Sarah Palin shares candid images of herself kissing her husband Todd and posing with nephew Tripp after finally joining Instagram - and racking up thousands of followers in hours

  • The 53-year-old former Republican vice presidential nominee joined Instagram using the handle @sarahpalin97
  • Sarah shared her first post — a picture of her and her daughter Willow — on Tuesday evening
  • The former governor of Alaska went on to share snapshots of herself posed with her daughter Bristol's son Tripp and pictures from an off-roading trip 
  • Sarah even shared a video of Todd arriving home on a seaplane  

Sarah Palin has been an active member of Facebook for many years - but now the mother-of-five has added another social media site to her roster of online outlets: Instagram.

The 53-year-old former Republican vice presidential nominee joined Instagram with the username @sarahpalin97 and shared her first post — a picture of her and her daughter Willow  — on Tuesday evening.

Sarah's mother-daughter selfie was reposted from 21-year-old Willow's account, but the mother-of-four hasn't wasted any time posting her own original photos, as well as a short video on her page, sharing five posts in a matter of hours.

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Surprise! Sarah Palin joined Instagram on Tuesday and shared a photo of herself with her nephew Tripp, her daughter Bristol's eight-year-old son with Levi Johnston 

Surprise! Sarah Palin joined Instagram on Tuesday and shared a photo of herself with her nephew Tripp, her daughter Bristol's eight-year-old son with Levi Johnston 

Start of it all: The 53-year-old's first post was a picture of her and her daughter Willow, which she reposted from the 21-year-old's Instagram page 

Start of it all: The 53-year-old's first post was a picture of her and her daughter Willow, which she reposted from the 21-year-old's Instagram page 

Lovely dovey: The former Republican vice presidential nominee went on to share a snapshot of her and her husband, Todd Palin, puckering up to kiss each other 

Lovely dovey: The former Republican vice presidential nominee went on to share a snapshot of her and her husband, Todd Palin, puckering up to kiss each other 

In less than 24 hours, Sarah has earned over 8,000 followers, and the second picture she posted to Instagram sees her puckering up to give her husband, Todd Palin, a kiss.

'Cute couple,' one commenter wrote, while another added: 'Goals.' 

Around the same time, Sarah added a snapshot of herself posed with her nephew Tripp, her daughter Bristol's eight-year-old son with her former fiance Levi Johnston.  

Sarah ended up getting a bit of a social media boost from Bristol, who took to her own page on Tuesday evening to urge her 141,000 followers to her mom.

Getting the hang of it: For her first Instagram video, Sarah posted a clip of Todd arriving home in a seaplane 

Getting the hang of it: For her first Instagram video, Sarah posted a clip of Todd arriving home in a seaplane 

All smiles: Sarah also posted a series of photos of herself on an off-roading trip in an RZR

All smiles: Sarah also posted a series of photos of herself on an off-roading trip in an RZR

'Cutest, my momma got an IG!! follow her @sarahpalin97,' Bristol captioned the image of her mother and her son.  

The former governor of Alaska has remained active on Facebook, and she proudly shared a story from her website titled, 'Bristol Palin Reveals Next MAJOR Move For Her Mom.'

When posting the story on Facebook, Sarah added: 'Cats out of the bag... thanks Bristol...'

The next day, Sarah returned to Instagram to share a video of Todd arriving home on a sea plane, writing: 'Must be 5 o'clock, Dad's coming home from work (Best commute ever).'

Having a blast: 'Wrapped up 1200-mi Mexico desert trek; most exciting RZR trip yet,' she captioned the set of images 

Having a blast: 'Wrapped up 1200-mi Mexico desert trek; most exciting RZR trip yet,' she captioned the set of images 

In charge: Someone, presumably Todd, snapped a picture of Sarah wearing a headset and a visor while sitting in the driver's seat of their RZV

In charge: Someone, presumably Todd, snapped a picture of Sarah wearing a headset and a visor while sitting in the driver's seat of their RZV

Say cheese! Sarah and Todd happily posed with friends during the off-roading adventure 

Say cheese! Sarah and Todd happily posed with friends during the off-roading adventure 

If the last 24 hours are any indication, Sarah plans on using Instagram to keep her fans updated on what's going on in her life. 

On Wednesday afternoon, she posted a series of photos of herself on an off-roading trip in an RZR. 

The first picture sees Sarah and Todd posed in their RZR, and it appears that it was taken on the same day they puckered up for the camera. 

She posted a couple of more photos of people standing next to their vehicles, as well as an image of her and Todd posing with friends. 

Making memories: The former politician even snapped a selfie with a friend 

Making memories: The former politician even snapped a selfie with a friend 

Adventure: Sarah also snapped selfies of the terrain and the other RZRs parked on the beach
Adventure: Sarah also snapped selfies of the terrain and the other RZRs parked on the beach

Adventure: Sarah also snapped selfies of the terrain and the other RZRs parked on the beach

Look of love: While Sarah was getting the hang of Instagram, her daughter Bristol took to her Instagram page to post this photo, explaining she was missing her husband, Dakota Meyer

Look of love: While Sarah was getting the hang of Instagram, her daughter Bristol took to her Instagram page to post this photo, explaining she was missing her husband, Dakota Meyer

Someone, presumably Todd, snapped a picture of Sarah wearing a headset and a visor while sitting in the driver's seat of their RZV, and the former politician even took a selfie with a friend.    

'Wrapped up 1200-mi Mexico desert trek; most exciting RZR trip yet - thanks to sunshine entire way & racing the coast with legends like Walker Evans (@walkerevansracing) & Dan "The Snake" Prudhomme!' she captioned the set of images.

While Sarah was getting the hang of Instagram, Bristol was missing her husband, Dakota Meyer.

After urging her followers to check out her mom's account, Bristol captioned a sweet picture of herself nuzzling up to her husband's cheek at a Mexican restaurant. 

'Missing my man today,' she wrote.