The Crown of the Continent

On our last full day in Montana, we visited Glacier National Park and drove the famous Going-to-the-Sun Road up and through the park. I think it was a 2 hour drive and it was beautiful the entire way!  The road had just reopened the week before, due to snow still covering much of the road (in July), so we felt pretty lucky about our timing. 

There was snow runoff all the way up the mountain, creating waterfalls everywhere!  We drove through/under several that just emptied right onto the road.

The kids loved the snow at the top, but some of us quickly realized we were not dressed warmly enough. The Canada cousins were not phased by it, even in their shorts. Showoffs.

Aunt Erin took some of the older kids on a little hike.  The rest of us didn't waste too much time getting back to the the gift shop and then the warm car.

Hank only let mom or dad hold him the entire trip.  So in every picture, one of us is holding Hank, while Aunt Erin or Uncle Dave was most likely carrying George.

I thought it was pretty unique that on Thursday we were on top of a snow covered mountain in Montana.  On Friday, we were were back to sweating it out in the 110 degree summer at home. That just doesn't seem right.

There was a bit of construction on the way back down, but seriously, it was just so beautiful, it was OK that we were stopped here and there. At the very bottom, we lunched at a cute little cafe and then had giant Huckleberry ice cream cones.  Well, some of us had the Huckleberry. Those that didn't (me), regretted it. Delicious! - Molly was nice enough to share a little.

Big Sky Country

The babies' interests in Montana were mostly limited to  "outside" and "dog" and "dog's chewed-up ball".  None of which they can actually say, but their squealing and pointing and panting (baby sign language for dog) was pretty direct.

Owen loved the dog too!  The dog's name is Ozzie.  Owen's nickname is Oh-zee (long O). So they were meant to be pals, really.  Upon returning home, Owen renamed all of his stuffed animals, Ozzie.

All the kids were in heaven with unlimited* frozen treats and soda.
*It was only unlimited until I got wind of that offer.  "Unlimited" quickly became "one of each per day."

There's that chewed up dog toy. I'm telling you, it was a favorite!

When I wasn't chasing babies or taking pictures, I actually got to relax occasionally, with help from my sister- and brother-in-law, and Mark, of course.

Probably the kids' favorite thing to do, after a long day at the lake (I jest), was to come back and just hang out with cousins in the cool Montana evening.  We can't do that at home.  Not in the summer.

We spent every evening out here. I love this back porch and stone chimney. It was impressive.

The Treasure State

While in Montana, I decided to copy something my sister-in-law did. She had this jar in her guest bathroom, full of travel size soaps and trial size Bath and Body Works lotions. I liked it for several reasons: 1} The soap and lotion were functional for her guests, 2} I love anything en masse, 3} She had all the same kinds of soap, and only 2 scents of lotions, so the color palette was pleasing.

When I got home, I found the jar at Target, like she told me. And wouldn't you know, its official name is the "Montana Canister."  No joke.  I found the soap online after doing a search.

I quite like it with just the soap, so I may not even bother with the lotions.  We don't really have a lot of guests anyway, and the lotion would just be wasted by my kids.  But they do need soap every now and then.  I can justify that.

The Last Best Place

This is Blaine Lake. Kalispell, MT. We all decided we want to move here, at least for the summer. The kids could not get enough of the lake.

Jonah and Grace struggled the first day on the wakeboard.  The 2nd day, Grace got up and stayed up without any problem.  Jonah decided it wasn't for him and didn't want to try any more. I think he'll give it a try next time.

 Molly was like an old pro.  She was in HEAVEN wakeboarding...

...and surfing.  This was something new to us.  She is standing (no boot) on a surf board right behind the boat.  The rope is just for balance and the idea is that you eventually let go of the rope and just surf the wake, following the boat.  It was fun to watch. I was too chicken to try.

 But Mark did it and was pretty good!

And my nephew is a master.  Notice, he doesn't hold the rope.  He can go forever like this and even does tricks (kneeling, sitting, backwards, all while balancing and staying right behind the boat). I'm sure boat surfing (is that what you call it?) is old news for some, but it was a first for us!

Grace is just chillin' in the boat, not pouting.

 The kids loved tubing too!

Hang on!

Uncle Dave is trying to keep the girls from flailing off the tube.

Owen stayed in the boat with me and we left the babies home with one of the adults (me or Aunt Erin).  Except one day we took them out on the boat and they didn't really care for their life jackets, so pretty much their boating experience was a bust.

flip

We just got back from a fabulous family vacation in Montana, visiting Mark's sister's family at their cabin.  It was relaxing and fun and the weather was perfect.  I cannot say enough about this place. More pictures to come. Lucky you, my blog readers! 

One day, my brother-in-law decided to teach the girls to do back flips, something they have been afraid to try on their own. They are official back-flippers now.
It makes me nervous.

My back flip days are mostly over, but I decided to give it another try to see if I still had any skills.  It's vacation, right?  What could go wrong? Thank goodness, I still have a little coordination in me. A little.

It probably wasn't a good idea. I tried a round-off back-handspring several years ago, and paid for it dearly for a week. The tramp is much more forgiving than the ground, but still, I got lucky this time with no injuries.