Glorious Weekend?

OK, so it's been a while since I last blogged. Can I just say that I was busy? But that is not much of an excuse, because I know that everyone is busy, but oh well, that is my excuse. Since the last I blogged I walked a 10K. I probably could have run the 5K, (well, walk/run/mostly walk), but I wanted to walk with DeAnn and it was fun. I loved it. There was a point that I got a hitch in my side, but then I just got in a groove and I couldn't seem to stop. And we only had a little rain fall on us, so really, it wasn't bad. I think I'll sign up for the series next year, there are about five different events, and I think it would just be good for me.

I have been doing more and more canning. If I never look at a water bath again I'll be happy. Just kidding. So I did all of those quarts of applesauce with Brittany, which was wonderful. But then I canned another 12 quarts of applesauce for the Mennears. Then, on the day that I walked the 10K, I helped DeAnn with peaches. We did a dozen pint jars of peaches, and then four batches of peach jam. Yummo!!! That was totally fun, and I have peach jam to add to my collection. Then, my good friend Susan Mennear brought me two boxes of pears from the Nampa area, so guess what I got to do. That's right, I canned pears. And all by myself. I got a total of 19 quarts, then I cooked the rest down and I'm going to make some outstanding pear butter with the pulp. I just hope that it turns out. And then tonight, Chad and I are going to pick more apples. Because 22 quarts just aren't enough.

This last weekend Chad and I decided to get out of town. The weather was supposed to be wonderful and we wanted to take advantage of his three day weekend. So we made a reservation for Friday night at The Grey Wolf Inn & Suites in West Yellowstone. We've stayed there before and it wasn't too bad, a good price but your typical hotel room. Well, after taking the scenic route to West, ie going to Cave Falls and Mesa Falls, we got into West and it was dark but not too late. We got in our room, and all we could smell was urine. And it wasn't one of our boys. I think they might have had a plumbing problem and just didn't replace the carpet afterwards. So anyway, we are looking at each other knowing that we can't stay in that room and Chad goes down to the front desk to tell them there is a problem. They tell him there are no more rooms, give him a bottle of Febreeze, and tell him that if he wants to check out it is ok and they will not charge us for that room. Very nice of them if I must say. Well, there is no phone book in the room, but luckily we have a AAA book for Montana in the car. Chad starts calling around and it is looking like we can get a room for about $139. I had looked into a place called Hibernation Station earlier in the week, but the rooms were going for around $149, and we didn't want to spend that much at the time, but our circumstances had changed. Their number was not in the book, but I told Chad to just drive down and see if they have a vacancy. Guess what, they did, and for a lot cheaper than $149. So we checked out of The Grey Wolf, and checked into http://www.hibernationstation.com/. It was very nice. Our room had three queen beds, a kitchen and a fireplace. And when we walked into the room, Benjamin said, "Oh, it's magical". And now he wants to stay in the log home all the time. Go figure. Well, dinner that night was McDonald's in the room, but that was ok. Then, all night I fought with Matthew because he was cutting teeth and was waking up every hour wanting to fall off of the bed. I ended up putting the sheet on the floor with lots of pillows around us and threw the comforter over us. I did get a very good 30 minute nap between 7 am and 7:30. But what more does a mom need? So the next morning we had a lovely breakfast at The Running Bear, then off to Yellowstone Park. We thought we were being sneaky with having an annual pass, but as it turned out, it was free Yellowstone day, so everyone got in for free. Since it was a quick trip, (we were just coming home that night), we only went to the Firehole Drive and then Black Sand Basin, Old Faithful, and then onto Jackson, Palisades and home. And no, we didn't stop for square ice cream because we had some at Old Faithful. We didn't see very much wild life, but we got to see some gorgeous trees around the Jackson Reservoir. We got home around 9 pm, and I still had to make the birthday treats for Young Women's the next day, so I made a loaf of Cinnamon Streusel Bread, a loaf of Lemon Poppy Seed Bread, and a batch of Zucchini Brownies. Not bad for one day. I am just so glad that we went on this trip. Both Chad an I desperately needed it.

So, here's some pictures from the trip.

The first two are at Cave Falls. I remember going to Cave Falls with my dad when I was younger, and it was always so cool to be able to get into Yellowstone National Park without having to pay. Well guess what, they now make you pay. Or maybe they did before and we never did. Chad remembers Cave Falls being free also, so maybe our dad's just didn't want to pay. Oh well. I love the picture of Benjamin by himself. He was balancing one foot on a rock and I had taken a series of three pictures. This one was by far the cutest.

The next picture is from the trip home. Matthew was eating something, a cereal bar maybe, and it was just so cute where he stuffed the whole thing in his mouth, still holding his pacifier, and it would have been cuter had I gotten the camera on quicker, but oh well. What you see is what you get.

This last picture is from the Jackson Lake area. We were just driving and there were all these cars pulled over to the side of the road, and when we came around the corner, bam, there it was. The tree was on fire. Well, the colors were on fire. So we stopped and Chad took some pictures. Of course, our camera does not do it justice, but you get the picture.