More pictures from Yellowstone...

Thought I should post some pictures with people in them (except for the wildflower picture...that one's for you Grandmommy).

Today, I begin my last year in my forties and so I have to figure out how to grow up and be mature before next summer! I've got my work cut out for me but it is a noble goal!

Frenchtown visit

Frenchtown was hot! Vic moved the dining room table to the back yard so there was plenty of room for everyone and great food at every meal. We went tubing on the Delaware and pontooning on Lake Nockamixon. We had a visit at Lisa's. I went north for a few days and spent the last day in New York City where I had lunch with Victoria and Janet in the beautiful Bryant Park which you can see in the background from Princess Victoria's office. I am sure others will have more photos to share.

Jane in Italy and Greece

What a once in a lifetime adventure for me. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. We started our trip to the ancient city of Pompeii, the two other faculty members and I are overlooking the bay of Napoli (Naples), then you see me inside the Coliseum in Rome, the roof tops of Athens and the ancient and beautiful island of Santorini one of the Cyclades islands off the coast of Greece (don't you just love the waterbottle). This is just the quick tour. There is so much to share I could spend days telling. My pics are not a wonderful as yours Lori. I enjoyed catching up with your clan - Yellowstone looks and sounds fantastic. We all will have to share our stories when we get together next. There's more to come. Kaitlin has a lot of pics from her cruise to the Carribean islands and we will post the visit to New Jersey soon. We all had a blast, tubing on the Delaware, biking on the bike paths everyday, party boat on Lake Nockamixon , a day on the beautiful Jersey shore, some of us did museums in NYC one day, and lazy afternoons on Vicki's front porch watching the world go by was what we all needed.

Talk again soon. Love to all.

Yellowstone is Awesome!

Our trip to Yellowstone was amazing! I really didn't know what to expect (I knew Old Faithful was there but that's about it). The park is definitely a geologist's dream park...mud volcanos, erupting geysers, bubbling paint pots, and steaming, hissing bodies of water everywhere. It is huge and encompasses the beautiful Yellowstone Lake. We took hikes to lakes, waterfalls, geysers and cliffs. We saw bison (on our way in and on our way out, they were walking up the road and we were close enough to reach out and touch one), elk, deer, one black bear, chipmunks, a bald eagle and many beautiful wildflowers! Our cabin was equipped with a microwave and portable burner so we were able to eat breakfast there. We took a picnic with us each day and ate out every night. I will include only a few of our 250 pictures! We hope to go back years down the road and see all the changes in the park. It is a dynamic, changing place. Much of the forests have been burned and the new growth is only about 20 years old so it's probably a new experience every time you go there. On our 2nd day we hiked to a lake and while there a storm blew in. The kids were ahead of Jim and I and both groups were looking for a second path we thought was there. When the wind kicked up we heard snapping trees. The kids were positioned in a spot that allowed them to actually see about 40 trees snap all at once. Thankfully, they were not too close! We headed back up the trail we had already come since we never did find the continuation loop.

I hope you all had a blast in New Jersey! We talked about next year and would love to do a North Carolina beach trip. I am going to get busy finding a huge house for all of us and hope you will all plan to come. If you have any input on month and week, that would be great! Jim and I will pay for the house rental. Please post pictures and let us know how your week went!

Happy 4th!

We had a great time at the Rockies game last night (Rockies beat the Marlins in the 11th inning...6 to 5). After the game we walked over to the apartment that serves as the office for the Dry Bones Ministry and watched the fireworks show following the game. The apartment faces the stadium on the side where the pyrotechnics were launched. We had the best seats in the house and it was amazing! My camera did not take very good pictures of the fireworks but my friend Karen got some good ones so when she emails them to me, I will add them to this post! We are going to a cookout at a friend's house tonight and will watch more displays from their backyard as they are just across from the race track. Bandemere always puts on a good show! Happy 4th to you all!

Before the game Jim, Eric, Lauren and I went to the Chop House for Eric's birthday dinner. Our meal was delicious and we all went to the game stuffed! I've included a picture of Eric and Lauren at the dinner table! Love you...

The Missing Link...Eric

Since Eric hasn't been with us in any of our pictures for a long time, I made him stand still for a few minutes tonight so that you could see that he is still around and looking dapper. Tomorrow is his 22nd birthday. He wanted a long board (skateboard) to get around on because of the high gas prices so we bought one today at the Outlet Mall. Now all he needs is a job to ride it to! He has moved down from Ft. Collins and is living with us until he gets back in school at one of the local Denver colleges. He plans to go back this fall. He is thinking about a major in journalism. But that's today and there are many more tomorrows before he actually finishes school so who knows! We are going to dinner downtown tomorrow night and then to the Rockies game to celebrate his big day. The game will end with the big 4th of July fireworks display! (He always gets fireworks for his birthday!)

Adam is coming to Colorado on the 12th to go to Yellowstone with our family. We are looking forward to the five of us being together that week. He and Katie are "taking a break" from their relationship due to some reoccuring issues but they plan to continue talking and trying to work through those when their family vacations are over. Adam was suppose to go with her family today on their vacation to Washington state but that changed with the decision to break up. So, instead of our sailing trip we were trying to take for Jim's 50th, we are settling for something that didn't take as much forward planning since both boys didn't think they could make it for the sail trip.

Guess that's all for now. We are babysitting Sophie's brother this week so I am letting dogs in and out all day long! Have a great 4th! Love you all...Lori