Yellowstone!

We spent the day in Yellowstone while we were staying in Jackson. We just happened to choose the same day as Pres. Obama, but I think fortunately for us---and the crowds---we missed him. We thought that there was a bear near Old Faithful because of the traffic, but learned later that the Secret Service was just clearing out. We enjoyed the Old Faithful area without having to be searched and with 9 kids in tow that would have taken all day.

Megan and Emily are always up for posing for pictures. I think they waited until the very end of the eruption to get this picture.

This was "our" motorhome for the week. We traveled all through Yellowstone and Jackson with movies going and games being played. It really was easier to travel this way. We didn't have any fights about who had to ride where. All the cousins were just always together. And Wendell did a great job driving us all around---especially considering he had never driven a motorhome before we all loaded in.

We had a nice picnic near the Firehole river. Gracie and Megan played and played until Gracie fell in. Nothing like cold water on a cold day. We then had to rush to Canyon to find a store that sold sweatshirts. We were actually surprised that only 1 of the kids fell in.

I think my favorite part of Yellowstone is the Canyon area. The waterfalls and yellow canyons are pretty amazing to see. Emily wanted to have her picture taken with the water rushing behind her.

Tyler and Spencer spent most of the sight-seeing time looking for places and rocks to climb. Boys will be boys. The rocks were more impressive to them than the waterfalls.

Megan loves to give the cheesiest smiles. I'm posting this against her wishes in hopes she'll work on her cheesy smiles.

Our family photo in front of the falls.

The kids loved that a buffalo decided to stop right in front of us in the rode and wouldn't move. They got a good look at the bison----these were the only animals we saw in the entire park. Bad day for animals. They were probably too cold like us.

Yes, there was hail/snow while we walked around the stink pots. Tyler's feet were bright red from the cold. Who would have guessed it was August?

Emily is trying to look excited about the bubbling mud behind her, but the cold is getting the better of her. We were happy we had a warm motorhome to return to. We finished the day at Fishing Bridge and the gift shop. We just love Yellowstone.