Last week we got back from our Kilmer Family Reunion that we extended to make into our summer vacation. The reunion was actually July 12-15, but we went a day early and came back a few days late to extend it a little bit. And boy was it worth it. The actual reunion was in Island Park, Idaho, which is my idea of heaven on earth. It is easily the most gorgeous place in the world. When we first started planning the reunion we tried and tried to book our favorite cabins that we love to stay in, but the website wouldn't let us reserve anything and no one would answer the phones!! We finally just gave up and booked the campground across the street. Once we got there we realized why weren't able to reserve anything, the cabins were GONE! We were so sad. They have all been torn down and Marriott bought the property and are building a big resort on the river. I'm quite literally heartbroken over it. I could go on and on, and I won't. But I'm so so sad. But we do love this campground and still love Island Park! Looks like Jake and I will just have to buy a cabin in Island Park! ;) haha Onto the trip!
Day 1 I have no pictures. We drove up, and took our time. Stopped in Rexburg at my Alma Mater, visited my old apartments, the temple, told the kids about watching it being built while I was at school. Showed them my college and the town! Man that place has changed almost beyond recognition. I can't believe it!! After touring Jake's college the week before (another blog post on that coming SOON!) We left is 2 out of 3 going to Jake's school and 1 out of 3 going to mine ;) haha! I really don't care where they go...as long as it's isn't University of Utah...I kid I kid...kind of... ;) Anyway we got to camp and got set up. We found out once we got there that almost the entire rest of the family decided to go a day early also! So it worked out great! We had dinner, caught up with each other, and played games late into the night.
The next morning and drove to Big Springs.
(in case you thought it was easy getting 4 kids to look at you at the same time with no fits...hahaha! Macie cracks me up in this picture.)
By the time we finished at Big Springs the rest of the family had shown up. And Lainee was very excited to see her cousin Evelyn! Evie on the other hand was a little less excited to see Lainee. A year from now these two will be the best of friends!!
We got ready and headed out to the river to raft/float/kayak down it. #1 favorite activity to do in Island Park. Even though it does take like 4 hours. The wildlife you see is incredible. This was actually the first time I have ever floated down this river and not seen a moose! It was crazy. But we did make up for it. We saw not 1, but 2 bald eagles perched on top of trees. A little while later they both must have spotted something because they both took off and soared right over our heads for about a minute or two. It was truly incredible!! Not long after that an Osprey circled around on top of us for a minute before diving down right next to us and plucking a fish out of the water. It was so cool! Up above my cousins Justin and Braxton floating.
Andrew, Ashley, and Kylie
Harley begged to go float with Uncle Chris, he ended up floating behind him like this almost the entire time.
The next day we headed into West Yellowstone for some shopping and lunch.
We stopped for lunch at our favorite pizza spot! I actually don't even know the name, but we come here every time! Best pizza.
When we were shopping I gave each of the kids $5 they could spend on whatever they wanted. Macie of course ended up with a unicorn horn. Lainee actually thinks that this is the best thing ever and wears it all the time.
Lainee LOVES Colton. It's funny because all of the sudden one day out of the blue she just became obsessed with him. But she is especially wanting of him when he is carrying his own baby...haha
"Mom, please take our picture with this bear"
It is not a trip to West Yellowstone (or anywhere in Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho) without a stop of Huckleberry Ice Cream. It is literally the best flavor ever. We actually got the kids to order huckleberry this time and they have fallen in love with it now too. Huckleberries are the best berries.
That night we went down the best spot in the river to wade and catch minnows. Despite our best efforts no minnows were caught. But fun was had regardless.
The next day we got up early to get a head start on Yellowstone for the day. Ahhhh this place is so incredible. I could an entire week long vacation just exploring this National Park. I don't even know how many times I've been here and still haven't seen even half of it. We started off at a classic, Old Faithful.
More Huckleberry Ice Cream...You know for good measure...I think Harley ended up with Peach though...
Wildlife everywhere. Just an elk eating, right next to the road. The lens I brought for this trip doesn't zoom at all. So every picture is really just how close we were. I was sitting in the car on the road!
Yellowstone Lake.
It has this beautiful volcanic black sand.
My All American Boy.
We saw a lot of buffalo. I think the kids counted like 15 for the day. Jake and I did laugh in the morning when we told the kids to watch for buffalo Emery was like, "Why mom, we have tons of those at home..." haha! She is right. Our neighbor has a whole pasture of them, and we can watch them from our front porch. So the buffalo were less than impressive for them. But they did love the rest!
Lower Falls of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.
Half the family ended up at Lower Falls and half the family ended up at Upper Falls. haha! So here is the half that ended up in Lower.
Sunday was our last day. So we took pictures in our family shirts.
Some of the Kilmer cousins, and spouses.
Grandma and her boys. They even lined up oldest to youngest all on their own. haha!
Okay first off Lainee is the cutest thing ever....second....these kids love their great grandma Mattie!
Day 2 in Yellowstone. Started off at Grand Prismatic Springs. Probably my favorite thing in Yellowstone.
If you look right above and to the left of Harley's head that is the 2nd bear that we saw! Another Grizzly Bear.
Driving out of the park towards the Teton Mountains.
Picnic by Jackson Lake in the Tetons on our way to Jackson Hole.
A traditional antler arch picture in Jackson Hole.
After 4 nights of camping we really wanted a bed and a shower so we found the closest hotel with a vacancy and checked in! We even got the "mini suite" And we were very happy campers!
One thing that I for sure wanted to do in Jackson was the Alpine Slides. We have some just down the street from us in Park City, but still...the kids LOVED it. We'll have to hit up slides in Park City now.
Back to Teton National Park. So gorgeous!!
We had so so much fun on this vacation. It was just the break from reality that we had all been craving. No laptops, no cell phones...it was perfect. The kids spent almost 20 hours in the car by the time all was said and done and did amazing. We didn't allow them to watch any movies, until the last 2 hours of the journey from Afton to Home we got them a movie at the gas station from RedBox. But the other 18 hours they looked at scenery, read books, colored pictures, played with toys, and we listened the entire 1st Harry Potter book. Which has ignited some what of a Harry Potter interest in Emery that we are super excited about. These vacations are so much work, but they are worth every ounce of it!
