Random July 2009 Pics

I wanted to post some random stuff from July that we did.

Here's Dad and Iz showing off Izzie's Riddick style sun glasses again.



Then we spent some time crawling around on the floor for a while.


We got Izzie one of those small token kid pools that everyone has as a youngster. Here's Izzie and I partying it up.


July also brought our first family hike. We headed up to Red Lodge in the Beartooth Mountains where we found an easy hike that Izzie and pregnant mommy could handle. Here's a few shots.





After our hike that beautiful Sunday afternoon we stopped in Red Lodge at the Nature Center. It's a facility in Red Lodge that cares for wild animals native to Montana. It's sort of like a zoo of native animals; if it lives in Montana it can be found here. It's a very cool facility, and we recommend it to anyone passing through or visiting the area.


Raccoon.


Elk.


Remember the Dora backpack that Izzie got from Grandma Shirley for her second birthday? Well, she loves it. Here's a picture of her running around the house with it on. She also enjoys filling it with completely random stuff and going on mini adventures around the house.


Izzie has started to get a lot more active (running, jumping, swimming, etc) as all little kids do. She's also getting much more brave about things. Put the two together and she's found that couch jumping is her new favorite sport. It has since developed into anything with a height difference.


Here's a couple of pictures of mommy reading books to Izzie at bedtime. This is our nightly routine. Sometimes I read, and sometimes mommy reads.



One fine Saturday morning I was laying in bed around 6:30am when I heard the oddest noise. It was sort of a whooshing sound that sounded more closely to a large burning flame. I was certain that I had heard it before, and once I figured it out I wanted to go see if I was right. As I exited our room I heard Izzie playing in her room, so I opened her door and told her to "come with daddy quickly." When we got to the back door my suspicions were right. There was a hot air balloon directly over the house trying to gain altitude. We quickly noticed that there were several. The entire lot of them were flying over the neighborhood for Billings' annual hot air balloon festival. There was probably 12 or so all together. It was pretty cool to watch the balloons and see them so low. Izzie loved it! Here she is watching the last of them float away in the morning breeze.


One of the weekends we were in Helena we went to the lake to have some fun. Here's a few pictures of us playing in the sand.




Lastly, here's a good one of Izzie being a spas. She enjoys being silly and having fun.


Another great month.

Vacation 2009 - Park City, UT

Sometime this past spring we went to a fund raising auction for Big Brother's Big Sisters of Yellowstone County. While we were there we saw an auction item that interested us. It was a four day, three night stay at a luxury condo in Park City, UT (actually Deer Park). We've never been there, so we thought why not. Needless to say we won the auction, contributed a great deal of money to BBBSYC and secured our plans for vacation this year.

Fast forward to Friday, July 31, 2009 at 5:00am in the morning. Our friends, the Reno's (who we invited along to help us fill the 4 bedroom, 4 bath monstrosity of a condo) pulled up in our driveway, and we began stuffing our things into the posh suburban that Josh borrowed from his dad.

Soon we were off for our 600 mile journey that took us through Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and finally Utah. It was quite the bold undertaking with Izzie (2 years old), Lynnell being 7 months pregnant and the Reno's two little ones who were 2 years old and 6 months old. Luckily we had all the time in the world, so we took it easy on the way down and made as many stops as we needed to. Here we are stopped off in West Yellowstone to let the kids burn some energy at a park there.


Somewhere between West Yellowstone & Idaho Falls there was a meltdown in the back seat. I don't know which one it was, but one started crying and the other followed.


Luckily Lynnell & Becky were able to get Izzie & Joban to settle down, and our ear drums survived to hear another movie play.

Soon we were in Idaho Falls where we stopped to eat a healthy lunch at McDonald's. The real reason we went was so that the kids had something to do physically, but hey, we all have to make sacrifices. The funny thing is that Izzie was brave enough to venture up into the giant maze of a playground, but she couldn't figure out how to get out. Pretty soon we hear shrieking screams echoing down the tubes and see a sobbing face peeking through the portals on the top level. It was Izzie and she was freaking out. Becky was the one that went after her since she was the only one of us who was guaranteed not to get stuck in the confined tubes. Amazingly this all happened again. I don't know what Izzie was thinking, but she must have thought she could handle it a second time. She couldn't. Big thanks to Becky for saving our child... twice.


Eleven hours after leaving Billings we arrived at the condo in Deer Park. We did a little bit of exploring and relaxing, but most importantly we decided that the next day we would go to Lagoon Amusement Park.

We got up, had breakfast and hit the road Saturday morning bound for Lagoon. Once there we went into debt to get through the gate, but we discovered it was worth it. The first ride of the day was bumper cars for the kids. Joban did good. I think it was a combination of him being a few months older than Izzie and the fact that he's a boy. He definitely knows what cars are and how to work them. He hopped right in and took off. Izzie however didn't. She sat there for a while and then began sobbing once the other kids started banging into her. She finally started driving and crying at the same time right at the very end. It was funny.


More less contact oriented rides for the kids.



The next stop we made was the water park. It was a pretty cool water park. There was something there for all ages. The water was a bit questionable. It kind of smelled like a liquified football locker room or gym. It was gross, but I tolerated it since I could also smell a hint of chlorine. We had a blast at the water park. Josh and I couldn't take the kids on the big slides, so we decided that we should at least give them a go ourselves. After setting the 1st and 2nd records for distance traveled out of the slides for the week (on our first try) we called it good. After the water park it was off for some exploring and rides. Here's Nell & Izzie resting in the shade while Josh, Becky and I went on a roller coaster (kids were too small and Lynnell was pregnant).


Here's Beck with Joban and Izzie riding one of the kids' favorite rides for about the 4th time in a row. She had Joban and Izzie laughing their heads off during the ride.


We soon found the biggest Farris Wheel I've ever ridden. Izzie enjoying the view while Nell smiles for the camera.


They had some monster swings there, but the kids were too small to ride them. Luckily we found these.


We wrapped up the day with several rides on the carousel and a few more roller coaster rides for the adults.


Here are the kids happy as can be at 11pm on our way home. They had fun!


Sunday morning we slept in a bit (as long as the kids did) and then got ready for another day of fun. Before breakfast Josh and Joban went out behind the condo to throw some rocks into the pond.


Soon we headed out to go to the Sun Valley Resort where we had plans to ride the slide and other summer attractions. We ended up just riding the slide because lines were long and prices were steeper than the slopes. Here's Josh and I heading up the lift with Joban and Izzie for our speedy trip down.


The 100 yard walk or so to the starting line.


A quick photo opp at the starting line...



And away we go...


We didn't get a picture of the photo finish, but Izzie and I won. Better luck next time Renos. Here's a shot of the finishing area though with the slopes in the background.


After that we headed downtown for some shopping and exploring, but not before we took a picture of the kids sharing a stroller. It wasn't quite big enough, but neither of them minded.


Here's a quick shot of the art bizarre thing with Nell,Becky and Joban. The event was very similar to Coeur d' Alene's Art On the Green and the art/trade show we went to in Sun Valley almost two years to the week earlier.


We eventually made our way down to a very impressive city park that we had spied earlier while driving. Here's a great photo of us.


Then it was off to a local pizza place for a quick, but more importantly inexpensive, dinner.


Monday morning we got up early to pack up and hit the road for home. I found Izzie like this in her bed.


The trip home went much quicker than the trip down. Probably because we were all worn out and didn't have the energy or will to do much more than enjoy the ride. Here we are in Bozeman, MT for a quick break at a park.


We made it home safe and sound courtesy of Josh. They dropped us off and then headed home themselves. See ya Renos, and thanks for going on vacation with us! We had a blast!