The Caffeinated Starbucks Gang

As sorry as we are to have our week close - we're excited about heading home and seeing everyone again. Typical for this family is to be doing something on our vacation down to the last minute. So why would it be different on this trip?

We hung out at Yellowstone today for as long as we could and took pictures of some Geysers. We also caught a lot of wildlife roaming around in the valleys.

We also went to the Wild West Yellowstone Rodeo show and had a great time.

We did try to get into trouble in the streets of West Yellowstone, Montana but to no avail. The town closes up at 10pm. So after our ice cream desserts we headed back to the hotel to pack up our stuff, crawl into our jammies and set our alarms for 4:30am! Yuck!

The goal is to get home by 5pm in order to....yeah, you got it...REST! Then on Saturday we get to turn around and head out to Sam's swim meet in Woodland.

Well - I've had fun documenting some of our trip moments. I'm signing off now and I'll see you all soon.

Cyndi

It feels like we've been on the road forever but we've been having so much fun. We've checked in to our hotel in West Yellowstone, Montana and will be here until Friday morning. Today we hit a Ghost Town, saw Old Faithful and walked past several geysers in Yellowstone. Oh my gosh- are they something to look at but boy do they SMELL!!!

We saw wildlife such as Buffalo (Claudia's poem to follow) and Elk. I can't believe how beautiful this place is.
I'm almost sad to leave but at the same time these tired, old bones are looking forward to my own bed and a long hot shower followed by lots of hair product and a blowdryer.

I have to say, I don't think I've seen Chris smile as much as he has than during this trip. Well - our wedding day. You could tell he was having fun watching all of us have fun.

Tomorrow we'll do some more siteseeing in Yellowstone and then we're off to a Rodeo. Looking forward to it. I suppose this entire trip has just been a pure case of "open mind, new experiences." I've been so happy traveling with this pack. No high maintenance, no complaining. It's been great!

Cyndi

Oh the wily buffalo.
Stealthy as a cat,
I snuck up behind you.
Should not have tried to pat.

Your curly, dusty fur
Was just too much temptation;
With a snort you turned
And pawed the ground with determination.

I wore my running shoes,
For which I'm thankful tons.
For as you charged
I reached the car
With only bitemarks on my buns.

By Claudia, Her Royal Highness, Queen of the Midnight Snack

There once was a family of five
who took a very long drive.
Good-looking and swell,
though did not pleasant smell.
To bathe daily they did not strive.

-Claudia the Magnificent Aunt and Even Better Sister

Hi everyone back home!

We've been so busy these past few days it's been unbelievable! Where to start? We've traveled hours in the truck, eaten Buffalo Burgers, lived through an AWESOME thunderstorm at Devil's Tower, visited Grandma (she's a card shark don't let the smile fool you), viewed Mount Rushmore, walked through the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, celebrated Chris' B-day, and climbed Devil's Tower. And we're not done yet either.

Tonight we're going to a gun fight, a cowboy music revue, tour a Ghost Town and tomorrow YELLOWSTONE!!!!!

Hugs and kisses to you all. See you soon.

Claudia and I did try piggybacking off of someone else's internet connection last night at Grandma's (sorry Josh) and it didn't work. Goes to show when you try to take the easy way - it doesn't turn out to be the easy way!

I'm including new pics and some video. We've gotten so much footage!

Cyndi