Yellowstone Day 1 Wednesday

We heard ahead of time that it would rain a lot at Yellowstone, so we bought a tarp and put it up.

Camp all set up!

We went to the paint pots after dinner, and met a squirrel who liked to say NO!

On the way there, Kelsey saw an obese man on the ground getting CPR from a few people.  On the way back (1.5 hours later), they were still there but hadn't moved so obviously is didn't work...  That "NO" squirrel should've been there telling the man to not go into the light.

This is the bad traffic jam after at least 2 hours.

Burrs, burrs, burrs! (Bears, bears, bears!)

On our second day, we woke up as early as we could to go to Bear World.

We got to drive through a open range of animals and then black bears.  The two grizzlies they kept locked behind an electrical fence... That's to keep Taylor out.

The left elk is a white elk, a very rare animal.

Dinner and a bath.

Our first bear.  Gave Kelsey the chills.

We fed these baby black bears.

Ziggy had just gone swimming.

And they even had a petting zoo! The ducks hid from Tay, but not all the animals were fast enough.

This guy tried eating Kelsey's shirt only seconds before.
And he thought Tay's arm was an ice cream cone.

Craters of the Moon

We went on a trip up to Idaho and Wyoming for almost a week.  It was a much needed break from work stress for me, and amazing to spend all day, the WHOLE day, together.

Always have to take a picture of when we first leave!  Tradition!

Taylor made sure to find me a neck pillow before we left so when I fell asleep I wouldn't have a neck ache.  

Our motel in Arco, Idaho 

We spent the afternoon in Craters of the Moon where Taylor was my personal geology guide.

The start of a lava flow trail.  Cinder Cones in the background.

Pahoehoe (pa-hoi-hoi) lava rock.
Has a ropey surface due to the top of the lava cooling, while the inside continues to stay hot and flow freely.

Viscous pahoehoe!!!! And Pretty Kelsey.

Amongst aa (ah-ah) lava, these monoliths were actually ripped off the original crater-rim, and floated down the volcanic slope to their final resting place.

Wonder Woman in the making.

 We enjoyed sitting on the slope of the Inferno Cinder Cone.  It hurt.  Not as smooth as it looks.

One of the main volcanos. It's much bigger than it looks.  The crater was about 100 yards deep.

The cone-shaped rock in the middle of the crater is cooled-magma.  It used to be the hole the lava exploded out of.

A spatter cone, formed from one of the main volcanos.  As magma flows down a volcano, sometimes the surface cools very quickly.  This soon creates lava tunnels and passageways.  When those tunnels become too pressurized and hot, parts of the lava tunnels become mini-volcanos, and turn into spatter cones, spewing molten rock around the vent, creating a cone-shape.

Kelsey looking hotter than the molten lava ever was.

Exploring lava tunnels.

It was so cold in the caves, you could see your breath, and all the water was frozen. Ice rivers!! 

The cave walls.

It was so dark in the tunnels, but the headlight was nice that Kelsey wore.

We had to leave early because a big thunderstorm came.

Family Nights

For FHE, Taylor took me to the Church History Museum.

Death Masks of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith. Tay's being a death mask too!

76 pound scriptures can easily be lifted with180 pounds of righteous! *Surfer voice*

 Tannin loves to watch us.  He ran up to the door when I passed wanting to be held.  

Thursday night was Paul McCartney's concert.  We went to Crown Burger.

And..we found a cure for my lactose intolerance.  Lactase Enzyme pill!!

First taste of ice cream in months! I look so happy...and pretty, and cute, and hot, and beautiful.

 Tay before the Concert.

We wish this was our view, but it was actually the luck of Taylor's parents.  They got 3 free front row tickets.  

And Paul threw DeMarie a rose.