Jokulsarlon

We woke up at 5am to make the 3.5 hour drive to Jokulsarlon. This place felt spiritual to me. I really felt like God had brought me there to remind me that He made the earth for us to enjoy and marvel at.

Rock skipping lesson

We just sat and stared in awe at the majestic beauty of the icebergs slowly melting out to sea.

 Some beached icebergs as they floated out.

We saw a few seals swimming by the icebergs. 

We did alot of driving this day. Dance party at a gas station pit stop. The Tierney's can know how to have a good time!

The drive was long, but beautiful.

Skogafoss Falls

We stayed in Sulfoss near the sea on our last few nights. We drove to some beautiful waterfalls one day.

 The picture below makes me somewhat emotional.  It's the kids hiking the stairs to the top of the waterfall. I was so proud of their enthusiasm and endurance.

 Betsy is the cutest.

 This was amazing because you could walk all the way behind the falls. We got soaked and Betsy drank straight from the water. It was an invigorating feeling I will never forget.

Vestmannaeyjar Island

One day we took a 30 minute ferry ride to Vestmannaeyjar Island. In 1973, Eldeff volcano erupted and covered half of the island with lava.

Below you can see the lava field next the part of the island that survived.

 The kids had a blast hiking through the lava field. It was a long hike and they all did amazing. We pretending that they were on a treasure hunt and gave the clues along the way to keep their little legs movin! Gummy bears awaited them at the top.

 I love him.

 Halfway to the top!

We made it to the top! It was crazy to think that we were hiking on a volcano. We ran into 2 travelers that had just toasted grilled cheese over the steam coming out of the top of the volcano!

 Otis obviously wasn't impressed but the panoramic view was incredible.

 We were all exhausted that night and went home and soaked in the hot tub out in the freezing cold in the middle of the Icelandic countryside. Life is good.

Otis mastering poses with the girls.

Pingvellir Valley

After Gulfoss, we drove to Pingvellir, where the site of a rift valley marks the crest of the Mid-Atlantic ridge. Iceland is being pulled apart at a rate of 1/2 centimeter per year, and here we could see the continental drift between the North American and Eurasian plates.

 

 Ty had quite a load to carry on the way down. Sometimes it's not easy being the favorite parent!

 Bets shared in the load also.

 Betsy, Tesera and I ditched the boys and the kids and hiked up to this waterfall.

 While the kids played on hay bales.

 Oh Milly June, you make my mother heart explode.

 

Geysir, Gulfoss and the The Northern Lights!

On our second day we went to the Haukadalur geothermal area to see Geysir (the original geysir that all geysirs got the name from) and Stokkur. It was so fun to stand and anticipate it erupting every few minutes.

Fun hike to see a great view of the valley and erupting geysirs.

Gulfoss- this waterfall was really amazing.  Mostly because you could walk almost directly on top of it.

 Our only full group shot!

 We stayed the first half of our trip in a little cabin in the countryside in Langholtsvegur. It was so serene. 

 Aurora Borealis! We saw the northern lights! I couldn't believe it. It was my dream come true. I was already asleep with Otis when Ty woke me up and told me to run outside. I ran and woke up Betsy and we spent the next hour on the deck watching the green lights roam across the sky. 

It was FREEZING. Bone chilling cold, but it was incredible.

This is how we end up sleeping almost every single night but I decided to document it one morning on the trip. I was sleeping somewhere under Milly and beteen Otis and Ty- I wouldn't have it any other way.