Thought for the Day!

                      

Yellowstone on a Whim

On the 4th of July, The Babe and I were walking back to our car after the parade, and we ran into the Murphys. They told us that they were going to Yellowstone and wanted to know if we wanted to go along. We talked about it for not very long and decided to throw caution to the wind and take the leap! 

We're so glad we did! We had the best time! 

After our long 9 hour drive, we went to the Yellowstone Playhouse and watch the Rattlin' D show! They do that show during the winter here in H=Town and we love it it's so fun! The Babe wore his H hat and the main guy asked if that stood for H-Town and we said yes. He said he was really glad we made the trip up to Island Park so he gave us free concessions for the night! That was so nice of him. We got to try the Huckleberry float and some yummy popcorn! When he does his show in H-Town, he always makes a big deal about the huckleberry float, now I know why and there is huckleberry everything, everywhere in Yellowstone. 

We drove out to Henry Lake. It was beautiful. 

Kristy and I had a good time. We saw some eagles as we drove into the park, so we made Logan stop so we could get a better look. We didn't get to see them again though. 

Old Faithful didn't disappoint. We watched it the first time and it was pretty steamy and foggy because it was still cold out. But the second time, it was a lot clearer and seemed to last even longer. It was amazing. It always is! 

Yellowstone is breathtakingly beautiful! Right down to the wildflowers! 

We took a little drive down to the Grand Tetons, we were just too close not to. They're beautiful! 

But we decided Yellowstone was better. Just in the way that there is more to see. 

Kristy and I wanted to touch the fire water...like how hot is hot??? We were too chicken to touch a pool, for good reason, but there was a little stream that passed right by the boardwalk, so I told Kristy to pretend to tie her shoe so she could touch it. We both stuck our fingers in and we were a little disappointed that it was cold! Better cold than scalding hot I suppose. I gained a new mantra on this trip...Safety Third! 

We did go down to the river and felt the water. The waterfall pouring into this river is boiling hot, and mixed with the river, it makes the river warm. It was cooler than I would like a bath, but hotter than what I want to swim in. So fun to feel it! 

This was the first time I have seen the painted pots and they were so cool! One of my new favorites! 

Yellowstone is one of my favorites!!

It was so fun to go with Logan and Kristy. They have never been before, so it was cool to see their amazement! So much fun! 

Kristy and Logan are fun people to travel with. We should do it again!!

 

Porter in Alaska

Porter got to take an incredible trip to Alaska with Sienna and her family! They spent 10 days flying and fishing and having a great time!

Porter was in heaven!

Sienna's grandparents own a float plane business in Alaska, so they got to fly in the planes and go fishing. They were there during the salmon run, so they brought back a lot of fish. He had the time of his life! It's so beautiful there!

Look at that smile! 

I'm so grateful Porter got to have this experience. 

 

Bishop Family Summer Games

My Mom was in charge of the Bishop reunion this year. We started out with the opening ceremonies.

Then we got to divide into teams. 

We had some stick horse races, and we had to pull a log with the stick horse. 

Grandpa was popular with the prizes, gummy hot dogs and hamburgers. 

We had 3 legged races and the littles did gymnastics. 

We had fun visiting. It was fun to see my cousins. Some of them I haven't seen for a really long time. 

Then we had a rousing game of kickball. It was fun to watch. Such a fun day. 

We had to run up and back the same day because we needed to be back to go to the temple with Josh Hansgen. I can't believe he's grown up enough to go through the temple. 

Many years ago, my house was filled with children all day every day. The neighborhood kids loved to play here, and I loved it some days and somedays it just became a lot. The Babe came home one day and I had had it. I was exhausted and overstimulated and overwhelmed, so I asked The Babe for a blessing. In the blessing he told me that many of the children that were in my home needed a safe place and that many of them would think of me as their second mom. That's all I remember, but I tried to remember that through the years as my house was filled with lots of noise and chaos. Anyway, when Josh got ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood he gave me a big hug and told me I was his second mom and he loved me. It reminded me of that blessing so many years ago. 

Josh has been in my home almost as much as my own kids until the last couple of years. I love that kid!