West Yellowstone

We got to go up to West Yellowstone for the weekend with some of Neil's family this last weekend. Thankfully for Neil, we left on Valentine's Day after work, so that was his excuse for not doing anything. I've given up on doing anything for him, since he doesn't care for the holiday, and he's obviously not a mushy, sentimental person, anyway. So the girls and I made Valentines, which we never ended up even having time to deliver to their friends before we left, but they sure had fun. Kortney went to preschool and came home with a ton of candy that she shared with Taylor and Emmrie. I'm glad she's good at sharing most of the time!

Neil's parents do the time share thing, so we got some condos about 2 blocks from the West entrance of Yellowstone National Park. I've never been to Yellowstone before, but I'll have to get back in the summertime to be able to enjoy the Park itself. All I know is there was a TON of snow up there! It's legal to ride snowmobiles around the town on the roads there, as long as they have Montana stickers, so it was fun to see all these snowmobiles driving all over the place. They'd pull right into gas stations and fill up and everything. I loved it! I wanted to take more photos of all the SNOW, but I never got a chance. These were taken on our drive back home. Crazy, huh? We couldn't see anything behind all the snow drifts!

We went there for snowmobiling, swimming, and relaxing. It was lots of fun. The day that everyone went out snowmobiling, though, was a cold and windy day, so I stayed back with Emmrie while Neil took the other two girls. Once they got to where they unloaded all the snowmobiles, Kortney started crying because of the wind, and she didn't want to go. Taylor's snowsuit was a little too small on her, and Neil was afraid she'd get cold on the ride, too, so he brought them both back to the condo. But the girls LOVED the pool and hot tub! They could've stayed there all day!

They liked watching the TV, too, since we don't have that many channels at home. And they loved touring the whole hotel. I took them on walks around the lobby, down the halls and elevators, and we even did the treadmills and stair-stepping machines at the exercise room. We drove around the town together, and they couldn't stop talking about all the snow. And we thought WE had a lot this year! Grandma brought a whole storage bin of toys for the kids, and they played Cat and Mouse with her, did puzzles, colored, and rode cars all around the rooms. We also went to the IMAX theater there and watched the movie on Yellowstone. Neil, his mom, and I had to hold back bursts of laughter when Kortney jumped a mile as a big grizzly bear roared up on the huge screen. She thought it was going to get her. We got home Sunday night, and I asked the girls what their favorite part of the weekend was. Kortney said, "Swimming!" and Taylor said, "Jumping to Daddy!" (in the pool). It's funny how vacations with the kids are more about them than about us now. All that seemed to matter was that they had a fun time, and I'm glad they did.

The Lord's Hand in My Life:

I just have to say that I'm grateful for Neil. I may point out that he's not mushy or lovey or sentimental, but he does have a soft side- he just doesn't like to show it. He's definitely a family man. We just like to veg at home together- probably because he doesn't get a lot of home time. He has the patience and the adventureness that I lack, and he is the best dad I could ask for, for my girls. He would never want to be known as girly in any regard, but he has a soft spot for his girls. He's a momma's boy, and a perfect dad for girls. He doesn't like surprises, but once in a while he'll do something little and completely unexpected for me that will just make my day. He understands that I'm not perfect, and is so patient with me, and gives me my own time when I feel like I need it. He hates arguing, and doesn't like to gossip, and I'm still trying to learn from him there. He definitely completes me, and I love him! Happy Valentine's Day, Babe!