The JOYS of Vacation and then the not so joyous...

We took a little unexpected vacation this summer...meaning we hadn't really planned to do anything, but MOMMA needed a break so we decided to go visit my parents who live in Driggs.  Fortunately, there are MANY things to do in Idaho. Who knew they had more than just potato farming.

  We went to Teton National Park and visited Jenny Lake. We were able to hike around it. There were "Bear Warning" signs which made me a little nervous at first, but I think we made PLENTY of noise so no worries there.

 The kids had a good time despite the initial complaining of having to sit in a car to get there.

 Then another day we went to Craters of the Moon. There is a lovely jaunt through lava rock and caves to explore. It thoroughly wore out the kids (and my parents....and me).

Ty got tired of walking, so Jason carried him.

 After Craters of the Moon, we went fishing. This was the first time for alot of my kiddos. And they ALL caught a fish. Even Ty, but I didn't get a picture of it. Bug's splattered blood all over her face.

 Jason caught the biggest fish, although, Joshy and Parker both had big ones that escaped! We think it might have been the same fish and it was toying with us.

 Josh was all excited about catching his fish. Then we told him he had to have his picture taken with it. This face is priceless. It seriously makes me giggle every time I see it. Teehee

 Bella even caught one.  Later we found her petting the fish in the bag and commenting on how cute they are.  The kids were rather bummed to find out the fish DIE when you catch them and that they were expected to clean them and eat them. Oh the DRAMA!

Bryce had been fishing for four hours and hadn't caught a thing. Everyone was catching fish all around him.  The fish would just nibble at his worm and say "thank you" and be on its merry way. Well, Bryce was not happy about this. He gave up.  I told him to keep trying. So right as we were getting ready to leave he tried one last time, and as we were packing up, he caught one.  I could see how happy he was and he hugged me and thanked me.  Secretly I had said a little prayer that he could catch one so that this would be a good memory for him and not scar him for life resulting in years of therapy.  So thank you, Heavenly Father, for letting us dodge that bullet.

We also went swimming and to the movie Madagascar 3.
Grandpa and Ryan put up a tent in the yard so they could "camp". And we made smores.

 No vacation is complete without SMORES!

We also played many games. This is Rob's hand in Hand and Foot.  Notice the "Jack" before the Ace.  Nice Rob. :)
Then on Friday we went to Rob's family Reunion which was only an hour from my parents house. We played alot of Pinochle and ate lots of food, as is traditional at a Tolman family reunion. The kids had a great time.

NOW we jump right back into our routine and get ready for school to start. It was a great break, though, with lots of memories created.  The 20+ hour drive was worth it.
Thanks for stopping by!
Krissi