Island Park Day 5 & 6

This little series of 3 cracks me up, Elle Bell and Drakey.....ha ha I love them.

Day 5 we were in a debate about going back to West or into Jackson Hole.  My vote was with Jackson but well I lost and into West we went.  Still a great day, but man I have a soft spot for Jackson Hole I love it there.  We decided to go to the Wolf Grizzly exhibit.  It was a great choice for our last full day, something new to see and do.  The kids seemed to love it and we spent a good few hours there.  Stopped at our favorite diner were I had the most amazing New York style hot dog ever.  Mustard, sauerkraut, cheese and pickle relish.  I took a picture on instagram I better post it here too....so so good.  We ended the day with watching Disney's Bears movie at the IMAX.  It was adorable!  My boys especially Luke loved it, and my girls both had them a delightful little nap throughout the movie which made it a very nice relaxing hour sitting in a dark movie theater, holding a sleeping baby and drinking a delicious coke.

The last day is so bittersweet as we gather for family pictures on the porch of the cabin.

I love this family, love this tradition, another beautiful year.

Island Park Day 4

Day 4, the 4th of July sporting our red white and blue!

My favorite day of the year, well right next to Christmas, I adore the 4th.

We headed first to an antique show, where I bought me the cutest old yellow bar stool that found a happy home in my kitchen.

We went into the city of Ashton? to an old car show, only to find most of the good cars had gone on home by the time we got there.  So besides one bounce house for the kids Ashton was a pretty big bore.

But there was an awesome car hop diner with the most delicious cheeseburger and root beer floats.

So happy eating equals happy day in my book.

Ashton for the win!

We then stopped at Mesa Falls which was absolutely gorgeous and probably the highlight of my day.

So breathtaking.

Onto West Yellowstone for the fireworks.

Oh and the girls found a furry caterpillar friend, win win win.

Happy birthday America!

Island Park Day 3

Day 3 was spent at the lake rafting down the river.

I loved the kids all piled in the back of the truck for the quick drive down there.

I loved the baby nap Caroline took as we floated away.

I loved the nice quiet solitude of the family I was on the raft with, no crazy water fights for us.

Helped that I had a sleeping baby on board and a Loubid with a pricey pair of equipment in his ears on my raft:)

Mostly I loved the kids playing on the dock for a long while afterwards.

It was a really good day.

Island Park Day 1 & 2

A few highlights of day 1 and 2 to Island Park.

It was a really hard year going without Grandma but also a really special year too.  In fact for me it was probably one of the best trips yet.....she felt so close.  And our family felt so close.  Just a really good year.

Eric was in Korea again so I braved the trip alone with four kids.

Of course I had my mom along so really it wasn't brave at all, she was awesome and took care of us all just fine.

Day 1 was mostly spent on the road with a crying Caroline:)

We did make a stop at the cemetary to say goodbye to our special angel where we found a little note waiting for us.

It was incredible and really brought the spirit for the remainder of the trip.

Day 2 was spent doing a little exploring around West Yellowstone and visiting West Yellowstone.

K and Drakey bug are buddy buddy lately and I just couldn't resist snapping a thousand pictures of the two of them together.

My boys learned how to skip rocks and K managed to turn her white pants gray in a matter of seconds.

I blame the mother, who puts their child in white pants on vacation anyway?

I do.