The Pollard Place: June: Yellowstone

We started this month off right! We had been planning a trip to Yellowstone for a while, and it was finally time! I hadn't been since I was in middle school, and Rusty was in elementary school. We had a great time! Yellowstone is one of my favorite National Parks, and I have been to a lot and love a lot. So that is saying something! It just has a little bit of everything, and Henry sure loved every second of it. We left early Friday morning and left Sunday. When we first got there we saw a herd of buffalo and Henry was so excited! He pulled out his binoculars just like we did, but he had his backwards. :)

Our first stop was for Old Faithful. It was rainy, but we saw the geyser go off! Henry thought it was awesome, and Adeline was less than impressed haha.

Next we stopped by the Grand Prismatic Spring. That was something that we were so excited to see! It was really cool and walking on the boardwalks we would get gusts of steam and then the cold wind after. Because it was so windy, we couldn't really see the Spring very well. So we did the best we could, but we came back another day to see it again.

That night was COLD! We had dinner and then climbed into bed. I had the kids in their winter clothes and lots and lots of layers haha. They still woke up! It was this night as I lay there freezing that I decided I wanted a camp trailer haha. Hopefully one day!

The next morning we woke up and started out on the journey! We were driving by a beautiful waterfall and decided to stop. I'm glad we did! We got out and walked for a little bit and saw great view points. I LOVE Yellowstone!

Another beautiful overlook

Then we made our way to Lamar Valley to see the wildlife. We saw tons and tons of bison! We also stopped because there was a huge group of tourists all staring at a tree. It was a huge osprey nest! We saw the baby peek its head out every once in a while. We also saw antelope, deer, and a baby bear and a brown bear! We stopped and got out of the car and looked with binoculars for a while. Then, on our way back through the valley we stopped and had a picnic. I think that is one of the most beautiful picnic spots I have ever had!

Deer!

Our picnic view

Our next stop was the Mammoth Hot Springs. They are a ton of hot springs and they all look so cool and different! It was also crazy coming into the area because we saw a ton of elk just hanging out in parks. We got out to walk around on the boardwalks, and it was so hot haha!

The girls

The boys

Next we went to Norris Geyser Basin. This was a really great place to walk around and see lots of different things. Walking through here I felt like I had gone back in time and a dinosaur was going to walk by at any time. Things were bubbling, gurgling, and spraying everywhere! It was crazy!

A buffalo on the side of the road

Then we went back to camp, had dinner, and went to sleep. It wasn't quite so cold that night, which was great!

The next morning we drove out to see the canyon! The hike that we wanted to do was closed, so we just drove around and saw different views and then walked out to the main viewpoint. This canyon is so stunning!

After the canyon, we decided to drive past the lake. This lake is huge! I wanted to get out and spend time on it, but we just didn't have the time. Yellowstone has quickly become one of our favorite spots, and we will definitely be coming back.

On our way home, we went back to the Grand Prismatic Ring to try to get a better look. The weather cooperated better this time! The pictures don't really do it justice. We need to be able to get a higher vantage point to see all of the colors.

After, we started on our long drive home! Henry wanted to wear Rusty's hat. He is such a little cutie. On our way we stopped at Angie's house! It was so great to see them and the cousins had an awesome time playing!

Then Little Man fell asleep

Adeline did not haha

Henry and Milo

Hahaha Ollie

Before we knew it, it was Father's Day! I got these shirts for Henry and Rusty to wear haha. They are seriously twins, and these shirts are perfect for them. Henry was so excited to have a shirt that matched Daddy's!

We also made these little bear crafts. Henry got to pick out any craft, and this is what he chose! It's also the first craft that he did pretty much all by himself! So proud of this little guy

Dinner!

She had some of Daddy's M&M candy

Last month nobody felt like celebrating anything. So we moved Mother's Day to this month! I was spoiled with breakfast in bed, snuggles with my babies after church, and some delicious BBQ chicken that Rusty made. I could not be happier with my little family. They are my whole world. Being a mom is my favorite title that I could ever have. I love my babies!

For dessert, Rusty and Henry made me delicious sugar cookies with homemade frosting. They even shaped them into hearts on their own because I couldn't find the cookie cutters.

It is starting to get hot so we started some summery things! We tried out the Splash Pad here and it is awesome! It's different from the ones I have seen because it has little troughs running through it but that makes a great place for Adeline to play! And Henry loves the waterfall, and even convinced me to go in there with him haha. It was FREEZING.

He chased that bouncy ball all around

We also went out to swim at the outdoor part of the Provo Rec Center! It has a really cool kid's playground area and two giant waterslides that we can take Henry on as long as he has a life jacket. He LOVES them, and actually Rusty and I do too! They go pretty fast! It was so fun to be out enjoying the warm weather and spending time all together!

Della hates the grass so she bear crawls everywhere haha

We didn't celebrate our anniversary last month, so we dropped the kids off at my parents' house and had an overnight date this month! It was exactly what we needed, and so so fun. We went to dinner at a fun place up the canyon, and then checked into our bed and breakfast. This place was so old and so cool, and it was for SALE! But Rusty wouldn't even consider it haha. Oh well. The next morning we walked around the little town for a little bit and I decided that that is where I want to live for the rest of my life haha. THE CHURCH HAS BELLS! I love Eden.

We also went to Orem Summerfest! Nothing can be more summery; it even has it in the name. This was a ton of fun! There were fun rides, yummy food, a parade, and fireworks at night. Henry was pretty sure he was in heaven and I just love fairs so I was too. Rusty and Della were mostly along for the ride I think haha! Jessica and Aaron met us for the parade!

"I want to drive a car too..."

See? Heaven.

Swimming in the backyard

Trolly Resaturant

We had our India Date! I cannot say enough how much I love these country dates. They are seriously so fun. They do take a lot of work, but they are awesome and we always have such a great time. Rusty has told me multiple times that this is one of his favorite Christmas presents. So, too bad I'm not more consistent haha! But this month we did India and it was one of my favorite ones. I made some holi powder and we went out and had a fight in the backyard, ate delicious curry with our hands, gave each other henna tattoos, and watched the best Bollywood movie ever! (It was the Three Idiots by the way). This was such a fun date!

After we picked up the kids from my parents house we stayed and had a BBQ. We did have fun riding the horses and Della had the best time ever having her first ice cream sandwich!

One Friday Rusty had a campout for Scouts. I had the whole night planned out: I was going to watch a chick flick, do a face mask, paint my nails, and eat cookie dough. It was going to be relaxing and a little break for me. But, that night Henry couldn't sleep haha. So my "Girl's" Night turned into a fun night to bond with my best bud!

This is how he slept. That is my side of the bed, and the tiny space that I had all night haha!

Henry's Highlights

Yankee Doodle is by far his favorite song. I have a little Nursery Rhymes CD in my car and that is the first song. Every time it plays he says, "Can we do this all the time?" and gets this big smile on his face.
Wrote H for the first time on some paper!
Doesn't understand maybe. It either has to be YES or NO
Loves Taylor Swift's Look What You Made Me Do
Potty Training. Yikes. This will be the death of me. He is great at peeing, but won't poop.
Bedtime routine: read story, vitamin, brush teeth, scriptures, prayer, pon a time, song
"Go Henry, Go Henry" after he goes to the bathroom
Started to like to color now
Loves to be outside
Makes us check for monsters, ghosts, volcanoes. Volcanoes? Yes. Volcanoes.
I've been watching the Great British Bake Off, so he will bring me pretend food and ask if it has "good flavor" haha

Adeline's Adventures

My baby girl is 11 months old! I cannot believe it!

Switching to bottles instead of breast feeding in preparation for Peru
Just yells all of the time. Says, "da-da" "yeah yeah" "ahhhhh"
Eats as much as Henry. Started to not like bananas.
Hates how the grass feels. Will crawl like a bear
Can stand by herself, but only when she is distracted and doesn't know she is doing it haha
She is being such a big girl and going to Nursery with Daddy and Henry.
Della moves so much, she is always on the go! She is just starting to sit still long enough to read a book with me. Most of the time she just grabs the cover and tries to shut it haha.

Extra Pictures