So, we got home from the beach Sunday night and left for our next trip Thursday morning! This time we were off to Albuquerque, NM and Essex, MT. We were gone October 6-14. Everyone has been waiting for James to be old enough to travel. Now he's seen the beach and the mountains in less than a month- my favorite places!
We went with Seth's family and took a Rotary foreign exchange student (Louise from Denmark). We started off in Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival from Thursday to Saturday afternoon. It NEVER rains there, but it rained 2 out of our 3 days. Two events we were supposed to attend were cancelled. They issued us rain checks for next year....maybe we'll be lucky enough to go back (and what we were able to see makes me hopeful this will happen)! Saturday was unbelievable! The sky cleared up and almost all of the balloons were flying! We all felt like kids- so excited and jaws to the ground in awe.
We then left for Montana. I have never been in October. It's a pretty time to go because you see all the leaves changing colors. Again, the weather was more on the yucky side (lots of rain and cooler temperatures). We did a lot of sight seeing from the car, but I'll take it. Montana is gorgeous no matter how you view it. Plus, traveling with a five year old, four year old, two year old, and a three month old adds a new dimension! We drove through Glacier National Park and saw buffalo, a bear, and a moose! We always hike from the house down to the river, which takes about an hour. Adelyn hiked the whole thing by herself. This was her first time hiking and she didn't utter one complaint. I'm proud of my hiking girl! James was great throughout the trip. He slept a lot and was really only fussy a few times....such a sweet boy! Emily and Thomas are so good with him. They LOVE to sit in front of him and talk to him. James is a big chatterbox, so they got a kick out of it when he'd coo or smile. I really enjoyed having Louise along with us. I love hearing about other cultures. All in all, it was a great trip!
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| Just Plane Cute- you got that right, sweet boy! |
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| Loving his first plane ride |
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| Cousins in the balloon |
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| James snuggled up at the evening balloon event |
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| I don't think Adelyn knew what to think about these guys on stilts! |
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| We saw Native American dancers |
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| It was so cool to see them fire it up! |
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| This was the first balloon released. The whole crowd was going nuts! |
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| Seth's shoulders are still sore. He carried Adelyn around like this a LOT! |
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| Brenda, Seth, and Adelyn |
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| James snoozing away |
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| First morning in Montana- Flathead River |
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| Best buds |
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| Future baby sitter |
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| Hiking down to the river |
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| Go, Adelyn! |
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| The kids could have thrown rocks into the river all day long |
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| Grandma with her grandkids |
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| buffalo |
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| Highline Trail |
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| Adelyn and I at Logan Pass (it was so cold- see the snow on the mountains?) |
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| After lunch at Norm's News in Kalispell, Grandpa bought them all a bag of candy. They were pretty much in heaven. Then Seth introduced them all to Pop Rocks- hilarious!! |
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| This is the drive to Polebridge. There was a major fire years back. |
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| Porch of The Mercantile in Polebridge (THE MOST RANDOM place I've ever been, by the way) |
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| And here's what all Polebridge has to offer. I think 10 people live here and there's no electricity. But, fabulous bread and desserts!!! |
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| Adelyn enjoying her Danish dish prepared by Louise |
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| Louise with her delicious apple dessert |
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| Louise, Seth, and I hiked to Stanton Lake |
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| Stanton Lake |
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| Stanton Lake |
