My 35th B-day in Yellowstone

(Me, with Old Faithful in the background)

I had never been to Yellowstone before.

The kids were out of school for a couple of days, so we decided to go!

I loved it. It is an amazing place.

Like nothing I've seen before.

The Earth is so ALIVE in Yellowstone.

I didn't know Yellowstone was all about a volcano from thousands and thousands of years ago.

The animals were great to see.

 I loved seeing the Bears, we saw 2 different mama bears and her cubs!

One time we were too close to a Buffalo.
It was heart pumping - too scary for all of us.
No picture of that moment, we all had to be still and not make a sound.
We didn't reach for the camera then.
Sadie didn't realize the danger,
and kept pointing and saying "There's another one!" in a way too loud voice.
The Buffalo stared us down, but luckily kept walking over the footpath boardwalk.

Chris wanted to see a Moose, no such luck. Bummer.

I loved all the canyons and waterfalls:

The geyers and hot springs were all so interesting.
There were so many in all kinds and colors.
There was steaming, popping, gurgling, exploding, bubbling, oozing, simmering, etc.

Here is the celebratory cake and party crowd:

I thought Yellowstone was great.
Turning another year older was fine with me.

We stayed in a hotel, and visited the park in about 3 days.
The weather was a little cool, but we were all comfortable.
It was a lot of driving and being in the car together.
(Luckily, we all survived our moods, small spaces, car sickness, and
the kids were more than fine - as always way too energetic, the parents were a little more weary.)
To see most of the park we drove from site to site.
This particular vacation I did little or no planning.
We just got in the car and drove there.
I thought it was great and well worth it.
It's so nice to visit the National Parks, they really are amazing,
and a nice change from amusement park vacations.

We tried a couple times to eat at a sit-down restaurant.
Hilarious.
In the end we went for McDonald's & Wendy's.

Thank goodness for hotel pools and complimentary breakfasts.
I learned my kids would like hard boiled eggs for breakfast everyday.

Sadie did great (except for talking too loud around a buffalo).
She even began to toilet train herself at the hotel bathroom.
I guess that's what I'll try to attempt this week.

Real life is always ready and waiting when you get back from a long weekend.