Montana (continued)

Continuing our trip...

 

Chef Kern, Denise, and their 5 year old grandson joined us Wednesday evening so it was fun to add them to our group!

On Thursday, we went into Glacier National Park. We did the Highline Trail with the kids. When we began the hike, it was a little chillier than we anticipated. We had a BIG talk with the kids about NOT running, pushing, or passing as this trail is a little narrow and straight down if you fall. There is a cable on the right side of the mountain for you to hold on to. It sounds worse than I'm making it sound. If you are careful, there are zero problems on this hike. It's not this narrow the entire hike.  

 

We hiked a couple miles and then stopped for lunch. This fellow joined us for part of our hike

We started looking at the sky and noticing a major storm brewing. We hiked back as quickly as we could but still got stuck in the storm. It poured rain and we were caught in hail and sleet! I was SUPER proud of the kids for being very brave and careful along this narrow part. We were so thankful to be warm and dry back in the car. It's always an adventure, right?

 

 When we came home, we saw a double rainbow! The power went out briefly and we dined on paper plates with candlelight. Good thing it stays light out much longer there!

 

 On Friday, we went into Glacier park again, this time on the East side. We went to Two Medicine Lake and hiked to Running Eagle Falls. It was a very easy hike with a beautiful sight. When the water is running high, there is another waterfall above the one shown.

 It was a rainy day, so we sported our raincoats all day long!

 

 We saw a mama and baby moose on our drive

 

 

 Afterwards, we went to Many Glacier hotel and had hot chocolate.

 

 

On Saturday, we followed Kern and Denise to a road right near the house that none of us have ever been on (they discovered this road the day before). There was a big fire several years back and this road led you all over a mountain giving us specatuclar views of the damage done. Yes, I know that sounds weird to say that damage can be beautiful. The flowers were extraordinary and the charred trees made it impossible not to imagine the fire raging through this area.

 

I can't get my family to take a picture without them throwing horns. It's very annoying, but we go with it. I'm thinking NO for this image to be our Christmas card.

 

Vibrant wildflowers

 

Stump yoga

 

Afterwards, we did one last hike down to the river. I swear, the kids could play down here all day long. They love to throw rocks and create "islands" with the bigger rocks.

 

Our group

 

 

Kern cooked up an amazing dinner (as usual). He did lamb-pops, duck, chicken, and pork! YUM

 

We dined outside and admired Mt. Saint Nick one last time before departing for home the next day

 

 

'Til next time, Montana! We had a great trip experiencing God's beautiful creations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Montana (and Bowmanville, Canada and Seattle, Washington) trip....Part 1

 We went on multi-destination trip recently. It began July 10th in Bowmanville, Canada. Seth had a race at Canadian Tire Motorsport (what used to be Mosport). The race was Saturday, and it was beautiful weather. 

Fan walk....love Adelyn's face!

James spent the ENTIRE race asleep on the blanket. Unfortunately, Dan got hit at the beginning of the race. They got the car repaired, but Seth and Dan finished a couple laps down. :(

Some ice cream after the race lifted everyone's spirits!

We stayed Saturday night and flew to Montana Sunday morning.

On Monday morning, these kids were READY to hike down to the Flathead River!

The water is cold! That didn't stop Adelyn from trying to sit in it.

I love these two!

We have some good times hiking together! Later that day, 2 families from Georgia were randomly vacationing nearby. They came with their kids and we hiked down the river again. We spent Tuesday shopping in Whitefish and Kalispell. 

On Wednesday, we went to Seattle, WA!

We went to the children's museum. It was so neat! They had an area set up like villages in other countries. Here is Adelyn working at a sushi restaurant. 

Dr. Adelyn Thomas, OD

This area was pure free play. Kids could make forts out of all kinds of materials. Adelyn was in heaven. 

And so was James...nearby was a Lego table. 

This is a picture where you kinda just had to be there. We told James to go touch this "statue", not really thinking he would do it. WELL, he did. Seth then gave James $1 to put in his little donation box. When James went up to do so, the "statue" (very gently) kicked James when his back was to him. It scared the snot out of James! Everyone standing nearby was about in tears from laughing so hard at his reaction. 

We all went up the Space Needle. That was awesome!

This is from the Space Needle Camera

Then we headed to Pike Fish Market. James fell asleep in the car so he was a tad grumpy in this picture. 

A wall of donated gum....yuck

More pictures to come from the second half of the trip!

4th of July, iPhone version

The 4th of July was on a Saturday this year, so I had high expectations for a super fun weekend! Don't get me wrong....we had a great time, but it didn't go quite as planned. 

Seth was off on Friday so I had high hopes for spending the day doing fun things with him. Adelyn had attended an awesome girl scout camp all week that got cancelled due to the morning thunderstorms and rain all day long. She was crushed (I'm talking tears and a meltdown). We had plans to go out on the lake with friends, which also got cancelled. Then, Seth's car wouldn't start so he spent the majority of the day working on it. 

So....the kids and I baked a cake. Everytime we bake, they feel the need for Lowe's aprons and safety goggles. 

How cute is this cake topper? 

We grilled out salmon on a cedar plank that night. It was DELICIOUS! Highly recommend this marinade that I found on Pinterest. 

The kids are still loving their 4 wheelers (*sweet moment*)

We went to see the Cumming fireworks at 9:30. The kids played with glow in the dark toys while we waited. 

We woke up on the 4th to MORE RAIN! We pressed on and went to the parade and it didn't rain for the entire parade. Yay! The kids had a great time riding the steam engine and throwing candy to the crowds. 

After the parade (and a family nap....ahh!), we went to a friend's house to swim in the lake off their dock and in their pool. They also grilled out and shot off fireworks. We had an awesome time!

Sam and Seth and building the platform to shoot off the fireworks. 

James and his first sparkler

Josie's festive 4th cake :)

Happy birthday, America! 

Father's Day

Father's Day was a little random this year, with James's birthday party being the day before. It was super busy, but lots of fun! I hope Seth felt the love.

Two other girls and I surprised our men with a couples date night at a fun restaurant we'd been wanting to try Saturday night. My parents kept the kids and we were able to spend some fun, adult time out! 

On Sunday, we hung out with my parents before they left and it was nice to spend a little time on Father's Day with my own dad. Then we went to church and went to lunch with Seth's parents (who had just returned from a trip the night before). 

We spent the afternoon at a friend's pool swimming and ate some amazing ribs and barbecue. Then, we went to Seth's parents' house for dessert. 

I am so appreciative of all Seth does for our family. He's the "fun" parent more often than not and certainly brings tons of JOY to our lives. We're both blessed with great dads, and they have set examples that will hopefully strengthen our parenting. 

We have had Seth's picture taken with the kids every year since he got this apple tree for Father's day several years ago. 

Father's Day cookout....the dads and the kids

Happy Father's Day!