Our Family Vacation to Yellowstone!

We FINALLY did it! We have been talking about taking the kids to Yellowstone for 3 years, and this year we finally did. We took off late Saturday afternoon, and went to Jackson, we stayed in cabins and the kids LOVED it. (So much that they were up until after midnight that night) This is our adorable children sitting in front of their cabin in Jackson. We left this morning, and headed to Yellowstone to spend the day.

This is in Yellowstone, and happens to be our only picture with all of us together (thanks to a sweet lady who volunteered to take it). We Loved how pretty everything in Yellowstone was. What a way to enjoy what our Heavenly Father has given us!

Here is Jody and the crew. They just happened to sit on the bench in order of age, and I loved the picture. This is, of course, us waiting for OLD FAITHFUL to go off. The weather was PERFECT, warm with a slight breeze. The kids loved walking around to see all geysers around Old Faithful, before driving on.

One of the many stops we made to look at beautiful water falls, canyons, or animals. Sure LOVE these sweet things!

After we were done in Yellowstone, we arrived (very late) to the KOA cabin in Cody Wyoming. We basically just crashed wherever we landed, and rested up for our day in Cody.

We went to the HUGE museum that I remembered as a kid going to. The kids enjoyed all of the cool things this place had to offer.

We all took a picture to see how we compared to the stature of Buffalo Bill, and then my sweet teenage boy picked up his little sister so she could feel tall and proud. I thought this picture was cute!

Here is Jody and me and Danica, sitting outside of the museum, resting up for the trip back to Jackson Hole.

First stop on the way back, was the Buffalo Bill Dam. It was very cool to look at if you aren't a tiny bit terrified of walking or being on things that have nothing below them. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed the view but me! Still, it was a beautiful place to visit.

Our trip back through Yellowstone the second time gave us the up close and personal experience with the Buffalo. They were everywhere, and we loved it. We took lots of pictures, and watched them for quite a while. Other animals we saw this trip were elk, coyotes, fish, birds, but to Jody's dismay, NO bear. For your info, we also got 44 of the 50 states playing the liscense plate game.

After making it back to Jackson, and staying in the same cabins we did our 1st night, we woke up to spend our last day in Jackson Hole before driving home. We went on a very large Tram, that takes you up, up, up to the top of the Tetons. It was beautiful once you got there, and to most of us, the ride up was great too, but not really for me because of that same fear previously mentioned. This is a picture of us waiting to get on the tram and go up.

We took the opportunity of being at the top of the Tetons, to take a few pictures of everyone. Couldn't ask for a more beautiful background.

Kaden

Tyce

Danica

Paige

Ali

And me and Jody

Our next stop was the Alpine Slide, which was a favorite for the kids. It was fun to ride up the mountain on the ski lift, and then ride down this track on a sled. All Danica could say was Go Faster Mom! It was a lot of fun.

Our final stop in Jackson was to watch the shoot our they do in the street every evening, and then we ventured HOME. We had a GREAT time, and are so happy for the time spent together with family, and the memories made. It was a great way to end the summer.

The kids are now back in school, and the boys have started soccer, and the girls will be starting clogging. Back to a routine which is good in a way. It is a little different for me and Danica to have to house to ourselves all day, but we're finding plenty to do. I have started couponing again, which keeps me busy, and Danica now gets to be my shopping buddy. We also welcomed 5 new baby kitties to the crew, and the kids are in love with them. Jody is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with school, he will be done in November, and we are all looking forward to seeing him a little more.

It has been an AMAZING summer, FULL of many adventures and time together. We are truly blessed and grateful for all we have!!!

Bear Lake Family Reunion

We had a family reunion in Bear Lake this year, and Bear Lake just happens to be a highlight of my kids summer EVERY year. This year was No acception. We had lots of fun with cousins, but I for some reason took pictures before alot of them got there, and then forgot to pull the camera back out when they were. BUT, I do have some great pictures of MY beautiful children, and that's what matters I guess. These little rafts are a favorite obviously. Kaden is on the left, Tyce in the middle, and Paige to the right.

This is Ali and Paige. Ali is in our raft, and it's a little bigger but equally as fun! This year the lake was SO FULL that there was very LITTLE beach to play on, so lots of time was spent in the water.

Ali again, just hanging out in the raft.

My kids laugh at this picture, because Kaden looks like a giant in a little boat. He is getting SO big, he has not quite caught me in height, but he is VERY close, and his foot is now WAY bigger than mine. He grew 5 1/2 inches this last year, and gained 25 pounds. WHOA!

This is my cutey batooty Danica, and her cousin Dylan. They are good buddies, and enjoyed the squirt guns for quite a while. We had a great day at the lake, and can't wait until next summer, to do it all again!

Jacobson Vacation

This summer we had a Jacobson family vacation. These are some of our favorite reunions, because there is lots of fun, laughing, and playing. This year mom had many things planned, and we managed to fit them all in, and love every minute of being together. This is all of our kids with my grandpa Murdock. My Uncle Scott broght grandpa out to enjoy a picnic with us at mom and dad's house. It was lots of fun, and we love all chances we get to have pictures with great-grandparents.

We went to the sanddunes this year too. This was probably my kids favorite of the trip. We had lots of relatives come and share in the fun, and we DID have FUN! I might have fallen face first down a dune one time, but the memory of it is already fading!

We got to enjoy the Rexburg water park that is FREE! My kids loved it, even though it was a little chilly out that day. Danica got her picture here, because I had to share a funny she said. While we were at the WATER park, where you are SUPPOSE to get wet, and splash and have fun, she ran up to me and said, "Mom, I almost got wet!" Funny girl, she did finally get wet, and all had a great time.

The playing in the water was followed by a Carousel ride, and my parents bought out one ride, and then proceeded to FILL the Carousel with their grandchildren. I LOvEy LOVe LoVe that we have that many cousins to know and love.

Our sleeping arrangements were many many tents in my parents yard. We did lots of playing with cousins, and this is a fine example of some of the boys showing us their best! Kaden is in the back, and Tyce is in the front. Natalie's boys, and one of Jenny's round out the crew.

This is a favorite past time of the girls. We always have to do a few cheerleading lifts. Ali is on the very left of the pyramid, and Paige is the one being held up, but with her arms down. The others are Natalie's, Shane's, and Jenny's.

I sure am happy for all the memories made, and the chance that my kids have of knowing their cousins. Thanks mom and dad for yet another GREAT family vacation!

Busy summer II

Heads Up, This is part 2 of our summer posts, so scroll down to read them in order, or if you prefer, DON'T!

One of our biggest summer adventures was the Trek that our ward went on this year. Jody had to work, so I took all 5 children, and ventured into a land of pioneers. I have to tell you that truthfully, the first day I thought I had made a mistake because with 5 children I wasn't getting all the spiritual experiences I was seeking, but after a night of pondering, and refocusing on different goals for this Trek, it turned out to be an experience I will treasure for the rest of my life! I have also found, that alot of the personal revelation from going on a trek, comes the thinking back to the things you experienced once you are home. Many wonderful and important lessons have come my way because of this most precious opportunity. We got to cross a lot of water, because it is a wet year, but we did not get to cross the actual sweetwater river because of how high it's running. However, we got to experience 2 young ward members be baptized in the Sweetwater River, and that truly was a highlight of the trip.

This picture is Danica ready to get in the car and drive the long drive to the Willie site. It is also the only picture we have of her in a bonnet, because except for a few RARE moments when the sun was hot on her face, she wouldn't keep it on. Isn't she one of the cutest little pioneers you've ever seen?

Here's Tyce, he was a trooper this whole trip. He enjoyed walking and riding in the hand carts, playing horseshoes, and playing with his friends. I also think he makes a very cute pioneer. There were SO SO many mosquitos there, that he sure loved the fact that pioneers wore long sleeves.

Paige has got her neck cooler around her head, because it did get HOT, but it also rained, hailed, and blew. The weather there was even more unpredictable than Idaho! Paige got to sing with 3 of her little friends a cute little pioneer song before we all ventured into our first water crossing. Of Course I cried, but it was so good!

This is Ali and her friend Erin. Ali is showing us all how extremely hot and tired she is! She was a great little pioneer. She pulled or pushed a handcart every step of the way. All of my kids were spread out amongst the ward helping others, and so I didn't get to walk very close to Ali much of the time. I think she got tired of me running up to make sure she was drinking enough water. She sure is an independant young lady.

Finally, this is Kaden who also pulled a cart every step. I learned a lot about Kaden's desire to serve others, and it was a great to see. I hope he enjoyed this trek, because in 2 weeks he's headed on a tougher trek with the youth in the Stake. He'll do great, and I'm glad for him to experience both a family and a youth trek.

This is a shot from our last night. The sky was beautiful, and the shadow of the handcart just made me happy. What a wonderful journed.............................

or was it? On our way home we went to Rock Creek which is where the pioneers camped after climbing Rocky ridge. I of course BLEW a tire. I have to admit, I sat on the side of the road while the Preisthood brothers fixed it, and cried. I felt defeated for a minute or two, but through this experience I probably learned more lessons meant just for me, than any other thing on the trek. Thanks to my Heavenly Father who loves me enough to give me a flat tire!

Finally, this is at Rock Creek standing in the area that Pres. Hinckley called Wyoming's Temple. It was beautiful, and peaceful. I cannot tell you all enough how blessed we were to go on this adventure together. I will always be grateful for the time spent with my children on this pioneer trek.

I wanted to mention a few more adventures from this summer. We are still trying to work out the details of Kaden's eagle project, but have a goal of completion before school starts. Also, I had the chance last weekend to go and help my mom and her family move my grandparents, and learned a lot from that experience too. I sure love all of my grandparents, and feel so glad to still have them here with us. This weekend we are having our Jacobson reunion, and I am SO excited to be surrounded by my family again for a few days. You know it can only be good times!

A not so pleasant adventure happened last night, as Jody killed a rattlesnake right in our driveway where my children had been only minutes before. He also told me that just the night before, his mom killed one in her yard. I guess we have to worry about them again this year. It's been a few years since we've seen a bunch, so I was hoping they had all moved away. Darn the luck.

Now, for my final picture, this is Danica's 4th of July weekend rash, that took us to the ER to find out what it was. Turns out to be a childhood very hard named rash that is NOT contagious, does NOT itch, and will NOT in any way affect her. Glad we paid $ to find that out. It will last for awhile, and all the spots turn into something that looks kind of like a bullseye in the middle of a target. If you look close enough you can see the bullseye in one of them. Such strange things.

Now I believe that catches us up so that this weekend I can take lots of reunion pictures to post when we return. Happy Summer to you all!

Busy summer!

We are going to split up our recent summer activities into 2 posts, because I have been too busy to update, so I'm very behind. This first picture is of my sweet little boy that just learned to ride his bike without training wheels. I should have worked with him a little last year, but didn't. He came to me one day and said the girls were going to help him. I okayed the project, and off they went. I went out to check the progress, and could tell there was some frustration on both parts, so I told Tyce to just keep practicing little movements on his own, and he would get it. You see, there is one thing I have learned about Tyce, and that is his determination to get something new accomplished quickly. He just works at it until he gets it, and usually that isn't very long. Within MINUTES, the girls ran in to tell me that he was doing it on his own. Sure enough, just tell Tyce to do something, and he'll figure it out! Good job buddy. This will open up worlds of fun for the rest of the summer! The girls, of course are riding behind for moral support!

Next up, is 4-H camp. Both Ali and Paige went this year, but they went at different times. Paige went first, and she went here in our county, then Ali went, but she went with a cousin from a different county. Both had a ball, and sure enjoyed the friends they spent their time with there.

Ali is in the picture above with her bunkies. She got the best archery score out of her whole group this year. Maybe a talent we were unaware of!

Paige is in the picture below. She didn't have a camera with her, so this is her all happy but tired after getting off the bus to come home. Her favorite part about camp this year was that after tripping and falling to the ground, a cowboy leader picked her up, and ran her to the lodge to get a nurse to look at her. She quite enjoyed the attention of her fellow campers, but thought the cowboy rescuer was a little wierd. I sure love the girls having the chance to go to 4-H camp. I always liked it as a kid too.

Moving on to Kaden's USU B-ball camp. He had 4 days of lots of b-ball, and loved every minute. His team won the championship game this year, and they were very excited about that. This is him with his prize shirt hanging over his shoulder. It was a lot of traveling to Logan to do this camp, but we thought it was worth the time and $. I love watching my kids growing up and finding things they love to do. As a little side note here, they just put Kaden in last Sunday as his Deacons Quorum President. He's a good boy, and we sure love him.

The summer has kept us flying from one thing to another. Kaden and Tyce are also doing golf lessons again, and Kaden also had 4 golf tournaments from Rexburg to Montpelier. The girls have been busy with 4-H, activity days, friends, and babysitting. We have enjoyed family get togetheres, and plan to enjoy some more. We also enjoyed a lot of fun together on the Trek, but that's the next post!

Memorial weekend fun!

Memorial Weekend was filled with lots of fun for us. We got to see lots of relatives that we haven't seen for a long time. I took the kids and visited with my Murdock grandparents first. My grandma has been in the hospital for quite some time recovering from some back surgery, so she was very happy for the visitors. After we saw them, we spent the night at Natalie's along with Cody's family, and mom and dad. The next morning we went and FROZE at the cemetery in IF but very worth it because my kids got to hear my dad tell stories of his grandparents. They LOVED it!

We then went to Swan Valley to visit with all the many Jacobson relatives at the annual Memorial Day reunion. My grandma was not feeling well, so she didn't get to join the party, but it was still so good to see her and grandpa.

I was thinking this week how blessed me and my children have been to have known many of our great grandparents. I didn't realize how lucky I was that way until the other day when Janice told me how blessed she felt to know just one of her great grandparents. I knew many of mine, and some of my children got to meet ALL but 2 of the 10 great grandparents that they have. How blessed we are for knowing them. They have filled our lives with much happiness, and we sure love them all! This is my grandpa Jacobson with my Aunt Linda, and her grandson Max. It was so good to see grandpa.

Funny story with this one. This is my grandma Murdock, and I told her that we needed to make a funny face in the picture, so she said "I'll plug my nose" It's fitting for this sweet grandma to be plugging her nose. I don't know of too many things in life that made her laugh quite as much as a little gas did. Cute little lady, I sure hope she recovers soon.

This is my wonderful Aunt Lanae (who is the one who puts on the memorial reunion every year) explaining the rules to a game to some of the many many cousins that were there. It was lots of fun and so great to see many of my relatives that we don't see very often.

My mom had a great idea when we were visiting my grandpa Murdock at his house. This is a 4 GENERATION picture. I have one of Jody and Kaden with Jo's dad and grandpa, and one of Jody's mom and grandma and our kids, but this is the first one I've taken on my side of the family, and I hope to get more.

This is just a little fun at the hospital. My aunt had bought this hat for my grandma, and each of my kids took a turn putting it on and having a picture with grandma. This of course is Danica, and the hat was a bit big, but so so cute!

Finally, this is a little pay back to my sweet sister who put a picture on her blog that made me look like I had about 7 chins. AWWWWWWWW sweet revenge! Love ya sis! and thanks for letting us stay with you so that we could have so much fun on Memorial Day!

Ballroom at its best!

I'm a little slow at posting, but at the end of May Ali had her ballroom recital. I wish I could get my computer to upload the videos, because she did SO AWESOME but at least you can see how beautiful she looked! She chose to do ballroom over clogging this year just to give it a try, and she enjoyed it but has decided to return to clogging next year. I think she would have liked ballroom better, had there been boys to dance with, but I'm excited for her to clog again too, because she really is good at it.

When Ali hits the stage, she LIGHTS UP! She is quite a performer, and we sure had a great time watching her.