a day at yellowstone

we got up nice and early and made the drive to yellowstone

the kids were so excited

and we were stoked we could use noah's national parks pass he got for being a 4th grader last year

we saw some mule deer off the bat which was very exciting

 a quick stop at a bathroom

 we happened upon a bunch of buffalo laying around near the bathroom

it was pretty awesome

noah loved seeing them in person after writing a report about them in 4th grade

 then we stopped at the paint pots

 family picture

 then we stopped at the grand prismatic 

 it was warmer weather than we expected and more walking than anticipated off the bat

but the kids agreed it was worth it

 our next stop was old faithful

 then we all got "small" ice cream cones

that were really enormous

and made a huge mess in the wind outside 

we were all covered in it but it was fun

we stopped at the general store and let them each pick a souvenir, too

 kepler cascade

 eleanor was happy to be taking the pictures

but not very happy to have our picture taken by someone else

oh well

 the kids were dying to get out and play in yellowstone lake

so michael got out with them for a bit 

while i stayed with henry and eleanor who were napping in the car

they loved it until they got rained out as a storm came through

 we were pretty thrilled every time we passed a buffalo

 dragon's mouth

 and the mud geyser

 more buffalo

 when we stopped at the upper falls

olive got a sliver and melted down for a while

so we entertained ourselves while michael tried to talk her down

 the upper falls

 then we stopped at the lower falls

 and our last stop was the grand canyon of yellowstone

it was beyond gorgeous

it was a long day

with a lot of walking for some of us who are super pregnant and a bunch of little legs

and a lot strapping henry down in the stroller and ergo which he got tired of really quickly

but it was totally worth it

noah spent so much time studying idaho history and bison this year that we felt like it would be

a shame not to take him to yellowstone

all the kids loved it and so did we

we'll have to head back in a couple years to explore more and see everything we missed

henry loved playing with his "b" ball on the way back to the hotel

 and we got in one last swim at the hotel pool before bed

 some late night tv while michael was at the store buying milk and snacks for the drive home

the first night henry slept terribly so we jammed his porta crib in the bathroom for the second night

(which we normally do but it didn't look like it would fit)

and we all slept a million times better

thank goodness

all in all it was a very successful day at yellowstone and a fun little family vacation