Bear & Wolf Refuge

In West Yellowstone we went to a Bear & Wolf Refuge. I thing they house injured bears and wolves from the wild.

I have been to Yellowstone a lot throughout the years, but I have never seen a bear in the wild. I guess this is the closest I am going to get.

Peter ended up being more interested in the telescope instead of the bears.

According to Peter this is a doggie, not a wolf.

Here is a rare captured "Peter Bear."

The refuge had a lot of garbage cans that bears had destroyed. The funny thing is that they were all designed to keep the bears out; obviously the bears are more resourceful than people realized. They even had metal ones that had been broken into and bent.

This giant bear couch was in the gift shop.

The Cabin & Yellowstone

Here are some pictures at my Grandparent's cabin and at Yellowstone.

My Grandpa and Grandma watching Peter pull socks off Rigby's hands (I used them as gloves in the morning because is was a little cold).

Here is Peter relaxing on the new kitchen floor as he talks to Scott on the phone.

We ate at a picnic table near Firehole River in Yellowstone. Peter wanted to play in the water so Marissa and I decided to join him.

Peter is being coaxed to eat his meal. Unfortunately this happens more often than not these days.

I think this has become my traditional spot to get a picture near Old Faithful. Peter had just woken up from a nap and Rigby would not look at the camera. Oh well.

The kids probably had at least 24 hours worth of carseat/airplane time this trip. Both kids did GREAT. In fact Rigby smiled in his car seat more than he cried. I wonder how they will feel about 40 hours worth of car seat time in August?!

Peter has a real soft spot for all of his Gramers. Here he is giving my mom a hug in front of Yellowstone Lake (or maybe he is just avoiding another picture). I told him that there were hot springs here and that they smelled like rotten eggs, so the rest of the trip he kept saying "hot water, eggs".

I just thought this picture was cute of Me, Peter, and Marissa. We were playing the one, two, and swing on three game.

We celebrated my Grandparents 62nd wedding anniversary by taking them out to the Three Bear Restaurant. Scott and I have a few years to catch up!

Here is Peter enjoying s'mores at the cabin. What a mess!

Rigby, Peter, and I in front of the cabin. Again, I had a wrestling match with Peter to get this picture.

Gramer & Gramper-Great's House

Gramer & Gramper is what Peter calls his Grandmas & Grandpas. Here are some pictures from our drive up to and at their house in Idaho.

I call Rigby my "Idaho Boy." We chose the name Rigby Preston before we even realized it was the name of two towns in Idaho. So, we had to stop and take pictures of my Idaho Boy in front of the signs for his towns. I just want to know where he puts all of his money :).

Here is Peter helping Gramer & Gramper Great water their lawn. Of coarse he had to unscrew the spout of the watering can.

This tree has a lot of fond memories for the grand kids. It has become a tradition to have our picture taken in front of it.

Me, Rigby, Peter, Gramer-Great, Gramper-Great

Bear Lake

We were able to go to the Bunderson Family Reunion (my Grandma Farrow's family) in St. Charles, Idaho near Bear Lake.

We were so busy packing everything for the Reunion at my parents house that I did not realize how tired Rigby was until I saw him like this in the highchair.

Isabelle and Sara under the pavilion where we have the Reunion.

The hoodlums anxiously waiting to swim.

Me, Isabelle, Marissa, Peter, and Dad in the condo pool.
Aunt Moo/Marissa/Moot/Moosh (whatever Peter feels like calling her at the moment) and Peter. Peter was screaming because he was really scared of going out into the lake with the tube.

He preferred destroying this sand castle that my dad and I were trying to build (two year olds are so cooperative for pictures!).

Here we are trying to get a picture in front of Bear Lake.

This picture is just dang cute.

The oldest Doug (my grandpa - 90 yrs.) and the youngest Doug (Peter - 2 1/2 yrs.).

We had a great time. I LOVED driving through the mountains. Oh, I really wish we had them in Houston.

Water Fights, Rockets, and Fun

Peter, Rigby, and I were able to fly to Utah last Thursday night. Thanks to a wonderful invention called a portable DVD player, Peter was well-behaved for most of the flight. Rigby was golden as usual. On the way to pick up my luggage, I had Rigby strapped to my front in a baby carrier, a back pack on my back, a roller bag in one hand, and an umbrella stroller containing Peter in the other hand. I must have been quite the sight because a couple of TSA workers began laughing as they saw me pass.

We have had a lot of fun. Peter and Isabelle either get along fabulously or fight fabulously as only 2 year olds can. Here are way too many pictures of all of our fun so far.

WATER FIGHTS

Here are Peter and Aunt Marissa getting soaked.

Grandma running while carrying both kidos as they chase after Grandpa.
This is almost 60 pounds of toddlers!

Sadie (the dog) got a little jealous and thought she should be carried as well.

Peter with one of his favorite toys--the hose.

Here is my sister Sara who is 29 weeks pregnant and only weighs 5 pounds more than my current weight (and I am at my goal weight). Ridiculous!

Here are Rigby and I enjoying our time outside.

ROCKETS

My dad has a compressor that he uses to launch paper rockets. Peter and Isabelle went crazy over it. Peter loved to stick the rocket onto the launcher and press the button. Isabelle loved to run and retrieve the rockets. This is really typical of their personalities: Peter the mechanical guru and Isabelle the Energizer Bunny.

I love Peter's expression as he presses the button. My Dad had to cover the button, so Peter could not press it too soon or on Isabelle's turn. His life would be complete if he could press one of those giant red buttons that you always see in the movies.

Grandpa with his little rocket monsters.

Isabelle and Peter are both entrenched in the mine phase of life, so they had a little fight during all of this rocket fun. I think Peter might have been teasing Isabelle by trying to grab her rocket, so she decided to sit on him and push his face into the grass. Silly kids. Both of them threw trantrums when we said it was time to go home.

FUN

Here is Peter enjoying his bubble gun.

I love this cute picture of Isabelle. Those eyes are just filled with mischief!

The hoodlums taking a SHORT break from their mischievous activities.

Here are the kids helping Grandpa open his Father's Day gift.

I love these two pictures of Rigby with my parents:

And Mom, I think you look great in this picture no matter what you say.

By the way, Scottie, we miss you and wish you could be here. He is currently staying home to work and has volunteered to paint our ridiculously large entry way while we are gone. Isn't he great. Love you, my boy! (I know, really mushy, but I miss him.)

Sand Castle Competition

This last weekend we went to a sand castle competition in Galveston. The competitors start early in the morning and then are judged in the afternoon. Here are some of the best ones.

"Alice in WonderSand"

There were a few that had cracked like this.
Peter had just woken up from a nap. He is such a great kid, but waking up is his downfall. I cringe when this time of the day comes.
Here is a guy for scale. Some were even a little taller.
We forgot a hat for Rigby, so he looked a bit dorky with the burp cloth.
Yes, I am carrying both children, and I did for about 10 minutes! They are HEAVY. Peter would not walk (because of his waking up issues) and Scott needed to get the sand out of the camera.