We rented a little house in Pray, Montana.
Our house (and rental car)
Upon closer look, some cute little deer were watching us from the side.
Our first night in we went to the grocery store instead of going out to dinner since we are all anxious to get to the house. First order of business, we headed right out to the hot tub with some kids wine.
We kicked off the first morning in the hot tub too :)
After hot tubbing, the kids did reports on Montana and Yellowstone.
A short little bridge from our backyard took us to the Yellowstone river. This provided hours of entertainment, looking for rocks and skipping stones.
This kids were playing a cute game where they asked questions and then tossed the rocks onto the little ice island. If the rock stayed, the answer was true. Gia will be a doctor, have girl and boy twins, have be madly in love :)
For dinner we headed to Chico Hot Springs. We had big plans to use the hot springs after dinner, but it was a bit crowded for our taste.
Hanging out in the lobby playing Spot It and enjoying the sweet little cat that owned the place.
Suiting up...
Gia's ready...
The temps dropped to -12 as we entered the park. With windchill, it was really chilly. Caden and I started off as sled buddies.
Grandma and Lily...
Corey and Gigi
The scenery was stunning!
Our snowmobile crew.
The whole family!
The parents in question...working through some really chilly kids! The nice snowmobile guide Ben gave Lily his sweater, another face mask, and some foot warmers. Then we headed to a warming station for cocoa, new wool socks, and more toe warmers.
The first of many bison sightings.
Chili babies...
We next headed to Old Faithful for lunch and to watch the 2 PM geyser explosion.
Then we were off...
Next stop was to look at some more geysers, mud pots, and other beautiful landscape sights.
On our way home we ran into a lot of bison traveling a less-snowy route.
We did it!
To celebrate, we stopped at the Rainbow Bar the bar we ate at when were last in Montana with the Alexanders :)
Once home, we did a little hot tub soaking. The stars were incredible! After a couple of drinks, we all fell fast asleep.
We awoke a really sunny day. We spent some time working on the puzzle of Cinque Terre we brought from home, took a walk around the neighborhood, and then headed into Gardiner for dinner.
Our first choice of a restaurant was closed, but we were able to meet some deer in the parking lot.
Dinner at Wonderland. Fun dinner playing Spot It and Jenga.
New Year's Eve day was crazy windy! We stayed in all day having a lazy day by the fire playing games, working on the puzzle, and watching a Friend's marathon.
NYE Takeout from a legit cowboy bar...where Corey happened to win a whopping $10 from the poker machine when he got 4 Aces on his 5-cent bet he thought was $5.00. Who needs $1,000 anyway?!?
Early start New Years day to head to Big Sky for some skiing. We stopped in Livingston at this cute little place - Gil's Diner in the Murray Hotel.
Love this cute friendship :)
Caden and Lily decided to snowboard with me and Corey. Gia and grandma rented skis.
All suited up and ready to go.
Speedy granny...
Gia ended up staying on the magic carpet hill, and grandma opted for supervising Gia. Corey and I and the kids set out to build our snowboarding legs.
After tackling the blizzard conditions, without goggles, for the longest run on the planet, we drove out from the ski lodge to find clear roads. Crazy! Then we celebrated with ginormous servings of Mexican food.
January 2 - serious commitment to finish the puzzle today. All hands on deck.
A bit of competition on who would put the last piece in...
Ta-dah!
Our final day at the house. I headed out for a 4-mile run, following in the tracks of a coyote. Luckily I didn't see him! Once back, we spent some time in the hot tub. This is a cute photo of Gia sending hugs to her friends.
One of the neighborly elk came out to send us off.
We headed into Bozeman and checked out the cute little shops. We of course had to visit a local coffee brewery and sample their specialties.
We spent out last night at the Best Western hotel by the airport for the pool and the wifi.
