Gross Family trip

Cute old looking bus for yellowstone tours.(we didn't go on it)

We hiked to the bottom of the Upper Falls. I think there were over 300 stairs to walk down to, and then we of course had to get back up. My legs hurt the next day but it was worth it.

Lower falls in Yellowstone with pretty rainbow.

This is the start of our rafting trip in Jackson.

One of the 4 bald eagles we saw along the river.(you click to enlarge)

Floating along the snake with the teton's in the background.

This was our starting point of the rafting tour.

Another fun time with family and we are all so tired. We did so much while Joe, Meredith and Jennifer were here. These pictures start with our trip to Yellowstone park and to some of the falls we went to see. We did see some wildlife of course and had to take pictures of the buffalo and elk; like we haven't seen them before. But it was neat to see them in their natural habitat i guess. The weather the whole week was so great! Just perfect to be outside and not to hot or cold.

We also went to Jackson Hole again and went on a rafting tour. We traveled on the snake river for 15 miles and we made a pit stop for a dinner along the river that was included in our fee we paid. It was a wonderful dinner and everything was worth the price we paid. It was so gorgeous the entire trip on the river and so relaxing. The tour guide was telling us about the area the whole time and where all the stars live and what the houseing market is around the area. But the best part was learning about the birds we would see; there were some unique birds around and any other wildlife we would ask about, he would know. He was a great tour guide. We even saw 4 bald eagles during our trip. One of the bald eagles was flying over us and the tour guide said it was a baby so we will see the parents along the way because they stick close together.

We went to Crater's of the Moon again and we got there pretty late because the park does events in the summer called "A Star Party." Basically a bunch of people who can afford big telescopes will fill one side of the park and star gaze all night. Some friends of ours camped there overnight and we drove home that night. Anyway, we met a few people from N.D and met another guy who knows quite a bit about the constellations and galaxy's to look at and it was fun to look at some things in the bigger telescopes. Very neat! Plus, Craters of the moon is so far out in the booney's, the sky was lit up in stars, we saw so many shooting stars and a slight meator shower. But, before the whole star party started, I wanted to show Joe, meredith and jennifer the Indian Cave before it got dark so we walked to it just in time and as we were walking through the cave, I said"Oh look Jennifer, there's the swallows or pigeons we saw last time!" So, jennifer and I are doing our "oh so cute" thing and then we paused a bit because these birds were swooping down to our heads like we were close to a nest or something. Brian said "ummm those aren't birds, those are bats." What???!!. So, we ran to the one side of the cave where brian and dad went out and we went to explore that area to get out. As we were just about out, I heard a russeling sound again, and brian said he made that noise, then once again the bats were flying right above our heads and flying in front of our faces. I could only think of Goonies movie when they were walking through the cave and yelling "Rabies, Rabies!" Anyhow, it was fun but the bats I really didn't like. They are just ugly and annoying.

Well, I better quit before this gets to long. I have to get to work soon and I will call everyone soon to catch up.

Pictures from the lake

These pictures are from a couple of weekends ago. I think we are also going to the lake tomorrow for the day. It so much fun out there. We took a ride on Dave's pontoon. Rion kept looking over the side as we went, he thought it was neat. Cordelia didn't like it because she had to wear a big life jacket. Later the boys fell asleep on the pontoon. Cordelia and I only stayed for the day but the boys stayed the night. Rion said that was too long to be there. He missed me and the computer. I told him we are going to the lake tomorrow and he said he didn't want to go because he would miss me again. Cordelia liked splashing in the water and eating sand. The boys were also getting on top of the surfboard and Dave would tip them in the water.

Rion is enjoying school and on Friday they have their first field trip. They are going to the Powwow. His favorite thing at school is of course recess. I think he is getting used to the long days.

Torii had a good birthday. On his birthday he got to pick out what was for dinner and he picked ice cream. We finally talked him into something else, which was McDonalds. Then we had ice cream cake from DQ. We let him open our gifts and he was so happy for a Max and Ruby video from Rion that he said, "Ohhh thank you Fred Rion" and gave him a hug. The next day we had his birthday party. He played Mortal Combat with Nathan and daddy.

Today we went to the Shaumburg playground. It was such a beautiful morning and I wanted to get the kids out before it got so hot. I love that playground because it's so big and there is also an infants area. Cordelia had fun crawling around there and she loved the swing. I will have to bring the camera next time because she was laughing so much.

A day late...

Happy Anniversay Kelly and Brian! Hope you had a very nice one.

Go-Karts

Finally, some go-kart photos! I've had some trouble using the Internet and what not. Anyways, I had a blast at home. Hanging out with the High family was the best! :D I can't wait to come home for Christmas and see Cordelia run around! I enjoyed seeing everyone!! Much love!
Classes start on Monday. Wish me luck this year! It's a pretty laid back year with only 12 credits each, but I think I'll have my work cut out for me with my culminating Anthro. classes. Exciting, but not haha. :P Not much else going on, just trying to find that second job, and getting my stuff organized before Monday. Hope everyone is doing well :)

Campfire pictures

Last Tuesday we had a campfire while Laurie is here. The boys were playing with water toys and Cordelia got in the pool. Then towards the end of the night, Cordelia just took off and started crawling in the grass. Then she went on the walkway. She almost made it all the way up.

Duck Race on the Snake River.

I think there were about 18,000 adopted ducks? I don't remember, but there were alot.

Volunteers to swim with the ducks to get them out. The guy rowing had to get the plastic ducks the kids kept throwing over the barrier that held them together. Darn kidz.

The real ducks and geese kept checking them out.

(some strays)

On Saturday we went to the Duck Race on the Snake River. We had fun walking around to see all the kids play with the ducks along the shore and there was crafts and food vendor's around also. It reminded me of art in the park in Bismarck and it was perfect weather to have it. The Duck race is a fundraiser to help support the Greenbelt (park area) around the snake river to keep it up. Anyone can "adopt" a duck and then however many ducks are adopted, they toss them over a certian area of the falls and race to the finish line. The proud adopted parents of the ducks that won, are winners of some big prizes around town like a new car, $1,500 gift certicate to jewelry stores and so on. We just missed the race beacause I had to work but the food vendor's and craft stuff was still going on, plus it was just to nice of a day to stay inside.

More bumps and bruises

Today was a normal Saturday in that we didn't get going very fast. I wanted to get to Wal-Mart before the rain, but we didn't make it. We hung around the house awhile, but the rain continued all day. And it was a nice rain, which we really needed. So finally we loaded up and went to Wal-Mart. As I was getting Cordelia in the cart, Torii slipped and fell. I didn't see it, he was already getting off the ground when I looked back at him. I thought Rion had pushed him because they were so wild today, but he wasn't by Torii. There was water on the ground, but Torii wasn't running around or anything so I'm not sure how he fell. Anyway, he bit his lip really good. He didn't want to show me, but I could see blood. My first thought was, "Oh no, I'm going to the ER with another kid with a broken tooth." We went to the bathroom and he didn't want me to wash it either. He kept telling me "Don't look at me." Tonight it swelled up pretty good. It's even a little black and blue. And his chin is black and blue. I hope it still looks like that when Laurie comes in tomorrow. He looks pretty rough. (And all that other stuff on his face is just chocolate he didn't wash off after his treat tonight).

The other picture is Cordelia climbing. This was the pre-tooth incident. I had to take the picture fast because I was sure she was going to fall straight back. Her tooth accident hasn't stopped her any. She's still climbing.