Yellowstone Trip

It was a huge treat to have my good friend Tyler visit our home a few weeks ago. It was an even bigger treat that Jason volunteered to watch the boys for the weekend so that Tyler and I could have a girls' weekend getaway. What a great husband! :)

Tyler and I started our journey on a Friday morning and drove through the little resort town of Red Lodge, MT. You can't drive through this cute little town without stopping at the candy store, so we made that our first stop.

 

We filled up a bag with some interesting toffee flavors and other candies (2 of each kind so we could taste-test them all together). The candy ended up being a great on-the-road snack.

The road through Red Lodge took us to the Beartooth Pass, a beautiful mountain highway leading to the northeast entrance of Yellowstone. This road is only open for a few months of the year (with frequent storm closures during those months too), due to heavy snowfalls on the mountain. 

Thankfully, our weather had been beautiful leading up to Tyler's arrival, so the pass was open. We journeyed up the highway until this lookout point, probably about 2/3 of the way to the summit. There are always crazy-friendly chipmunks at this lookout point. They seem to like the snacks that tourists give them. :) We were shocked at how up close we could get to these little critters.

No zoom was needed at all for these pictures!

 One of the chipmunks even came right up to Tyler and put his front legs nearly on her jean pockets, trying to find some food. Talk about some brave chipmunks! :)

Here are some of the views of the Beartooths from this lookout.

The drive to Yellowstone from our home is supposed to take around 2 1/2 hours traveling this route. We stopped for so many gorgeous photo ops, however, that it took us close to 4 hours.

I'd say the views were worth it, though!

It's unbelievable how much snow these roads can get. These tall markers lining the roads are used to guide the snowplows as they clear the roads in the spring. This shows you how high the snow usually gets. Wow!

Jason and I have driven up this pass quite a few times with other guests and family members, and we have never seen the ground so snow-free. Here we are at the summit... no snow in sight!

One more stop as we were heading down the pass... Tyler said this mountain peak could've prompted the name "Beartooth."

Finally, sometime in the early afternoon, Tyler and I arrived at the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone. Hooray!

Our initial drive in the park was through Lamar Valley. What a beautiful section of the park! Our first animal sighting was a family of mountain goats WAY off in the distance, only visible through our binoculars.

Lamar Valley is typically a great location for spotting herds of bison. We weren't disappointed.

Closer to Tower Falls, we spotted some bighorn sheep.

Actually, what we really spotted first was the group of parked cars and the herds of people with their cameras out. This is usually the best way to spot wildlife in the park. :)

Smaller wildlife is fun to spot, too...

Our first non-animal sighting stop was here, at the Tower Falls.

We certainly have a majestic Creator, don't we?

We stopped for a little snack break here too. Huckleberry ice cream sandwiches-- yum, yum!

Our next stop was Canyon Village where we did some hiking. The 2 longer trails that we did weren't too bad in distance, though they were quite steep. Tyler was a perfect hiking partner. We got in some great exercise and saw some beautiful views of the Lower and Upper Falls.

Next, we continued our drive through Hayden Valley to see the Mud Volcano, Sulphur Caldron, and this next pictured spring, Dragon's Mouth (all of which smell absolutely wonderful... ha, ha!).

We saw some more up-close bison on the way...

...and then closed out the evening with a stop by Yellowstone Lake. 

After a late dinner, it was too dark to see much else, so we drove to our hotel in West Yellowstone. We got a good start the next morning and drove south this time towards Old Faithful. The early morning air was quite chilly. We even had frost on the car! The brisk temperatures made for great views of the steamy geyser basins.

At first, we bypassed all these smaller geysers so that we could get to Old Faithful. Here we are, waiting for the morning eruption.

This particular Old Faithful eruption didn't seem to be the largest or longest ever, but was nevertheless still impressive.

The rest of our Day 2 was filled with lots of geyser viewing. We walked along many boardwalk paths and smelled the wonderful sulfur. :)

Blue Star Spring

Sometimes the geysers or springs wouldn't have a name plate, and Tyler and I would come up with names of our own. Fun times. Give it a try yourself! :)

Red Paint Pots

Mountain Geyser

As we were close to leaving the park after lunchtime, we commented on how cool it would've been to see a large animal, like a bear, elk, or moose. And just like that, at the eleventh hour, we spotted this crowded parking lot.

The elk practically walked right in front of these people!

What a great way to end our wonderful girls' weekend in Yellowstone. It is such a beautiful park that so clearly showcases God's handiwork. I loved having another excuse to visit again. Thanks again, Tyler, for making the visit out to Montana!

Welcome, Auntie Tyler!

Hotel Schleicher has definitely been hopping during the past 2 months, but we have been loving it! Our most recent guest was "Auntie" Tyler, one of Amy's closest friends (one that Amy has known since kindergarten). We were SO happy to have Tyler visit us again. Her last visit to us was only a few months after the boys were born when we were definitely still in survival mode. We did absolutely no sight-seeing of MT and didn't really see much outside of the house at all. Tyler even had to cook some of her own meals!

This time around, Hotel Schleicher was a bit more experienced in the hosting-with-kids department. :) We even whisked Tyler away to Yellowstone for the weekend (pics on that journey still to come!). It was fun to watch Cody and Jaden warm up to Tyler throughout her visit. Already on the first afternoon of her stay, the boys requested a story from Auntie Tyler.

Another day, Jaden and Cody showed Tyler how to play Hullabaloo. 

Tyler caught on quickly. :)

Towards the end of Tyler's visit, we took Tyler to a local kids' event called the Rubber Duck Regatta. There were all kinds of carnival games, like this beanbag toss.

Thankfully, no one minded when the boys basically just dropped their beanbags into the holes.

Next, Jaden and Cody participated in this mini-Olympic games course. They both "threw" the frisbee onto the pool noodles,

chucked a football through the hanging hoops,

and attempted to whack the ball through the arches with a golf club.

At the end of the course, Jaden and Cody used markers and stickers to decorate a medal for themselves.

The main "attraction" of this event was the actual rubber duck race. We arrived too late to purchase our own competitive rubber ducks, but we were still able to watch a few of the racing finals.

We used up our remaining tickets on a few other games, like this Plinko-style one.

Jaden and Cody were quite pleased to show off all the prizes that they won-- like these animal finger puppets, a few race cars, and even a little action figure (that broke before we even pulled out of the parking lot...). Jaden is also proudly wearing his self-decorated medal in this picture. 

Overall, the event seemed to be worthwhile for our little guys, as they seemed to enjoy the games and prizes fairly well. Tyler was a great helper for us there, too, leading the boys around and snapping a few pictures.

The greatest part of the event (for the boys, at least) was its location. The Regatta was held at the same park where we often stop to feed the geese and ducks. So of course we had to do the same on this day.

The waterfront views at this park are quite nice, too.

Our little Cody has developed quite an arm when chucking food at the birds. He definitely puts his all into his throws. :)

Thanks, Tyler, for joining us on this little outing and for always knowing just what to do to help out!

After the Regatta, we continued on to our new Scheels store (a very large sporting goods store) that was having its grand opening that weekend. It was pretty amazing to see the mini-bowling alley, the shooting range, the golf simulator, and the full size Ferris wheel inside this store. We didn't get pictures of anything at the store other than these large aquarium pillars.

On the way out of the store, we actually saw a real scuba diver swimming around inside this tank. Impressive!

By the end of Tyler's visit, the boys were calling Tyler by name and freely giving her hugs and kisses. Each morning after they'd awake, they'd look towards the stairs and say, "Ty-lah, UP! Ty-lah, UP!" Tyler certainly is a fun playmate and a wonderful friend. We were all so thankful for her time with us!

A Quarter Past Two!

Jaden and Cody are officially 2 1/4 years old! The most significant change within the past 3 months has been with their verbal development. At the boys' 2-year well check-up, we told their doctor that the boys were only saying about 25 words at the most. Now, Jaden and Cody are saying more words than we can count and are piecing multiple words together. What a fun, amazing thing it is to watch this language explosion!

Our favorite expressions that the boys are currently saying include: 

• "Oh, my!" (whenever there's a big mess or if something falls over)
• "Cue me, Mommy!" (for "excuse me" when they're walking by)
• "Ear-go, Daddy" (for "here you go" when they're giving us something)
• "Beep, Beep, Beep" (whenever we ask them to back up a bit)
• "Mommy, off!" (if Mommy tries to enter a private twin playtime moment on the couch)
• "minute" (when they're asking for a longer playtime)
• "Guy! Guy!" (shouted at random strangers, regardless of gender)
• "Bruth-ah!" (a term of endearment for one another, most often used by Jaden)
• "Day-den and Co-key" (their names for themselves, "Co-key" is from their cousin Abby!)
• "Day-den (or Co-key) turn!" (whenever they want a particular toy). 

Jaden probably asks for a "manna!" (banana) for just about every meal, and Cody will often refer to anything good as being "yummy!" (like when we put shoes on him that he finds comfortable or when we put socks on his cold feet).

Jaden and Cody, ready for a walk,
in their typical leaning forward posture!

The boys also LOVE to identify their colors, enthusiastically pointing out the colors of nearly everything around them. They know how to count to three but can occasionally fill in other random numbers up to 10 if Mommy is counting. Their other favorite vocabulary area is vehicles-- identifying trucks, jeeps, buses, trains, fire engines or police cars (with a "wee-ah, wee-ah!"), tow trucks, various construction vehicles, airplanes, helicopters, etc.

Probably the boys' most favorite pastime is spending time with books. Every day, they enjoy taking a book off their bedroom bookshelf, running it to the couch, flipping through the pages, tossing the book on the floor, and then running back for more until ALL of the books on the shelf are in one large pile on our living room floor.

Jaden and Cody also LOVE being read to. They now frequently request book-readings randomly throughout the day, rather than just at bedtime and naptime, and will often listen to 5-6 stories in a row. They seem more engaged in the plots of stories and are active participants with most stories (pointing out animals, colors, or other random objects in the pictures). The boys are especially interested in informational books about cars, trucks, planes, or trains. Occasionally, the boys will "read" aloud portions of stories to themselves as they're flipping through their books. Some favorites include Freight Train (they identify the colors of each train car, the engine, and the caboose); Spot ("clock... no; bed... no" as they are looking for Spot in the book); Fifteen Animals ("mouse, Bob, bunny, Bob, fish, Bob"); and their current favorite, a library book entitled Blue Sky. Because this book describes the sky in two word fragments (sunset sky, moon sky, star sky, etc.), the boys can actually recite this book accurately word for word!

Here's a video of Jaden "reading" Blue Sky. It's a bit hard to understand (especially with Cody whining a bit in the background), but you can get the idea!

When they aren't spending time with books, Jaden and Cody LOVE their cars and trucks and anything else that goes! Lately, they've started lining their vehicles up on the piano. They'll sit on the piano for quite some time and run their cars along this fun "track."

Outside, they also enjoy pushing around their vehicles on the driveway. One day, they even got a kick out of lining all their vehicles up!

With these 2 active toddlers, who have very short attention spans, our house is constantly full of clutter! Mommy learned early on that it was no use picking up the toys before moving on to the next activity. Five minutes later, the boys would request the toy that she had just cleaned up and put away! So, most days, our floors are full of blocks, toys, books, stuffed animals, cars, pillows, and more.  Sometimes, Cody even dumps a bin of soft blocks out over his head while saying "mess, mess!" They'll empty out their entire toy baskets seemingly just to create a messy pile of toys (like Jaden is doing below).

Other days, the boys' mess has a hint of organization to it. They will create lines out of their toys or large piles all in one place.

One day, Mommy tried out a new game with the boys by placing a track of tape along the kitchen floor. I figured the boys might like running along the tape line or even driving their cars along it. The boys ran along it for just a couple minutes and then discovered something even more enjoyable....

...lining up all their books along the tape track!

Jaden and Cody are quite the little helpers around home. Their favorite chores are emptying the dishwasher (not a single broken dish... yet!), retrieving the newspaper each morning from the driveway (usually in bare feet!), getting the mail, putting dirty laundry into the washer (they usually identify which clothing item belongs to which family member as they help), bringing in groceries from the van, assisting with short recipes, and helping with the self-checkout at the library and the grocery store. Mommy especially loves their enthusiastic helpfulness!

When people say that siblings can be "the best of friends and the worst of enemies," that phrase is quite fitting for Jaden and Cody. Recently, with the 2-year molars coming in, both boys have often resorted to biting to solve their brotherly disputes. Other times, one boy will take a toy away from the other and then chuck it into the crib or the kitchen sink so that it's out of reach. They are already very good at blaming one another. If we ever ask a question like, "Who has the dirty diaper?" or "Which one of you did (whatever crime)?," they will shout out the other's name or loudly say, "Bruth-ah!"

Some days, or even moments within days, the boys get along very well. It's fun watching them get motivated on a certain project or activity together. We hear SO much giggling back and forth between the two of them throughout the day and often see displays of compassion when another is hurt or sad. At bedtime lately, Jaden has started saying, "Bruth-ah. Hug too." It's so precious watching their hugs and kisses for each other.

Jaden (pictured above) is still our little rule follower. One day, when Cody brought his sippy cup filled with milk into the living room, Jaden firmly reminded him, "No. Kitchen." Another day, after Jaden was the victim of an unfortunate biting incident, Jaden came up to Mommy saying, "Bruth-ah bite. Crib. Crib." (This is where we've been putting the boys lately for time-outs after biting or pushing occurs, so Jaden was ready for Cody's time out!) On a couple different occasions, Jaden has folded his hands and said, "Pray, pray." when Mommy has forgotten to start a meal with prayer. We love his insistence on doing the right thing!

Cody has become quite the little tease in our household! One day, when Mommy was changing Jaden's diaper, she turned around to find Jaden's shorts missing. When she asked Cody where they were, he gave a little sly smile and pulled the pants out from under the crib! This activity has now become a regular joke when we're changing diapers. Cody also enjoys climbing into his carseat so that he's facing the opposite direction. He giggles when we open the van door and find him facing the wrong way! He loves making random noises or faces to make Jaden laugh. He's certainly found a way to give the whole family lots of joy!

At times, we can definitely tell that both boys are two-years-old, as they exert their independence. Most often, though, their tantrums and whines have to do with brotherly disputes. Both boys are overall ready to do the things that Mommy and Daddy ask and can usually be distracted when they're upset.

 Cody and Jaden are certainly very full of life and are constantly busy, busy boys! They are quite exhausting little fellas, but they bring us so much joy, too. We enjoy seeing the world through their little eyes and seeing the simple things that make them excited. We love our precious gifts from God!