First Family Trip to Yellowstone

A couple of weeks ago we ventured out to Yellowstone for our first family vacation there. Tim has told me many stories of all the times he and his family went there as he was growing up. Our kids have been taught by their grandparents to LOVE elk, moose, bears, eagles, and just about any other wildlife animal, so needless to say they wereVERY excited to go. We decided to try to make all the stops Tim and his family would make during the trip. First we stopped at Big Springs and fed the fish.

Then went to Gusher's for pizza in West Yellowstone and walked around the town and stopped at all the shops, then got ice cream before returning to our hotel. The next day we set out into Yellowstone Park, our first stop was Canyon Village. They have a newly completed visitors center, with a lot of cool things to look at. Next we went to Mammoth Hot Springs, we got to see A LOT of elk just hanging out relaxing on the lawn in the middle of town.

Bowen really wanted to cross the barrier and walk right up to them, he was sad when he learned he couldn't do that. We got the kids binoculars and they were sure excited to use them, even though I guarantee they couldn't see out of them{ I could barely see out of them}.

As we were leaving Mammoth Hot Springs, a buffalo came real close to the truck and Bowen nearly jumped out of his seat, he was very excited, and a little scared. I think he thought it was going to come charging at us.

The boys loved trying to skip rocks on the lake

Had to stop and take a few pictures, so BEAUTIFUL!

Checking out what is in Yellowstone Lake (water was freezing)

We saw LOTS of buffalo, a few deer, and a few elk. We were really hoping to see a bear but didn't. We stayed in the park at Lake Lodge the 2nd night of our trip. I sure won't forget about that night, we had all gone to sleep by 11 PM, we were staying in cabins, 4 cabins to a unit. At about 11:30 there was a BANG on the door, I woke Tim up, told him to see who it was. By that time the person started to BANG on the other three doors next to ours, then back to ours. He just told me to go back to sleep and don't worry about it. Lets see... Out in the middle of a forest, with no form of protection{knife, gun... bat?} No form of communication to the outside world {cell service, landline phone to the lodge, FACEBOOK!} And some random stranger banging on our door repeatedly. Go back to sleep... sure, no problem honey, I'll get right on that!! FINALLY, he got up and went to look through the peephole to see who it was. It was just some guy in his 30s maybe, in shorts and a coat just knocking on the door. This went on for 30 MINUTES. The most terrifying 30 minutes of my life. He eventually gave up and the knocking stopped, thank goodness. We found out the next morning from the front desk in the lodge that the guy was a guest, who apparently had too much to drink and didn't know where he was. Of course it could have been much much worse, but it sure was a scary experience for us. Don't think we will be staying in cabins ever again.

After that lovely experience, we woke up and headed to Old Faithful!! Bowen calls it gooey geyser, not sure why?? It's cute though. :) They had a pretty cool kids area in the visitors center that the boys really liked.

Bowen doing some exploring at the Old Faithful visitors center

The boys loved looking at the different animal tracks

After Old Faithful, we headed to Jackson Hole. It is a Brendle tradition to stay in a condo during General Conference in October. We go looking for elk, eat, enjoy each other's company, eat, play games, listen to conference, and eat some more :) It is my favorite time of year!

Glimpse of the Tetons

We got to see our bear!

Bowen and his cousin Taylor

What good looking kids!!

We took lots of pictures with animals, this one was my favorite!

I hope the boys had a good time during their first experience with Yellowstone. I love making memories with my family, hopefully ones they will remember and want to do every year. So blessed to have these little guys as my kids. They are so much fun!

Birthday Boy!

My little man turned two on the 30th of last month. TWO?!? Where did the time go? I love this little guy so much! He is so much fun and is a little copy cat these days. He loves his brother so much and follows him around like a little lost puppy and tries to do everything that he does. It's so fun to watch him grow and develop and I am amazed at how smart he is. He already is learning colors, and can count to 10 perfectly! We might have a little brainiac on our hands. We were in Boise for his birthday and we took him to Build-A-Bear. He chose to build a monkey, and dress him up as Woody. We let Bowen make a bear too, and he chose a Black Bear and dressed him up as Buzz. (I"m wondering if they will ever outgrow the Toy Story phase?) We had a little party for him at my grandma's, and he was happy to open presents and have cake and ice cream. WE LOVE YOU KYLER!!

Gpa's 70th Birthday Party

So I"m still trying to get caught up on my blog, slowly but surely I"m getting it done. My grandpa's birthday was June 25th, and we wanted to something different, (we ususally just BBQ, at their house and have cake and ice cream). So we had the idea of trying out Famous Dave's. BEST IDEA EVER!!!! That place is amazing, such good food! We also ordered a cake from Sam's club, and the manager was nice enough to keep it in the back until we were through with dinner. I love my grandpa so much!! He is so special to me! He is so loving, hard working, caring, and FUN!!! He would do anything for you no matter what it was, just a great guy all around! He and my grandma lived in Las Vegas for a majority of my childhood, so we didn't get to see them very much. We were very happy that they decided to retire in Blackfoot, because now I see them at least once a week, it's great!! Here are some pictures from his special birthday dinner.

Shelb's Bday

When we got home from Hawaii, I was very excited because I knew my sister would be there a couple of days later. My mom and sisters birthdays are three days apart so we decided to celebrate them together and have a girls night (Mom, Shelbey, Sarah, and I). We went to dinner and to see Sex and the City 2.

Happy Birthday Shelb!!

Hawaii 2010

We went to Maui, back in May (yes it is now July, and that is how far behind I am in posting). We have been there before but loved going back. The last time we went we were with Tim's parents and we didn't get to do a lot of the things we wanted. So first on our list this time was parasailing!! I was so nervous at first ( I don't like heights). Once we were up there I didn't want to come down, it was so beautiful and relaxing. Here are the pics the guys down below took for us.Last time we went I tried snorkeling, but I didn't do great because I"m kind of afraid of the water (just breathing in it really). I was determined this time to just relax and not freak out. I'm so glad I was able to overcome my fear! We went snorkeling at Black Rock on Kaanapali Beach and we saw so many different types of fish. I was really hoping to see a turtle, but no luck. It was so much fun! We bought an underwater camera, and took a lot of pictures but we left the dang thing in the snorkel bag when we returned our snorkel gear. UGH!!Probably my favorite thing we did in Maui was just laying on the beach, but my second pick would have to be the dinner cruise we went on. Oh my goodness, good food, beautiful scenery and hanging out with my hubby, it was a good time. I was kind of worried because it started to get cloudy and I was afraid it was going to rain. It sprinkled on us for maybe 2 minutes and all of a sudden this beautiful rainbow appeared, it was so cool. We also went to the coolest magic show ever!! It's called Warren and Annabelle's. Warren was amazing!! We walked the streets of Lahaina, went to the pearl factory, ate some really great food, and Tim dragged me to see Robin Hood, and Iron Man 2 (which I surprisingly liked). We missed our kids but we had such a great time and can't wait to go back, maybe next time we will be able to take them with us.

I'm a Soccer Mom!

Yep, I am a soccer mom. Can't believe Bowen is 4 and playing soccer. It amazes me how fast he has grown up on me! Tim volunteered to be a coach, and is loving it. I sure wish it would get warmer out there though. 2 out of 3 times it has rained so they didn't get to play. We have had a lot of fun watching him emerge as an athlete... or should I say just stare off into the sky, lay on the field, and point out every bird that seems to be flying by. I know he is just getting started, what should I expect? Tim has admitted that it is definitely difficult to have patience for these little kids but he really does enjoy it. Here is our little all-star:

Coach Tim teaching them how to throw the ball in

Father and son Some of Tim's family have told me that Tim use to stand just like this as a kid Our little one in action He loves to play

The one week it was nice outside so far, we had cousin Jaxon come over to play and I caught some cute pics of them:

Hope the warm weather decides to come back and stay for a while this time.