Way out West Summer Vacation 2012

 We took a little road trip to Bozeman, Montana by way of Wyoming - we packed SO much into 6 days, it was pretty incredible! It all started with an 8 hour drive to Cody, Wyoming. The girls did GREAT on the trip (special thanks to DVD players!) and got a little silly with one of their gifts - little sticky googley-eyed pom-pom creatures that they stuck all over the car and themselves!

 We got to Cody around 3pm and started off by checking out something called the Old Trail Town. It's a little strip of historic buildings that they took from their original location and set back up, piece by piece, in this little Old West village outside Cody. It was SO COOL! I just love this kind of stuff and could have spent HOURS checking out all the buildings. The girls... not so much :) But we still got a good dose of the West...

 Looking into the old school house

 The mercantile. It just amazes me that THIS is what they had. We have Target.

 Yep.

 I LOVED the old livery stable filled with hundreds of old saddles, harnesses and carts.

 Me and Violet

 Those who know me well know this was QUITE brave of me to go in here. I usually HATE "stuffed" animals and these were especially gnarly since they were so very old. I was pretty proud of myself!

 Violet bellied up to the bar at the old saloon (complete with bullet holes in the walls!)

Jon and Violet in front of a HUGE pile of antlers!


Outside the Irma Hotel where we had dinner.

Then we got to see our 2nd rodeo in a week (we also went to Cheyenne Frontier Days the weekend before!).

Willa was a little confused about our little cabin/hotel room. She kept calling it our "Little House" or our "New House" and I really think she thought we were going to live there! If you ever do find yourself in Cody, we stayed at the Cody Cowboy Inn and thought it was great! It was within walking distance to the Old Trail Town and the Rodeo and was just a cute, cozy place to stay!

Two sweet sisters sharing a drink before our drive to Yellowstone!

I just LOVE Yellowstone! This is my 4th trip and it just is so beautiful!

We stopped at Yellowstone Lake and let the girls play in the cool, clear water. They LOVED throwing rocks in and finding driftwood. I miss the water! Jon and I were so happy to sit and listen to the waves and watch the girls splash.

Silly family portrait!

Next we stopped at the Mud Volcanos and this cool "dragons breath" cave. It was pretty amazing but the funniest part was that someone had dropped their "binky" down on the ground under the walkway and that was ALL Willa (who is seriously addicted to her binky!) could talk about! For the next two hours all we heard was "Mom? Who's binky was that? Mom? Why did they drop it? Mom? How will they get it back?" repeat, repeat, repeat.

Next we came across a huge herd of bison crossing the road. It stopped us up for about an hour as one by one the bison crossed the road. They were in NO hurry! It did give us the chance to take some pretty pictures.

And for Willa to get up close and personal with them (Violet was slightly terrified they were so close! Little did she know...)

Postcard perfect!

Here were the two culprits for us... it must be mating season 'cause this big guy was NOT leaving this lady's side!

Here they come!

But we did NOT expect to get THIS close! EEEK!!

Violet was convinced that we would see a bear, although we tried to explain that there was very little chance. We were stopped up again at what we thought was a construction issue when, VIOLA! BEARS!! A mom and TWO cubs! How lucky were we? Yes, they are little black dots. But so cute! And both girls were THRILLED (as was their mom!)

Finally we made it to Bozeman! My brother Brett and his lovely bride Kelly were making it official and putting on a super fun wedding. We got there just in time to hang out on the streets of Bozeman and listen to some great music the first night.

Friday afternoon we did a float down the Madison River. The girls did SO GREAT! They both shared this little raft christened the "S.S. Princess" - their little faces were so sweet and in total awe as we first started our float - I SO wish we had a waterproof camera! It got a little chilly at the end but they were such troopers - I can't wait to do it again next time we visit!

Then it was time for WEDDINGS (and COUSINS!). Here are the 4 Amigos Violet, Claire, Anna and Willa all dressed up and ready for the wedding. It was held up in the mountains just outside of Bozeman and it really was the most beautiful place for a wedding and totally perfect for Brett & Kelly!

The girls with their "wands" waiting for the wedding to begin.

The lovely couple and their adorable daughter Fern!

They had the greatest Photo Booth at their wedding! Here are Jon and I (with the red hair and blue glasses) and Joel and Leah.

After about 4 days straight of not enough sleep or naps, Willa finally passed out Sunday afternoon. Isn't she sweet? Yup.

Sunday we took a trip to Chico Hot Springs, one of Brett & Kelly's favorite places (and now ours too! How come I always forget that DENVER has hot springs nearby too?). Here are my sister Leah and Jon involved in a very serious game of shuffleboard.

I like to take my kids to bars.

The sun was hitting the mountains SO beautifully on the way home. Note to the Universe: when I am reincarnated as a horse, I want my pasture to be here. Thanks!

Willa all snuggled up with her cousin Anna. They are the cutest playmates! No matter how long it has been since we have last seen them, they always are best buddies within seconds and I hardly see them since they play so well!

Saying good-bye is always so hard! In fact it was so hard that Violet couldn't bring herself to be in the pictures. Oh well, at least we got these gems! Here is Ethan, Claire, Anna and Willa.

  Can these kids be any sillier (or cuter?)

The drive home included a (*gasp!*) 3-hour tandem nap for these exhausted little ladies.