Sunday, August 7, 2011

A much needed trip

With the bar in the rearview mirror, it was time for a vacation! A quick trip to Idaho Falls and then on to Island Park for some cabin time.

Raspberry picking and a ride at Nana and Papa's

First ride on a ferris wheel at Fun Land
No second rides because one of us might've had to sell a kidney to pay for it...

My 10-year class reunion (yes, I feel old) was last Saturday. We went to the family picnic in the afternoon and had a good time seeing some old friends. My friend Britney took this picture and I stole it off of Facebook. Thanks Britney! Especially because this is one of the only pictures we have of our whole family!


On to Island Park!

Jackson has been asking to go fishing for weeks now. I am not sure where the interest came from, but luckily grandpa knew a good spot where catching a fish was pretty much guaranteed.

Fish on the line!

Success!

His first fish :)
He was pretty darn excited and proud of himself. If you ask Jackson what the fish ate, he will tell you "gummy worms."

Upper Mesa Falls


There was a lot of ping pong on this trip. Jackson calls it "game ball" for some reason and wanted to play all day. The best part about playing with him is that he gets the ball off of the floor every time-- no bending over required!

I love how he has to stand on his toes to play


There was also a lot of pinball... we tried several times to dethrone the [alleged] high scoring champion (brother-in-law Dave), but alas it was not meant to be. Next time!

Whenever possible we go out to breakfast one day to Campfire Lodge. It is right on the Madison River and is one of my very favorite places. Plus, the pancakes are bigger than your head! It is not as peaceful now as it once was-- you know, with a 2-year-old running laps back and forth across the tiny dining room and escaping out the back door towards the river-- but still a good time.



We spent one day in Yellowstone. Hot pots and geysers, Old Faithful, ice cream, etc.


Sean fished in the park for a few hours. Had a couple fish bite and take his flies, but didn't end up landing any.

Bode was a champ. I took these pictures of him one afternoon when he was in an especially chipper mood.





Love this kid.

In true Sean fashion, we had to do some "off-roading." While he and the boys checked out the river, I took the chance to play around with the camera and take some pictures of the wild flowers.


When not playing "game ball," all Jackson wanted to do was ride the four-wheeler.

As usual, we made a trip to Big Springs to feed the fish. This year there were so many stupid seagulls all of the fish were hiding under the bridge. They are so loud and annoying!

One positive was we saw a mom and her cute baby ducks

Jackson didn't like the seagulls either and tried to chase them off


Howard Springs


It was a relaxing week!

6 comments:

Keisha said...

I want to go on vacation with the Ricks!! It looks like a blast.

I love how you titled this a much needed TRIP. Because lets be honest, with kids it isn't a vacation (no relaxing) but a trip (it still requires work) but nonetheless FUN!

Sylvia said...

I love all the photos, especially the one of Jackson in the air chasing the gulls and love, love, love the ones of him playing 'game ball.' His dad better watch out!!! AND Bode is growing like a weed! Thanks for the photos. Sure miss you guys!

Beth said...

Good times at the cabin. So glad you were able to get away for some R$R.

Courtney said...

man what a fun trip!! I love Jackson playing ping pong, so adorable. My kids love the 4-wheeler too, They cry if someone takes off on it and they are not on it. Bode has the best smile! what a cutie

Grant and Taryn Layton said...

Oh how I miss the cabin...along with our couples Hawaii trip, we need to plan a time to go back up there with you guys too :)
Glad you got a fun trip to celebrate Sean being done with the Bar!

The Tutu Wrangler said...

LOL... I've decided to feed the seagulls anymore when we go to Big Springs, it's entertaining in it's own right. This year we would huck bigger pieces of bread at the seagulls and a couple times there were collisions and near misses and arguing birds... ah good times!!! Also it would distract the seagulls enough and we actually fed a fish or two. We also saw ducks and the last two times we've been there we've seen and fed a muskrat!