Walk with the Dinosaurs but don't take any pictures!

Earlier this month we were given 4 tickets to see Walk with the Dinosaurs.  Isabel, Caroline, their adorable friend Jaida (the reason we had the tickets), and myself headed downtown to see this incredible show by the BBC.  Jaida's sweet grandmother had tickets and was not going to be able to use them.  She handed them off to us with only one stipulation, take Jaida.  That was easy since we all love that girl!  We could not pass up a wonderful opportunity to watch a stegosaurus swing its spiked tail, listen to a t-rex roar, or see two triceratops (I think those have been renamed to something else but I can't remember) fight it out for top dino.  

The only catch was they would not let me take in my camera!  Bummer!  If you get a chance check it out on youtube.  It's definitely worth a look!

Thanks again, Liz!  We all had a roaring time!

Something's Missing!

How did this happen?  She's only 5!  A couple of days after her 5th birthday Charlotte lost her first tooth.  Boy, was she pleased with herself.  I, on the other hand am a little sad.  I love those cute, adorable baby teeth.  The thumb sucking has really got to come to an end!

Five!

What more can I say but Happy Birthday to my big 5 year old girl!  Yesterday she informed all of us that now that she is a "big" girl she is going to stop sucking her thumb and she is going to go down the slides at the gym pool.  Yesterday she did go down the slides.  Today when I asked her if she was going to stop sucking her thumb she told me maybe when she is six.  One out of two accomplishments isn't too bad!  Love you, Charlotte!

I am not a photographer

No, I am not a photographer.  More like a wanna be one.  I don't know how to switch off of auto and I don't know a single thing about Photoshop.   Even after a $90 photography class I am still taking some pretty bad pictures.  But one day in Yellowstone I did take a photo that I think is worth mentioning.  I think the light was perfect, the backdrop gorgeous, and my subjects were the cutest dad/son duo.  So here she is.

Random Thoughts and Photos from Yellowstone

A smart thinking girlfriend of mine always takes these fun photos of her kids jumping.  Mine thought it looked like fun, too.

I really need to invest in a new lens with a little more zoom! There really is a wolf somewhere in this picture.

Charlotte performed many, many shows for our entertainment.

Good bye to Yellowstone.  Thanks for so many memories.

A Perfect 10!

Happy 10th birthday, Isabel!  We love you!

Old Faithful, Crested Pool, a bear, and more

Is there any one out there who can resist the tourist trap called Old Faithful?  We certainly could not pass it up.  

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

and there ...

she...

blows!

Poor Grace had to stay strapped into the jogger for our 4 mile walk around the geysers and pools.  She loves to run, jump, and climb but in this part of Yellowstone she sat and watched and cried!

Crested Pool caused quite a scene with all of the little ones in our group.  The older girls read a sign that stated Yellowstone National Park had added more safety features after a boy fell into this pool and sadly died from his injures.  (Hence the jogger stroller in the above picture)  The caution worked its wonders on all of the kiddos.  Everyone stayed on the path!

Charlotte now too scared to even look at a geyser or pool thanks to the above mentioned sign.

For me the one memory I will never forget is this grizzly bear.  I had never seen a grizzly in the wild until this one.  This "little" guy found himself some delicious road kill and then dragged it down a hill to chow down.  Yuck!  

He performed beautifully for all of us and the other 100 tourists that had stopped by to click a photo.  We watched as he ate, rolled around on his dinner (again, yuck), took a walk, and finally a swim.

The day we were leaving the park we came around a corner to find a bunch of forest rangers with their pepper spray out.  Turns out this bear had found himself another yummy meal (road kill again) along the same road.  Thanks to some lucky tourists this bear will not go hungry this winter!