summer vacation-Yellowstone 2011

Our big family vacation for 2011 was Yellowstone Nat'l. Park. I think this was one of our funnest and  memorable adventures. The children are all so independent, Curtis and I really enjoyed ourselves and it didn't feel as stressful as some trips. I realized it is because the 3 older children really take care of themselves plus they are so helpful to Chris and Kiera. They were so willing to get them in and out of their car seats, help with potty breaks, change clothes, get our food ready on our picnics, you name it and one of them was right there to lend a hand. Yellowstone is such a magical place. Everywhere we went in this park we thought about how insignificant we are as humans when you consider God and this world he created. We talked on the trip up about all the wildlife there is and how some of them go right by your car. The kids decided to say a prayer that we would have the chance to see all the wildlife that Yellowstone has to offer. It was cute that they thought of that but I didn't think it was likely that we would get to see all the animals. The last day of our trip we realized that throughout the 3 days of being there we had in fact seen all the wildlife there is to see in the park. We even saw moose and wolves which are the most difficult to spot. The waterfalls, geysers, and hot pots were so fascinating. It is exciting to see children wonder about nature and how these things came to be. We waited for Old Faithful to erupt and Christian was getting impatient so he and I started to chant, "Faithful, Faithful". Other tourists around us got a chuckle and when it finally blew he thought it was really cool. I think I even used the word "Radical" and Kemp and Cami felt embarrassed by their mom. Kiera could not have been an easier baby and she has been like that from birth. She loved being outdoors in the fresh air. Kemp and Cami's favorite part of the trip was the Bear and Wolf discovery center. Kerstyn loved staying at the hotel and seeing a Grizzly bear family (mom, dad, and 2 cubs) walk right across the road in between some cars behind us. Christian's favorite part was seeing a bison herd walk right past the side of our van and one of them was showing us his rear end, Chris laughed about that. My favorite part was the hike to Yellowstone Falls, it was gorgeous! Curtis just loved being away from civilization with his family. We will never forget this trip!