Almost Yellowstone...

Nate, the kids, and I went up to Idaho to visit my dad for his birthday and just get some Garling time in this month since we won't be coming up for Thanksgiving. What we didn't realize was that everyone had plans on Saturday when we went up to visit them, so we had to come up with Plan B. I suggested Yellowstone and after checking the weather and opening some web pages about how to have fun in Yellowstone with kids we took off.
With excitement we pulled into the City of West Yellowstone, and Nate commented it seemed really quiet on the streets, and as we drove up to the gates we figured out why: Yellowstone was CLOSED!...um, yeah, sorry kids...
Plan C:
So Nate pulled up to the the Grizzley Bear Wolf Discovery World which had signs that said "open all year" to get some information and have a potty break, and ended up staying the rest of the afternoon. For about the same cost of entering the state park we got up close and personal to some MASSIVE bears and chilling wild wolves. I would definately recommend the place to anyone who drives 2 hours to a famous state park with 3 kids and needs to come up with a backup plan. :o)

Did I mention we experienced a little bit of heaven on the drive up?

Nate and Snack J inside a Bear Trap!

 Snack J inside a fancy Bear Trap

The weather was below freezing so this warming hut was a lifesaver.



Nate got an arm workout as Little C did not want to be put down,,,for 3 hours.



 These wild wolves posed for this picture for me.



Well, Little C did go down on the ground for just a minute :o) We loved these floor to ceiling windows in the wolf center

The wolves were as interested in us as we were of them,,,perhaps more..wahahaha!

Don't I look delicious? This wolf thinks so.






We signed the kids up for Keeper Kids where they got to get some one on one with the Naturalist Trent.  He was a little impressed when Sister Sue asked if bears were omnivores and Snack J pointed out the bears molars in this skull. (My kids learn stuff like that from PBS)

 

 After the bears exited and unlocking 3 padlocks, they each got a bucket of apples, carrots, and bear chow to hide under logs and big rocks for the bears to find.

Little C still not ready to be put down...



The bears find the kids food under these logs, you should see them throw them out of the way!



The wolf center was so cool, the windows allowed you to get up and personal with these wild animals.





We lucked out cause the wolves all went into their den for some dinner so the keepers could set out some enrichment activities for them, aka bones and sauce for them to sniff out. This is the alpha female of the pack and she found a bone that she protected fiercely.

This was the alpha male of the pack of 5.

The kids found a wolf den and learned how pups lick their mother's face to ask it to regurgitate some mushy elk pie...yeah, Snack J has been saying that all day long today :o)

There was a great museum that had stuffed bears of all kinds, it was really impressive.



 I thought these little bear cubs climbing this tree were too cute.



On the way home we drove out to Henry's Lake, a Davis vacation destination for generations. It started to snow on the way back to Grandma Garling's so we spent the night and headed home in the morning. Thanks for the cinnamon rolls Mom!



















Down Time with the Fam...

I just love days when nothing is going on, the TV is off and things just evolve...Nate lays down on the ground, Sissy Sue gets a mischevious grin as she picks up a couch pillow and before you know it every pillow in the house is being flung inbetween kids being tossed on the couches and mom is "safe", or the referee who keeps it fair and wipes away tears before throwing them back into the game.

Tag Teaming Dad

Ta Da! It's not easy standing on a moving balance beam!

Whew! After a day like this, you collapse as soon as you walk in the door. 

This photo deserves a post of it's own...

Like father like son.

Nate got the biggest kick out of seeing Baby C do this because earlier that day at work
 he had been teased about drinking so much milk.  

Family Time in the Spring

On a Monday in March I needed to squeeze in a run to prepare for the half marathon and Sissy Sue wanted to go on a ride so Nate decided he'd take the kids on horses and they would follow along with me while I jogged. I grabbed the camera as this would surely provide some Kodak moments I wouldn't want to miss... and I was right:)

Snack J decided that I needed someone to keep me company and that he would jog with me.  So cute, he can be quite thoughtful and sweet when he's in the mood.  So he jogged a solid .2 miles with me at a pretty good pace.  It's fun running with kids, and I look forward to taking my kids on runs with me as they get older.

Since this was one of the first "rides" of the year, Nate ponied Copper to help her get back into the swing of things, it's nice to have a horse you can throw a kid up on and not be too concerned about them getting bucked off.

Baby C LOVES riding with Nate and also can point a cow faster than you can say cow...Allow him to illustrate: "Dad-MOOOOOOO!!!!"

Now, there is a bull in this same field that Nate likes to antagonize and it's quite a site to see: the bull snorting, belloring, kicking up dirt-it really got the kids attention. Just one of the many benefits to being married to a cow whisperer. 

Well thank you Sunshine, someone's gotta smile for the camera ;o)

I was so tickled after the run, Nate had borrowed his brother Andy's tiller and got our garden ready for spring planting, the soil was so dark and rich, it was rewarding to see the difference from the first year we tilled up the grass for our garden 3 years ago.  A few days later Nate and the kids planted peas, spinach, corn, and carrots.  Nate's so good to let the kids participate in activities that probably would be easier to do by himself but he recognizes the value of teaching the children rewards of hard work. 

As always Baby C was there to watch Nate's every move and give him some pointers, "Dad" point, "dad!" point.

Overall it was a fun evening, one that we enjoyed being together as a family.