Being Domestic

I made Ady a dress. She even likes it. Here it is. It has pockets, a zipper, and sleeves. I also even made a scrunchy to match, and I even made me a skirt out of the same material. I think I am pretty proud of myself for doing it. It always feels nice to finish something. The fact that I know how to sew is something I should probly be more grateful for. I remember not liking sewing growing up. My mom taught me to sew, and then a few ladies from 4-H helped as well. I had to do a project or two every year for the fair. I usually got it done the night before it was due, had to unpick and sew everything five times, and was a big frustration to finish. Now that i am just trying some things on my own, for my family, with no time frame(other than my kid outgrowing it before I finish), and nobody to judge the inside to see if it was correctly sewn, it is not so bad. So thanks Mom for being persistent and giving me a talent to make and repair things. I think it is diminishing these days in the world, but is worth a lot.

Also, since staying home with the kids, I also get to hear alot of Ady and her funny sayings. The latest has been "Don't talk to me Pigtails." I don't know where she gets it, but whenever she doesnt' want to hear what I am telling her this is what she says. She will once in a while change pigtails with Sam(Sam-I-Am, from Green Eggs and Ham). So "don't talk to me Sam!"

Ady also says "I love you too" alot. You never have to say it first, but she always adds the too. The other day it was very funny because I wasn't real happy with her and was lecturing her and she just looks at me and says "I love you too, Mom" all sincere. It was one of those times you just have to stop and think and laugh. I'm glad she knows she is loved no matter what.

The last funny thing, I think I can blame on Adam; whenever Ady or Brock may do something not quite convenient, like spill milk all over, he'll say "oh, Kid!" Well Ady has also picked it up. It is so funny to hear something go not quite right for her and she'll yell out "oh, Kid!"

Some of you may have noticed that this is my first blog post in quite a while...more than a half year to be exact. We have had a lot of crazy or unexpected things happen this year. Adam is the one who has all the credit for keeping our posts updated. I am glad he does. Adam has been a rock thru all of it and I am really glad that he is a team blogger with me and picks up my slack. Plus, he is a good writer as well. If I could only get him to finish writing that book he started!

Grandpa's Funeral and Glacier National Park

My grandpa Hamner passed away last week. He was 81 and had cancer and Alzheimer's. He had been suffering for a few years now and is finally not in pain. Being as we had no company to take over, we decided to go to the service which was in Idaho. The service was nice, and short-which is a definite bonus in my book. Now we are on the way home and we decided to go through Glacier National Park on our way home. Here we are at Lake McDonald.
And here is Brock smiling while walking around at a lake in the park.

I have been trying to teach Ady how to skip rocks this summer. So far I have failed miserably. Well here we are at this beautiful lake and there are millions of rocks so I thought we'd try again.

Take a look at this picture and you can see one of the reasons why Ady has been unable to pick up the concept of skipping rocks. (Look at the size of the rock in her hand.)Tomorrow we will be taking the "Road to the Sun" drive through the park. So we'll leave you with this last picture of the Lake McDonald with the mountains and sky reflected and the perfectly clear water.

Our deal is dead

Well after 4 months of negotiating, studying, debating, dealing, praying, thinking, arguing, auditing, working with banks, and all the other stuff you have to do when you pursue a purchase of a business we have pulled the plug on the deal. Although we actually terminated the contract almost a week ago, we've been feeling somewhat discombobulated and didn't feel like blogging about it. However, it has been made clear that ignoring the situation, isn't changing the situation. What a weird and crazy ride this summer has been. Those who have been aware of the collapse of the deal have asked some interesting questions to us, such as: do we feel that we wasted several months here?, or do you wish you hadn't tried?, did you make a mistake in your timing?, and of course the standard-what now? Being that this blog is something akin to our family online journal I thought I'd address some of these questions.

The first question being was this summer wasted? That answer is no, and I am responding emphatically no. We have had many adventures, learned a ton and met some great people. Kasey and I have had a goal for some time now to pursue the acquisition of an outdoor recreational venture, preferably one that is family oriented, and this experience in no way detracts or hinders us in our pursuit of that dream. In fact we still feel that we have progressed and furthered our capacity to operate such a venture when we someday get to that point. As for do we wish we hadn't tried, well some days it does feel that way a bit. Knowing how close we were to being in possession of such a property and business is a bit painful. However, we do feel that we would have regretted not trying, and sometimes one needs to chase a supposed dream to find out if that is what they actually want. Then when one arrives at the supposed destination, one is more fully able to decide if that is actually the desired destination or merely a launching point for a larger more grandiose or simpler more realistic dream. Simply put, we feel that we made a good decision to pursue the opportunity that was presented to us, but have now decided to change course a little bit. As for the third question, timing. Timing is always an interesting thing. Especially in today's economy with banking regulations being tightened, property values falling and lines of credit being more difficult to obtain. The short answer is that we have determined that the time wasn't right to make this specific purchase, but the time was right for us to investigate and put ourselves in a position where we could make an educated decision. All along our goal has been to pursue such a business venture. But our goal was not to simply possess or own the business, it was to operate and be successful in the endeavor. During the process or pursuit of this business we have learned that the business was not cash flowing as we had originally thought. While the location was fantastic, the general facility was incredible, and a decent foundation of repeat business, there were issues that were going to cost money, fairly substantial amounts of money to rectify. I put together what I felt were very realistic projections. They included my assumptions on the current marketing needs, gear/equipment overhaul and such along with a gradual growth due to the current economy. The bank asked a ton of questions and then approved us for a loan of 80% for the value of the business. However, they used my projections as a base and did not value the business as highly as the seller had, thus the total loan amount was less than what we needed. After having a week to step back and look at the situation we have realized how important timing is. Did we mess up with our timing? I don't think so, but I do think that the time is not right for this venture at this location. Given the continued decline of the economy; risk and return on investment is all important. So while the timing was a factor, it is not something we are upset about. As for the final question-what now? That is being worked on. I am working on the next step. We are looking at some job options, along with starting the process of investigating some other businesses that are for sale. We feel that we are in a good position to make a great decision and find a great deal. We are not looking for a deal, we aren't looking for a good deal, we are looking for a great deal. We don't want to settle for good when our pursuit is something great. The effects of this economic recession have driven and are continuing to drive down prices of land and businesses. We feel confident that there is a great deal out there and if we look hard enough, we'll find someone who wants to sell at a price that makes it a great deal. Until then, we wait patiently and continue to work and learn so that we are prepared when the right opportunity presents itself.

On a more lighthearted note, I threw 9 strikes in a row on Wii bowling the other day and shattered our Wii bowling record with a score of 279! Here is a photo to prove it.

Our "e-fish-ient" Kasey

Kasey thinks that she is now a fisher-woman. In fact the other day she claimed to be very "e-fish-ient" with her fishing pole! We went fishing 3 times this week and twice she out fished me. This is the first Smallmouth Bass she has ever caught and she said she needed a picture with her fish to go along with all the pictures of fish I've caught. Ady was pretty funny about the fish. She wanted to touch the fish and kept saying "look Dad, look at what mommy got". Ady was very proud of her Mom's fishing skills.
This was our latest evening family canoe outing. Perfectly calm water and amazing colors. And yes, Kasey caught the most fish this night.
And another random sunset picture .

Ady tries to kill Brock

Today we had to go into town so that I could get training on from the Forest Service for issuing permits for the BWCA. When I came out I saw Kasey walking with the kids on the far side of the parking lot around the bog/pond that is there. Ady was pushing Brock's stroller and you could hear both Ady and Brock laughing. Ady would run forward with the stroller and Brock would laugh which in turn made Ady laugh. I was halfway to them when today's chaotic moment occurred. Ady's running with the stroller had put her 10 yards ahead of Kasey and she started running with the stroller again, however, this time after a few yards of running she decided to give the stroller a good shove and let go of the stroller. Of course there happened to be a bit of a turn in the path and the stroller went right off the walkway, through the cattails and into the bog/pond. Kasey took off running to fish Brock out of the water, found the stroller upside down, with Brock strapped in and completely submersed underwater. Brock was not very happy, but calmed down fairly quick. He did have three pretty large scratch marks on the left side of his face from the sticks and cattails in the pond. Crazy kids, can't leave them alone, they might kill one another!
Monday night for our family activity we went swimming. Actually Ady and I swam, and Brock and Kasey just put their feet in the water. Ady was so excited when we told her that we were going to go swimming. She loved jumping off the dock, and the water felt so nice after the last couple of very hot days.
Here's Brock and Kasey enjoying the nice evening. Kasey kept sticking Brock's feet in the water and Brock would just start bawling. After his plunge earlier that morning he was terrified of water. Even when we gave him his shower he cried when he got wet. Before today he loved bathing and has never shown any issues with water.
Ady did pretty good at trying to kick, float and dunk her head in the water, but her favorite thing was riding on my back while I swam around.

This is a picture of the fog lifting off the lake while the sun was coming up. The water was perfectly flat and looked very picturesque.

The Last Two Weeks

Well, we've had a very busy last few weeks. First Grandpa and Grandma Haddock came and visited us. Of course Grandpa and I had to spend a couple of days on the lake fishing. Grandpa really wanted to catch a Northern Pike, so here we go, he caught one. Actually he caught about 10 of these. We also went and picked wild blueberries and raspberries. The last night they were here we had fresh fish, fresh blueberry cheesecake and Minnesota wild rice. Yummy!

While they were here we also spent some time playing around and visiting some local attractions such as the North American Bear Center. Ady really liked looking at the bears. Two of the bears were very active and playing. Then Kasey, Ady and Brock left with Grandma and Grandpa to go back to Utah for Brock's check-up and a couple of family get-togethers. Kasey took the kids to a Clark family reunion in Wellsville. Things seemed to be going well, and then Saturday night someone from work came over to our house and told me that I had a family emergency and that Kasey needed me to call her right away. Fighting off feelings of panic I ran down to the lodge and got a hold of Kasey. Then Kasey told me the kind of news you never want to hear. Kasey's youngest sister's husband, Brandon, had killed himself. We were both shocked. Suicide is one of those things that you hear about, but never think of anyone you know actually doing it. And then to have someone in the immediate family, someone that you actually knew, had spent time with, always assumed would be there at the next family get-together to be dead hits you pretty hard. Suicide is one of those things that you always assumes wouldn't happen to your family. As Kasey and I talked questions came tumbling out, some of them answerable but too many have the answer of "I don't know". Emotions including anger, guilt, shame and deep sadness get thrown together all at once. We decided that Kasey would stay for the funeral, but that I would stay in Minnesota. Then Monday at Brock's Check-up it was decided that Brock would have another surgery and the surgery was scheduled for the following day. Kasey called me, and we decided that I should join her in Utah for a few days. So I got off work, got in the car and headed South. I stopped in the middle of South Dakota for a nap and eventually arrived in Utah 25 hours after getting off work. Brock's surgery went "okay". The doctors said that it wasn't exactly what they were hoping for, but it was an improvement. They don't know if he will need another surgery later, but if he does, they will probably do open heart surgery.

We were able to spend a couple days "relaxing" with family. Don't get me wrong, seeing people is always nice, but I'm not sure I felt that the time was relaxing. We wanted to spend time with both of our families, so it was back and forth a couple times. Juggling multiple family schedules, figuring out priorities and still remembering to smile was hard at times. We went to the new Trafalga with my family and Ady loved it. She must of rode the rides 100 times or more. Wore me out just watching her. With Kasey's family we enjoyed a family dinner and took a family picture. After the funeral we got back on the road and headed for Minnesota.
Being as the funeral was in Blackfoot Idaho, and we had our Yellowstone vacation cut short this last May with Kasey's kidney stone, I asked Kasey if she wanted me to drive through Yellowstone this time and give her an opportunity to see Yellowstone Falls. She thought that was a good idea and a so Yellowstone trip #2 it was.

A very nice lady saw me trying to snap a picture of ourselves and took this photo of all four of us at Artist Point. Of course since we were healthy, we couldn't just do a normal lookout point. Kasey wanted to hike down one of the trails. So we did. We went on Uncle Tom's Trail down to the lower lookout point of Lower Falls. In addition to the path, there are 328 metal steps that traversed the side of the cliff. Of course Ady decided that she wanted to wear her plastic flip-flops and was completely useless on the steps so she ended up on my shoulders. Kasey and I were pretty tired when we were done. Not to worry though, Brock and Ady were as chipper as can be after the climb back up!

The view at the bottom was pretty neat. The roar of the falls was really loud and you could feel the spray. After we left the falls we enjoyed the drive, once again marveling at the beauty of Yellowstone and had fun trying to point out the animals before Ady could find them. Once again we were successful in finding a Grizzly bear with cubs! After it got dark we left and headed East again. Of course, as soon as we left the civilized area, Ady told us that she had to go potty. So we asked her if she could make it to the next bathroom, she replied "No Dad, I need go in woods". I found the nearest pullout and quickly got her out. So there we were, just off the road, in the dark and Ady was doing her impersonation of a squat-which means that she was squatting while leaning back with me holding her under arms keeping her balance and there she was trying to see what was coming out. Well that was taken care of and we were about to get on the road again, Ady was in her seat and she informed us that she had to go again. She was holding her stomach and making a funny noise, so I quickly grabbed her and ran back over to our spot. This time I could tell that we didn't have much time, so I just pulled her shorts and panties off and she didn't even wait to squat. Of course she was impressed that she could go in the woods and wanted to see what was going on back there. The problem was that she didn't think she had a good vantage point so she decided move for a better view. Not to worry, I caught her foot just before she stepped in her mess. Then when she was in her new position pointing at her accomplishment she proceeded to add an additional deposit. By this time I was sure she was done. Just to be safe, I asked her. She told me she was done. Seriously she looked right at me and told me that she was finished. So I walked back to the car, got the toilet paper out again and returned. Then as I was wiping her bum she pooped on me. Freaking unbelievable!!

After driving all night and with no further incidents with the children, we arrived in South Dakota early the next morning. I was ready for a short break so we went and visited Mt. Rushmore. After leaving Mt. Rushmore we spent another day and a half traveling home. Between potty breaks, McDonald's playpens, fuel-ups, and Brock's feeding breaks we finally made it back home at 9pm Monday night. 25 hours to drive from Minnesota to Utah, 52 hours to drive from Utah to Minnesota.

Sunsets of Minnesota

As some of you may know, I love taking pictures of things, as long as the photo has no people. I sometimes wonder if this is something I get from my father. See my Dad hates being in photos. I have taken it a step further, I don't really like anyone being in my photos. But I really enjoy taking pictures of anything related to nature. Kasey does insist that I take pictures of the kids, and sometimes I will even put her in a picture. Here in Minnesota I am in an amateur photographers dream. We have the most beautiful sunsets and sunrises. So I decided to share some of the pictures that I've taken this past month of sunsets on the lake.

I just like how the colors came out on this one. Although I would never be caught wearing purple and orange(thank goodness I'm a Jazz fan and not a Suns fan) I think that in a sunset the two colors go together really well.

I caught this sunset through the trees and was worried that it wouldn't turn out well. But after loading it on the computer I decided that I kinda like it.

This is my favorite one, I really like how the clouds look like they are on fire and that same effect is reflected on the water.

Moving day.

We moved into a more permanent place this week. Great view of the lake and way more room. Ady was worried as we were packing up and decided she wanted to personally move a few of her things. Even though I explained to her that we were just going down the road, she didn't want to lose her stuff for another month. So here you see her with her favorite sippy cup, her princess Belle water bottle, her current favorite stuffed dog, in her hand is a purple ducky bath toy and a todder chew toy that she likes to give brock, and if you look closely at the pocket on her dress you will see that it is stuffed with things like bouncy balls and a fishing pamphlet that she got from me. Quite the character.
So on one hand you have the negative effect of having moved so much that our three year old fears for her toys when she sees us loading a box or suitcase. But on the other, we had as good a time as any Christmas morning with Ady when we unpacked our trailer and pulled out stuff that has been in boxes for either, one month(since leaving Utah), or 6 months(since leaving Hawaii), 2 and a half years(since leaving Key West), or for 4 and a half years(since moving to Key West and leaving stuff in storage). Ady loved finding her old stuff and things that she didn't know we had and even some that we had forgotten we had. Ady has an awesome sense of fashion(Kasey blames me since I dress her in crazy combinations on a regular basis). Here she is wearing purple snow boots(it was in the 80 degree range), a summer dress, several kukui nut leis, a cheap bead necklace, and a light jacket. To make it more interesting the boots are about 5 sizes too big, but she wore them all day long.

And finally here is Brock in his life jacket. He hates it and cries most of them time when it is on, but hopefully he will learn to adjust. I also think it wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have to lay him down in the bottom of the canoe and allowed him to look about.

When we were looking around for somewhere to move into for the summer we commented on the amount of open space around the apartment and mentioned that it would be good for Ady to have somewhere to run around. The landlord was right there and he quickly told us that she shouldn't be allowed to run around unsupervised. His tone wasn't suggesting that we wouldn't watch her, or that she would cause problems so I looked at him somewhat curiously. He then went on to inform us that wolves and bears in the area make it unsafe for children to just play outside unsupervised. We left the appointment and were discussing how odd a comment that was, and were sure that we'd never heard that line before when looking at an apartment. Kasey of course was worrying and asking me how many bears are in the area, do we need to worry much, do you think we'll ever see one, how many people get attacked each year... I immediately began to inform her that bear sightings are rare, and we'll probably never see a bear or wolf, and the guy was a little off his rocker. Just as I got done saying this I had to slam on my brakes as a bear came out of the woods in front of us and crossed the highway. Two days later I had to slow down for a wolf. I guess in Northern Minnesota you keep an eye on your kids when they are outdoors, and one eye on the woods.

Evening Canoe Rides

We have finally got a signed purchase agreement and have been pretty busy the last week or so trying to learn all we can about this business that we are getting involved in. In the evenings when things slow down we usually like to take a canoe out, and paddle around the lake or fish. Ady is so funny when we catch a fish. She wants to touch each fish but will close her eyes while doing so. She gets super excited when she sees the fish on the end of the line and starts screaming "fish, fish, fish" and we sometimes have trouble the canoe violently rocking as she will be moving all over the place trying to contain her excitement. Then as soon as we let the fish go adn watch it swim away she will turn to me and say, "again Dad, catch another please". She is a great fishing buddy. Last night we were out and I asked her what kind of fish should we catch and she said, "a big one, catch a big big fish Dad, okay?". As of yet, we have no big fish to report but together we are working on it.

Ady loves being out on the water, Brock, not so much. He does okay as long as we are paddling, but once we stop to fish, he starts to cry.

North Shore

So we have been here in Minnesota for 3 weeks now and we are still not sure if or when anything may happen with this business that we are trying to get involved with. We have spent the last 3 weeks holed up in a cabin that we are staying in, watching movies on our computer, driving into town to play at the park, and driving around the region enjoying the beauty of the Northwoods. The other day at the park we were blessed to overhear this conversation between a handful of 13 year-olds talking about some 9 year-olds who were playing baseball at the park.

13 year old number 1: "yo, check out those loser 9 year olds"
13 year old number 2: "yeah, for reals, how lame is that"
13 year old number 3: "remember when we were that young?"
13 year old number 1: "yeah, back then we thought that we we actually legit cool dudes, and now look at them, they think they are cool."
13 year old number 2: "don't worry when they get to be as old as we are, they will know how lame they are, and appreciate being as old as us"
13 year old number 3: "yeah, then they might actually be as legit and cool as we are now, but probably not, because they still won't be us."

Besides listening to conversations between 13 year olds, we took a day and drove the North Shore of Lake Superior. We drove up to the Canadian border and then followed the highway that runs along the coast of Superior. We started at the living history heritage site that is right on the border. There we toured the fort that has been restored, learned about the rendezvous where the trappers and Indians would get together, toured the facilities and stayed until Kasey was bored(she doesn't particularly like this sort of thing).
When we were touring the "Great Hall" at the fort we were told that sometimes hall was used to hold dances. The tables would be moved and the benches were moved to the sides to create space for the dancers. Ady heard the word dance and wanted to show that she doesn't need anyone to move tables or benches for her to be able to dance.


Next we visited a half a dozen water falls, one was half in Canada and half in the U.S. and was 130 feet tall. Some of the falls we stopped and hiked to see and some were visible from the roadside. This is a picture of how we hike.

We visited Split Rock Lighthouse, which was built to help ships navigate Lake Superior's rocky shores during storms(the year before the lighthouse was built 30 ships wrecked in one storm that had near 100 mile hour wind and 30 foot waves). Ady obliged us with this pose.
All in all, even though we are frustrated with the lack of progress with our business deal, we have taken time to enjoy our surroundings and the time with each other.

June Update

For starters, Brock had his big check-up on his heart this morning, and the results weren't exactly what we were hoping for. He will have to have another surgery, probably in the next few months. He acts and looks like a healthy baby, but it seems his heart still isn't working quite as well as it should.

As for our move to Minnesota, things haven't been fully finalized on the deal yet, so we aren't doing much with the new business yet, but are hoping that things will be taken care of by mid next week. Due to the confidentiality agreements and non-disclosure statements that we have signed we can't give exact details yet but we will be working at an outfitter in the Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness. For those of you who don't know, or didn't read about my trip last June, the BWCA is a large, 1.2 million acre, federal preserve that has been set aside for non-motorized outdoor recreational activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, canoeing and other such activities. Every summer roughly 200 thousand people enter the BWCA at various entry points that are designated and controlled via permits. Most of the people rent or bring a canoe and camping equipment and then will paddle through the BWCA. So what we will be doing is running an operation that will provide lodging the night before you depart and all the gear, food and equipment for your trip. We will also arrange for your permit, transport you to your drop-off site, set you up with a suggested route, answer any questions, and then pick you up at the conclusion of your trip and bring you back to the lodge for your vehicle and a shower. When we are legally able to, we will post the link to the company's website. If anyone is interested in going on such a trip, I will be going on 10 to 12 five day trips this summer in order to learn the most popular routes, fishing spots, and choice photographic points. I would prefer not to have to go on each trip by myself and would welcome any interested person as a "research" partner.

Since we have been here, we have been enjoying some of the local points of interest. One that we went to is the Wolf Center. It is a place where they educate people about wolves with exhibits, interesting presentations, and a wolf viewing area. Here is Brock hanging out at the viewing window.

We also went for a short hike on a trail near the cabin we are staying in and at the end of the trail was this 35 foot waterfall.

Road trip and Ambulance rides

Since we are moving to Minnesota to work full-time in a company that operates during the summer months, we realize that we won't be able to take summer vacations for the next 15 or 20 years. So we decided to route our drive through Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and enjoy a family road trip. Of course pulling a trailer with all our possessions and having two young children have greatly redefined our idea of the notion of a road trip. Of course we started out by leaving several hours later than planned, and had an unexpected stop to pick up a prescription refill in Evanston WY for Brock. On top of that, it seemed that we couldn't get the potty breaks and meal break to line up with each other and had to make stops in Randolph UT, and Afton WY. So instead of getting to our first stop early in the afternoon with time to relax and look around Jackson Hole Wyoming, we got there late in the evening, didn't get to see much, and had used price as our main factor in finding lodging and ended up driving for forever up this steep pass(pulling our overloaded trailer) that wasn't in our direct route. But Thursday morning we awoke, ready and determined to make up for the previous days mishaps and enjoy Grand Teton National Park. This is what we found.

Snow, and lots of it in a few places. Ady as you can see, wouldn't wear her coat even though it was in the low 50s and had to play in the snow even though she was wearing a skirt.

This is Jenny Lake, we really liked this place. It was so beautiful and peaceful. The water was perfectly flat and as you can see the reflection of the Tetons on the water was idyllic.

Here is another shot of Jenny Lake, I like this photo since you can see the rocks on the lake bottom through the extremely clear water.

This is shot from the side of the road of Jackson Lake with the Tetons behind the lake and a herd of elk grazing in a pasture.

We ate breakfast at Jackson Lake Lodge and Ady found this bear in one of the lobbies. She would stand in front of it, raise her hands and growl at it. I asked her what she thought of the bear, and she said "it is like a monster". Ady loves monsters, she loves the movie Monsters Inc. and loves playing monster, meaning that she runs around growling and chasing anything or anyone who will run away.

We finally made it to Yellowstone early afternoon and at first I was really disappointed. After the picturesque mountains and lakes of Grand Teton NP, the 2 feet of snow at the Southern entrance didn't go over well. Then we went to Old Faithful and my disappointment didn't improve. I felt that Old Faithful was overrated. Some think that it is the highlight and main attraction of Yellowstone, but it didn't connect with me. And all those crowds of people waiting around to see hot water be shot up. So we left to find something else to look at. And the next place was better. We found a bunch of Bison on the road and they had calves with them. Ady liked seeing the babies and mommy animals. We thought this was a real treat, with the calves and them being right on the roadside. But after about 40 more groups of animals right on the road and many with young, we realized that animals on the roadside wasn't a rare occurrence, still special just not rare.

Our next stop was these cool pools of boiling hot water that were this pretty blue color at the center, but then became almost any color the further you got from the center. Here is Ady again, and yes, once again she wouldn't wear her coat so yes, she is shivering in this picture.

This is the edge of one of those pools, and you can see that this one has orange and black lines going around it. Really neat designs and amazing colors at this place. The pool is being hidden by the steam.

Later, after waiting for construction on one of the passes we finally made it to Mammoth Hot Springs. The hike up was along a boardwalk and I swear there were a thousand steps. Which at the end of a long day of driving, and then hiking around at high altitude is bad enough, but with Ady wanting to be carried up each flight and then wanting to hold hands, count to 3 and jump down each individual step I had to tell myself a thousand times this had better be worth it. And it was.

This is the Canary Spring and we thought it was pretty cool. Another amazing natural formation. The colors, stepped-almost terraced pools and the water flowing over it all was really something to see.

This is the lower falls on the Yellowstone River in the Yellowstone Grand Canyon. Absolutely breathtaking, the fact that it was raining really hurt visibility and of course made a lousy photo, but was neat to see none the less.

After being so disapointed with the first impression of Yellowstone, I was really glad we went. I think that this picture is more of what I was expecting, you know--herds of buffalo grazing by a stream with a mountain in the background. The snow and Old Faithful got me off on the wrong foot, but in the end, I like Yellowstone and would love to go back.

Ady was fairly non-committal about most of the animals until we saw these bears. When she saw elk she just said they were big deer, and the buffalo were just big cows. But for the bears, she went nuts. "Wook, wook, mommy bear and two baby bears." She kept talking about these baby bears all day. We actually saw 3 sets of bears, one grizzly with cubs and the rest black bears.
We had planned on spending more time at Yellowstone, but Kasey hadn't been feeling well all day and she ended up waking me up in the middle of the night and said she needed to see a doctor. So we went down to the front desk and were told that the medical clinic is closed, but there is an EMT available at all times. So the EMT came over and after talking and a short examination Kasey was put in an ambulance and sent to Livingston Montana(the nearest hospital) and our Yellowstone Vacation was over. They thought that Kasey was going to need an emergency appendectomy, but after the internal abdominal images came back they found out that she had been passing a kidney stone. So now we are stuck in a motel in Montana that is right by the hospital, hoping that Kasey will be able to pass this stone soon.