Montana

We visited beautiful Big Sky, Montana with my side of the family last week. What an amazing place. Around every corner a new beautiful Mountain view. It was close enough to Yellowstone that we did a couple day trips to see the sights there. It did not disappoint. We saw some awesome geysers, cool mud pots, a gorgeous waterfall and a bison from about 5 feet away. 😳 It was next to the wooden walkway that you are not allowed to step off of. It remained docile, but hearing the reports of the 9 year old girl who got thrown by one in the news today was definitely a gut check. We also saw lots of bison from the car including a family with one youngish member and a tiny baby. So cute!
I did some night photography with my dad. It was really fun and I learned some new things. We didn't have a tripod available, so most of the pictures are shaky with the long exposures. I'm posting my favorite one here anyway because it was a cool experience and I love the image. Next time I go to the mountains I'm bringing a tripod even with limited luggage room. The stars were amazing up there.

That's the house we stayed in in the background. This was pretty much our view from the back deck, but there wasn't room to get a picture of everyone there.

My favorite picture of the stars from the night my dad and I did night photography. See the Big Dipper?

Old Faithful

It was really cool to see Bison. I wish we had seen some elk or moose, too.

Mom and Dad in Yellowstone

My crew at Yellowstone

 Ethan enjoyed a little walk with Daddy and Grandpa.

 I think Grandpa enjoyed it as much as he did.

 So many people to walk with! Grandma and Ethan are really enjoying this moment.

 My parents and older 2 nephews.

 Waterfall in Yellowstone

 My family in front of the waterfall and nephew photobomber. 😂

 What's a hike for a gymnast without a handstand?

 I love Ryan's relationship with his cousins. 💗

More walking, this time with big sister, Lily. The hat system we used this day worked really well, but looks a little funny. The blue hat on top was too floppy and kept getting blown up or down on his face. The hat underneath would be fine even though it didn't have as wide a brim it would have at least protected his eyes, but it didn't have a strap and the wind was fierce. So we tied the blue one down over the khaki one with the stiffer brim. It reminds me a bit of Crocodile Dundee.