We also were able to take some time to watch Brayden's birthday video of his 12-year-old highlights as well as a few of the years before. This is a huge pain for Dave every year to compile, but it is always a guaranteed favorite every year with every kid.
We were set to meet at a central visitor's center between our two campsites for their programs so as soon as we finished we got ready and got on the road. Brayden was excited he is finally old enough to ride in the front seat! My navigator in training!
The program was wonderful, clearing up all our debate on horns vs. antlers. These young rangers have been delivering fantastic, well-spoken and rehearsed presentations. We have all been very impressed!
All the kids had finished their junior ranger books so after the presenter signed them we headed to the desk to get the kids sworn in. The desk was packed but this ranger took a lot of time to give attention to the kids. Within about 2 minutes Ryan let me know she wasn't feeling well so we went outside for air and a snack. I hadn't thought about our sugar-laden breakfast until now so I grabbed some protein for her to try. She was green and grumpy but seemed to feel a little better after the fresh air.
We went back inside as this just happened to also be the National Park Service 101st birthday and there was going to be a celebration inside. Immediately, Ryan wanted to move away from the people and sit down so we went outside with a stack of crackers to sit down. She was laying in my lap looking terrible so she got a lot of attention from the park staff and visitors. I knew she was bad when she declined a piece of birthday cake! After she had a bit of water she said she felt better so we headed inside for a movie Brayden wanted to watch about wolves, his favorite!
The movie was so interesting about a pack of wolves from Canada they reintroduced to Yellowstone. The park rangers and scientists tracked them over time to study their hunting patterns, pack social ways, and pup rearing. Ryan hung out in Grammie's lap to watch - some of the best medicine!
After the movie we decided to move up the road a bit to a pizza place for the birthday celebration. Brayden made sure to call Grandpa as he'd been trying to reach him for birthday wishes all morning. Ryan still wasn't feeling the best and shortly after we got there she made a quick trip to the bathroom and then felt so much better. We knew she would be good then as that is her sickness pattern only lasting about 2 hours. We had a blast eating delicious pizza, watching Brayden open presents and cards, and watching videos again!
Grammie grabbed Lola out of the RV and we shared some birthday ice cream with her. Laney shared the most as her top scoop fell off! My kids love to live on the edge eating from both ends of their ice cream cones!
After a bunch of birthday hugs we headed back to camp to get ready to leave the next day. Our first day in the park we had stopped briefly at the Jackson Dam and I convinced everyone to stop again so we could take the walk around to the mountain view. Along the way the kids saw several paths down to the rocks so they stayed and played for awhile while we enjoyed the view.
When we are in one place for awhile, the car organization seems to fall apart and piles accumulate everywhere. It was a good time to throw in a load of laundry as it was just a short walk from our site.
While I organized, Dave and the kids opened birthday presents trying out the drone and putting together Legos. Dave mentioned wifi at the general store next to the laundromat so I sat next door to update a few days on the blog until it was ready to go in the dryer.
The kids were very interested in the bison program that evening so Dave stayed at the site to relax and fold the laundry while I took the kids to the program. This was yet another fantastic brain-filling program!
When we got back Dave had a campfire started so we fashioned some roasting sticks and toasted a few marshmallows. After I snuck down for a few minutes with the sunset color, we all snuggled in for one last night on our huge bed in one tent.
