Kids' Summer Trip 2021 - I-M-W-U
We have been looking forward to the Gubler Family Reunion all summer, but first, the boys and I embarked on a wholesome and fun trip through Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and back down to Bear Lake, Utah. Daddy couldn't come, so we are missing him, but we always make the best of our time.
I D A H O
Scenic beauty for miles, literally. We made a few quick stops for entertainment throughout Idaho on our way up to Yellowstone National Park.
Zoo Idaho - Pocatello, Idaho
Small, but charming. We really enjoyed the native Idahoan animals and grizzlies were pure amazement.
Idaho Potato Museum - Blackfoot, ID
Tony is heartbroken he missed this one, NOT! He's the only person I know, who refuses to eat potatoes, in any form. The boys and I had fun at this charming little place. At the end of our visit, we enjoyed some french fries, a baked potato and some ice cream.
River walk and Dinner in Idaho Falls, ID
We had some time to kill upon our arrival to Idaho Falls, so after a movie and a large popcorn, we headed out to the Idaho Falls River walk. We took some pics by the rushing water and the Idaho Falls Temple, shopped for some souvenirs and ate my most favorite food ever - Thai food at Krung Thep Thai.
W Y O M I N G
Yellowstone National Park
It's been 12 years since my last time, so it was definitely time to come again. The boys loved every single second, and we had the best 12 hours ever! Yes, we woke up at 3:30 to drive up from Idaho Falls, but getting to the gate around 6 am was totally worth it - for the first couple of hours, that is, until we went to see Old Faithful, also known as, the great time equalizer.
You might question the decision to only spend one day - I say, it depends on your group size, your planning skills, and what you want to see. I was able to fit everything we wanted to see (except one waterfall due to traffic) into 1 day. We didn't want to hike, so you could say we just did the "touristy" things, but they were just perfect for us!
First thing in the morning, we saw the most beautiful pink sun and fog over the valley. We also saw a lone bison up close, but only in passing, until the afternoon where we came upon a herd and had the most magical time watching them cross the river and then the road.
1. Grand Prismatic Spring
2. Old Faithful
While this "faithful" geyser is a must-see at least once in your life, it sure irritates impatient people (oh wait, that's me). hahaha If you've been to this wonder, you know - it takes a minute to make up its mind before it finally erupts, and the funniest part is listening to all the small children be so disappointed each time it almost goes off. So, we got there just after it erupted (of course), so we had a very lovely 1.5 hour wait (about) with some hot chocolate and a breakfast sandwich.
3. West Thumb Geysers and Yellowstone Lake
4. Dragons Mouth Spring and Mud Volcano
These two were the most thrilling things we saw besides the bison. Kohen loved the bubbling mud volcano, and Dragon's mouth was perhaps the most mysterious sound we heard while at Yellowstone.
5. Bison crossing the river in Hayden Valley
Ah, we got so lucky and happened to drive up just at the right time! We had a blast just watching them for a good half an hour, and then, we got stuck in a line of cars for about 10 min while some were crossing the road. On our way west to Norris Geyser Basin, we saw one up close and, it's my most favorite video!
6. Canyon Lodge, where we stopped for lunch and to grab some snacks. One beautiful spot called Brink of Lower Falls was what I also wanted to see, but when we drove up, the line to get into the parking lot was too long for us to wait, so we decided to skip it - but, there is always next time!
7. Mammoth Hot Springs and Terraces
Busy, busy, busy. However, we found a parking spot and got out to see just a couple of things. We chose not to walk around the entire basin, but instead, drove through the backside of the terraces - which look like snow from far away!
8. Norris Geyser Basin, Steamboat Geyser
9. Gibbon Falls, which was a wrap for our Yellowstone trip
Here is my most favorite video we got of the bison walking in the road! My life is now complete.
M O N T A N A
So we may have only seen a small corner of Montana, but it counts, right? We stopped here in the wee hour of 6am to get gas before entering Yellowstone, so technically we saw Montana first. On the way out from the park, we spent the night in West Yellowstone and woke up the next morning to the most gorgeous 70 degree weather. We walked to get breakfast and then went shopping for some clothes and souvenirs.
Back in I D A H O
Bear World, Rexburg,Idaho
You have to do this at least once in your life! We had an amazing time, saw plenty of bears and the boys got to bottle feed the cubs, which they loved. As we did the drive-by safari, it was a tad difficult to take pics and drive at the same time, but we saw beautiful white elk, a family of brown elk, lots of bears and a moose. The boys had a swell time getting the butterflies to land on their sugar sticks and we rode the log roller coaster a couple of times - woohoo. We pet two hungry pigs, a deer, a chicken and some goats with extra stomachs.
Thank you to Bear World for this one of a kind experience, I think we might have to come back!
Green Canyon Hot Springs
We got a little toasty at Bear World, so we decided to drive abut 40 min east to a gorgeous little swimming hole (turned resort). I wanted to take the boys so badly because I went with my family 12 years ago and loved it! The kids didn't believe me that the water in the small pool is very, very hot!
Kohen refused to use the "ladder of shame" to get out, so I made a video of him getting out like this instead.
Lava Hot Springs Olympic Complex, Lava Hot Springs, Idaho
The boys also went off the fast slides!
G U B L E R F A M I L Y R E U N I O N 2021
You are Golden!
Garden City, Utah
My family is truly THE best! We had the bestest 3 days swimming at the lake, having a dance party at the talent show and celebrating my parents' 50th wedding anniversary!
My parents are the cutest and the best people on this Earth! They've been married 50 years (which means Katie is 49 hehehe, love you).
Our two oldest sisters did an amazing job, as always! We stayed in the hugest house ever (all 48 of us, missing couple husbands), had the best meals, played games, had an FHE where we played family Bingo and talked about memories and things my parents remember doing. We had the Gubler Olympics and the Gubler Family Talent show. We rented a trampoline at the lake so the kids (and kid adults) could have even more fun. On the last night we had the best dance party ever, thanks to Kymn and Russ!
Brief history of how I came into this beautiful family:
I was born in Moscow, Russia, where I lived till I was 11. My bio parents had divorced and my mom had passed away from Type 1 diabetes complications when I was about 4. I then, was taken in my by aunt/mom Irina and was raised with my cousins for 7 years, until the Gubler family from America came along (there is much more to the story, of course). I was adopted in 2000 by a family with 8 kids (so I became the 9th and the best final kid) and moved to the gorgeous and dreamy town of Santa Clara, UT where I grew up the rest of the way, with this amazing family, whom I love very much.
Gubler Family Bingo
1. No empty seats
2. We love to have BBQs
3. Granda Norman Gubler's truck (he bought it brand new in '93, so it's now 28 years old and is still running)
4. Rook - my Dad and bro John are obsessed with winning this game and get really mad when you mess them up (bahahhahaha), we also LOVE to play O'Shucks)
5. Lots of ppl in the fam play the piano, but I think we were all forced to take lessons, haha
6. We love the Temple
7. Mom is really good at crocheting
8. The house we grew up in had an orchard with apricots and Dad would force us up at 5 in the summers to pick them (but, I love that memory). We also picked apricots from the church's orchard down in the Santa Clara valley, plus - Dad really likes them, as do we.
9. Grandpa Gubler/Dad eats a tomato sandwich pretty much every day, AND sneaks hot dogs when Mom isn't looking. They are the staple foods at the Gublers.
10. Mom bought herself a fancy popcorn maker a few years back and has been producing delicious movie treat since!
11. Mom is also an amazing baker and we all LOVE her homemade bread.
Bear Lake and Raspberry Shakes
The younger boys spent hours trying to get cousin Sam off, but they did eventually succeed!
Gubler Family Olympics
We also had a spicy eating contest, here's a video of Kohen eating a serrano pepper - because why not?
Gubler Family Talent Show (one of a kind) - I only included a couple of talents on this blog, although we had SUCH greatness from each family! I love watching my parents dance - it's the best time ever!
Kohen wrote his own jokes for our family's talent - since the rest of us have none.
My brother Peter has recently started learning guitar, so naturally, he played Baby Shark and we all loved it so much!
And, hopefully, Kymn forgives me for posting this - but, it's just so great, I can't keep it to myself!
Gotta get down on Friday!!!!!
It's raining Tacos! Mom and Dad are dancing!
We got two Carolines in the fam, that would be me and miss Arabella Caroline Clegg.
and at last, YMCA!
Aren't we the best? I think so! It was also supposed to be throw back to 70's night, but we were the only ones who dressed up.... I even borrowed my mom's expensive makeup, so I could put on green eye shadow and look completely hideous! I think we won two quarters from Mom for "best costumes". Thanks, I guess!
Thank you so my awesome family, we had THE best time and are so thankful for all the fun memories!
