Yellowstone Parker Reunion

Okay so this trip was our BIG family summer vacation this summer... even though we packed soo much in this summer. I was a bit nervous for it because we were going to be gone for a week, and we were going to be tenting the entire time. We have been camping LOTS with the kids, but the longest was about 4 days. We were heading to a Parker Family Reunion just outside of Yellowstone National Park at Buttermilk Campground. I had been to Yellowstone before but Michael hadn't, so I was excited to show him the sights. We left 2 days before the reunion started in a caravan of my Dad, Kristi, and Dani, and The Fyfes in the other vehicle. We decided we were going to drive down to Helena a try out a campground there, which ended up being the lamest campground ever with no trees and so so windy and not really room for tenting.

OFF we go!! 

After scraping the idea of that campground we decided we were going to be classy and camp in the Walmart parking lot. Once we get there, we discover my Aunt Charlyn, Val, and Andrea, and my cousin Theresa and their clans were already there... separately!! haha. It was a party. Since we were in a PARKINGLOT, the Fyfes were kind enough to let us stay in their ginormous tent trailer (king size bed) so we didnt have to pitch our tent on concrete. It was pretty great, until..... 3am-ish the STREET SWEEPERS come in and for a good HOUR are cleaning the concrete. I swear they came right up to our tent. Oh man, I was not happy. Luckily, and amazingly, the boys slept through it. 

 A "chair". 

After church in Helena we headed to Ennis to an RV park. Great showers, LAUNDRY (how nice is it to have all clean clothes 2 days into your camping trip), and green grass. That night we went to Norris hot springs and it was so fun. I dont think Michael enjoyed it as much as I did, but it was so cool. The kids (especially Noah, because Ty ended up with a fever that night for the next 3 days) LOVED the warm water. There was a small band playing music and it was just a really cool vibe. The kids went to bed great and we played card games that night.

 The next morning we headed to Buttermilk campground. We were worried there would be no trees, but it turned out to be an awesome campground. There were TONS of sticks and rocks that the kids played endlessly with.

Grandpa snuggling with the grandkids. Notice Noah's arm in the hammock, holding him in. 

 The kids got their own light sabres. 

 Beware of Noah when he has an underbite... he's looking for trouble. 

For real though... I'm afraid of him. 

On the 2nd day of the reunion we had a free day to explore Yellowstone. We stopped and saw a few awesome and very different geysers. The kids loved them. What an amazing thing to see. 

^^ Boiling water ^^

Hot Springs... too hot to soak in, haha. So cool to look in. It's so clear and looks like you could just dive right in and go so deep. 

Noah was really into checking every geyser out fully.

The mudpots. 

Stinky air!

We saw Old Faithful. Very underwhelming and over anticipated... even Ty thought so. haha, I think we all preferred the other geysers, though they were smaller. 

After Old Faithful I made Michael go into the visitors centre and ask about a swimming hole we had heard about. Oh my, was it worth asking. The guy knew exactly what we were talking about a drew an arrow to a specific spot on our map. Well we just had a blast! We hung out mostly by the cave above. The kids found a little ledge and kept jumping into the water over and over.

 Unfortunately we only stayed a few hours because we had to head back to the reunion for dinner. But it will still an awesome day. We would love to go back to Yellowstone and explore for another 2-3 days. So much to see!

At Family reunions since I can remember we've always made rope. I always had one randomly sitting in my room (not really the purpose of it) but I always thought it was the coolest souvenir. This year my Dad made sure that Ty got one to take home. Ty was pretty excited about it.  

Noah just picking up rocks. 

Every year the families each bring/make a quilt to auction off and the money goes to the next reunion. This year we did themed baskets. So many cool baskets, and our family did a games/Canada basket. I SO wanted it because of all the awesome games. So i spent $26 in raffle tickets ($1 each) and put all my eggs in one basket. AND I WON. Oh yeeeeeah! 

Noah was loving picking up sticks and logs and putting them near/in the fire (or just the pit if the fire was out)

 Michael reeeeeally wanted to go back to the swimming hole. And I was torn about whether to go with him and leave the reunion for another day, or stick around and visit and play games. So he took the kids and I stayed at the reunion. It kinda tore at me because I wanted to do both. Anyways after playing some games and visiting, a bunch of family decided they wanted to check out this swimming hole. So I rode with my Dad into Yellowstone and I was so surprised Michael and the kids were still there! We found a few more fun areas to play in and oh my, was it worth the trip back. What a blast. Oh ya! The water was SOOOOOO warm. Like almost like a pool... i think from the volcano water being so hot. It was perfect. We stayed for about 3 hours (michael and the kids for 6 hours in total).

 Swimming the current on Dad's back. 

Jumping into the awesome current. SO so fun. I want to take the kids back there someday. 

Cousins checking out the river water (a different river that was FREEZING COLD) 

The reunion was so fun. We got to play Amazing Race again (a tradition, and my FAVORITE), we played TONS of games, lots of campfire time at night, watched the meteor shower,  and ate yummy food. It was such a good week. I was so worried about camping with the kids but it just all went so well. 

Nice face Dan... haha. This was our family that came to the reunion. We hope more come next time!! Can't wait until the next reunion.