Vacation Day 2

On Monday, August 12, we began day 2 of our family vacation. We woke up at the nice hotel in Great Falls, Montana and ate their continental breakfast. Then we drove to see Grandma and Grandpa Parsons one last time at their home before saying goodbye. Grandpa was out doing errands that morning, so we just visited with Grandma and gave her our goodbye hugs.

 

Our next part of the trip was not pleasant; every family vacation has some rough time, right? After we drove away from Grandma's house, we decided we'd go buy an additional speaker for the car DVD player, because the kids were having a hard time hearing the movies I'd brought along, and we only have 2 earphones--not 4. Josh wanted to go a store that had electronics, but he took the wrong exit off the freeway. It led us to downtown, and we drove for a couple miles, driving through construction, and there were no stores of any type on that road. So, we turned around and went back to the freeway to take the first exit that we passed. Then we drove to Office Max, but there was construction in the parking lot, so we had to park a fair distance from the store and Josh walked in. He purchased a speaker, and returned to the car. Then we discovered it was the wrong type. So he went back inside and exchanged the speaker for the right kind. When he brought that one to the car, we realized it had to be charged before it would ever work. We wasted about an hour driving around and obtaining the speaker! This really stressed me out because my plan was to spend the night camping at Glacier National Park, which is a first come/first serve basis, but the campgrounds had been filling up by 11:00 each day. By the time we left Great Falls, it was after 10am, and I knew that we'd probably be out of luck when we arrived at the Park, which was over 2 hours away.

 

And I was right. When we arrived at Glacier, the campgrounds were completely full. We stopped at the Visitor's Center, and looked over lists of nearby campgrounds while we ate lunch of nachos (that I brought from home), and made a decision for where we would stay that night. We ended up staying at a small campground a few miles from the east side of the park instead. We did a first for a family: spent the night in tents all together because this was the most cost-conservative way for us to go to Glacier again. We drove to the campground, and set up our tents. We weren't sure if we'd be returning before it was dark, and we didn't want to have to put everything together without light! We put up the tents and got everyone's sleeping bags, blow-up mattresses, and pillows all situated inside the two tents: one for Josh, me, and Kanyon, and the other for the 3 older boys. 

Then we headed to the Many Glacier entrance of the park--a part that we didn't go to last year when we went to Glacier. We went on a hike to the Red Rock Falls, which was 4 miles roundtrip. It was a very family-friendly trail, but it was very hot that day!

At the very beginning of the trail, there was this awesome funky-shaped tree!

 

It was our first big walk in the National Park on our family vacation, and we were so proud of Kanyon for keeping up with us! He only had to ride on Josh's shoulders once on the way back to the car!

 

The air was hazy during this walk, so it's hard to see the distance on film that we could see with our eyes from this open viewpoint along the trail.

 

I loved this little section of the walk with all the plant and tree growth. It was so beautiful and serene!

 

After a mile and a half, we reached the Red Rock Lake. The water was clear, and the coloring of the glacier rocks was so appealing! I love how you can see the red, brown, green, then blue coloring of the lake. So gorgeous!

 

The boys skipped rocks for a while at the lake--Ammon did pretty good, but Josh got the best rock skipping score! Kanyon posed on this rock and asked for a photo, and I was glad to oblige--it was nice to have a boy who requested photos, because there was another boy who made a scowly face every time I said I wanted to take a picture. Can you figure out which one it was from the photo above?!

 

When it began to get crowded with other people around the lake, we continued our hike to the Red Rock Falls. The boys ran ahead of us, and Josh and I were walking together. Two men who were walking the opposite direction said "Are those your 4 boys ahead?", and we told them that they were ours! Then one of the men said "Because we passed 2 grizzly bears not too long ago, so it would be a good idea to stick close to your children". We knew that there had been some recent grizzly activity in the park, and they'd had to close a campground completely down because of it. But we were a little nervous that they were reported so close to where we were. Josh and I were very anxious after that until we reached the falls, less than a 1/2 mile later. Thankfully, the boys had arrived safely there, and we didn't see the grizzlies!

The Red Rock Falls were fantastic, and the hike was definitely worth it! This was my favorite waterfall that we saw at the park this year--because the red rocks surrounding it are all accessible and you can climb all around it. I loved seeing the view of the falls, lake, and mountains from different points on the rocks. I loved watching my boys climb, and I really felt like we were a part of nature!

 

 

We climbed on the rocks for about a half hour, then we began the 2-mile return trek on the trail to the parking lot. Since it was so hot, we were happy to have cold drinks waiting in the cooler of the car! We ate dinner (sandwiches that I'd made earlier that day) as we drove to our next destination in the park. We went to the St. Mary Entrance, and drove to the trailhead of the St. Mary Falls. We walked almost a mile from the road to reach the waterfall. Once again, the boys ran ahead of Josh and I, and when we were approaching the falls, we could see little signs next to the trail that said things like "Don't walk through the trees! Stay on the Path!"--and when we got to the waterfall, we could see our boys across the water from us because they didn't see the signs and went exactly where they shouldn't.

If they had slipped and fallen into the water, there's no way we could've reached them in time. We were across the bridge and above the falls on some larger rocks, and there was a whirlpool right below where they were standing.

So we yelled at them to come right back to the trail and across the bridge to where we were so they could be safe. They all followed directions, but Ammon wasn't happy about being told what to do...as evident again by his facial expressions here:

See how Micah is holding onto his shoulder in the above photo? As soon as they came back to us, they still wanted to get closer to the water, so they climbed down the rocks (with Josh going with them this time), and it was wet from the water and Micah slipped and got hurt. That was kind of like the "See!! Mom & Dad KNOW what they're talking about!" moment. The boys continued on the hike ahead of us again, since they couldn't hang out or climb the rocks around this waterfall like they could on the Red Rock waterfalls earlier in the day. Josh and I stayed behind just a few minutes admiring the beautiful blue water. It was so breathtaking to behold!

 

About a half mile down the trail after the St. Mary Falls are the Virginia Falls. They are series of steep, narrow waterfalls.  We stopped at the lowest one on the trail for a few minutes to catch up with the boys.

Then we continued upward to the next several falls. We stopped at the last one where the trail veers away from the water, and Josh and the boys climbed over rocks while I dipped my feet in the crystal-clear, relaxing, cold water.

 

 

After they were done exploring the area, then the boys returned to where I was at, and some of them joined me in dipping their feet, too!

We began our trek back to the car, walking along the trail. The boys ran ahead of us (again!!), and Josh and I enjoyed the peaceful surroundings. It wasn't as busy on this trail as the Red Rock trail had been earlier in the day, and we felt like we were walking through a secluded rainforest. There were lots of wild raspberry bushes, and we both picked a couple along the way there were ripe enough to eat!

As we were approaching the final stretch of the return hike, the sun was beginning to set and it was just perfect coloring! The beauty of the surroundings were enhanced by the shades of color from the sky!

Unfortunately, when we got back to the car along the road, the boys were not there. We began to panic--they had been ahead of us, and we'd never passed them. We were worried that they were hiding somewhere, or that perhaps they'd been kidnapped alongside the road, or that a Grizzly Bear had taken them, or that they'd drowned--all fears of things that could potentially happen. But the most likely explanation was that they took a wrong turn on the trail--there were a few different trailheads that began on the trail we'd taken to see the two waterfalls. It was getting late, and there was no cell service in the park where we were at, and we didn't know what to do. Josh decided to backtrack on the trail, and I would drive down to where one of the other trails ended. As I was getting into the car, I yelled out (with my super loud voice): "TOLMAN BOYS!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!!", and several hundred feet away, I could hear "Down here!". They had taken the wrong trail, like we figured, but we couldn't see them due to the dense plants. They said they were going backwards on the trail until it met up with the original trail. Josh and I waited at the car for 15 minutes before they finally arrived. They had walked an additional mile!!!

We explained to them how dangerous this whole situation was for them, and they couldn't grasp the implications of why--since they had all stayed together and nothing dangerous happened in our absence. It was so frustrating for Josh and I. So we drove down the road to our final destination of the day, and made them wait in the car for us, since we couldn't trust them any longer to stay by us or make clear decisions regarding their own safety. Josh and I only had to walk a couple hundred feet from where we parked to see the Sunrift Gorge.

Then we decided to walk to one more waterfall--the Baring Waterfalls. We enjoyed our peaceful, quiet 1/2 mile walk together. This waterfall wasn't as big or bold or blue or red as the other ones we'd seen that day, but the walk and the bridge crossing to see them felt adventurous! And I enjoyed the alone time with my husband!

 

Josh and I were gone from the kids in the car for about half hour. Due to some construction again this summer on the Going-to-the-Sun road, it is closed each night at 9:00. So after we returned to the car, we drove back to the St. Mary Entrance, got some refreshments and souvenirs, and returned to our camping spot for the night.

It was a super long night--the owners of the campground had dogs that barked all night, and several rain & thunderstorms passed overhead throughout the night. We all slept terribly! It was a first for us (staying all in tents), but it's definitely something we won't be doing again in the near future!

Day 2 of our vacation had some frustrating times, but I was so glad to be at Glacier Park again. It's hard to feel stressed or angry for too long when you're surrounded by so many of God's gorgeous creations!

Vacation Day 1

We set off in the morning of Sunday, August 11 for our much-anticipated family vacation. I had made preparations for months--planning the agenda and making things for the kids to do in the car. Everyone packed their bags and helped  me pack the car on Saturday, and I felt so ready when we drove away, and looked forward to getting away with my family!

 

I got several DVD's for the kids to watch in the car, made clipboard packets with car bingo, coloring sheets with cool new markers, the license plate game, and maps of our itinerary included in them. The kids requested that I also make large bags of trail mix for them like I did for our family vacation last year. They told me all the things they'd like included, such as marshmallows, m&m's, gummy bears, and raisins. It was enough to keep them busy during the driving parts of the trip!

 

On the first day of vacation, we drove to Butte Montana, and stopped for lunch. Then we continued on to Great Falls to visit Josh's Grandma and Grandpa Parsons. We got there late in the afternoon and spent about 2 hours at their house. Josh visited with his grandpa, the boys looked at photo books, Grandma showed me her awesome sewing machine and computer system, and the boys liked playing with their dog.

 

We had a nice time visiting them at their home! We are so blessed to know our grandparents and to have the opportunity for our children to know them, too. I like our tradition of visiting grandparents each summer!

Grandma and Grandpa treated us to a buffet dinner at the Golden Corral that evening. We rarely eat at buffet restaurants with the kids, so this was such a treat! The boys loved being able to pick their own meal items, and dessert especially excited them! They were so happy that cotton candy was available, and jell-o was a huge hit with them too!

 

Grandma also treated us to exquisite accommodations at a hotel in Great Falls that night. Our room had 2 queen beds and a couch with another pull-out queen bed, so everyone was able to sleep in beds that night (usually kids are sleeping on the floor when we stay in hotel rooms). It was a super nice room! And when we first walked in, the kids were all oohing and ahhing!

The hotel also had a really nice swimming pool, complete with a big waterslide, a kiddie slide, and a hot tub. We spent almost two hours playing in the water that night.

We felt like we were treated like royalty! It was such a relaxing afternoon & evening, and we were so appreciative to Grandma and Grandpa for their hospitality! After we were tired of swimming, soaking, and sliding, we headed back up to the room and watched TV until everyone fell asleep. Day 1 of our vacation had gone so well and we all slept great in the comfy beds of the nice hotel.

Camping with a Cool Crowd

For the 2nd year in a row, our ward had a family campout. It was during the second weekend of August at the same place as last year: Twin Creeks Campground (past Gibbonsville about 45 minutes away). We arrived at the campground late that afternoon and set up our trailer at one of the designated camping spots. We got there right after a big hailstorm came through the area, so the ground was still covered in white. The large group area was wet and the weather was cold during dinnertime. Despite the cooler temperatures, though, we had an enjoyable time. The food (hamburgers and LOTS of salad and dessert choices) was so yummy, and we had a great time visiting and laughing with others from our ward.

When the kids were done eating dinner, they started wandering around and playing with their friends from the ward while the adults finished dinner & visited for a bit.

The Primary Presidency was in charge of games for kids that evening. There's a grassy area near the dinner spot that they set up 3 different activities for the kids to play. The youth divided themselves into 3 teams and had a competition. Jonah, Micah, and Kanyon were all on the same team.

The first game was to throw a hula hoop and try to make it around a balloon that was stuck into the ground. There were several balloon targets, and different balloons were worth various point values.

(I love their faces in the next one--the hula hoop popped the balloon target!)

The second game was to throw a noodle through a hole. There were several holes for them to shoot through (made out of taped noodles), and each hole had a different point value again.

 

The last game was kind of like bowling--the pins were cups turned upside down, and the ball was balloons. They blew up the balloons, and let them loose towards the cups set up on a table. They earned points for how many cups they could knock over with their deflating balloons!

The kids had a great time playing games! The Primary Presidency did a great job of having fun activities for the kids to keep them entertained! As it started getting dark, lots of people left to go back to Salmon. There were several other families that stayed overnight there like us, and Brother Shinderling (a counselor in the Bishopric) had a nice fireside program about stars and told a Greek story about a constellation that some of the kids acted out. It was a great program!

The primary kids all received glow-in-the-dark bands that night, and that kept them busy playing the dark for even longer!

 

There's a new family in our ward, the Allen's, and their kids kept wanting to roast marshmallows for others, but didn't want to eat them. Their marshmallows looked identical after each roasting: black/brown on top and bottom and white in the middle! I ate several of them...

Apparently the black/white combination of marshmallow in my mouth looked awful, and Amanda said "Show me your teeth" and took this photo. Then I started singing some of the words to Lady Gaga's song "Show Me your Teeth", and was kicked by my husband to stop because Lady Gaga is inappropriate to sing with kids around! Lady Gaga's music isn't your traditional campfire song!

When it got late, we went back to our trailer and the boys and I played a few rounds of SkipBo before we went to bed. I love playing card games when we go camping! And I like teaching my boys how to play them so they can play with me, too. Kanyon has watched us play enough times that he can even now play with us as well!

The next morning, we were treated to a nice breakfast of pancakes, sausages, and eggs. There were a lot less of our ward members in attendance at that meal. We had a great time hanging out with those that were there, though!

Thankfully, several of our boys' friends stayed overnight, so they were happy to run around and play all morning! Here's 3 of my boys with the twins' friend Blake...can you see all 3 even despite the camouflage?!

Do you still see 2 of my camo boys?!

One of their favorite activities was finding sticks in the forest!

While the boys walked around and played with their sticks and friends, I played Phase 10 with Ammon, Amanda, and a young woman Keyra. The only time I ever play Phase 10 is when we go camping, because it's the monopoly of card games---too long! We played for hours, until it was time to leave! Brother Jones wanted to get rid of all the extra sausages that he had left over, so he brought some to us, and since our hands were busy, we put them in our mouths. We sort of looked like Poker players, if you know what I mean...

I seriously LOVED this year's ward campout! It was relaxing, fun, and we all had a great time! I enjoy camping with others, and the boys had so much fun hanging out with their friends at the campground, plus there was a lot of good food and a lot less dishes to clean since we went as a group, too!