3 Girls and a Guy

YELLOWSTONE AGAIN!!!!


Last year we went to Yellowstone over Memorial Weekend. This year we went again. Last year we went with Jordan and Heather. This year we went with Jordan and Heather and three other McBride families. (Rae, Becky's, and Randy's) There were 21 children and 10 adults. There was a lot of fun to be had with that many people. We saw lots of animals. Over 10 bears, even mama bears with baby cubs, 2 bald eagles, mule deer, antelope, lots of elk and buffalo, marmots, squirrels, fox and more. Both years we have had the best luck in the bear department. Most people don't even see bears when they go to Yellowstone. I guess you have to go over Memorial Weekend!!!! The kids got a chart to mark off the animals they saw during our weekend drives. We saw over 13 different animals. One Elk was in labor in the Mammoth City area and she was just lying on the grass waiting for her baby to come roped off. If we could have stayed there all weekend, we would have seen a baby elk born.

Kaden's favorite part of the trip was watching geysers. There are hot springs, geysers, mud pots all over the place. It's a very diverse and amazing place. One minute we would see sun and the next it would be snowing. One moment we would see green trees everywhere and then it was volcanic looking. Crazy climate and Heavenly Father created it all. The kids had so much fun walking around and looking with their cousins.

The first day we stopped for lunch on this cool rock climbing wall. The sun came out and it wasn't bad. The kids played around with the squirrels and marmots. The second day it snowed most the day on us. We didn't know where we would stop for our picnic lunch. We arrived at Old Faithful and went inside a lodge and made ourselves at home, all 31 of us. I was afraid we would get kicked out. No one came and said anything. Thank Heavens because it was not nice enough to eat outside. Those men are brave for making lunch in there. It was their idea.

Beautiful Falls and still snow. We walked a lot to see the Falls. The kids were troopers and did great. We all wore hoodies and sometimes could have used coats. The kids would trade cars along the way and they were all pleasant. We didn't have too much drama.

Uncle Renn is the nicest uncle ever. One night he popped all the kids their own bag of movie popcorn. A couple of the kids had two bags. Some parents were not too happy with this idea in the beginning, but Renn said these are the things the kids will remember the most. How many of our kids get their very own popcorn bag. It was a fun night. They were entertained by their popcorn and movies. After there was a major clean up by the parents, couches and tables moved because popcorn was everywhere. Renn popped popcorn for about an hour. What a nice uncle.

Adri's favorite part was playing with her cousins and the babies too. The cabin we stayed in had three bathrooms, six bedrooms and a loft for some kids to sleep in with rollaway beds. They had major pillow fights, danced on tables, slept when they could, and made a disaster of the great room. One night the pillow fights had to be ended by Aunt Becky because so many of the girls started bawling because a couple boys started throwing punches instead of pillows. That's when it's time to stop. They all had fun!!! Poor Kade slept on the wood floor with his head on the floor too. This was his choice. He didn't even notice. He slept while half of us walked past him and ate breakfast. These kids did not get much sleep.

The six oldest girls got to share a room with two doubles and a couple of rollaways. It was nice for them to have privacy, play games, and enjoy each other without all the little kids bugging them. We played games, ate a ton, the boys played on the stairs and the adults sat around told stories and laughed a ton. There is always something funny happening when we all stay in a cabin and can hear everything. Plus we have a couple of comedians along with us, Uncle Cody got hit on at McDonalds, Jordy proved we saw wolves instead of coyotes, the shower was noisy, people tooting non stop, lots of laughter.

I think the kids finally went to bed around 11 p.m. or midnight. The adults usually were in bed by midnight. That might not sound bad, but when you are with the McBrides it doesn't matter what time they go to bed, they still get up at 6-6:30 a.m. They are early risers. When I go to bed late, I think I should sleep in. Not them. They are crazy sleepers and they wear me out.

Renn and I planned the food for this trip. We did all the shopping at Costco and Walmart. We packed it and Renn pretty much cooked and cleaned up the whole time. I love him. He is such a hard worker. Many of the adults just sat around and let a few of the adults do it all. Renn never complained and did fabulous. We had pork tacos, BBQ chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, banana sundaes, chocolate chip cookies, indoor smores, and lot of snacks. We didn't go without for sure. It was a fun trip. Next Memorial I hope we head south where it will be a little bit warmer!!!

Of course my kids could not leave without a souvenir and shopping. Monday morning we went to a couple of stores before leaving. Kaden got a rubber band gun, Adri got a disposable camera, (funny girl), Alex and Abby got a chocolate covered pretzel and Renn talked them into $10 in cash instead of a dumb souvenir. They were all over that. The kids slept on and off the whole ride home. Four out of the five driver got tickets on the way home. Becky and Eric lucked out. Renn had the best attitude about the ticket and didn't let it affect his day. He's changing and getting nicer as he gets older. His brother Randy is too. Randy and Jenn were fun. It's nice to see people change for the good. We all had a fabulous family weekend. We love that Jordy Boy and Heather come too. Cousins are the best and my kids love cousin time!!! Family is what life is all about and we loved being with all of them. Hopefully next year we will do it all again.