Last Summer Outing

Suffice it to say Summer is officially over but we got in a last little outing to finish it off right! We slowly awaited with excitement for Labor Day to come so we could go camping!

Anthony and Mandy met us in Lava Hot Springs for the weekend. We all got there Friday night and set up camp! The start of a wonderful weekend together.

On Saturday we woke up and spent the day at the swimming pool and hot pools! My favorite part being the hot pools but the bad thing about them is you just get to HOT so can't stay in long!

Brayden loved swimming! Kaytlin did too but didn't like being held down or kept in her turtle!

Josh was in awe with the new slides they put in and opened this year! Of course he had to try them out which I didn't get a picture of but the first time he went up he came back down because he chickened out. We knew when he came down because he came down with a huge splash!

The kids enjoyed the kiddy slides!

We all enjoyed the small slides!

Can't you tell that was Anthony! I didn't expect him to come down drowning!

Wow! Awesome! Let's go again... anyone with me? For not wanting to go the first time everyone else went up he sure ended up loving the slides by the end of the day!
I didn't get any pictures of us at the hot pools because i was enjoying it to much! Sorry!

On Sunday we spent the day playing in the river!
Anthony met the same fate as the guy on the blue tube behind him but I didn't get a pic of it... shame I know!

Relaxing on the river!
No one got hurt except me! I tried to cut off my fingers opening a can of chicken for lunch. Josh swore up and down I needed stiches but I didn't think so. We just bandaged them up and went about the play! After that we were walking across the river to a hot pool and a rafter bumped me and down i went cutting my knee on the lava rock!


After a fun filled day we relaxed around the campfire and the kids went to bed early!

Good Bye Summer!

Yellowstone National Park

Each year there are several free days to get into National Parks. Our family takes advantage of them because who can beat FREE! We told Anthony and Mandy about it and they wanted to come so they came up for the weekend and went to Yellowstone with us!

We also knew going into this that President Obama would be in the park and we figured it would be super busy with tons of people but we figured wrong. The only glimpse we had that the President was even in the park was the helicopters flying over head!

At this point of the journey everyone had to use the bathroom but at this stop there were no bathrooms so we did the hike and then went in search of bathrooms. Also Anthony and Mandy here are watching Josh put coolant in the van so we wouldn't have to run the heat! Even though we could have stood the heat when the day got cooler!He is not doing the potty dance! He must have had an itch or wedgie :) On this hike where there were no bathrooms we came across bubbling spots they called painters pots. We weren't here long because the hike was only 1/4 mile and everyone had to use the bathroom so we made it a quick hike!As we drove from the painters pots looking for a bathroom we came across a little pull out with picnic tables and a bathroom!!! We pulled off and while Mandy waited in line of about 10 or so people Anthony and Brayden went off exploring and of course I followed at a distance to take some pictures. Here Brayden is showing Anthony something... probably the river or log down below that they played on.
This picture is a hot pool. It wasn't hot enough to bubble but we could see the steam coming off of it. They made me wish there were a hot tub around. The weather was very cool so a hot dip would have been nice. The high temperature of the day was 45 degrees and I can believe it.

There was a bit of wildlife. We saw some elk and buffalo. The buffalo were right next to the road and so were the elk but when we stopped to take pictures of the elk a ranger wanted use to pull farther off the road and we couldn't or we would have done some damage so i didn't get any pictures of the elk.We did a long hike to see some pretty waterfalls! This picture is on the way down to see the upper falls of the river.
The upper falls from across the river. In this picture you can see a bunch of people on the platform on the right side of the falls. That is where we were when we took the pictures of the river before the falls.

While we were on the platform before crossing the river we took some pictures of us. Brayden found a little cave in the rock and I thought it was cute.I know shocking that i would hand over my camera so i could be in a picture huh?We then hiked to the lower falls. To get to the lower falls there were 328 stairs going down 600 feet. By this point some of us were pooped from a long day but Anthony was just dying to go down. The rest of us stayed at the top of the path and waited for him but I sent my camera with Anthony. I know I gave my camera up again! After Anthony was down there for awhile Brayden started getting antsy and wanted to go down. They saw Anthony coming back up the trail and Brayden told him he wanted to go down and see... so Anthony climbed 656 stairs within a half hours time. At the top of the path there was a sign that said "this trip is definately not recommended for those suffering from heart or breathing problems. Maybe Anthony wasn't before but he was certainly having problems after the second climb :) I must say though that Anthony got some shots of the beautiful scenery.The lower falls that Anthony hiked to see. After seeing the pictures I wish i had gone but I am sure we will be there again next year!The only mishap that we had the whole trip besides the van needing coolant was that Brayden tripped and fell on a cement path. He got his knee and elbow cut open and he insisted Anthony carry him! Talk about a neck cramp! This is after we got back to the car. He looks like he is going to be sick but he isn't just hurting I am sure. He refused to let me clean it but the longer we were in the park the colder it got so I finally got him to put on a pair of pants and he totally forgot all about falling!On the way out of the park I had Josh stop so we could get a picture! I gave the honors to Anthony to take the picture. I asked Kaytlin where Anthony was so she was looking at the camera but instead she pointed!

The ride home was peaceful and quiet! Must have been a long tiring day!
On the way home in Ashton we stopped at Big Juds for dinner.

Couldn't pass up the 1 pound burger!

Summer time means Busy Time!

Playing together with things that needed put away from Brayden's birthday party. This jug needed to go back to Grandma Dawson's house but they had to play in it first. They took turns and Kaytlin of course had to try shoes on while she sat in the bottom.

Brayden wanting his picture taken when I took Kaytlin's one day... I thought it was cute so I decided to share it!

Kaytlin is very busy and mischevious! That is an understatement! I keep chalk in a kitchen drawer and as you can see Kaytlin found it and decided to try things out... on her nose, clothes, hands, everywhere she could use it. She didn't use it on the walls though which is surprising because she has no problems using pencil and pen on the walls!

Kaytlin got a big girls bed! I wasn't sure how she would react to it so i took her crib down and set up her new bed while she watched. After they were put together it was nap time so i held her until she fell asleep and then went and laid her in the bed straight. I went back to check on her about an hour later and found her laying like this! I had to take a picture because it was so cute! She loves it and doesn't come out screaming and crying when she wakes up anymore!

Of course with being a big girl... potty training is not far away! She has shown a lot of interest in playing in the toilet and watching everyone go so this past week we have been testing the potty training! She is thrilled that she gets to be like the big people! So far she goes in her diaper 15 min after i have her on the toilet... go figure. Once this week I had Josh take her to the toilet at Grandma Dawson's house and she tinkled! I think it was coincidence! Since then she hasn't gone in the toilet. We are taking her every hour unless we are out and about where a toilet is not accesible. It will be a great day when there are no more diapers in our house for awhile!

Summer time also means park time! There was a new playground built in a park close by that is huge. Huge doesn't even cover it! The kids love to play outside and i had my camera so i took pictures of course!

After a long day of play... it's time to say.... goodnight!

All Girly Girl

Her first manicure! This is the first time I have seen her sit positively still. I think she was intrigued that her toe nails were changing colors! I even let her pick the color. Of course Brayden couldn't be left out so we painted his too and Josh did not think that was cool. I took a picture of it but it didnt turn out! I will have to take a picture next time if there is a next time!

Kaytlin also has a huge shoe fetish! Anywhere we go and there are shoes, she has to try them on! They could be winter boots or sandals or anything she can put on her feet. Socks are a great distraction too. Give her a pair of socks she will spend awhile trying to get them on! Just relaxing!Playing hide and seek from brayden! At least they get along for the most part!She is growing so fast!