He's Here!

OK, the title is a little deceiving. We haven't had our little guy yet but Vaughn and Helina did! Introducing our new little nephew/cousin! Gabe Vaughn Draper was born on the 23rd of September. 9lb 14oz, 21-1/2" long. Healthy and strong little boy.

Both Maxwell and Mason are SO excited to have another cousin.

Television!

Ha ha, we came across a video of Maxwell when we were at Disneyland earlier this year. We were just hanging out watching a little TV. I can't tell if Maxwell was into his show or not. So funny!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAj5ezQIYds

Our Preschooler!

Lil' Maxy has started Preschool with Miss Shauna. We can't believe how grown up he is getting.

We're Ready When You Are !

It's still a ways away but we've been preparing for the new baby and have put the finishing touches on the new baby's new room. Hopefully he likes it :)

Below is a before and after picture.

Yellowstone

I had never ever been to Yellowstone and Matt insisted that I go before the baby comes. So we headed out over the Labor Day holiday with the boys and Pappa Kurt and Pauly. We had a little excitement with a blow out on the ol trailer. We were pretty close to Idaho Falls when it happened so we were luckily able to drive about 10 miles to a tire shop. There wasn't much left of the tire when we got there and it set us back a bit to get there. Luckily there was a McDonalds close by so we let the kids play on the yucky playground for a while.



Just outside of Rexburg is a little deal called Yellowstone Bear World. I would totally recommend it! You are able to drive through the animal refuge and see all sorts of elk, wolf, bear, deer, moose etc. They also have a petting zoo with deer, goats and crazy birds. They have 3 new black bear cubs and 3 grizzly cubs that are the cutest things in the world.




This little bambi noticed Max sucking on his shirt so he decided he'd give it a try too. Those deer were so cute.


After the petting zoo we headed over to the kids rides, which the boys loved.

We stayed at the Grizzly RV Park just outside of the West Yellowstone entrance. It was recommended by a friend and it was great! The first night the moon was full and bright! Day 2 we did a lot of walking. We headed to some hot pots and found some fun things.

Mason and Max found some bones of an Elk, they thought that was pretty cool. They were all about picking them up and chasing their mom with them...

Max found a fuzzy caterpillar

Mason and Max were good troopers with walking but they loved the shoulder rides the best.

We loved Old Faithful and it was right on time. They boys wanted to wait until the next round but 90 minutes was just too long to sit around so we headed for ice cream and more driving.

We saw all sorts of animals on our trip.

Bear...

Bald eagles...

Lots and lots of bull Elk...

Buffalo...

The last night we headed to Colter Bay on Jackson Lake. Pappa brought his boat up so we could go fishing. Fire and Smore's - Mason's favorite thing!

We had a wonderful time with each other this last week. We loved it so much we bought a season pass for the National Parks - We know we'll be back to Yellowstone shortly. Our Heavenly Father has given us such a beautiful world and we are so grateful to be able to enjoy it as a family. The memories we make are the most precious things to us.

SnowBird

This past weekend we went with Grandma Judy, Grandpa Mike, Scoot, and B to Snowbird. There is so much to do up there. The boys rock climbed, harness jumped, apline slide, zipline, mechanical bull and a tram ride.

My husband thinks he's so bad :)

You can tell by the expression on Mason's face if he's having fun or not. The next run down he rode the slide by himself! He thought that was pretty cool.

Max and Aunt B zoomin down the mountain.

This was Matt's try at being a cowboy - didn't last very long but at least he gave it a whirl.

Top of Hidden Peak with the family. Elevation 11,000'.

Maxy was tired on the lift down the mountain so he rested on mommy's baby