Trip to Yellowstone!

Rachael just got back yesterday from a few fun-filled days in Yellowstone with family!  

We drove (6 hours, not bad) - we had a lot of fun in the car goofing around and at pit stops I made sure to drop off our adoption pass-along cards!

It was SO fun and I haven't been for years, so everything was so new and exciting all over again!  It probably would still seem new and exciting to me no matter how recent I had been.  The sights are so majestic and the animals so amazing!  

Isn't it just beautiful!?!

Me and: waterfall, buffalo, elk and another waterfall.

First, we went to Bear World!

The bears were so cool!  They had a lot of other animals there too, and they even had a little petting zoo area for the kids, and a few rides too!

We stayed in a fun cabin, played games and talked until late in the night and then got up early to start each day!  It was so much fun!  The only thing missing was Brandon, poor fella had to work.

Our fun cabin

We saw a TON of Buffalo!

This video is at 'Dragon's Mouth Cave'.  It sounded like a fire breathing dragon when the smoke/steam would come out.  

Old Faithful is always a classic!

Old Faithful ... a classic!

I took a video of Old Faithful ... we were so excited to see it, that we stayed and watched it twice!

The last stop on our trip was Mammoth ... my favorite!  I fell in here when I was a little kid, thank heavens my dad saved me!  I think Mammoth is so beautiful and super cool!

What a fun trip!

What we've been up to

Here's a quickie post to let you know what we've been up to lately!  And, by the way, have I mentioned how much I love summer?!?  I really do!  I especially love spending time with Brandon, my family,  and getting out for some fun!

* Me, my mom, my sister and her kids love getting out to go shopping!
* Making home-made pies!  I gotta tell ya, I make a mean pie crust!  I made my parents a lemon meringue pie and I made Brandon a sweet potato pie the other day, all from scratch! Yum!
* We bought a shed for a little more storage.  It took me and Brandon a fair amount of time to build it, but we did it, and it's awesome!  And it looks like Diesel thought it was his new dog house.
* On the weekend anniversary of the time Brandon first proposed (3 years ago), he got a ring and proposed again.  What a sweet, and romantic tradition.
* Sometimes when I get bored, I like to play around with make-up!

Our Pets

I realized today that we have never done an 'official' post all about our cute pets!

She is such a beautiful cat!

Lucy is pretty quiet and likes to keep to herself but she often comes out to play with Maya on the stairs, or snuggle up by Rachael or Brandon's feet!  Lucy thinks she's in charge of the water in the bathroom - especially in the morning!  Every morning she begs for a drink from the tub, and whenever Rachael takes a bath, Lucy insists on being in the room and sitting on the side of the tub!  Lucy also thinks that if we bring home a paper or bag, then it's for her and we find her laying on (or in) whatever it is! She is so funny!

We used to have a BEAUTIFUL and friendly dog named Diesel - an English Mastiff (pictured with Lucy above).  We miss his sweet personality very much around our house - he and Lucy were quite the good buddies. :)

Happy Birthday Rach!

I had the best birthday last week, and Brandon spoiled me, of course! I woke up to birthday music playing and the house all decorated!

Top: Me with the decorations, Left: birthday cake, Right: blowing out my BIG candle

After opening presents and crepes at IHOP, Brandon took me for a WHOLE DAY of shopping!! And ... I mean a whole day - Brandon took me anywhere I wanted to go; I was in heaven! And that night we grabbed some burgers and went to the drive-in! We saw 'What to Expect When You're Expecting". It was a cute movie, and of course, I cried like a baby over the adoption story in the movie. 

I took this pic while we were waiting for the movie to start and even though it's a little fuzzy, I love how it turned out ... can you see Brandon?

Anyway, best birthday ever!