Yellowstone

Our trip to Yellowstone was AMAZING! I never thought I would have such a great time freezing my butt off each night sleeping in a tent, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, and having to pack all our food in and out after each meal because of bears. Seriously though, our 6 days we spent at Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park were some of the most fun we've had as a family.

Maybe it is because we had tons of time as a family to just be. To relax, to unwind, to unplug, to explore, to adventure. There is no cell service or no internet service so you have to unplug. Some of our most favorite memories of the trip are spontaneous things we just happened upon, like walking down to lake Yellowstone and letting the kids run and play on the beach while Nate and I relaxed or our day trip to Bozeman, Montana to explore because none of us had ever been to Montana and Nate and I had heard Bozeman was a neat town to explore. 

Another favorite part of this trip was the cost. Our week long vacation ended up costing us under $600 for a family of five which is amazing. Just for comparison, I think our week long vacation to Disneyland cost $3000. If we didn't eat at restaurants the three times we splurged the cost would've been closer to $400 (eating out with 5 people is expensive). I think we'll be taking more vacations where we can drive to the location and camp.

There was so much to see and I took so many pictures, but here are my favorites. Remember, I don't have a fancy camera, just a cheap $100 point and shoot and I do minimal editing with Picasa. Yellowstone has such amazing scenery you don't need anything fancy.

My first time using a pay phone in about 12 years, how retro!

Beautiful!

Dragon's Mouth

Mud pots

More mud pots

The lower falls of the grand canyon of Yellowstone

Another view of the grand canyon of Yellowstone

Beautiful wildflowers on the northern part of the park

That's a baby black bear halfway up the tree in the middle. We were so lucky to see a mama black bear and two cubs from a relatively close distance.

Mammoth hot springs. Looks like the surface of another planet.

Elk just hanging out in the developed part of Mammoth hot springs

During our side trip to Bozeman we had to get a shot of the welcome sign

The famous Roosevelt arch that marks the north entrance to the park and reads, "For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People".

The park is huge so there is lots of driving between spots but there is always amazing scenery to look at.

The kids and I at the famous Old Faithful Geyser.

Grand Prismatic Springs

Another view of Grand Prismatic Springs

The kids at the springs

After our last day exploring the park we stop at a road side parking lot for a quick walk and amazing view of these waterfalls.

Yellowstone was an amazing trip and something I recommend everyone visit at least once in their lifetime, we'll definitely be back. The pictures on my camera from Yellowstone lake were amazing. If you can spend an hour there just sitting on the beach, soaking in your surroundings I highly recommend it. Also the pictures of the pictures of Old Faithful Inn did not do it justice. It is an amazing historic hotel, built of all logs with a grand lobby that it worth some time to explore even if you are not staying there. We also got yummy coffee from the coffee bar and sat on the covered 2nd story deck for a 2nd viewing of Old Faithful. Man, I love family vacations!

Road Trips, Relaxation, Camping, Vacations, These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

We had an amazing, yet super affordable summer vacation this year. With moving across the country at the end of June we couldn't spend a ton of money on a trip this year so we started brainstorming places we could drive to in a day and camp. Now that we were in Colorado a bunch of places popped into my mind but Yellowstone was at the top of my list because the kids and I had never been. I did my research online and booked 4 nights at the Canyon campground at a mere $20 per night (score!). A few days before our trip our schedule opened up and we realized we could leave a whole day early. We took the extra day to knock out the driving plus spend a night in Grand Teton National Park or Jackson Hole, WY.

We did something I hate doing and hubby loves doing, we headed out towards Grand Teton with no specific destination and no reservations. Hubby lives for these types of adventures, I envision the five of us sleeping in the packed to the brim Honda Accord. I am all for adventure but adventure with a plan is more my speed. We stopped at a Super 8 in Jackson Hole only to find they only had 1 king size room and they were charging $185. $185 for a Super 8, no thank you! On we went to the National Park campground which didn't take reservations, hoping and praying it wasn't full. Low and behold, it wasn't full and it was only $20 per night. We stayed at the Gros Ventre campground which is the least popular in the park because it is on the edge of the park but honestly I'd rather stay there than fight the crowds. It was a great hopping off point for us and we got to spend a day exploring Grand Teton National Park on our way to Yellowstone. Next trip we'll definitely spend more time there!

Just outside Jackson Hole Wyoming

Grand Teton National Park

Amazing scenery

Menor's Ferry, Moose, Wyoming. Where the Oregon trail crossed the Snake River.

The Grand Tetons

Buffalo up close

Hike to String Lake and Jenny Lake

A hiking we will go!

We had such a great time at Grand Teton National Park and this was only the beginning of our adventure. We still had 5 days in Yellowstone ahead and an unplanned day trip to Bozeman, Montana. Yay, for road trips, relaxation, camping, vacations, and fun!

A Recipe For a Crabby Mama

Take 1 mom (that's me)

Add 3 children

Add an additional 2-4 neighbor children in her house throughout various parts of the day

Don't allow the mom to leave the house without at least 1 of her children in tow for 10 days

Add various things going wrong plus kids getting sick

Add stress of two impending vacations (and everything that needs done for the trips)

EQUALS

1 mama who is really, really, crabby but doesn't really know why


This is where I was on Monday night. Thank the Lord I married such a sweet, thoughtful man. When he got home from work I told him it seemed like everything was going wrong and I was very crabby for no good reason. He promptly told me to take some time for myself, go to Starbucks, buy myself a drink, and spend an hour reading, alone, without my kids. At that moment I could've sworn he was an angel! Being the blog-loving mama I am I took my laptop instead of my book and spent a fabulous hour all to myself, on my laptop, sipping a cinnamon dolce latte, that was also made to perfection.

Guess what ladies? I came home feeling refreshed. It truly is amazing how a little bit of time to yourself can change your whole outlook. When I got home from my little break hubby made tilapia and green beans for dinner. Tuesday night I was able to go for a run, hubby started dinner, then he helped check the kids workbooks (by help I mean he did 90% of it). Thank you hubby! You are great!

Oh, How I Love the Gym!

When I left my full-time job in August we had to make some budget cuts. I still work 3 jobs of a total of 60-70 hours per week but I make a little more than 1/3 of what I did before. Before more than 1/3 of my income went to daycare and the rest was deductions so I almost break even but we still had to cut back. The gym was one of the first things to go since at that time we were going less than once a week. I wish my husband was much more motivated because it keeps me going.

We had put our gym membership on hold. The hold period was expiring but I was hoping we would know where Max's job would be. Tuesday night I decided who cares if we can afford it or if we may be moving in the next few weeks, I need the gym.

We went last night and did about 30 minutes of weight training and 20 minutes of cardio. I felt so much better than I had been feeling. It was a great stress reliever, I feel like I had more energy, and I slept better. As an added bonus my kids love the kids club and I only pay $15 per month membership for all 3 of my kids to go an unlimited number of times. I am officially in love with the gym!

My goal is to make it there 5 times a week, if only for my sanity!

I found a great way to ignore, I mean take a break from my kids

I know I may be one of the last people in America to get an ipod but I got this adorable pink shuffle from my wonderful sister for Christmas. Thanks Andrea!



I got an older version for Valentine's Day last year but my kids didn't take long to break it. They ran into the ipod as it was plugged into the laptop charging and cracked the outer case. It kind of worked after that but would shut off for no reason 5-15 minutes into using it. Not much fun to try to listen to a broken ipod.



My sister filled my new ipod up with 250 great songs from her huge music collection and I was ready to go. A few days ago I put on my ipod, reminded my kids that if they needed me they would have to come get my attention not just scream my name from whatever room they were in, and proceeded to fold laundry while I jammed to some music. I love it! My 6 year old didn't seem to get the I can't hear you with ear phones in thing because she tried to talk to me 3 different times. I finally gave her a demonstration by trying to talk to her while she had it on and she got it!



It's not that I enjoy ignoring my kids but they are almost 6, 8, and 8, and don't need constant supervision. Usually while I am doing something like folding laundry I can still hear them yelling, fighting, arguing, whatever, but now with my lovely ipod all I can hear is the music! Brilliant! I think it must have been a mother who invented it! OK, I know there are other great uses for the ipod but I love the blocking out the background noise function.



Last night while settling into bed I put on my ipod while I looked through my two new Victoria Secret catalogs. My husband thought I was trying to tune him out. Not really but the music is relaxing.



I will have to say since becoming a stay-at-home mom in August I have not had a lot of time that is just for me. Not that I had a lot of me time before but between being the maid, cook, chauffeur, mom, and wife there is not a lot of alone time. I love that I can sit back and listen to music without being interrupted (in theory) even if for 20 minutes a day, and do something for me.



Maybe that is why I love blogging so much! Something for me not for the kids, the husband, or the house. Amazing!

A day all to myself

Can you imagine a day all to yourself? What would you do?

My kids went to my mom's house last night, an hour away, to spend the night. Today she is decorating cookies with them and taking them to a movie and since my husband's work is halfway between here and there he is picking them up after work.

So I have a WHOLE day to myself. When does this really happen?

So what have I done so far? Not much and I love it! I slept in until 10:00am. I never can sleep this long but I have a lingering cold and 11 hours of sleep did me good! I talked to my mom on the phone, talked to my BFF on the phone, without being interrupted by kids (on my end at least). I blogged, read blogs, and joined the Mom Bloggers Club. I watched some T.V. and made an appointment to get my eyebrows waxed at 4pm.

So now that is almost 1pm I think I may shower, run to Sunflower Farmers Market, which I tried to do Wednesday but did not happen, take my car to the car wash, and maybe shop for FiFi birthday presents since her birthday is a week from Saturday.

Baby Boy is out of town until Wednesday and my house is pretty clean. I still have one load of dishes, and probably 6 loads of laundry but I am feeling pretty good about the state of our house. We even managed to clean out the garage enough yesterday so I can park inside. What a novel idea, I know!

Funny thing is last night Max says, "The house is pretty clean, you don't have Baby Boy for 5 days, and our kids are gone today, what are you going to do with yourself?" Don't worry hon, I will find something to do!

I have wanted to re-paint the inside of our house for a couple months so with any luck I can at least get started if not finished with that before Baby Boy gets back. My kids go back to school Monday, and drumline, and gymnastics, and basketball, and I work at my job at church Sunday and Monday, so we will see. For now I am enjoying my lazy, relaxing morning! It is just what the doctor ordered!