Bear World

On the way back from Yellowstone we stopped at Bear World.
The kids were not at all impressed by the bears.

     

They were instead fascinated by the deer,

the goats,

and most of all the fawn.

I am sure the fawn are sick of being mauled all day by small children.

They also enjoyed the rides.

Doesn't Jacob look thrilled to be here?

 Merry too.

I didn't realize there were so many bear themed rides.

This ride was not pleasant at all, it spun around while it went on the track.

Eliza was not a fan of it either.

We also stopped at Temple Square to go to the visitor center

 and to look at the beautiful flower gardens.

Happy kiddios.

Yellowstone

We took a day trip to visit Yellowstone.

 First we visit the Norris Basin and hiked around the loop.

This was my favorite part of the Yellowstone, I loved the vivid, blue pools.

It is a little freaky to be walking next to boiling water.

 More specifically to be walking next to Adam next to boiling pools of water.

Luckily he only fell on the trail, as you can see by his shirt and not off of the board walk.

Jacob and Brian kept Eliza in check so she would not go over the edge.

We had some lunch at on of the lodges and then headed to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

 Unfortunately I could not talk anyone into hiking down to the overlook so we only got to view the waterfall from high.   It was probably safer for Adam that way.

So instead we decided on something much flatter like watching the elk come down to the river in Hayden Valley. 

We then headed to Old Faithful to watch it erupt.  

Or more correctly watch the chipmunks that were busy collecting food from under the boardwalk.

Jacob told me the chipmunks were the most interesting things in Yellowstone.

 Ice cream in the lodge was next.

 Eliza fell in love with this bear.

We took a short walk to see all of the other geysers in the basin and ran into some buffalo crossing the road, luckily they seemed more interested in eating.

The geysers were very cool and stinky, each one had a different name. 

This one they said looked like toasted marshmallows.

 

This is Old Faithful from the backside.

Pretty soon the running on the boardwalk got pretty tiring and Brian had to carry Eliza back.

Unfortunately for Brian we had to looked every geyser and pool on the way back to the car.

Who let these crazies in the park.

 I love the steam at the edge of a cool river.

I guess Jacob is singing an ode of joy to the beautiful sunset.
Happy day at Yellowstone.

Tracy Aviary- Ice skating and other stuff

While were at Papa's house. Paul and Gen came to visit from New Mexico and Dawne and company came to visit from Oregon. We spent a couple of days touring around Salt Lake and Provo.

The first stop was the Tracy Aviary.  Gen looks like one of the girls.

Some sort of African vulture, with painted on eyes.  I think he was as fascinated by the kids as the kids were by him.

The kids loved Rousseau the Green Wing Macaw.  He kept hazing us, fortunately he did not leave any dropping on anyone.

The keeper showing the kids how to not loose a finger during feeding time.

Brian looking like he is having a great time.

All the birding was too much for Eliza and she took a nap on the floor. 

After the aviary we visited the 7-peaks fun center to play laser tag, mini golf and climb the rock wall.

The next day we went ice skating.  Eliza actually could stay up, which I was very impressed by.  Merry loved the ice skating the best. 

We also spent some time puttering around Papa's yard cleaning up for the day lily open house.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July

 We spent the 4th going to Seven Peaks,  the park and splash pad and finally back to Papa's house to spend some time with the cousins. 

Some of the cousins.

Dan and Lexie had left so Phelps and Rex didn't make it into the picture.

The Three Amigos, Paul, Jacob and Brett.

Uncle Paul and Gen came and brought fireworks for this group of boys to set off, luckily all fingers remained intact.

The 10 year olds,  Ella, Joseph and Merry.

At the park Uncle Dan timed the kids through an obstacle course.

I don't know if the kids or adults were more competitive through the course.

It was very entertaining trying to watch Dan shimmy through a series of circular rings that were just larger than him.

The Dimple Crew, Jake, Grace and Izzy.

That night the kids played Chopped.  For some reason bananas were included on the list of ingredients so I didn't have to be a judge.  Mando, Gen and Dawne volunteered their palates for the job.  The teams were divided into older boys and younger boys both of which made smoothies and older girls and younger girls both of which made layered cookies.  Izzy and Grace pulled off a surprise win.

The 2010 models, Luke, Adam and Becca.

Papa made some delicious ribs and fixins so all the partyers would not starve.

The last of the sets, Sam and Eliza.

It was a great day of fun and family.

Baby Blessing

On Sunday we went up to Payson to see baby Madeline's blessing.

This means tons  more cousins to visit.

We also visited Papa's day lilies to pick out the best seedlings.