Monday, June 29, 2009

Yellowstone National Park

On Friday, June 19 we drove into Yellowstone National Park.
That day was packed with sightseeing and fun.
This photo was taken near Yellowstone Lake.
Shakeara & Levi
The pools were amazing!
These pools drained into Yellowstone Lake.
We had a big discussion on whether these animals were Buffalo or Bison. From what we could figure out, they are called Bison - American Buffalo. So we just called them "Biffalo". This one walked right up next to the truck ...kinda made me nervous :)
Lower Falls - Probably the most famous falls in the park.
Nellysa Kelby

Nell & Kirk
Levi & Shakeara Clancy

The whole family

Clancy at Fishing Bridge
On the brink of the Upper Falls.
Nellysa & Kelby
This little chipmunk was running along side us all the way up the trail.
Nelladee at Fishing Bridge
This is the only picture I was able to get of one of the Grizzly Bears we saw. This one was just rooting around eating up on the skyline. A couple of miles up the road was another traffic jam and the ranger told us we just missed a cinnamon-colored bear going over the hill. About 30 minutes later, we were stopped again by rangers because a Grizzly Sow had just killed an elk and she and her cubs were over in the brush with their fresh kill. We would see her raise up and look around and thrash about, but I couldn't get a clear photo.
Mammoth Hot Springs
Bull Elk
Doe elk with yearlings & fawns
Nellysa & Kirk at Paint Pots
This is one of my favorite stops. I love to watch the hot water run into the river.
Clancy & Kirk
This picture makes me think of the Old West. I can picture teepee's out there.
Jackson Lake at the end of the day.

The Grand Teton's & Jackson Hole, WY

We were in Idaho for two weeks recently. While we were there, we took a mini family vacation with our kids and Levi's fiance', Shakeara. We drove over to Wyoming and spent the night in Jackson Hole. Along the way, we came across this moose in Strawberry Canyon.

These are the famous arches found on each corner of the city center park in Jackson Hole.

Two of my picture-loving kids :)
We drove out to Teton Village and rode the tram to the top of the mountain (12,000 ft.) The view was great until we got to the top where of course there was a cloud.
It was 32 degrees on top and there was snow and ice everywhere.The few breaks in the cloud gave us a great view of the valley.
Levi showing his true self (it's not too late Shakeara ;)
View of the Teton's
Jackson Lake
My favorite picture of "my mountains".
A drop of water in a leaf ... "it's neat Levi!"
Levi & Shakeara
Moose
"Really Shakeara, it's not too late" ...
Warning!!! Don't fall asleep on a Waldron road trip.
We had a great time in Jackson Hole and in Teton National Park.

Monday, June 08, 2009

Two New Future Family Members

Levi got engaged to Shakeara Peterborg in February of this year. They were planning a June wedding but some health issues postponed the wedding until a little later. We'll let you know when we find out a new date.

Levi & Shakeara met at the Singles Ward in Preston, Idaho.
We will get to meet her in a week. Can't wait!
Clancy came home from his mission in December. He started an institute class and met a girl named Julie Leoni de Oliveira. They got engaged on Saturday night overlooking the harbor in Annapolis.
Julie is from Brazil and is here on a University Exchange Program. She mainly speaks Portuguese with some Spanish thrown in and is learning English.
Clancy learned some Portuguese on his mission, so they speak a mixture of 3 languages. It's pretty interesting listening to them :)
The ring
Julie has an obligation with her school and work until February, so I don't think they've picked a date yet. We'll let you know on that one as well.
I don't think I'm old enough to be a Mother-in-law do you???