Half-Family Vacation

My family (brothers, sisters, parents, nieces, nephews, etc.etc.) all went to Yellowstone last week. We made reservations back in January for our cabin (which was very nice and amazingly big enough for all of us). The problem is, as vacation time drew closer, Aaron found out that he had a major business conference that week in Houston and my brother-in-law, Scott, accepted an internship in Austin. Since they were both in Texas, they were not able to come with us, which was hard on Monica and I.

I wasn't very excited about taking all five kids on vacation by myself and was very grateful when Aaron's parents offered to keep Savanah and Vanessa. Lauren always wanted more girls in the house. All three girls were happy when they left for their own adventure in Idaho. Although, I think it was more of an adventure for Grandpa and Grandma.The boys enjoyed spending time with their cousins. One night at the cabin, the boys taught them how to play their version of Risk (Line up all the armies, roll the dice, and the ones knocked over are dead.)
My youngest niece joined in the fun on vacation. Ethan loved to hold Holly at during every meal so Monica could eat. He loves babies.

The kids did great for the entire trip. They spent a lot of time the car over 4 days. I was very impressed. They all seemed to have a great time especially on the hikes. It was strange when I had only three heads to count and I wasn't chasing Vanessa down the trail. I could imagine her jumping into the hot pots. I did miss my girls, however.

This what I called the Advance Party. The older kids wanted to hike the trails at a little bit faster pace than most of the family. Luckily, my sister Laurann was willing to go ahead with them. She was the cool aunt that let them run ahead. I was the annoying mom that wanted to keep them in sight just in case there was a bear or kidnapper or both around the next corner. At one point, she was pulling several of them along by the straps of her backpack when they became exhausted. (Running uphill will do that to a person.)

The boys seemed to have really enjoy themselves. I enjoyed the time with them and my family. So, for half of our family, it was a great family vacation!