Yellowstone National Park

Our Vrtiska family reunion was at Yellowstone Park this year. We stayed in a resort in West Yellowstone. We had so much fun. Most families had their own rooms except for the little ones, which is mine and my little sister who is a newly wed and pregnant with her first. We stayed together. All the rooms were right next to each other so we all left our rooms propped open so the kids could go from room to room and play. Each morning the kids would wake up and go find their buddies and play until it was time to go to that days activity. At one point I had all the four and five year old kids in my room playing and Isaiah was off somewhere else. It was pretty fun!

First shot of the kids inside the park. They were just a little excited.

Our first stop was the Artist Paint Pots. Very beautiful and not as stinky as the geysers.

We were pretty lucky to get an amazing view of the buffalo. Daniel and I took a wrong turn and ended up getting lost from the rest of the family. We went all the way north to the Mammoth Falls which are amazing. On our way back to find the group, pretty much impossible since there is no cell phone range and the park is huge, we came across some traffic. This usually means there is an animal to see. The cars slowly moved along. When we came up over the hill we could see this huge herd of Bison come up over the hill. The cars kept moving forward and some people had pulled over and gotten out of their cars. Just as we were the car in the front the herd started to cross the street. It was right in front of us! Daniel looks over and says, "Look at that guy jump into the back of his truck. Wait isn't that Adam?" We had found my family. They ended up in the exact spot we did and we all got to experience the Bison together. It was a pretty majestic sight!

Daniel and Isaiah wanted to stop at about every river and creek in that park to fish. Finally on our way out we did. We never caught anything of course but the scenery was so relaxing.

The park days were long and packed. They were super fun but we all need a day off after the first couple outings. It's tiring to go all day long with 18 kids! The next day we all hung out at the resort. The kids' favorite thing to do was swim. They were in that pool for hours. The adults organized a mean game of whiffle ball. I am sad I didn't get any pictures of either. I have known my whole life that my sisters and I are all very competitive but I had no idea how competitive every one's husbands were. My dad even got after it. Luckily nobody got hurt....as far as I know.

The next day was Old Faithful day. I have seen Old Faithful erupt before but I had no idea that there was so many more cool things to see around the land there.

We had front row seats. We only had to wait 45 minutes and the kids kept themselves entertained playing in the rocks the whole time. Daniel and I found a lovely couple from New Zealand to chat it up with while we waited.

This is actually just after it went off.

It's starting to go. The rest of it I got on video so you can't see the maximum height of it all.

The next few pictures are just of the geyser's and springs that caught my eye. The whole thing is really just amazing. The coolest thing is that the volcano is constantly changing so you won't necessarily see the same things each time you go.


One of my favorites. It looks like coral but it's not! :)

I also love the ridge that has formed on this one.

I know the colors just look dirty here but the camera didn't capture the whole picture and the beauty of it all.

Another one of my favorites. I love the different color.

Makes you want to jump in it's so clear. I don't think that would be too safe though.

This is called Anemone Geyser. Can you guess why?

Heart Spring

All the kids wanted to throw something in the holes that look like they go to the center of the earth. I'm sure it took a lot of self restraint for them not to.

On our way home from Old Faithful we drove down Fire Hole Canyon drive just to see what was back there. We were pleasantly surprised by a beautiful canyon with water falls and a great place for Daniel to try out his fly fishing.

I guess this is the fastest way down. Makes sense to me.

Isaiah and I had fun exploring while Daniel fished.

Last day:(

There is this nice little swimming hole on Fire Hole Canyon Drive. The water is supposed to be 75 to 80 degrees. On a nice warm day that would be great. Our last day at the park just happened to be the coldest one. The original plan was to go for a nice family swim before we had to leave. I backed out and Isaiah, Stephan, Daniel Dewey, and Daniel Long went.
I was pretty impressed with the boys just jumping in and swimming. There was a little rock slide upstream you could ride down. You just jump into the current and let it take you down the river. The boys had to swim.....
...and climb all the way there.

Isaiah not too sure about his decision to do this.

Daniel had to help the boys swim once they got closer to the current. The rest I got on video. The video basically shows Stephan get in just fine and have a blast and then Isaiah refusing to do it after. I told him that was the only way he could get back and so Daniel and he jumped in together and they did it. Once Isaiah reached the other side it was all frowns from him.

We had such a great trip. It went by way too quick though. For those who have never been, I highly recommend, at least at some point in your life, taking a trip to Yellowstone National Park.

Grandpa and Grandma Dewey's House

We had a reunion for the Vrtiska side of our family this summer at Yellowstone National Park (post coming soon). We were able to stop along the way and have a quick visit with Grandpa and Grandma Dewey. It was way too short but we had a good time while we were there. It was nice to break up the long drive to Yellowstone as well.

Isaiah got to try his hand at driving. I love this picture because it shows so perfectly what kind of driver he was. He was very nervous and cautious. No joking around with this kid.


Daniel set up a course and we each had a turn to see who could drive the fastest around the course.
I think I know where Isaiah gets his cautiousness from. Daniel had no fear on the lawn mower so of course he was the winner.

Isaiah running away from Daniel. It was funny because the lawn mower really can't go that fast but Isaiah was still nervous Daniel was going to get him just because of the noises Daniel would make.



Isaiah acting like Darth Vader with his helmet.

Later that evening Daniel and grandpa went out to the field to move some pipe. Isaiah ran after them wearing grandpa's irrigation boots. I think they were a little too big. Who knows, maybe some day he will fit them? It's hard to imagine that!




After the pipe was moved grandpa went to turn the water on.


As soon as the water started to trickle out Daniel and Isaiah prepared themselves for a water fight.....

.....getting some more water pressure....

.....a little more.....

......full blast!

Isaiah soaked Daniel.

Daniel cheated and used his height advantage over Isaiah to pick him up to get him back.

They managed to still walk away as friends.

We love visiting G&G in Idaho. Next time we need to stay longer than one day!

Isaiah's First 50!

It has been a rare morning for me this summer to be up earlier than Isaiah. I should be working right now because we are leaving for Yellowstone Park in 2 days but I can't resist getting one last post in before we go. Isaiah had a swim meet in Lincoln City yesterday. I was hesitant to sign him up for this one due to all the things we need to get done before we go and it being an hour and a half drive. This would be his last meet of the summer so I decided to just do it. Up until now Isaiah has only been racing 25's. He has been learning flip turns and I saw the other day in practice that he is actually quite good, (much better than his mom who has also been practicing but making a fool of herself in a public place). I decided to sign him up for one 50 this race. 50 freestyle. I figured out of all the strokes that would be the easiest for him to do. He was not happy about this. He gets really nervous when he tries new things. I was trying to explain to him that at practice he swims 50's all the time but he wasn't having it. So for an hour and a half drive I had to figure out ways to distract this little boy from what he was envisioning as the drive to his death. The Box Car children worked for a moment but the closer we got the more whining I was hearing (I don't do well with whining). I finally broke and played I spy with him, (also not my favorite game to play). This however is his favorite car game and it kept him busy the ENTIRE 45 minutes left. Once we were at the pool I turned him over to his coach and went and sat up above with the other moms.

I was bummed because I didn't get the start of the race. There was a slide in the way of lane 2 so I didn't see Isaiah on the starting block. I thought he was in heat 2 but apparently I was wrong. I also wasn't in very good filming position. I was so proud of him for just diving in and doing it even though he was nervous. More importantly he was super proud of himself. He came straight up to the observation deck with a big smile on his face. Proud mom moment for me, very proud:)

One of my favorite races is still the butterfly. It makes me smile every time I watch him. I think you'll get what I mean when you see the video.

Isaiah just woke. 9am! I think he was a little tired. He swam two races and participated in his first 100 relay. It was so cute to see them all try and figure out who was going to swim what stroke. Each child started calling out their stroke and of course butterfly was the last one left and Isaiah hadn't made his claim. Isaiah, "Oh man!" It was too funny. In the end they ended up doing an all freestyle relay. We then had a little gathering on the freezing beach and then headed home. It was by far the most fun swim meet we have attended this summer!

Cub Scout Day Camp

Isaiah had is first year of Cub Scout Day Camp last week! I was very excited for him because I knew he would have so much fun but it is always a little bitter sweet watching him get older.

He's always a little nervous at the beginning of new things but quickly finds his place and buddies and has a great time.
Watching the first flag raising ceremony. It was cute to see him stand and salute the flag with the cub scout salute while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Here he is learning a little about map and compass reading. I was volunteering this day so I got to see how attentive he really was. I have a pretty good feeling that he was more interested in the sticks on the ground than what the different colors on the map represented.

Archery was of course one of his favorites. The last day we had a BBQ and all the families were able to come and go around to the different stations with their children. I got to shoot some arrows along side of Isaiah and it was super fun. I took archery in Junior High and loved it but definitely didn't retain any skills. Isaiah beat me.

Nothing like the parachute. The Den Leader came up with this game that all the kids would toss the parachute up in the air and then try to make it to the other side and catch it as it was coming down. The first thought that came to my mind was, that was the worst possible thing you could tell these boys to do. I envisioned bloody noses, bumped heads, and teeth falling out. In retrospect I should have listen to that prompting and spoke up but I was only a volunteer for one day and I didn't want to step on her toes. Well as it went the first time through one of the little boys lost his tooth. Luckily it was a baby tooth and one that his dentist had given him a week to lose or it was getting pulled. The sight of it all was still a little frightening.

The obstacle course they had set up for the kids was pretty fun. The rope swing across the pit was Isaiah's favorite....

....but only because it was hot and he wanted to drop in the water.

So proud of himself for getting wet!

Nothing like water fights on a hot sunny day.

Another one of Isaiah's favorites was the BB guns. They got to shoot every day along with archery every day. I was so impressed with all that the volunteers did for these kids. The lady that ran the whole thing did it on a complete volunteer basis and she did an amazing job. By the end of the week Isaiah was happy, tired, and already looking forward to next year.

Christopher

I have been watching my nephew for the last two weeks. My sister has been in Italy with her husband and her two older daughters. I told her about a week ago that I would post some pictures on my blog of Christopher. We have had a fun but very busy time.

The week before last when the weather was nicer we went to Otter Beach. It's an outdoor swimming pool in Corvallis. Christopher loved it! We plan on going again this week before he leaves.

Jumping in at his swim lessons. He loves swimming!






Christopher is making ice cream in these pictures. This was an activity we did for achievement day.

We went to the Corvallis Knights $1000.00 dash for cash. Christopher was a little weary of the Knight at first but Daniel helped him figure out that he was a pretty cool guy. Christopher kept saying, "I don't want to see that baseball Knight guy anymore." I told him that it was just a regular guy with a giant head on for a costume that he could take off whenever he wanted to. After that he seemed fine.

We went clam digging in Newport on Saturday as part of our fourth of July weekend. The weather was beautiful!

This was a long walk down to the area we went clam digging. Christopher was a trooper on the way down and walked the whole way. The way back was a little different. By that time he was tired so Daniel put him on his shoulders.

Later that evening we did some fireworks in front of our house.

Happy Fourth of July mom, dad, Alex, and Lauren! Come home safe to me.