there were animals and we pulled off the road and got out and there were 3 moose. There were tons of people taking pictures of them and getting way too close in my opinion. Morgie and I stayed by the car where it was safe and Mase and dad went to get a closer look a take a picture. They didn't get too close since a cop showed up to make people move back. After that we headed home. Mason kept saying that he wants to go back to Yellowstone to go hunting and camping. Maybe next year minus the hinting of course. We had a great time and I'm sure we'll do it again in the near future.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Yellowstone Day 2

Day 2 of our Yellowstone trip started out earlier than either Morgie or I would have liked. The boys are early risers but Morgie likes to sleep in a little bit with her mommy. So after getting ready, eating breakfast and checking out of the hotel we headed down the road to Yellowstone. The day started off really cold. I can't believe the temp difference between home and Jackson.
We had to stop and get a family picture in front of Grand Teton. It was hard to get a good picture. We had to time it just right for the camera timer, the kids looking and no cars driving on the road behind us, but we finally got one.
The boys had to take a pit stop. Shane hates when I take these pictures but I think it is funny :)
We headed into Yellowstone and we stopped at the hot pots by Yellowstone Lake. The water in the pools were so pretty! I always loved the different colors.

Morgie and mommy in front of Yellowstone lake.


On the way back to the car Mason saw a coyote. I just thought it was someones dog but daddy confirmed it to be a coyote . He wasn't afraid of people at all so while I was in the nasty outhouse daddy took the kids up close and fed it some jerky.
We were unaware that this was the last weekend Yellowstone was open for the season and we were having a hard time finding some place to get lunch so in our search we drove right past several buffalo that were sitting right next to some cabins. The kids loved seeing them up close.
Here is Morgie trying to pick up rocks in the pavement. Her favorite thing lately is collecting rocks to bring home.
We stopped off at Yellowstone falls - I think this was on the way to the smaller falls. This is about the best picture we could get cause Morgie was really tired and didn't want to take any pictures. We headed back to the car and the kids immediately fell asleep!




After the last stop we packed up in the car and headed to the hotel in West Yellowstone just barely in Montana. We settled in the hotel and walked a few blocks to a mexican restraunt for dinner. Then we headed back to the hotel to go swimming. The kids love to go swimming at hotels - mostly just in the hot baths as they call them (hot tubs).

Friday, September 30, 2011

Yellowstone Trip

When Shane and I first got married - 10 years ago, we took a trip to Yellowstone and Shane has been anxious to go back ever since. So we finally made the trip back the Yellowstone this time with the kids. We started out Friday afternoon and made the trip to Jackson. The kids were pretty good riders except for the occational "are we there yet?".
We usually stop halfway through a trip to let the kids run around for a bit to make the trip more tolerable for all people involved. Daddy kept having to chase Morgie down and she thought it was so funny.
Mason got daddy's old pair of binoculars and he was super excited to start using them. He would look up at the mountains and then inform us what animals he saw - like deer, a lion, a moose etc. He is practicing to be daddy's hunting buddy!

And we had to make the occational diaper change.

We made it to the hotel in Jackson about 7:00 that night and Morgie and I got us all settled in while the boys went to pick up dinner. Mase loves staying in hotels and tells us he wants to live in one - not me. I would rather have more than one room with beds that are too small.

Monday, August 29, 2011

New Pictures

The kids had their pictures taken for their birthdays and I think they turned out awsome! The nicest lady in our ward took our family pictures last fall so I asked her if she would take their birthday pictures too. She did the best job! We went behind the Kaysville Theater which I never would have thought of.
It blows my mind how grown up Mason looks. He is getting so big and I still remember him being so small. Makes me almost cry!
Morgie looks so sweet!
Here Mason wants to tell her a secret and she is telling him to get away.
Again, how grown up!
Morgie with her favorite treat. I had to have a few bribes in my purse to get through the hour!
This picture says to me - angel or devil? You decide!


I loved how these pictures turned out! They show the kids personalities just great. I can't believe They are 2 and 4!