Party like it's 1999

Unfortunately, I don't have one good photo to sum up the last few days for us. . . this is as close as I can come:

Yes, it's USAFA. And, yes, it's the cadet squadrons marching onto the field before the football game last Saturday. What's missing from this photo is anyone that I know. All of those people are behind the camera, sitting in the Class of '99 section right next to me. I kept thinking how great it would have been to get one photo with all the friends that had convened in the same town on the same weekend. . . friends from the past 14 years of my life. I know that would have been impossible to do, so I'm settling with the memories of our reunion weekend in my head. Oh, and the photos Erin posted on her blog, too.

Don't worry, I did take more photos than just this. But, we're taking the scenic route home so it will be a few days more before I have the chance to share them. In the mean time, go check out Erin's lovely synopsis of the weekend!

2 1/2 rewind

(a little ssomething to tide you over until we get back from vacation. . . )

While we were at Rich's parent's house I flipped through his baby book and my jaw dropped when I saw a photo of him at 2 1/2 years old. With a quick glance, you'd think you were looking at a photo of Hayden!

Hayden always took after me and my side of the family in appearance. Benjamin takes after his Daddy's side. So when I found this evidence linking Hayden to his father as a little boy, I was quite happy! Those are some pretty adorable 2 1/2 year olds, aren't they?

Ten on Tuesday: The Incredible Journey

1. The incredible 1,626 mile journey begins tomorrow. . .

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2. We're headed back to Colorado for our 10 year Air Force Academy reunion!

3. I can't believe it's been 10 years already. The time has just raced by.

4. We are going to see SO many of our friends. . . that is really the best part about this whole trip. I'm elated that so many are coming to Colorado for the weekend. Really, all of our dearest friends (just about) will be there. I guess that's one thing about the Air Force. . . the bond you create doesn't fade when you have to move.

5. The worst part about this whole trip is up there under item #1. Benjamin does NOT like riding in the car for more than 15 minutes. Good thing for him, almost all of the driving we do is under 15 minutes. The few recent exceptions were the hour and a half drive to go camping about a month ago and our two and a half hour drive into Yellowstone this past weekend. He screamed and screamed and screamed some more. The boy has endurance when it comes to his lungs!

6. I feel bad for him, because there's just nothing we can do about it, he has to be strapped into his carseat. I feel bad for the rest of us because listening to all that screaming really eats away at your nerves. Poor Hayden has to sit right next to Ben, too. Several times on our recent long drives he looked over and said, "Benjamin, stop crying please!"

7. We decided to take the scenic route back to Montana after the reunion. We're going to spend two nights in our condo, before heading west to Dinosaur National Monument, then onto Grand Teton National Park. I think it will be a beautiful drive. I just hope it sounds beautiful (er, quiet), too.

8. Now, to make this post complete, it's onto the photos. . . look who's big enough for the swing! (Actually, these two photos were taken almost a month ago)

We even tried out the BIG swing at the Farmer's Market last week.

Yeah, I know, how did he get big enough to do all this stuff? I'm about ready to tell him to slow down with this growing stuff already.

9. Here's my other crazy kid. . .

10. Stay tuned for Colorado photos. . . many of you reading this might just find your smiling faces here come next week!

Yellowstone

Another great thing about Bozeman--it's proximity to one of America's treasures, Yellowstone National Park. (Geologically speaking, it might not be that great a thing since a large portion of the park is essentially the caldera of a huge volcano that would cause some serious destruction--pretty much obliterating Bozeman--if it blows. Experts seem to think this is a long, long way off and we're hoping they're right!) Anyhow, we took a scenic drive down to the park, spotting glimpses of fall along the way. . .

And a bison about 10 feet from the road once we entered the park. . .

And then, a little more than 2 hours after pulling out of our driveway we were at the park's most popular destination: Old Faithful!

It is quite an impressive sight.

A few weeks ago, President Obama and his family were in Bozeman for a town hall meeting. Afterward, they went down to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful. I was reading the story in the newspaper the next day and Montana's governor had told him not to look at the geyser when it erupted, but to look at his kids' faces. Well, I did look at the geyser, but I also watched Hayden.

We continued on a short boardwalk hike over a very active thermal area. I've been to Yellowstone before, but it's such a unique and fascinating place. It's easy to forget that nature created it all and without the man-made boardwalks and pathways, it would all still be there. You almost feel like you're at amusement park of sorts.

The boardwalk meanders across ground dotted with crystalline pools, some serene and colorful, some literally boiling and emitting stinky sulfurous steam, some spouting off like their larger cousin Old Faithful.

We kept close tabs on Hayden. . . you definitely don't want to step off this boardwalk! He was fascinated with it all until we walked past a smelly patch of warm steam emitted from one of the geysers. He was scared and required a little reassuring pep talk to continue. After that, he kept tight hold of one of our hands and kept repeating to himself, "it isn't scary, we're safe on the boardwalk."

After walking the boardwalk loop, Hayden spotted something just as fascinating as all that geothermal activity. . . a big fuzzy caterpillar.

He decided to give the squirmy guy a little pet. . .

. . . before it quickly made it's way to safety in the grass. And you thought all the popular wildlife in the park was the big game (bison, elk, moose, bears)!

Hey, look, there's even proof that I was there too!

Catching up on Camping

I mentioned in a previous post about our camping trip over Labor Day Weekend. I finally got through all the photos I took and had to get them posted here for posterity (well, in reality, so that it's documented when I make my 2009 blog book, cause I know I'm not going to get around to scrapbooking all these pictures!). We headed up to Hyalite on Saturday afternoon. We stayed at a campground right along Hyalite Creek and Hayden was eager to try out his new fishing pole!

We cooked dinner over a campfire, roasted marshmallows, and crawled into our sleeping bags.

Sunday morning, our friends arrived and we set off on a hike to Grotto Falls.

Our families complement each other well! Both dads set out with empty kid carriers, the toddler boys hiking alongside. . .

And the moms carried the younger siblings. . .

Along the way, we came across a field of rocks turned into sculpture. Other hikers had built hundreds of cairns. . . quite an impressive display.

We reached our destination and took in the gorgeous surroundings, with toddler boys carefully walking along the rocks.

And of course, we had trail mix! Actually, Joshua had trail mix. Hayden spied some m&m's in the bag, asked his friend to share (he's signing "please" in the middle photo), and Joshua happily did.

After hiking back to the cars, we headed to a picnic area and boat launch. After our lunch, the kids tested out the kayak on dry land. . .

Then Jason and Joshua put it to use in the water!

Hayden was not interested in a boat ride, so the rest of us kept busy on the shore. . .

We headed back to the campsite and then back to the creek for more fishing.

After another campfire dinner and more smores, we slumbered in our tents again, resting up for our last day of adventure still to come. Monday morning, we warmed up with breakfast by the fire.

Then we set off on another hike, this time to History Rock.

Our destination:

Basically, a huge boulder covered in graffiti. But, it's graffiti that dates back to the mid-1800's! The oldest date I could find was 1891. Rich thinks it's probably a fake and not really that old. I'm a believer. And either way, it was still pretty cool!

Our little hikers enjoyed another snack together. . .

We hiked back to the cars and headed home, happy after a fun weekend with friends!