The Greatest Show on Earth!!!

Derrick got tickets from his work for the circus.  I was super excited because I had never been to the circus before and our seats were on the 16th row.   Madi was in awe the entire time.  I thought she might be a little scared with the lights out but she was just awe struck by all of it.  She got a "princess wand" and thought it was great!

Her favorite part was the zebras.  Even a week and a half later she still will tell you without hesitation that they were her fave.  She has never seen zebras in real life before since our zoo closed that exhibit when they began construction on the Rocky Shore exhibit.  She kept saying she wanted to ride one.  :D 

The pictures aren't great because it was dark and I had my point and shoot camera but that's ok.  You still get the idea.  These two guys have two massive logs and four girls on swings and a guy on top.  They spun them around.  They said they eat something like 7,000 calories a day each!   

My favorite parts were the tigers and the elephants.  I love to watch the elephants.  It is amazing what they train them to do.  Someday I would love to ride an elephant.  Maybe when we are retired and traveling the world... 

Aren't they so cute? 

I loved the circus!  Easton slept through the majority and Madi just sat, amazed at all there was going on.  We will definitely be going back someday.  Thanks babe for getting us the tickets! 

A birthday weekend...

Derrick's parents take us to lunch for our birthday's every year.  I love how special they make us feel and the little things they do to show us how much they love us.  Since it opened, I have gone to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday.  I love that place!  It is always so yummy.  We met them there on Saturday (the 10th) for lunch.  I enjoy spending time with them and watching them with our kids.  They are such wonderful grandparents and I am glad they are so close to us.  Here is Madi and Grandma.

After lunch we walked around Fashion Place and stopped at the Wood Connection to pick up a few crafts.  Then it was off the the state fair.  Each year we get tickets from Derrick's work and it seems like it is always on my birthday weekend.  It's fun to go and see all the people and new things.  I especially love the photography exhibit.  Easton enjoyed being out in the sun (and rain) and watching everything that was going on.  He is always so happy.     

Madi LOVED the animals.  We let her go on a pony ride which thrilled her.  She was completely smitten with the bunnies and wanted to bring one home with us.  Since then she has told us several times that she wants a bunny.  So, if you know of anyone close to us that has a rabbit hutch they aren't using and wants to get rid of, we are looking for one. :D  

People would stop to play with Easton while we were looking at things.  He has the most captivating blue eyes.  We don't go anywhere without someone saying how beautiful they are.  I have to agree.

One of the things on our list to do at the fair was the Little Hands exhibit.  Madi really liked it last year and we knew this year would be more fun since she was older.  Here she is milking a cow.  She talked about this for days too.  She liked the cow and the sheep and talked about getting an egg from the chickens.  So fun! 

While we were looking at the bunnies it started to rain, not a lite rain, a down pour.  Got to love what the rain does to my hair... :P  

We bought Madi 10 tickets.  She rode a train and a hot air balloon ride and wanted to use the rest in the bounce house.  She went in that four different times!  The last time the guy said since there wasn't a line he would let her stay as long as she wanted.  She had a blast and it took some real convincing (or maybe bribery) to get her out. 

Our little guy was happy all day, wet or dry, he enjoyed being outside and seeing all there is to see at the fair.  I can't get enough of his grins and laughs.  He is such a good baby and so easy for me.  I love this kid! 

Yellowstone 2011!!!

My Grandma and Grandpa Baum have spent time every summer in Yellowstone National Park for as long as I can remember.  Most of the family goes up during that time and spends time up there.  This year we were able to make a REALLY quick trip up for the weekend with Chris and Annie and Tara, Eric and their family.  We left Thursday night (July 15) and met up with the Wardell's in Rexburg, ID.  After some detours and a lot of hours in the truck, we pulled into our campsite at 2:07 am. (I remember because we made a bet as to what time we would get there and I guessed it exactly right!)  After setting up what had to be done that night we all crashed with the hope that the kids would sleep really good.  Derrick was great to get up with Madi when she was done sleeping way before the rest of us were.  We ate breakfast and were ready to go explore by 11:00. 

Here is Easton all dressed and ready for his first vacay!

There was elk EVERYWHERE this year.  In the past, it has been bison that ruled the park but this year they were off far from the road and the elk were the ones blocking the roadways and stopping traffic.

We didn't get to stop at very many waterfalls but we did stop at this one that I don't remember seeing in the past.  This is Chris and Annie.  I am SOOO glad that we were able to go with them.  We had so much fun and made some great memories that we will laugh about years from know!

Tara, Eric and their kids had never been to Yellowstone so Old Faithful was a must!  We toured the new visitors center and watched a short movie before going out to see the geyser spew it's hot self everywhere.  Madi saw several of her favorite animal... mans best friend.

I think this guy was probably the highlight of her trip.  She LOVED this dog and he was so friendly.  He couldn't stop kissing her and she kissed and loved on him right back.  (I am not a dog person and find it gross but the joy it brings to Madi is one of the sweetest things.  I love to see how happy dogs make her and have even thought about getting one in the distant future.)

And for me, camping isn't camping without some yummy smores.  I showed Madi how to roast the gooey marshmallows and put it all together.

On Saturday we were determined to find us a bear.  We planned to drive the upper loop.  Across from the mud pots were the closest buffalo we had seen, so we hiked down a little to see them across the river.

Madi was excited to see the buffalo and kept yelling and pointing at them.

We stopped at Mt. Washburn for lunch and then kept going.  Just past Towers by a little pond we saw our first bear.  It was fun for the kids to see even though we had to stay in our cars.  We just got a quick picture as we drove by.

Since we hadn't seen a bear or wolf in Hayden Valley we decided to check out Lamar.  We didn't see our bear or wolf but we did see some pronghorn and bison close to the road.  We only went a few miles in since there is construction on the NE side of the valley.

As we continued we on to Mammoth we saw three more black bears, a sow and her two cubs.  (I am not sure where that picture is.  I will add it later.)

As usual, there was elk all over Mammoth.  We toured the museum, got some ice cream and relaxed in the shade before heading back to camp.

This is some of the elk in the median in Mammoth.

I REALLY wanted to see a grizzly and a wolf but all we saw on our way home was more elk, a few far off bison and a few coyotes.

We got back to the camp after dark and and had our yummy taco salad before turning in.  Madi didn't sleep as well as she had the night before which means neither did we.  As soon as we got up we had to pack up camp and shower so we could stand to be in a car together for the ride home.  (OK, I don't think we really stunk THAT bad, but the showers were definitely nice.)

As we left the park we stopped at the Yellowstone sign to capture a picture of our first family vacation.

Chris and Annie...

Tara, Eric, Braden, Alex and Brynlee...

(It was so fun to spend time with them.  It has been a really long time since we have seen them!)

Another of Chris and Annie...

(there was an elk that walked across the river right at the bend.  It was cool to watch it go in.  In the center you just saw her little head bobbing across.)

I love this picture of Madi.  We almost didn't stop for pictures because Madi was asleep.  I am so glad that we did.

Madi and Brynlee... the two of them are only six months apart.  It was fun to see them with each other.  Madi enjoyed having some new friends around.  She is a social butterfly when it comes to kids and warms right up to them.

Tara and Eric had to park their van over by the laundry/showers due to the camp vehicle limit.  When they went to get it on Sunday morning they noticed that a couple of visitors had tried to get in during the night.  They had bear paw prints all over it.  There was at least two, a cub and an older bear. This is about the best picture I could get since there was a glare and a little someone put his hand print over the top of it.

Madi slept a lot of the way home but enjoyed playing games on the phone too.

Easton did great!  He was a trooper and hardly fussed the whole time. We had a fabulous trip and can't wait for the next one!

This one is a little out of order but sometimes that's how it goes. :D

Sparklers...

We bought some sparklers, snaps and flowers for Madi to do this weekend and it didn't go as well as we had hoped.  Madi was TERRIFIED of them and kept saying "scare ya" and "I scared" while clinging to Derrick or I.  She did like the aeriel fireworks as long as they were at a distance.  The noise of them scared her if they were close. 

Let's go swimming...

[Since I was trying to manipulate picture order on a post I am WAY behind.]

Two Saturday's ago we decided to take the kids to the Roy Aquatic Center.  Madi LOVES to swim and play in the water but another thing she loves is to accessorize.  This is what she wanted to wear to the pool.  I didn't take the picture with her feet but I should have since she was sportin' her hot pink furry snow boots.  This kid cracks me up!  I love ya Mads!

Baby animal days...

American West Heritage Center in Wellsville had baby animal days over the weekend.  We talked about going but were kind of hesitant since it was winter outside.  In the end we decided to bundle up, brave the cold and go see some animals.  Madi loved sitting on this saddle.  She kept petting the fur chaps that hung from it and said "horse".

 We walked back to the barn instead of taking the wagon ride because of our stroller but Madi would go nuts every time they would pass because they were being pulled by Clydesdale's.  They were so fun for her to see.  One of the funnest parts is that you get to hold and touch a lot of the baby animals.  Here is Madi lovin' on the bunny.

 I wish I could bring one home.  Madi was in heaven!

 She wanted nothing to do with the turtles though!

 In the barn they had ducks, chicks, lambs, pigs and goats.

 At the back they had the main attractions... baby bears from Yellowstone Bear World.  They were born in January.  This is what I wanted to hold and cuddle with but they weren't letting the public touch them.  I think there was a total of six.

 How cute are they?!?!  Don't you just want to snuggle with them?

 On our way back to the main gate we stopped to see some calves and a foal.  Madi wasn't to sure about touching the calves but liked to see them at a close distance.

Aside from the mud pits created by the rain and snow, it was a perfect day!