Island Park May 2015

We've been anxious to get up to the cabin and go through the park, so last weekend we headed north. We always look forward to a trip to the cabin, but Jackson was especially excited this time to take his motorcycle and ride it there for the first time. 

We were lucky because all of the snow had melted, so he had a lot of riding options. It was really warm for Island Park for the beginning of May-- mid 60s, and it was so nice!

Bode loved the four-wheeler rides, of course. 

One of my favorite parts of the trip was a stop at Big Springs. I have avoided going here for the past few years because it is closed in the winter and in the summer it is always so crowded and overrun with seagulls. I've decided we went at the perfect time of year because we beat the summer crowds and had the entire place to ourselves. The fish were hungry and the seagulls hadn't shown up yet.

Hanging out at the cabin

On Saturday we drove into the park. My parents have told us about the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone for a long time and we wanted to go check it out and look for wildlife. 

We stopped in Mammoth for lunch

...and ice cream :)

Elk hanging out in Mammoth

We were really hoping to see a bear, but we didn't want to get our hopes up too high. Lucky for us, we spotted one not long after lunch on our drive to the Lamar Valley!

It was nice because it was far enough away that I didn't feel in danger, but close enough that we could see it fairly well (this pic is from my cell phone and zoomed in a little). 

Checking out the bear from the back of grandpa's truck

I took these with my nicer camera and zoomed in. 

I guess this mama black bear had two cubs with her, but we never saw them because they were hiding out in a tree. The boys (well, all of us!) thought it was so cool to see a bear in the wild.

The next morning we all took a ride together before packing up. 

Even Davis got to come along!

A short pit stop in Idaho Falls for a Model T ride with grandpa and then we headed for home. 

We already can't wait to go back!

Tulip Festival

We went to the tulip festival with some friends and had a great time! The weather was perfect and the flowers were gorgeous, of course. 

Group shot of all the kiddos

My friend insisted I get in a few pictures with the boys and I love them so much!

The entire day I kept looking at Jackson and thinking how grown up and handsome he looked. I kept taking pictures of him :)

I'm excited for summer with my boys!

Bode turns 4!

The day Bode had been looking forward to for what seems like months and months finally arrived! My parents happened to be in town the day before his birthday, so we decided to do a family barbecue and have cake together.

This year Bode wanted a Hot Wheels cake. He really is obsessed with them and I think we have probably have hundreds of them throughout our house. I've decided I really like the decorating the cake part, just not the making and frosting the cake part so much. I enlisted the help of Costco for the first few steps, and then I just got to do the fun part! :)

I thought it turned out really cute!

Bode loved it, so I was happy. 

I loved his big grin when we were singing to him. 

Davis also enjoyed the cake :)

The next morning he was excited to go to school and take treats to his class (Mike & Ikes). He came home wearing a birthday crown and was so excited for his birthday party.

This year we did his party at Lowe's Airsports in Provo. Our boys love that place and I loved not having to plan a party at home!

Sean got in on the fun, too :)

Cupcakes! The kids had fun picking out their favorite.

Everyone seemed to have a blast. I am a big fan of birthday parties that let the kids just run and jump around to their little heart's content.

We sent the kids home with one of these little goodie bags. I found the printable on Pinterest and they worked great!

After the party Bode chose Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner.  Then it was home to play with his new presents before bed. He was pretty excited about all of the cool Hot Wheels stuff he got from both sets of grandparents and this Iron Man suit from his cousins.  He also got some cool new glow-in-the-dark shoes and a big Hot Wheels storage truck from Sean and I, and a bunch of really nice gifts from his friends. 

He had a really great day and I am so glad!

4-year-old questionnaire: