The Awe of Yellowstone

It was finally time to get to the place that started this vacation idea: Yellowstone National Park.


The scenery is breathtaking as you drive from Cody to the East Entrance of the Park. (Bill Cody paid for some of that road himself) I took so many pictures of nature while we were there that I need to do a video of some of my favorites. We spent the longest stretch of time here and the campsite was perfect. Jackson got to improve his fire making skills, Brenden and I walked around finding mushrooms, flowers, big sticks and even a wooden clothes pin and Gavin could ride his bike and practice whittling with his new pocket knife! (doesn't every boy need to know how to do that?) Ken even got his much deserved rest time for an entire day by the campfire. We checked out the Canyon, hiked down and up 119 steps and some trails to see a beautiful view of the waterfall, smelled the sulfur springs, watched mud pots boil, waited for Old Faithful to erupt, headed into Montana for some diapers, drove around looking for some bears, watched an elk walk through the parking lot near our campground, played in the freezing cold water near Yellowstone Lake, got caught in the rain, sat around the campfire sharing what were some of our favorite things so far on the trip, and most importantly for me was watching the boys play and enjoy the wide open space of nature. I think I will remember this vacation for a long time to come.

Yeehaaw! Cody, Wyoming!

We arrived in Cody around dinner time and food was first on the list so what should we see but a Pizza Hut right at the end of our campground street. Let me just say the campgrounds we stayed at were not like the campgrounds Ken and I remember as kids. It's seems that they too have turned camping into a lucrative business. We remember sites with open fire pits and at least 20 yards between sites where you could roast your marshmallows, laugh and get a little loud out in the outdoors without disturbing the neighbors too much. Up to this point we stayed in campgrounds that were similar to the packed subdivisions in our town in Iowa. Anyway... we needed food and Pizza Hut fit the bill.
The next day while Ken and Jackson took Mona to get her souvenir (a new brake master cylinder) Gavin, Brenden and I went to check out the "Buffalo Bill" Cody Museum (5 museums under one roof)! I didn't know who he really was until we went there and learned more about him. The boys got to "meet" Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley. We checked out the gun museum, which is fairly new there and Gavin was very excited about it all though I think he wanted to handle every one of them. They had a really great computer program that explained the difference between and revolver and a semi-automatic. Don't ask why I was so intrigued by it but I thought it was really neat to be able to see the inside of a gun without actually handling the gun. From there we took a trolley ride around the city to learn more about Buffalo Bill Cody's city. Great for the history buff and for Brenden to take a nap! We met Ken and Jackson back at the camp ground to get ready for the nightly gunfight and the Cody Night Rodeo! The boys had the best time playing with the clowns prior to the rodeo more than anything. Gavin even got to go down on the arena floor to try to touch a calf that they release as he tries to run away from the kids. He got a pocket full of dirt after following the directions from the clown and some on his shoes to share as well! (Gavin really is the adventurous one of the three) After a fun packed day it was time for bed and the boys were asleep before we drove Mona back to the campground. Thanks to the house on wheels.

Dinosaurs, Buffalos and Hot Springs

That's what you will find at Thermopolis, Wyoming! This town was the one thing that really surprised me. I was ready for checking out the Wyoming Dinosaur Center but I didn't know that the town had all these other things. We stayed at a really nice campground outside of the little city for two nights. The first full day we spent at the Dinosaur Center checking out the dinos they found right there in the town. We were going to go on the dig tour but they have had too much rain in the previous days so we couldn't go. The center was fun and interesting. Then we drove through Hot Springs State Park to check out a herd of Buffalo that roam the back hills. We drove through there a few times and finally on the last time through they were right outside of Mona and crossing the road. The day that we left we went to the World's Largest Hot Mineral Spring. Gavin wasn't a fan of the very strong Sulfur smell but the water was so warm and relaxing we all wanted to stay for another day. We went down water slides and relaxed in the hot tubs and Gavin jumped off the 11 foot high diving board and swam to the side all by himself! He was so proud and so were we. Then it was off to Cody, Wyoming for some Cowboy fun!

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Just a few pictures of what happened in Cheyenne! The boys posed for some pictures on the boot in Cheyenne. Just like many cities that have themed statues that they auction off, Cheyenne has boots around town and this is one we saw first. The kids also enjoyed buying their first souvenirs at the KOA we stayed in: GUNS fake of course! They spent some time hanging out eating suckers too. Brenden has been pretty good at taking naps and this first nap was taken in the back of Mona over the cushions. Hey, whatever works. The picture of the landscape is from the back of the campground in Cheyenne.

And we're off...

Schedule! I always have a schedule in my mind when it's time to go somewhere and this vacation was no different. I don't ever tell anyone else that I have a time slotted in my head for when we should leave which causes an issue ( you can imagine) but my thought was get on the road no later than 10 am and then we can hang out at the first campground after driving 6 hours. The actual event: leave at 1pm drive for awhile get food, drive some more, stop to eat dinner in Mona, drive some more missing the first campsite all together so we can make up for lost time, kids sleep, mom sleeps, dad drives until 3 hours outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming, park at a Walmart ( we are now official Good Sam members and can park over night free) sleep a few hours, breakfast of bagels and cream cheese, drive to Cheyenne and stop! Whew! Are you tired? We were a little bit. We had a great time in Cheyenne! Swam in a heated pool (good thing 'cause its about 60 degrees outside), played mini golf, the kids road bikes, met some other kids from Lake Tahoe who were coming back from a cross country trek, and checked out the downtown area a little. We're having a great time and I can't believe I finally made it west of Des Moines, Iowa! I'll attach pictures soon!

Struggling to be...

Disclaimer: This is straight from my mind, fresh from my head with a filter that's not filtering today.

My attitude sucks! My stress level has reach the point of boiling and its overflowing the side of the kettle and sticking to the stove top and my reaction is to just watch it flow and see how long it will take to stop boiling. Not very mature of me is what my rational side of my head is saying. I can tell that summer vacation from school has me spent. I am not a good stay at home mom when all 3 of them stay at home. Structure is the key to success in our house but I am not structuring them very well. I long for them to find friends to play with or for them to take a nap and if it all happens at the same time that is a huge gift. Please pray that our vacation will make this better somehow! I pray that it's the "monetary things" that make my children constantly need stimulation and that without all those things coming with us on vacation they will see the beauty in simpler things. Does it have to take 30 years for them to get that? This is raw and I am feeling very vulnerable to even put this out there but I am asking (and I don't do that often) if whomever reads this would pray for peace and good quality family time for the next 14 days for all of us. Thanks in advance! Time to referee a Nerf shoot out!

Oh What a Night

Gavin's 6th birthday party was packed with a ton on fun. Nine boys total to entertain for 2 1/2 hours! We went to the Rec Center to eat pizza and cake, open presents, wrap each other so they could be toilet paper mummies, went swimming and played in the gym. I don't know who was more exhausted me or them. It was a great time and I am glad I don't have thant many boys of my own.