Kevin's Birthday and Island Park - Snow, Snow, Snow

Kevin turned the big 29, his last year in the 20's; hopefully it will be a good one. For his birthday I made his favorite breakfast: a skillet (like at Village Inn), opened presents and then drove to Island Park. In between there he did have to go to work, which I think you is really unfair. Shouldn't you get your birthday off of work? I think so. For his birthday we got him new waders and wading boots to go fishing with. We were so excited to give them to him and he was very surprised. Now it just needs to warm up a little and he can try them out.
That afternoon we left our snowy home and went to an even snowier Island Park, ID. to visit Kevin's parents. If you have ever been there in the winter it is something to see. This year there wasn't as much snow, only about 3 feet or so, which is still a lot, but usually they have more than 4 feet. We love to visit in the winter because it is like a winter wonderland; it is so beautiful.
Kevin's parents have a big hill by their home that is perfect for sledding so we bundled the girls up and headed out. They had tons of fun. We took turns sledding down with them and then pulling them up the hill. Lillian wanted to feel big and so she would help us pull the sled with Isabelle in it.

It was Isabelle's first sledding experience. At first she was anxious and then she relaxed and realized it was fun.
Here we are as a family before the girls and I went down the hill.

The girls had so much fun playing the snow. Lillian kept making snow angels and "pedaling"
in the snow. Isn't it beautiful? What else do you do in Island Park in the winter? Go snowmobiling! Kevin and his dad went in the morning to do some extreme snowmobiling, well at least extreme to me, I'm more of a trail girl. So while they were gone the girls, and Grandma, and I made and decorated Valentine's Day cookies. Lillian did a great job, she is an old pro at decorating cookies. She packed on the candy. She packed it on so well it was hard to eat the actual cookie. Isabelle did her part by just eating the candy. She could have cared less about the cookies, the candy was where it was at. I am afraid she has inherited my sweet tooth. Later that day Kevin and I went out for a snowmobile ride. We had such a great time. We went to a little meadow that was a little more powdery, but without the risk of getting stuck. Here is a picture of Kevin; doesn't it look like fun? It was so much fun. There was this hill in one little area and I thought, oh no big deal I can go over that. So I gunned it and I almost went over the top of the snowmobile. It was kind of scary, kind of fun, and kind of embarrassing. But it did help me gain some street cred with Kevin and Jim.

Kevin got his birthday cake a day late because we got to his parent's house too late on his special day. We had some issues lighting the candles, probably because there were so many. Just kidding Kev, sure love ya!

The next day we went to West Yellowstone which totally confused Lillian. She kept asking us when we were going to see the animals. We had to tell her you couldn't go into the actual park because it was winter and you need to have a special kind of snowmobile. She was very upset because she thought she was going to see elk and buffalo. She said, "I don't like winter! I like spring and summer better!" I hear you. Don't get me wrong the snow was beautiful, but we have a terrible case of spring fever in our family. After we got home Kevin pulled me and the girls in the sled behind the snowmobile. Last year Tess the dog pulled us in the sled. Since Tess is no longer with us we had to rely on the snowmobile; which turned out to be much more fun. Lillian kept yelling to Kevin to go faster and to go over more bumps. She was a little daredevil. There was a hill that Kevin took us up and over (a different one from the one I almost died on). She kept saying more! more! more! She couldn't get enough. It was a blast!

After the ride they were exhausted. One of the good things about playing in the snow is that is wears them out!

The next day was absolutely beautiful . We walked down by the river to see the swans; it was so picturesque and serene. We had a great visit. Thank you Jim and Mary for the great time!