Yellowstone, Pt. 3

On our second day in the park we visited the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. While certainly not as big as the one in Arizona, it is still impressive. Looking behind Derek and Sheridan, you can see the river running at the bottom of the canyon. The boys just couldn't resist climbing on the crazy tree in the bottom picture.

We really enjoyed the park, but one of these years, when the boys are bigger, I'd love to spend much more time and hike into some of the more remote areas as well as see the old favorites.

Yellowstone Pt. 2

We did get the kids out several times to hike around (here, at the Upper Geyser Basin), which everyone enjoyed, especially Mitchell who loved hanging out in the backpack. The bottom picture shows that there are still plenty of Bison to be found in Yellowstone. We also saw elk, but no bears and (to Sheridan's disappointment) no wolves.

Yellowstone National Park (Oct. 2007)

For our Fall Break, we went with the Christensens and rented a cabin in Island Park, ID and visited Yellowstone. In my mind, it was the perfect time to be there. The weather was cool and the crowds minimal. In the first picture, the kids rest while we wait for Old Faithful. Then, still waiting for Old Faithful, we saw Beehive Geiser go off. It was really quite impressive for as far away as it was. Then FINALLY, Old Faithful did decide to blow some steam.


Top: Quinn Christensen, Mitchell, Derek C., Marcus. Bottom: Caleb, Sheridan, Savanah C., Brooke C.

Marcus "the Hat" (10-2007)

The second picture shows Marcus how he looks almost every single day. The backwards baseball cap, so who knows what reason, has become his "signature" wardrobe piece, and he only parts from it on Sundays. I bought him a new knit cap, and he tried the double-cap look for a few days before I told him that one hat every day was more than sufficient for weather or wardrobe needs.

What once was lost. . .

I finally found the disk with family pictures that we took in Omaha, so here are a few. The first is the best we managed to get of our family. Caleb had just woken up and was in no mood for pictures. The second is the whole Harding Clan--and ALMOST everyone is actually looking at the camera. Will wonders never cease?

Presents, Bear Cake and a Smile.

Mitchell Turns 1!

Mitchell celebrated his first birthday on October 7th. He was still recovering from a week of gastro-intestinal infection, so he was a little subdued. But the boys and Addie and Drake enjoyed playing with Mitchell's presents. The last picture shows some of our family who celebrated with us. Mom is showing Marenda some pictures, Kalen is entertaining Kasen (or is it the other way around) while Liz looks on.

Two days after his birthday we took Mitchell in for his well-baby check and discovered that his illness had really taken a toll, and he weighed 1/2 pound less than he had at 9 months. He hasn't been chubby for several months, but over that last week, he'd gotten really skinny. Luckily, since this last weekend, his appetite has picked up significantly, and I think he's finally consented to using a sippy cup (after months of trying all kinds of different types of cups). Also, Mitchell is walking, although he's still much faster doing his ape-crawl, scoot, whatever you want to call it.

Mitchell and His Cake

This is my first attempt at including video, and I'm not sure it will work. Unfortunately the clip is a little long. Note Sheridan's reaction. It would seem he's easily entertained.

Sheridan Turns 10!

Sheridan made his birthday very easy on us this year. Instead of having a big party, Sheridan chose two friends to go with him and Marcus to The Museum of Ancient Life to see a 3-D IMAX dinosaur movie and pick out a treat on Satuday. On Sunday we had family over for dinner, Sheridan had a Pokemon treasure hunt (I got a crash course in Pokemon in order to prepare it --I don't think I'm a fan), and opened his presents (FINALLY! according to Sheridan). The last picture shows Sheridan trying to blow out his candles (on his chocolate eclair cake) using Marenda's clarinet. Sheridan has gotten really interested in instruments lately and was really thrilled to find out that Marenda still had her clarinet from high school and that she would loan it to him. We bought him some new reeds as part of his birthday, and now he's (sort of ) teaching himself to play. The big orange snake is my answer to his request for a pet corn snake. He didn't specify that it had to be a living snake--I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.
Sheridan at 10 is a really fun kid. He's so very smart, but I appreciate how good he is to his brothers, how willing he is to help out, and to do what we ask of him. I admire how he believes he can do anything and isn't afraid of much at all. For me, I can't believe it's been ten years since I was mother to the worlds easiest baby ever. The easiest baby has grown into such a good kid--and a handsome one too.

How I Get Dinner Made (9-07)

I think these pictures pretty much speak for themselves. If he wasn't so darn cute. . .