Another Island Park Weekend

We jetted up to Island Park Thursday night.  Friday we drove up to Tower Falls in Yellowstone.  It was too cold for the girls to do the hike to the bottom, which is my very favorite spot in all of Yellowstone, but the view from the lookout at the top was beautiful!  We saw some buffalo and elk, coyote, swans and a very friendly raven!  Twice we had buffalo right outside the car window!  Friday night we went swimming at the clubhouse.  Mostly that consisted of Michelle playing on the stairs in the swimming pool.  Saturday we hiked the Box Canyon Trail and it was gorgeous too!  I have no idea where the trail ends though.  After an hour and a half with no end in sight and Lena falling asleep we decided to head back to the car.

The Hunger Games

If you know me, you know I love to read, and I enjoy many genres.  But my favorite genre is probably young adult fiction, usually fantasy fiction.  Upon a recommendation from my younger brother, Travis, I read Hunger Games, and I have to tell you that I was impressed.  The book is not exactly uplifting or romantic, but it is thought provoking and engaging, and it its own way, inspiring.  In fact, I have not read fiction of this caliber in a long time.  It kept reminding me of Orwell's 1964, or one of my favorite classics, Fahrenheit 451. Hunger Games is not for the faint of heart, but if you appreciate good literature, you will not be disappointed.  I haven't yet read the second or third book in the series, I hope they hold up to the first one.

Tautphaus Park Zoo

Thursday we went to the zoo with our neighbors, Kelsey and McCade.  It was pretty neat because the tiger came out and put on a little show for us and the penguins were quite vocal.  The monkeys came to the window and wanted to play too.  Michelle was having a blast and Lena was pleasant, as usual.  Michelle really likes Kelsey, so she loves when we do stuff with them.  On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, Kelsey leads a workout group in our church gym and Michelle spends most of the time following her around! (By the way, for you few homemaking moms that read this, the workout group has been a WONDERFUL thing, good way to meet people, the kids play with each other, and I feel GREAT! We don't have to pay anything and we just do basketball, soccer and dance drills  . . . the things we knew how to do from our own experiences of our youth. Kelsey brings a cd of workout music, we stretch, do drills, situps, pushups, etc, and we go for an hour. I wish I would have thought of starting one earlier!)

Family Pictures

When Jim was home we had family pictures taken.  I was INCREDIBLY impressed.  Our photographer is Hilary Cook with Riverside Photography and not only did she do an amazing job with pictures but she did them for a great deal!  I have posted some of the best pictures here.  If you know anyone in Idaho Falls I would DEFINITELY recommend Hilary!

(If any of you want prints made, we can do it pretty easily, just let me know!)

Thought I would share some video of the girls playing in Lena's bedroom.

Yellowstone We Love You

Jim was home last week and it was so WONDERFUL! We took a few days to go to Yellowstone and do a little hiking. We enjoyed a couple of days at my family's cabin in Island Park, saw Mammoth Hot Springs and went hiking with a coyote! Unfortunately Jim had to go back to Kemmerer Saturday night, but we were so glad to have him for a week!

Getting up in the morning with DADDY!

Mammoth

Some random hiking trail where we had a coyote companion for the first half of the hike.

We did see some animals this time. This elk even put on a show for the tourists and was bugling at his lady friends!

Saving my Sanity

Jim has been in Kemmerer, Wy for over a month now. He came home one night and we went there one night, other than that we haven't seen him. I am missing him terribly, as is Michelle (I doubt Lena really notices much). I am also missing some adult interaction, so I packed up the car and went on a road trip to visit my parents--all of them. First we headed to St. George. Everyone is back in school now so during the day I was just at their house with my girls. But Summer, my sister, lives in St. George and she had a day off and we were able to go out to lunch and shopping. It was fun to hang out with her and Moose (her son Morgan). I also got to go to the Tuachan theater and see "Crazy for You" with Travis and Madison and the next night to "Tarzan" with Summer. I was so grateful to my Dad and Mom for babysitting so I could go out. I haven't done that in a long while! If you are in St. George or planning a trip I HIGHLY reccomend catching a show at Tuachan, they are AMAZING! Especially "Tarzan," and next season they are getting "The Little Mermaid" and "Grease". One day we went to my Mom's school and had lunch and Michelle played teacher in her classroom. Saturday I got to spend some time with Madison as Mom and Dad went hunting with Travis. Madison is pretty cool to chill with! I was really happy to be there and be with people. It was strange, however, to go without Jim.

We left St. George and headed to Tremonton to spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma Thompson. The girls and I went to Willow Park with my Dad and Michelle really loved seeing all the animals. And even though my mom is so busy working 2 jobs right now, she had some time off to see us and play with Michelle and Lena. Also, Tabitha, my sister, and her kids live there and they loved playing with the girls!

The trip was a sanity saver for me, as I was able to converse with adults about politics and entertainment and other such topics. I am really thankful to my family for being there for us and hope it was fun for them too!

I didn't take many pictures, but I will post a few, since I know that's the fun part of blogging anyway.