It was a buffet style setup, and I saw some famous American things that I don't usually see in Canada. Personally, biscuits covered with gravy is not my idea of breakfast, but the 2 guys in front of me were sure excited. I stuck to french toast and eggs. I added the cute candles Aunty Lala had gotten Ariel for her big day. Ariel was really excited about them in her watermelon.
Once breakfast was over, we went to Grammy's room to open presents! Ariel got some lovely things including a cool Elmo dance mat and music book (its like Dance Dance Revolution for toddlers), a travel sized doodle board, a cute doll, some clothes, books and a cd / dvd from Dan of number songs and videos for kids by 'They Might be Giants'. (They are watching it right as I type this and all 3 of them are laughing, sooo funny).
Then we got in the car and headed to the Park! It was so exciting to pass through the big gate. Everywhere you turn there is a stunning view or amazing sight. It was very overwhelming at times. Today we were doing two stops, the first was at Mammoth Hot Springs. Ariel did well climbing the stairs and checking out everything.It kinda looked like the ground was snowy or made of Styrofoam.
We spotted a few cool birds as well. Ariel is turing into a great birdwatcher like her Daddy.
I love this little guy, too cute.
Once we finished exploring the area, we piled back in the car and drove to the restaurant to get some lunch. Afterwards, we went to go see Old Faithful. Since it wasn't scheduled to go off for another hour, we hit the gift shops for Jonathan. I found a great photo album to put all our pictures in when we get home and Grammy got Ariel a little wolf stuffie. She liked to stop and let him take naps.
We found a place to sit and wait for Old Faithful to go off. It was so cool, and such a treat to see. Its amazing to think Ariel is getting to experience this all at such a young age. Lucky girl!
Ariel caught a ride on Daddy's shoulders after the show.
On the drive back we saw lots of people parked on the side of the road and making their way into the forest. We followed and saw this fellow enjoying his lunch. Wow, you don't realize how BIG elk are until you are close to one! It was kinda funny the big guy didn't seem to bothered by all the people snapping pictures of him.
We got back to the hotel and put Ariel down for a bit. She had fallen asleep in the car and she continued to sleep for another hour till we woke her up to get dressed for dinner. As we waited for everyone to be ready, Dan and Ariel played on his laptop. She thinks he is pretty funny.
Dinner was at the Yellowstone Mine, and was very tasty. Jonathan was very concerned that Ariel needed to have some cake on her birthday, so thankfully the waitress managed to produce a wonderful piece of chocolate cake.
I had packed the big 2 candle, and she blew it out proudly. Hee.
However, she was full from dinner so the boys gobbled down most of the cake for her. Ariel kept taking Grammy into the casino that was attached to the restaurant. Originally, it was the big elk head on the wall that grabbed her attention. Ariel thought it was a large dog... sleeping. We are gonna go with that, don't need to explain that one yet. Ariel was also in love with the big roulette wheel and kept wanting to spin it. Lol, the elderly ladies at the bar thought Ariel was a sweetie and loved her shoes, of course she was more than happy to show them off.
We needed to mark this big day with a family picture, so Dan took this great one of us after dinner, love the sky in the background.
The day is winding down and we are resting up for tomorrow. Not sure yet what is planned, but I am sure it will be fun. I will leave you with some video of the hot springs water bubbling and a friend we made while driving this morning in the park. Hee.
2 comments:
My parents have discussed taking all of us to Yellowstone in a couple of years and your pictures are making me more excited! Looks breathtaking! Looks like Ariel had a fabulous birthday!
It's so pretty there! You guys are in for a totally different vacation when you come here! Can't wait!
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