Yellowstone 2012

I made it back from our annual trip to Yellowstone last night.  During church at Yellowstone this year, I wrote the following sentiments down that sum up why I love this tradition so much:

Ready for Sacrament Meeting

"I am sitting at the Canyon amphitheater in Yellowstone attending sacrament meeting.  This is one of my favorite parts of our annual Yellowstone trip.  There is something about sitting in the midst of nature and worshipping Jesus Christ that always helps to renew/strengthen my testimony.

Likewise, the time I spend in Yellowstone recharges me.  Natural beauty, family, and memories surround me.  I get to leave my worries and stresses from home behind.  I turn off my cell phone and do my best to unplug.

As the years go by, our family trip to Yellowstone changes.  It is becoming harder and harder to get everyone here at the same time.  This year my family will only overlap with the majority of those coming for less than 24 hours and Sorensens and Perssons weren't able to come at all.  Even within my own little family, there is a pull to spend the Fourth with the Ziebarths in California.

I am grateful that I have this opportunity.  It didn't come without sacrifice--I just had to say goodbye to Jason so he could get back to work.  I'm sure the time is not far distant when it won't be possible for me to make it here every year.  I intend to enjoy it while I can."

Highlights:

* Seeing a bear with her two cubs--the mom was swimming in Rainy Lake (between Tower and Roosevelt) and her cubs were running along the shore and climbing in trees.

* Leila interacting with Genie--she would laugh and laugh every time she came near (unless she barked, then it was a completely different story).

Such a good puppy!

* Watching Leila feast on a pickle--she went after the thing for a good 30-45 minutes!

* Checking out the new Old Faithful Visitors Center--we somehow missed it last year.  I was very impressed and there was even a room where Leila got to crawl around for a while.

* Seeing Annie Get Your Gun at the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone--other than the theater being extremely hot and stuffy, we all had a really good time; even Leila!  She may have blown a few raspberries but eventually she just fell asleep in Grandma's arms (which pretty much NEVER happens anymore)

* Annie's 16th birthday bash--there was a red carpet, Hollywood sign, and a hand painted photo-op for decorations.  I also had a bunch of props (sunglasses, bow ties, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, "bling", hats, and jumbo sunglasses) for people to dress up in.  I had a bunch of disposable cameras for everyone to take pictures with.  I also made 2 posters with pictures of 48 celebrities for people to guess (Jori blew everyone out of the water by getting 45/48 right).  When the guessing was over and the cameras were spent, we gathered together to play a movie quote trivia game (which Jared won--I think my family watches too many movies).  There was a mini-awards ceremony (for the game winners as well as the Best Paparrazi (Dad), Most PROPerly dressed (Kyle), and Lifetime Achievement (Annie)) and a "cake" made of Annie's favorite candies.  Everyone was a good sport and made it a lot of fun.

* Being with family, of course!  It was different not being able to overlap with most of the extended family this year, but it was kind of nice just spending time with my family too.  I just wish Jason could have stuck around longer.  But at least he was gracious enough to let Leila and I stay while he was the responsible one and went back to work.

4th of July Punch (made by yours truly)

Flag Fruit Skewers (made by my mom, creativity runs in the family)

Cookie Monster