Yellowstone 2011

We had the wonderful opportunity to go to Yellowstone with Jesse's family about a week ago. We had such a great time seeing God's creations and being with family. Our first day, we drove through Jackson and Teton National Park and stopped at West Thumb. We then drove to Old Faithful for the night.

Our next day we walked around the Old Faithful area and while there we came across this cute chipmunk eating a Lifesaver. It was very entertaining!

While we were out walking we were lucky enough to see the River Geyser erupt. It lasted forever and it was so awesome seeing it erupt into the river.

Our next stop for the night was Mammoth Hot Springs and on our way there we were able to see one of Yellowstone's many waterfalls.

When we got up the next morning, we went to church in this teeny-tiny little branch in Gardiner, MT and then went back to Mammoth to see the beautiful features there.

We then set off to Canyon Village and on the way we stopped at Tower Falls where Atreyu had a lot of fun riding a bear in the gift shop and Grandma had a lot of fun singing songs with some of the kids.

That night while we were unloading, Atreyu found himself a couple of handfuls of Cheetos when Dad's back was turned. He is so funny!

The following day, we spent our time in the canyon area looking at the beautiful waterfalls and going on some pretty amazing trails.

When we finished in the canyon, we headed toward Yellowstone Lake where Jesse carved out initials in a balcony railing seven years ago and it is still there.

We were able to stay in the Old Faithful Inn our last night. It is such a beautiful place. On our way home, we stopped at Jenny Lake in Teton National Park and hiked up to Hidden Falls. It was a long hike but totally worth it. We even saw two different moose on the way.

It was such a wonderful trip and as you might be able to tell from the pictures, Atreyu still prefers Grandpa over everyone else.

Buckets and Cupboards

I play this game with Atreyu where I put his sandbucket on my head and say, "bucket-head Mommy". He thinks it's really funny and then we put it on his head and say, "bucket-head Atreyu". Today I was in the kitchen and he comes walking in with the bucket on his head. It was so cute! He cracks me up!


This afternoon I stripped Atreyu down to just his diaper because he got so hot. I made some homemade rolls and while I was mixing, he thought it would be fun to climb into the cupboard. He's constantly getting into things but it's really fun watching him learn and grow.

It's Startin' to Look Like it Could be Spring

It seems that spring might finally be here now that it is almost summer. We haven't been able to spend much time outside but Atreyu loves to go out any time he can. He has fun checking cows with Grandpa and Grandma and he loves to see Grandpa's tractors. Eddie recently had a tire go out on one of his tractors and it is going to make a great sandbox for Atreyu when we get the back yard set up.

Since it's been too cold and wet to go outside much, I inflated Atreyu's swimming pool and let him play with it inside. He has so much fun with it! The other day he sat in it for quite a while looking at books. It was so cute!


Atreyu has also found that the laundry hamper makes a wonderful toy and is very fun to climb into. Anytime there aren't clothes in it, he tries to play with it. He also started walking in the middle of May but he would really only do it when we made him. When his cousins Katie Jo and Wyatt came down, he started walking all over with them like he had known how to do it all along. I really don't have a "baby" anymore but I am loving every new stage with my sweet boy!