Yellowstone

What is not to love about camping in bear country? I am a rule follower, but there were a lot of rules! My mother-in-law brought a truck load of supplies and we couldn't keep anything in the truck bed. She decided to sleep in our car, so we couldn't keep anything there either. Did I mention that the bathroom and water was a half mile up hill? That was really fun at 5:30 A.M.Collin buddied up with a cousin we haven't seen in years, so he isn't in pictures. We saw Old Faithful erupt three times.The food was good. My kids were good, but there is no place like home.

Gone Fishing

The girls enjoyed the jogging path that circles the pond. The two year old was convinced that all she really needed was a swimming suit and she could catch the fish with her hands. We kindly explained that swimming was against the rules, otherwise her plan was fail proof. She was also fascinated with the potties. At first I didn't see the facilities located across the parking lot. So I did as any good mother would and introduced her to the fine art of "going in the dirt." She was a big fan. We love this location. I was more concerned about capturing memories than I was about catching fish. My son was convinced that my flash scared off the fish. That was a trade I was willing to make. We saw lots of fish jumping out of the water. We know they loved salmon eggs because they ate every single one off of our hooks. We watched people around us catching fish. My son was determined. He continued to cast out his line long after the rest of us had retired to the car. Rumor has it that our luck will change if we fish in the morning. Maybe next weekend.

Cress Creek

In honor of National Park day, we decided to save time and gas money and instead of Yellowston we went for a hike. I really thought my husband would complain when I brought along my camera. But then he brought out the trusty boy scout "be prepared" backpack. I groaned. I really don't think we need to be prepared with half of the things he brought on a day hike, but the flash lights, etc. stayed. And he gave the two year old a piggy back ride, so I got to carry the camera, backpack and everybodys' coats. The girls were not very happy with me when we reached the top only to discover that our carefully planned picnic was packed safely back in the car. How is that for prepared?

Following in her sister's footsteps

We really thought that she would try soccer for one season and that would be it. We would be finished. No more second guessing the weather. No more snow one weekend, sun burn the next, followed by rain. No more trying to juggle soccer practice with dance lessons with siblings' games and practices and rehearsals with team photo shoots. And then, we saw her play. She is so aggressive. She scored three goals in one quarter. Amazing! So fearless. I love how her tongue sticks out in this one. Back off boysShe took her share of spills, but she always got right back up. We are so proud of her. McKell came home from her first practice discouraged. She was so sad to admit that she was no longer the best player on the team. It took her awhile to understand why we were so excited for her. She played with a great team and a great coach. We look forward to many more seasons to come.