June 2019

BOISE

We went to see Aladdin with cousins.  The timing worked out so that we got a fountain show as we left the theater.

The girls were thrilled to meet Princess Jasmine as well.

 Nathan enjoy shooting guns with his Uncle Craig and Kevin.

They also had fun with a pellet gun in the backyard.

Jared enjoyed a nice birthday dinner with all the family.

Audrey enjoyed trying on Mom's hat.

Our last night in Boise was filled with good food and fun at Bryan and Afton's house. The kids especially loved having their own personal cupcake with a candle that they could blow out. 

SHOSHONE FALLS

We stopped by Shoshone falls for the kids on our way back to Utah.

STEWART FALLS

We had a nice hike with my Dad to Stewart falls.  The scenery was beautiful.  I love Utah!

TEMPLE TRIP

Abby and Maddy got to take a temple trip with their cousins.

CURIOSITY MUSEUM

While the older girls were at the temple, the three youngest enjoyed visiting the curiosity museum with their cousins. Everyone had a blast.  I think this was by far Audrey's favorite part of our trip.  She kept talking about "that really fun museum."

AQUARIUM

My dad took a day off and treated us to a trip to the aquarium.  It was fantastic.

Brooklyn has been obessed with baby shark, but she found them to be much more scary in person.

The penguins were fascinating to watch and super cute.

Audrey really loved the butterflies.

CABIN


Audrey trying out the crib with Brooklyn.

My dad and Jared put up the tire swing.  I can already tell that it is going to be a favorite with the grandkids.

The hammock we put up is going to be a favorite of all the parents.

Grandma and the girls put together a darling fairy garden for Grandma's windowsill.

We had a nice trip to BYU.  This time we decided to take the kids to visit the library. Here they are by their Great-Grandpa Donaldson's picture which is hanging there.  I'm glad my 3 oldest got to meet him before he died.  

The view of Timp this time of year is gorgeous!  I love the snow melting and showing the ridges in the rocks.  

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Jared got to enjoy Father's day with 5 of his sweet kids.  He is their hero and they love and adore him.

DANCE CLASS

A retired dance teacher in our ward offers free dance lessons over the summer at the church.  Audrey was beyond thrilled to have her first dance class.

Yellowstone

HOT SPRINGS

Dragon's Mouth


Audrey wanted her picture in front of this one "because it is pretty."



Maddy did too.



Fire lake

MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS

MUDPOTS

GEYSERS

BISON

The bison were amazing to see up close (from our van as we drove by).  We actually saw a bison start charging a guy who got too close for a picture.  Luckily he got away.  

The baby bison were darling.


BIG HORN SHEEP

Their horns aren't very big since it is spring, but they were still cool to look at.

MOOSE


It is actually more rare to see a moose than bear because of how reclusive they are.  We lucked out by seeing this one.  We also saw young one by my parent's cabin before heading up to Yellowstone.


BEAR



We saw a mommy bear with 2 baby cubs feeding on a baby elk carcass halfway down the mountain, while the mommy elk on the top of the ridge looked for her baby.  We then saw the mom and one of the bear cubs come down the mountain, swim in the lake, and cross to the other side of the road. We later saw a Grizzly bear on top of the ridge standing on his hind legs.  We later found out that he had killed one of the bear cubs and taken the elk carcass from the black bears.


On our last day as we left the park we lucked out by having a black bear cross the road right in front of our van.


ELK

WATERFALLS

OTHER

Hiking in the woods

Eagles nest

The views were spectacular

End of May, but we still had beautiful snowfields.

Snow covered lake

Brooklyn looking out our cabin window at her Daddy.

Continental divide

Picnic by the river

Grandpa knows that ice cream is the way to his granddaughter's heart

Audrey worked really hard and earned her Jr Ranger Badge

OLD FAITHFUL INN

The historic inn was amazing to walk through.  It felt as if we had stepped into a scene from The Lord of the Rings.  We followed Grandpa Donaldson's tradition of buying the kids old fashioned ice cream.

We forgot to take pictures with them, but my parents, Andrew's family, my Uncle Steve's family, and my cousin Jared's family all joined us on this trip.  It reminded me of my many family reunion trips to Yellowstone as a child.  It was very nostalgic for me.  Jared also has good memories of visiting Yellowstone as a child. We enjoyed passing on this family tradition and memories to our kids.