Family Reunion in Yellowstone

We just got back from the best family vacation ever!  I'm in the depths of despair that it is already over!  Last Tuesday night after James finished work, we headed on our way to Island Park, ID.

See little Porter boy in the mirror?!  First family road trip!

My parents rented a cabin there on a lake for 5 days.  The 5+ hour drive up there was interesting with a 6-week-old who doesn't love being in his car seat.  There were a few major screaming episodes, but we survived!  It was amazing to be there with family!  Porter had us up bright and early the first day, so we got to watch the sun rise over the lake...

This was the view from our bedroom...

Here is a view of our cabin from the dock.  It was really perfect!  Every family had their own room.  There was tons of space for the kids to play both inside and out. 

We loved spending time at the cabin just hanging out, playing games, and playing in the water.

To thank my parents for this week, we surprised them with family reunion t-shirts!

On Wednesday, we packed a bunch of sack lunches and headed to Yellowstone.  We were so pumped to get in the park and see all the awesomeness there until we ran into this...

That's the toll booth to get into the park, and we were this close to it after waiting for about an hour.

By the time we actually got into the park, the kids were pretty much done.  We made it to the first picnic area and had lunch.

 Then we headed to the Artist Paint Pots...

 

 The we went to the Norris Geyser Basin, and that is about all we had in us after it taking so long to get into the park.  Yellowstone is the most bizarre but rad place!  The earth is awesome!

Oh ya, we made one more stop at Gibbon Falls on the way out.  I stayed in the car and fed Porter, but James took this lovely picture...

 

We were worn out!  Hahahahaha...and here comes the funniest picture of all time...

Close up!  Kara and Ryan thought we had died back there.  Parents of a newborn!

We spent Thursday at the cabin.  The kiddos played with these water squirting things for hours and hours.

I may have taken a nap almost every day.  Porter did really well sleeping here, but I was still exhausted!

Deeds and Kimmy arrived late Thursday night after work, and then Friday morning we headed back to Yellowstone.

Porter all ready for Yellowstone again!

Our first stop was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Yellowstone Falls

I have a hooter hider cape!  Breastfeeding on the go!

We hiked along the trail between the different view points, and eventually made it to the hike down to the falls.  It was short but pretty dang steep.  I was toasted afterward, but the view of the falls was awesome!

 

When we made it to the top, this guy was hanging out.  Elk are huge!

Then we stopped at a picnic area by Yellowstone Lake for lunch.

Then it was off to Old Faithful.  We did some shopping and then headed to watch it go off.

I fed Porter while we waited and James made sure my nursing cover didn't blow all over the place.

Porter loved it! :)

We made one more stop at Grand Prismatic Spring.  So beautiful!

Wyatt had an epic meltdown here.  Poor kid just wanted to be out and running around, but we didn't want him falling off the boardwalk!

This lady was waiting for us near our cabin when we got back that evening.

We took some family pictures when we got back to the cabin that night.

I have to just say that we were quite the spectacle in Yellowstone with our matching shirts.  People died when they saw that even little Porter had a matching shirt.  I'm pretty sure we are in several Asian people's vacation photos.  We even got annoyed rude comments too.  Ummm...ok people.  Get a life!  Don't hate us cuz we're awesome!
On Saturday we played at the cabin.  There was lots of water time.  My parents even planned some minute-to-win-it games for us.  Hilarious!

The cabin was so great.  It had this big game room.

This is the kind of stuff that goes down when you leave your camera unattended with Deeds...

Porter loved being with all his cousins and meeting Kara, Ryan, Isaac, and Wyatt.  The kids just love Porter and always want to hold him and see him and know what he's doing and why he's crying.

Minute-to-win-it cookie game.

Overall, it was such a great time.  However, going on vacation with a child is much, much different than going on vacation without one.  I think it was Amy that said, it's not a vacation when you have kids, it's a "trip".  So true!  Another lesson learned was the kids don't love and appreciate National Parks...well, little kids I guess.  Both days we were in Yellowstone, they just wanted to back at the cabin.  Haha!
Until next time, Island Park and Yellowstone!  Thank you Mom and Dad for this most awesome time!!