Great Wolf Lodge

We finally made it to Great Wolf Lodge. {{LOVED}} the Howlin' Tornado!! Sweet Pea and Reed tried out all the slides, wave pool and other water parts and came to the conclusion, they {{LOVED}} the Howlin' Tornado!!

We also purchased a wand to go on quests. This year, we just lit up the crystals, pointed at the "animals" to make them move and opened the different boxes. It was a great getaway that we will be repeating next year!!

The water park wasn't conducive to photo taking, but we did take pictures around the lodge.

Violet the Wolf. She wanted to hold Cutie Pie, but she was asleep.

Using a little magic on the animals.

The Bear's eyes glowed

I love Sweet Pea's stance and showing off her goodies.

Many Glacier

Our last stop was Many Glacier. It is the home of the Many Glacier Lodge, Grinnell Glacier, Grinnell Mountain, Swiftcurrent Lake, Mt Wilbur (Flat Shield Mountain) and Fishercap Lake. There are several places names after George Bird Grinnell because of his contributions to the park.

We were so excited to see a moose in Fishercap Lake. Our ranger was happy he made an appearance at the end of our nature walk.

Oh, Canada!

On the 15th we went to Canada's Waterton Park. We had great time seeing the park minus communication about one of the roads. We drove 30 minutes down the road only to find out we couldn't park at the trail head. They provided a bus back in town.

Reed and Ms A hiked to the top of Bear's Hump for amazing views of Waterton. They went to the top of the mountain in the picture. While he was there he took pictures of the Prince Edwards Hotel, Waterton Lake and the town of Waterton. Later that evening we went to Cameron Falls which was a 15 minute walk from our motel.

While we were there, we hiked along Lake Cameron and Red Rock Canyon. (I stayed home from Red Rock, all the hiking was a bit difficult with my foot.) Lake Cameron was beautiful. The colors in Red Rock Canyon were spectacular. Blakiston Falls was along the canyon loop.

We had a good laugh at some of the signs. It's a bit of a tradition for Reed to take pictures of some of the signs we see in other countries.

The kids wanted us to rent one of the surreys for us to tour the city, but the price and the fact that we wouldn't all fit in one made our decision. Instead, we had the kids pose on the bike for pictures.

As we left the park, we stopped for one more picture of Chief Mountain. We saw it earlier, but didn't stop. When we woke up and got ready to leave, it was cloudy. Thankfully the clouds disappeared and the fog rested on the bottom for a fabulous picture.

Logan Pass and St Mary Lake

Logan Pass is where the Going to the Sun Road meets the Continental Divide. When we arrived, the Visitors' Center was packed. Reed ended up driving around looking for a place to park for 15 minutes while I took pictures of the mountains, bighorn sheep and valleys. We finally gave up and he picked me up to drive to St Mary Lake. We had an nice little hike out to Sun Point, which was a promentory that stuck out over the lake and gave an excellent view of the lake and mountains. The turquoise color of the lake comes from the little bits of rock that were ground up by the glaciers and left as the glaciers melted.

Going to the Sun Road

Going to the Sun Road was beautiful, breathtaking, and provided excellent picture opportunities. It was also under construction, one lane roads next to steep canyons.

Going to the Sun Mountain

Jackson Glacier

Triple Arches was built in the 1920's. The original plan did not call for the Arches but rather a retaining wall was to be built and then fill added to span the gap in the mountain face. The Triple Arches are probably the most renowned structure on the road.

Weeping Wall was interesting to see the water coming out of the rocks. It was funny when we asked Ms A what she was seeing: "Snow, mommy and some trees."

Trail of the Cedars

Trail of the Cedars is a hike/path off the Going to the Sun Road. It is a loop that goes through a 500 year old cedar forest that grows near Avalanche Creek. It hasn't had a forest fire since 1500 because of the dampness from the creek. We enjoyed the stops around the way that pointed out animals, trees and unique aspects of the forest. When we saw the uprooted cedars, Sara and I talked about the talk by Joseph B Wirthlin, Deep Roots.

We were amazed at the speed and power the water exhibited as it carved the gorge and the rocks. It was breath-taking. Reed, Sara and the kids went on the hike to Avalanche Lake. When they returned, we finished the loop and took a couple of pictures of the kids inside the hollow cedars.

Lake McDonald

Our first stop in the park was Lake McDonald where we stayed for two nights. We fell in love with the lake and the beautiful mountains. We went on a beautiful hike at the Sperry Trailhead.

Can you say WOW!!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY!!

My family and Sara's family took our summer vacation to Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park. We had a wonderful time enjoying the beautiful scenery and playing/hiking with cousins. On our visit to Two Medicine I broke a few hiking rules and had quite the little adventure.

The rules were:
1- Never Hike Alone
2- Tell someone where you are going
3- When entering Grizzly/Black bear territory

MAKE LOUD NOISES.

My family started the hike to Appistoki Falls and I decided to check out the lodge and do a little reading while I rested my foot from an earlier hike. That got a little boring, so I decided to join them. The walk was gorgeous and peaceful so I soaked it all in. As I turned a bend in the path, I was surprised by this walking down the path and enjoying itself.
I fortunately was about 125 feet from it and was able to get my wits about me to grab a stick and start hitting it as I said hello and backed away from Mr Black Bear. When I was a safe distance, I hightailed it back to the car. As I was walking I met a nice couple from Texas. I informed them of the bear and being separated from my family. They invited me to join them which I gratefully accepted. About 50 feet from where I saw the bear, there he was again. After my heart calmed down, I took a picture and went to join my family.

We made tons of noise as we returned to the trail head and I was SO GRATEFUL Mr Black Bear and I left on our separate ways.

Just in case you can't see the bear, I've circled it for you.

Apgar and Two Medicine

Wednesday, we headed south to Apgar and Two Medicine. The National Park Services has a wonderful program for children called the Junior Rangers. They give the children books that they can learn about conservation and unique things about the park as they drive around the park. They also ask the children to participate in a Ranger Lead Activity (Discovery Center, Ranger Stations, Hikes or talks given by the rangers). Once they complete everything, the children make a promise with the ranger to take care of the park and nature in their communities. We took Ms A to the Discovery Center where she told the ranger about "mommy's bear experience" at Appistoki Falls. She and Ms E had a great time making a beautiful park with the giant felt board. When it came time for her to take her pledge, she looked so serious. Ranger Heather gave her her Junior Ranger badge and Ms A couldn't have looked more pleased.

Ms A also enjoyed a little wading in the lake, until she realized HOW COLD the water was. We loved the view of the lake. I still can't get over the amazing view!!

Our next stop was Goat Lick, where the goats will come and lick the minerals from the rocks after the spring run-off. We didn't see any goats here, but Reed, Sara and the kids hiked up a little and saw a little goat and it's momma under the bridge.

At Two Medicine near East Glacier, we had a nice little hike around a portion of the lake out to Paradise Point. It was beautiful and windy. Sara and her kids taught us about Bear Grass, which receive it's name from Lewis and Clark. They came to a meadow full of these flowers and also bears. They thought the bears ate them.

It was fun watching Ms A hiking with her cousins. They loved spending time with each other and would make up stories as they walked.

Archery and Four-Wheeling

On our way to Glacier National Park We stopped in to visit with Reed's mom. Sara and her children joined us the next day. The kids were SUPER EXCITED about Grandma Gayla's four-wheelers and our archery. Ms A couldn't wait 'til they came and she could show off the fun ride.

I have a couple of movies that will be added once I figure out how to edit them.

Mowing the Lawn

Reed has been gone the past couple of weeks doing trainings and meeting customers in Taiwan and Shanghai. While he's been seeing this:

We've been doing this:



I love how Ms A gets a RUNNING start before she mows the lawn. She was so delighted, I had to let her do it. She was closely supervised. After her turn I mowed the lawn, my first ever, (never did it as a teenager, young adult or adult.

More pictures of Reed's trip once I figure out what they are (Thank goodness for Wikipedia and hopefully some help from Reed. :) )

Spring Break

In celebration of Ms A's first Spring Break, Sara, Ms A and I visited my parents in exotic Idaho. ;) We had a wonderful time. Ms A and Sara were pretty excited to see the snow piled up by the high school. Ms A instigated a snowball fight with her aunts and grandma. She was giggling and having a great time.

We stopped off at my Aunt Melissa's home, which was my grandparents' home when I was younger. She has a hopscotch painted on her driveway similar to the one I used to play on as a child. I loved showing her how do it.

We colored and then had a Easter Egg hunt while we were there. Ms A was rather pleased about her egg that looked like a baby swaddled in a blanket. Searching for the eggs Grandma hid and then hiding the eggs for grandma and Aunt Sara were two of her favorite Easter activities.

The drive home was long and rainy. I was happy that Sara wanted to drive, because I'm not too comfortable driving in inclement weather for that length of time. Sara loved the view of the mountains as we drove past them, so she took a quick picture.

Pictures courtesy of Sara. Thanks!

Fun with Grandma

Ms. A and I were able to visit my mom for a couple of weeks. Thanks Honey!!! We had a wonderful time. Ms. A especially loved grandma's waterbed and exploring her home. She had a great time playing with all of the toys my sisters and I played with as children. I think her favorite thing to do was cuddle up with grandma on her bed as she read Ms. A stories. :)

We had a bit of a surprise one day, we woke up to SIX inches of wet, packable snow!!! After church Ms. A and Grandma V made a snowman and used the dandelions for eyes. Very cool!!

Ms. A was a little curious about the zipper and snaps on one of grandma's blankets, so I showed her what else the blanket could do. She was SO EXCITED with her little coat.

As a child, we used to make HUGE tents, something I still enjoy to do. I've told Ms. A about the tents we used to make, so she asked grandma if they could make one. After it was finished, she begged me to be able to take a nap in it. :) I let her lay down for a short time, before she had to go to her room for a real nap.

We also visited the Idaho Falls Temple. We made two attempts to take pictures, but the weather didn't cooperate, finally on the third time the rain went away. Ms. A loved posing for me. She's such a cutie!!

Tender Mercies

I love the talk by Elder David Bednar entitled "The Tender Mercies of the Lord". This weekend was full of tender mercies.

We had a wonderful weekend visiting Reed's family. All four of his sisters, their families and his parents were together. It had been a few years since that last happened. We had a fabulous time visiting and catching up with each others lives.

The two highlights of our weekend was watching Reed's sister, Laura, and her husband, Russell, and their two daughters were sealed together for eternity in the Mt. Timpanogas Temple. The ceremony was beautiful. I don't think their was a dry eye in the room when they brought Ms. S and Ms. C in. I was touched by the depth of emotion Russell showed as he was sealed to Laura. It was a perfect moment in time. After the sealing we went out to lunch at the Olive Garden Yum! We went to Russell and Laura's afterwards. We visited and let the cousins play together. Thanks Laura and Russell for sharing your beautiful experience with us.photo of Mt Timpanagos from LDS.org

The second highlight was watching Ben, Reed's brother-in-law, bless his and Cindy's new little daughter, Ms. H. I was touched to see a large group of men holding tiny, little Ms. H in their arms as Ben gave her a name and a blessing. I remembered Ms. A's blessing and how grateful I am to have her in our family. I am so grateful to have the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to know the priesthood is available to us. Another perfect moment!

I loved watching Ms. A playing with her cousins. She was laughing, giggling and having a grand time.

Other tender mercies:

• We drove approximately 1788 miles for 30 hours without any major problems despite fog, snow, wind and ice.
• Ms. A was the perfect little passenger with all the driving we made her endure and the cold that she caught the day before we left. She entertained herself and was very patient with us. As we drove into the driveway at 3am, she very tiredly said: "That was a LONG drive." :)
• We enjoyed having a safe place to stay (thanks Stephanie and Sean) and family to visit with.
• How fortunate I feel to have an eternal family and that we can be together forever.

{Another} Ms. A Post

Ms. A took a few pictures when we were at Grandpa and Grandma's. On our drive up the mountain, Ms. A wanted to know why the car was so bouncy. I told her that the road wasn't paved and that there were holes in the road that made the car bounce. She instantly wanted to take a picture of the pothole. :) She was looking all over the ground while we were enjoying the beautiful scenery. Ms. A and I finally found a hole worthy of her picture taking skills. She was ecstatic.

She had a fun time taking pictures of Grandpa Allen and the things around their home.

Sweet Pea's Pothole