We went to Yellowstone in June with Aaron's family and I have been putting off posting it because I still haven't sorted through the bazillion pictures I took there, but I decided I better do it anyway before I forget what we did. His entire family was able to come, so it was kinda crazy, but tons of fun! Lucas had his 2nd birthday, we played rock band, hung out at the cabin, and toured as much of Yellowstone as we could! We saw a bear about 50 feet off of the road (a little black bear), tons of elk, and of course buffalo!

We walked the loop around Old Faithful and saw tons of different geysers and springs. It was a pretty long walk, but the kids were still running by the end of it! We also hiked down some really steep switchbacks to the lookout over an amazing waterfall. Aaron carried Owen in a backpack and took turns pushing a stroller with graham and lucas in it! (taking a stroller down the trail turned out to be a bad idea....but everyone survived!)

We then decided to hike down about twenty billion stairs to another viewpoint. It was an amazing view, but quite a workout! It was a lot of fun....Yellowstone is a pretty amazing place and we had a great time spending time with family! It is the first time we have all spent that much time together for a long time and we loved it!

There are 7 grandkids.....all boys.....and they had so much fun together! Lucas and Graham followed each other around exploring everything. Cameron, Parker, and Aiden were busy being silly and having the greatest conversations about everything around them.... everytime I would catch a little bit of what they were saying, I had to laugh....little boys are hysterical! Brennar and Owen spent most of their time being passed between their moms and grandma! They all had a lot of fun together and were sad when we all had to go back to our own homes!

Owens First Birthday!

The birthday boy......what a cutie, I can't believe he's already 1!


Owen had his first birthday this weekend. We had a jungle party with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Melanie, Aunt Heidi, and his brothers and cousins! He didn't really get what was going on, but loved every minute of it anyway.... especially the giant piece of birthday cake!!!

the cake...

Aunt Melanie and Grandma with the birthday boy!

any day is good that involves cake and orange soda...

sweet madelyn

owen wasn't really sure what to do with the cake at first, but once he managed to get some into his mouth, he was very excited about the rest! He is our pickiest eater yet, but if there is sugar in it, he will eat it all!

big brother cameron....................................owens first bike!

grandma and grandpa got owen this little radio flyer and he loved it! he couldn't reach the ground with both feet, so he would just push with one foot and go in circles!

Our little family at the zoo playground. This is the best family picture we have because it is the only one where we are all looking!!!

My mom and sister came down a few weeks ago and we took the kids to the fountain at the Gateway (our outdoor mall) and to the zoo..... they had a blast!

graham wouldnt go near the water, but he insisted on taking his shirt off!
owen loved the water! we couldn't keep him away, he just kept crawling over and putting his face right over the holes the water was coming out of.... he got squirted in the face multiple times, but kept going back for more...
cameron and his cousin madelyn
trying to get everyone to look and smile at the same time is quite a challenge!!! at least almost everyone is looking...
this lizard was following camerons hand along the glass

the kids playing around in the giraffe house

they loved the huge snake!!!

I am so glad we live so close to a zoo....the kids love going there and never get tired of seeing the animals. This year they put in a big carousel and the kids love it!

this blogging thing...

I noticed that everyone has these great backgrounds for their blogs and mine is pretty generic, so instead of posting anything, I have spent all of my computer time trying to figure out where everyone is getting their great backgrounds, embellishments, music, etc. After several days of looking and trying different things, I haven't had much luck, however, I did manage to change my background! This isn't the one I wanted (not very men of steel-ish), but it's the only one I could get to work! If anyone out there has any advice I would love it!!! I am definitely not "in the know" with this whole blogging thing!