Well after a day of wanting to throw my washing machine out of the window, shopping, packing and cleaning we made it out of the door bright and early on Monday morning. The girls, still snuggled in their jammies, were packed into the car and we were on our way before the sun was even up.

The drive was pretty uneventful and the girls were real troopers. I feel very lucky to have two little girls that can behave so well and travel long distances in the car and our first day of travel was a long day. We drove from Los Angeles to Brigham City Utah just north of Salt Lake City. We made pretty decent time with two kids in the car and even had the chance to listen to the Kings game!

After a nights sleep, we woke up a little on the late side and made the last stretch to Bozeman. The weather was good to us on our second day of travel, hitting only a few issues north of Idaho Falls with some icy roads. The rest was smooth sailing! When we arrived in Bozeman we quickly checked into the hotel and then headed to my parents house. After we settled in and caught up with one another, we had a belated Christmas together as a family. My mom sent some gifts out to us to open on Christmas Day, just to keep the secret going, but the rest she saved for our arrival.

Abby and Ellie had a blast. I think Abby is beginning to get the idea that presents happen all the time! I guess thats not quite the idea we want her to have. The girls got puzzles, toys and clothes and Shaun and I were given a collectors print for the Glacier National Park Centennial that was framed and matted. Its a beautiful print and I cannot wait to get it up on our wall at home.




We decided to have the girls stay with Grandma and Grandpa Taylor that night so we could get some much needed rest. I don’t think Abby was too thrilled at first, but in the end she was more then ok. Ellie fell asleep with Grandpa before we could even get her crib set up! What a precious moment.

The following morning we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to check on the girls before we left. As part of my present, Shaun decided to take 2 days away for just the two of us while my mom, dad and sister watched the girls for us. We were scheduled to stay in Gardiner, Montana just outside the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. If the weather held up and the road conditions stayed favorable, we would travel through the parks only open road to wheeled traffic. There were several big storms heading our way with frigid temperatures, but we kept our fingers crossed and hoped for the best.

After running a few errands and making sure we had our proper tire chains, we took off for Gardiner. The highways were decent, mostly blowing slow. Luckily, on our way from Livingston to Gardiner through Paradise Valley, we followed the snow plow and de-icing truck through Yankee Jims canyon which can get pretty icy. On our way through the canyon we happened to catch five to six Bald Eagles flying in a row. It was a pretty amazing site and just gave me a reminder why I love this place so much. The scenery along the Yellowstone River was spectacular despite the storm rolling in.

After checking into the hotel Shaun and I headed out to dinner and to the local Food Farm in town. We decided that since we had a fridge in the room we would pick up some supplies and assuming we could travel through Yellowstone over the next few days, we could make sandwiches and have snacks in the car. After that we went to one of the few places open, Outlaw Pizza and Pasta, for dinner and then headed back to the room for some much needed sleep. So far this trip couldn’t be anymore perfect, although I do miss the girls already!