Grand Teton National Park

It would appear that we are not very good at just "driving straight through" when we go on road trips.   And frankly - I love it this way.  Sure, it may take us hours more to get to or from our destinations but those stop offs are sometimes the part that we remember the best.

 

On our drive home from Yellowstone we stopped in the Grand Tetons for a couple of photo opportunities.  

 

One of those stops ended up being about an hour long break where we let the girls wander around down by Lake Teton.  The weather was pleasant (which it hadn't been the day before) and everyone was tired from sitting. 

 

Because our girls are almost always filled with some sort of mischief, they hid from grandma in the weeds and tried to scare her.  They were adorable but failed at scaring anyone. 

 

Island Park at Sunset

We also stopped off in Island Park on our way to Yellowstone.  We got there as the sun was going down and it was getting chilly so we didn't hang out for very long.  The girls loved feeding the fish and nibbling on some bread of their own.

 

It was absolutely beautiful there.  I would love to go and spend some time in a cabin up there.  Escape the business of the real world and enjoy the natural spring river, go check out the lake and just hike around.  

 

I think that will be something we add to our bucket list.  It is also really close to Yellowstone so you could explore both the National Park and the Island Park area.

 

 

 

Yellowstone Bear Country - Rexburg Idaho

On our way to Yellowstone, we stopped off at the "Yellowstone Bear Country" in Rexburg.  It was the day before their big winter hibernation festival (which would have been fun to see) but it was much less crowded.

 

In Bear Country you get to drive through a bear habitat.   The bears wander around, play and sleep while you drive just feet away from them.  We've heard that the bears can actually paw at your car, or stand up on it if you stop.  So, we did our best at not stopping and keeping our windows up.  Just like they told us to.  But we may have taken a picture or two with our window down.  Oops.

The petting zoo was a lot of fun for the little girls.  They took a million pictures and had a blast petting and feeding the animals.  The pig was my favorite but he didn't really care for people. 

 

 

 

 

I would definitely recommend it as a stop if you are heading through Rexburg to West Yellowstone.  It was a great break from the drive and we saw WAY more bear there than we saw in Yellowstone.  (And just for the record, 1 would have been more than we saw in 2 days at Yellowstone).

My new favorite thing to do at Disneyland...

Did you know that Disneyland can sometimes be just too much stimulation for young kids? They can start to get cranky and antsy and just not that much fun to be with? It's even worse if it's hot outside (which for us- that wasn't a problem- mid 70's the whole week). Anyway, Disneyland is a lot of fun but sometimes you need some down time. Some people that have kids will go back to their hotels and rest- that idea didn't sound like fun to us. Some will take in a show- but that too can add to the over stimulation. We found the perfect solution. In the back lot at California Adventure Park, they have an animation academy. In the animation academy, you can take 25 minute art classes. They teach you how to draw different characters every half hour. The kids LOVED it and so did the adults.

Our first class was Pluto (Ivy's absolutely favorite character). Our second class was Jack Skeleton. We only did two classes, but we also explored the rest of the Disney Animation attraction.

Scott, my dad, my mom, Jade, Ivy and I each gave it a try. Can you guess below who drew what? I'll give you number 1- Ivy. Heehee, you probably had guessed that one.

Leave me a comment and the first person to get all six Pluto's right will get a prize. And, the first person to get all six Jack's right will also get a prize.

Give it a try! Remember I listed the 6 of us above.

And, next time you go to Disneyland, take a half hour break and try your hand at sketching Disney characters.

Oh the difference 24 hours makes....

We went from this...

to this...

Each does the beach his own way

The men, and Dax (who is quickly becoming a man) did a bit of surfing in the really cold water.

The kids, except Ivy, played in the water and sand.
The tourists stopped and took pictures of the cute little blondies playing in the sand. Yes- true story. They had 4 different cameras going and each of them got down on the our girls' level. I was dying laughing but HAD to make sure I captured the moment. For Asher, it was a flash back to her time traveling around the world.

Ivy eventually warmed up to the sand, but by then it was time to go home.

Mac dug a hole as deep as his leg is long. It was an impressive hole and one that inspired the girls to try digging their own.

Jade danced and tumbled in the water. Of course she leaps and cartwheels where ever there is room.

Everyone enjoyed their time at the beach, doing what makes them happiest.

In fact, I have very similar pictures from our trip last year doing the same thing. See here, here, and here.

Tidepools in Malibu

Our first day with Tom, Anne and their family we enjoyed one of my favorite food spots of the LA area- Tito's Tacos. Some people think In-N-Out Burger is the place to eat in California but my favorite place is easily Tito's. I love their meat burritos They are huge and full of flavor and they bring back wonderful memories of my grandparents. (In fact, when I left on the airplane to Ukraine, my grandpa brought me a Tito's burrito for the trip).

Our plan for Friday was to go to the tide pools and play at the beach, but in California, the sun sets so early. Seriously, by 5:00 PM, the sun is gone. The next challenge we faced was that low tide was at 6:00 PM- after dark. So we figured we could get some tide pools if we left around four. That didn't leave much of a window for time to play in the tide pools.

We bundled up and were on our way with the two Andrus littles. Dax was with some school friends and Mac went to New Moon for his second time with a group from the church. (Yes, he saw the midnight movie and then went the next day).

We went to the tide pools up by the Colony in Malibu. We were right by the private beach. It was beautiful, a bit chilly and very quickly too dark.

Thanks, Tom and Anne for taking us to play in the sand for a while, and thanks Anne for being Ivy's little buddy while she stayed as far away from the water as possible.

Good Night Disneyland- We love you!

WE LOVE DISNEYLAND!!!

Things to know about getting sick at Disneyland....

Mickey's Fun Wheel is really a thrilling ride. It's one of those rides that leaves little ones wanting more (it was one of Ivy's favorites). It leaves adults looking for the "barf bags" on the side of the carriage.

Anne and my dad took all of the kids on the ride. The ride is vicious!!!! Anne was calling my mom during the ride letting her know that Dad wasn't doing well. Ivy would be "weee-ing" and giggling and would stop to check on Grandpa. By the time the ride was FINALLY over, Dad was not doing well. Anne hurried up to let us know that dad was really bad. I went over to him first. He was as white as a ghost, ice cold and soaking wet. By the time Tom got over to dad, he was doing worse. Tom grabbed my dad just as he went out. Dad went out two more times while Tom walked him to the bench.

Mom went and told someone that dad wasn't doing well and needed some help. No one came. She went back and said that she could call 911- so someone came and checked on him. Minutes later there were two nurses running up to take care of him.

Disneyland cast members formed a barricade around my dad and the nurses.

After the paramedics had come and been sent a way, the took Dad to the first aid room. He spent the next couple of hours resting.

Disneyland really does everything they can to maintain the happiest place on earth.

Oh the things to know...

1. If you need help- ask with panic and fear in your voice/actions. If you go calmly, they won't hurry.

2. In California it is against the law to take pictures of someone being medically administered to.

3. The first aid room is up above the tortilla factory.

4. If you are going to die- it won't be at Disneyland.

5. If you get as sick as my dad, they will give you a free wheelchair pass.

6. If there is a barf bag in the ride, and you get motion sick, get OFF the ride before it starts.

Grandparents ROCK

Friends are often telling me how lucky I am to have the parents that I have. I couldn't agree more. When I was little, I took for granted how important my grandparents were to our family- I hope my girls will always realize how lucky they are. They have two sets of grandparents that love them with all of their hearts and would do anything to show them how much they care.

We were really lucky to have my parents join us at Disneyland. It was nice that we had a little "family" vacation first with SeaWorld and Wild Animal Park, but as my girls have said numerous times, "Everything is more fun with Grandpa and Grandma."

I think it is really important to make sure we get lots of pictures with the girls and their grandparents- because those pictures will bring back memories and emotions that otherwise fade with time.

I love my parents and am so grateful for the relationship that they have with me, Scott and our girls. We are very blessed.

Want to know what's even better? My in-laws and my parents are great friends and when we have all four grandparents together there is more laughter and fun.

Fun with the Andrus family

My brother and his family are still living in California, at least for the next little while. So for now, we get to go spend time with Tom, Anne and the kids. During our Disneyland part of the trip, Tom, Anne and the little ones joined us for our day at California Adventure Land.

Jade and Ivy always have more fun when there are cousins involved.

Anne was a really good sport and took the kids on the Rattle Snake Rapids. The kids absolutely loved it and Anne put up with being wet and cold the rest of the night.

Tom couldn't ride many of the rides because he gets motion sickness. But he could do the Carousel- and he did A LOT with Ivy. The floated through the sea and they raced to the finish line. The fearsome twosome had an excellent time together.

To finish the night off we all (except Grandpa) rode the Toy Story Arcade game. Scott took first, Tom took second, Kieran took third and well, the rest of us didn't do so hot. Ivy refused to wear her glasses in anything 3D so I doubt she enjoyed it as much as she could have.

After the park we headed out for some excellent Thai food. Tom went to Yelp and found this little restaurant had a 5 star rating for food and only a 1 dollar rating for cost. Since my girls both love curry and the Andrus kids love sticky rice and noodle dishes, we were good to go.

They had wonderful dessert crepes and some of the best sticky white rice with Mango dessert. My Tom Yum soup was a hit and Tom's going to give making it a try. I found this recipe that I might have to try as well.

What a great day we had. There was a major "hiccup" but it will receive it's very own post.