Over Memorial Day weekend, we packed up our silver minivan and started the 16 hour car ride up to Idaho. Kyle’s family has a cabin close to West Yellowstone in Island Park, ID. We must’ve been a little crazy planning this trip with two toddlers and such a long trip! The boys really did great! We broke the trip up every 5 to 6 hours, which helped a lot! Next time we do this trip, though, we’ve decided to just fly. Our first stop was in Vegas at my sister’s house! The next day we drove up to Bountiful, Utah to stay with Kyle’s grandparents! We play shuffle board and had a yummy BBQ! It was so fun to stay and chat with them. Our last leg was finally up to the cabin. We stopped at Reed’s Dairy for some of our favorite ice cream, stretch our legs, and to see all the fun farm animals. They had goats, cows, sheep, and more.
We were greeted with the fresh mountain air when we finally parked at the Cabin. As much as I love Arizona, I’ll never get tired of summer in the mountains! They had added some fun things to the cabin this year. One of the kid’s favorite things was the swing set. I particularly liked the new reclining sectional.
Our first day in Island Park was pretty relaxed. We let the kids play outside, while us adults unloaded the cars. I organized all the food we bought for the weekend, which was A LOT. Kyle unloaded all the rest of the luggage and set up our sleeping arrangements for the night. We slept under the stairs on a mattress while the boys slept in pack and plays next to us. it was quite cozy even though we didn’t sleep much.
The second day we decided to venture into Yellowstone. My sister brought binoculars and adventure bags for all the kids! They looved them!! Such a cute idea! Kyle and I had only been up to Yellowstone once before shortly after we got married. Last time we went we didn’t see much wildlife. This time, however, we saw herds and herds of buffalo! It was way cool, even though they did hold up traffic! We loved seeing swarms of fish in the rivers as well. Everything was so green and beautiful. The water was so clear. We saw the hot pots next. These are always my favorite! Soo smelly but so fascinating and beautiful. Last we stopped at Old Faithful! I was hoping we would be able to eat here but the food was not as good as I remembered. Old Faithful was remarkable! It shoots up so high for so long! The boys really like playing in the grass there and seeing the “Big Fountain.” Next time we go, I’ll have to remember to bring more snacks and even pack lunch and dinner so we can stay in the park longer.
On the third and final day Kyle and Danny went Kayaking. Me, being the fool that I am, opted not to go and stay back with the kids. Big mistake!! They took pictures out on the river and it was absolutely breath-taking! That is something I will not pass up on again! It looked like so much fun! We also played games, played outside, took some family pictures, build a sledding hill with some of the build up snow on the side of the cabin, and ate yummy food! It was a pretty chill day!
On the fourth day we started our long trek home. I loved this trip, but I didn’t expect my kids to love it so much. I am writing this all out now 5 months after the trip and Oliver still talks about Yellowstone regularly. I am so grateful for the memories we made both at the cabin and on the journey up. Kyle’s grandma has since passed and I will forever cherish the time we were about to spend with them that May.
xoxo, Tay
I honestly can’t believe how much these photos capture their personalities! Taking pictures is getting more and more challenging…as you can tell! We told Oliver if he smiled good in the pictures that he could have a candy…you can tell he was pretty determined to get his treat! Especially that last picture!! Having two kids that are 19 months apart is BUSY! There are so many unique challenges but when I see them together I am filled with gratitude. Those boys were meant to be brothers and I am so glad they have each other. They are soooo different but it’s crazy because their strengths and weakness kind of align. Where one is weak the other is strong. I can just imagine how much they will help each other grow. I want so badly for them to just be best friends. This is one of the coolest parts of parenting! You get to see things from such a different perspective!
Separate the food so not everyone is crammed in one spot. I put the main dishes on a table across from the dessert and drink table. This also made it so I didn’t have to use such big tables.
If your inviting children, designated a certain spot for them. I gathered up all the toys in our house and put them in Oliver’s room so the kids wouldn’t be running around everywhere.
Invest in decorations that can hang on the wall. This will keep extra space open but still allow you to accomplish a theme or add some fun “accessories” to your party!
From my Tulips 