Fall Break - Driving for Hours on Friday

We were up and loaded in record time because we had a lot of places to see and we wanted to beat the morning rush. We still hit the rush, but managed to turn left when it seems everyone else turned right, so that was promising.

Yellowstone is COLD in the mornings, but it made the landscape look so cool with all of the steam rising everywhere. We realized Fall is the best time to view Yellowstone, because you get the beautiful Fall foliage, and you also get the view of the steam in the morning. It makes you realize how many hot spots there really are.

We managed to find what seemed to be the longest walk, the first thing in the morning. While Greg was blissfully enjoying the view with these two, I was busy pushing the stroller and Claire ...

It's a good thing she's hilarious.

Here's a baby hot spring just bubbling away.

She knows when she's being difficult. 

We stopped for a lunch break. The girls were excited to eat their lunchables!

Here is the Trip's MVP!

We found a massive waterfall!

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be in Claire's head for 5 seconds ... I'm not sure I'd be able to keep up with her.

The girls loved sitting in the front seat with us as we drove for miles and miles. It's the only thing that kept them sane. We wouldn't let them watch a movie while we were in the Park.

A different angle of the Massive Waterfall. It really was incredible!

The story of this hot spot was pretty cool. It has slowly stopped bubbling over time. It was found in the 90's and no longer bubbles over the rocks, but you can still hear the steam and the waves inside the cave.

On our way back to the hotel for dinner. The girls finally got to watch their movie. They inherited Greg's joy for watching movies, and it's hilarious every time! I love hearing all 3 of them giggle in the backseat.

It was recommended to us to try the Italian Restaurant on Main Street. It was alright.

We found Yogi Bear!

We got a picture of the sign on our way back to the hotel. It was genius to do it when there wasn't a line!

Meanwhile, everyone swam to their heart's content while I was putting Quincey to sleep.

Round 2 of S'more kits.

Fall Break - Getting to Yellowstone!

The girls (meaning Claire) eventually succumbed to sleep, and they slept good! I however, didn't, so they woke up rearing to go while I slept in a bit. The girls had fun playing on the toys in the garage. It made me wish we had better access to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

After thanking Ann for her hospitality, we loaded up and drove the 2 hours to Yellowstone. We planned the trip over the perfect weekend, because the Fall leaves were absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I got to sit in the back of the car and admire the view while Greg drove. It was the best.

On the road again.

We made good time to Yellowstone and got there just in time for Lunch. I had packed a tote full of food, so we found a fun park to let the girls play at while we made sandwiches. It was a beautiful day!

We still had a few hours until we could check into our hotel, so we decided to buy our pass into the park and go exploring. I always knew Yellowstone was huge, but I guess I didn't realize how HUGE it really is! We did a lot of driving Thursday, and the girls were champs! And we still had a lot of area to cover over the next couple of days.

We saw some Bison.

And walked around a lot of hot spots.

They were absolutely beautiful!

I think my favorite of all the stops was the Mud Pots. There's something so mesmerizing about watching them bubble over and over ... 

We learned Sofi doesn't appreciate the smell of Sulphur.

It was so cool to read the history behind everything and how a new hot spot will be found whenever an earthquake happens.

We were near Old Faithful at the next estimated eruption time, so we booked it over there. Unfortunately we literally missed it by minutes, but it was cool to walk around the yellowstone Hotel. The architecture was incredible!

Quincey eventually succumbed to a nap. She's such a trooper!

Yellowstone is beautiful!

Claire was so excited to find a pool named after her Beanie Boo.

We've learned on our many travels this year to always bring the girls scooters - you never know when you'll need them. Like, for example, when we decided to walk to dinner. It was so much more convenient trying to keep up with the girls than making them keep up with us. Score!

We stayed at THE BEST hotel! They rent bikes [for free] and give out complimentary S'more kits every night for you to roast at their firepit. It was a fun thing for us to do each night, and we were able to chat with the other tourists.

What a day!

Fall Break - Staying at Aunt Ann's

 Greg had never been to Yellowstone, so we planned to go over Fall Break and had so much fun!

We left Wednesday and Greg's Aunt Ann graciously let us crash in her basement that night to break up what would have been a 5 hour drive. Her house was so much fun - our girls were in heaven! Her basement was set up to be a Grandkid Playground and her garage was full of toys, not to mention the hot tub and giant backyard with a fun playground. She also had a beautiful Idaho view with an endless expanse of stars. I casually told Greg that I could live there ...

Can you believe those stars?!

See if you can spot the Big Dipper.