Island Park

Due to circumstance, our family did not get to take an annual family vacation last summer. Luckily, the stars aligned this year and the whole clan was able to meet up in Island Park for five days and four nights of family togetherness.

A big thanks to these two for their generosity and coordination of the whole deal. My dad, being the awesome man that he is, even put together a road book for us to read on the way up, showcasing points of interest, historical facts, and activities to keep the kids busy.

Like usual, there was an abundance of good, I mean, great food.

Brian took the kids on a couple of nature walks, complete with an impromptu and necessary lesson on what to do if you 'gotta go' in the wilderness. (It was the kids that had to go, not Brian!)

We went into Yellowstone - some went one day and some went two. Our little family went two. I don't think there is anything more beautiful than Yellowstone at 6:0o am. Breathtaking.

We saw a lot of wildlife. Bear, buffalo, elk, and big-horn sheep were the highlights. No moose this year.

We planned on stopping at Mammoth to eat breakfast, but the picnic area was infested with elk. Lots and lots of elk. And babies too.

Before we left for our vacation, Ashlyn asked if there really were yellow stones in Yellowstone. It seems like she has asked the same question on our last two trips to Yellowstone. So, I came up with the idea to make a game out of it. We took a rock from our backyard and painted it bright yellow. Then we went to the store and got a bucket full of prizes. While we were hanging out at the cabin, the rock would be hidden and then I would yell, "Come find the yellow stone!" Whoever found the rock would hold it in the air and yell, "I found the yellow stone" and then they got to pick a prize from the bucket and the process was repeated.

Mindy also brought up stuff for the kids to make bracelets.

I think it is safe to say that the kids did not suffer from boredom. But, if you ask any of them, their favorite part of the whole vacation was likely the raft ride. This is one of our favorite activities to do in Island Park. Unfortunately, no pictures. I didn't trust myself to bring my camera on the water. But trust me when I say that it was a lot of fun.

If you ask me, I'd have a hard time picking a favorite part. The whole thing was great. It was so nice having the whole family together - a rare thing these days since we no longer all live within 10 minutes of each other. It is always a little crazy when we are all together, but who doesn't like a little crazy?

Just a few final photos:

Until next year!