Home again!

Monday we went to Yellowstone and saw Painting Pots and Old Faithful and other geysers and some waterfalls.  We saw almost no wildlife (2 chipmunks and a bird).  Our kiddos didn't even mind the sulphur smell-it made them want eggs!  I can safely say that I never want to do that again.  We paid $30 for the privilege of driving around forever to find parking spots and the traffic coming out, ridiculous!  It took us maybe an hour to see all we could see and three hours of driving to see it.  I loved the views and getting to share that with my kids.  It was pouring rain on the way to Old Faithful and it stopped right before we got out of the car!  We only had to wait 20 minutes for it to blow.  Some of my kiddos had to go potty, so Scott took them, and they missed the first part, but got to see at least half!  They spent most of the two hours after Old Faithful telling us they were ready to go back to Uncle Chris' house.  So, we started our way out just driving through parking lots (super slow, this was not a fast process) and taking pictures from the parking lot.  We should have given ourselves more time, but really didn't want it when it came down to it.  Our kids are still little.  Maybe when they're older and can all walk without complaining, we'll camp and spend more time.
After Yellowstone we went to Rexburg and saw where Scott, and my sisters went to college.  It's changed a lot since Scott was there!  He didn't recognize most of it!  It was pouring rain there, so we weren't there long either.

Tuesday we spent as much time as we could with Chris, he was actually off!  He showed us his fire station (where he's a volunteer firefighter), it was pretty awesome!  Our kids loved it!  Then we played at a park and got ice cream at Reed's Dairy.  Our kids loved seeing the animals afterwards!  We got a huge box of Idaho potatoes (50 pounds) for $10!  They're super yummy!  We headed out soon after and drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming where we stayed the night.

Wednesday we drove from Cheyenne home.  The original plan was to go to Winter Quarters (where we were married) and do family pictures.  Instead we raced home waiting for news on my dad.  He started bleeding a ton from around his feeding tube hole (that he got last week) and they couldn't get it to stop.  We hightailed it and made it home about nine thirty.  Soon after he was able to leave and go home.  Phew!
Thursday we went to see my family and my two aunts that had come into town to see my Dad.  I haven't seen them in a long time, so that was super cool!  They got to meet our awesome kids!

 My Dad loves them so much, he cried!

Friday was a pajama day.  We needed a break, so we just stayed home and got a little cleaning done. Our boys all got buzzed!

His first haircut 

Saturday we celebrated Independence Day by cleaning the church at 7:30 in the morning and then dropping Scott off to go to Home Depot and make Minion scooters.  After that hour of helping six kids almost every step of the way, we were finished and found free hamburgers and hot dogs outside!  Awesome!  We headed to my parents' house and it wasn't too much later that they all came back from their breakfast.  We got to spend the day with my family.  I was able to give my dad water a couple of times and help him get adjusted in his chair.  Poor dad.  This is rough on him (and everyone else involved).  My sister brought Kira back and cooked the meat.  I got to meet my new niece!  Hurray!  We went home after eating and walked down to watch the fireworks.  A great view from just down our street!  We also saw a dog go out in front of a car and get hit, but was able to run away.  Phew!  We have no idea who's dog it was, so crazy!  I'm just glad it was okay, because my kids were right where they could see it!

 Meeting my niece!

So that was this past week.  I'm exhausted, but now we need to find a place to move to, sign paperwork for my new job, and get packed.  Great times ahead!