July Trip to West Yellowstone

Since our trip to West Yellowstone in June was a quick one, we planned way back in January to take our longer vacation in July and coordinate it with my family's monthly turn at the cabin. So we headed there on Friday, July 11th, and left on Tuesday, July 15th. We crammed a lot into our days there and had a great time. Here's some pictures of the highlights:

At Grandma's and Grandpa's house, Bridget and Felicity loved picking the never-ending supply of wildflowers and picked numerous bouquets while we were there.

All of the kids enjoyed tractor rides with Grandpa, and Felicity and Dayton even enjoyed some naps on Grandpa's shoulder during their rides.

 

I'm a s'mores fanatic, so we had to make a fire and do a little marshmallow roasting while we were there. Even though we have a fire pit at home, there's something about a fire pit in a mountain setting that just seems to make it better.

 

I love this girl and her messy s'more face.

 

We also made it over to the cabin a couple of afternoons so the kids could play on the beach and in the lake. Afternoon thunderstorms seem to be the norm, but any time the sun came out, all the kids got in the lake. The mosquitoes were fierce, but that didn't stop them. Both of the girls enjoyed jumping off the end of the dock multiple times as well.

I'm pretty sure this was the first time ever both of the girls got to go on a boat ride in the super old fishing boat. I have many fond memories for riding and driving that boat in my youth.

The absolute highlight of the trip for me was getting to meet up and hang out with my best friend from high school, Angie.

This was the first time we'd seen each other since her wedding 6 years ago, and hopefully it won't be that long before we see each other again. We are the kind of friends that can talk about anything and pick right up where we left off even if we haven't communicated in a while. She is one amazing woman, and I couldn't wait to give her a big hug and talk with her and her husband, Kevin. We've communicated a lot more frequently the past few months since she and Kevin suffered the devastating loss of their baby girl Ella at 35 weeks - just days before Christmas. And following the delivery, Angie almost died herself. She and Kevin continue to struggle with their grief and loss, and it was wonderful to finally be able to give her the hug I was dying to give her these many months and to reconnect. I'm so glad they made the trip so we could finally see each other again!

I forgot to take a picture of our other dear friends we got to see while there, but our friends Sandy and Bill were camping in Island Park and drove over Sunday evening to visit with us. Even though we get to see them all the time at home, it was fun to meet up for a short visit on vacation.

Certainly a wonderful trip for everyone and lots of great memories made. As usual, the girls didn't want to leave Grandma's and Grandpa's house, but hopefully we'll get there again for a short trip this fall.