Our Montana Trip

Elayna and I spent the last week of March visiting my family in Montana.  It was Elayna’s first official Spring Break and she had a BLAST spending time with her Grandparents and exploring the ranch.

We were extremely fortunate to coincide our visit with Easter and to be joined by my sister Alicia and my brother Nathan.  Nate also brought his girlfriend Sara from Iowa and we loved getting to know her and show her around. 

Feeding cows with Grandpa Cliff and horses with Uncle Nate.

 

Baking with Grandma Missy and tending the coffee shop in Townsend.  [a customer gave Elayna a stuffed animal in the drive through.  Apparently she’s such a good barista, she’s already getting tips!]

 

Easter Egg Hunt at the Big Sky Care facility in Helena.  My Grandma Rubie has been recovering from there and we were able to visit with her several times.  The Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday was particularly cute!!

  

Four-wheeling with Aunt Licia!

Birthday cupcakes with Grandma Rubie on Easter!!!

 

And some miscellaneous cuteness…

 

 

A very fun memorable trip!!  Let’s do it again soon….

Montana Trip–Day in Red Lodge

We cruised over to Red Lodge for a quick over-nighter on July 5th.  I wish we could have stayed longer but it was a great visit.

While we were hoping to meet baby Clara, Brad and Charlotte had just left for a 3-week trip to Europe.  Our timing was horrible – we’ll just have to plan another ‘meet the baby’ trip!

Overall, Red Lodge was rainy and chilly, a welcome change for us and a great excuse to huddle inside.  We ordered pizza, played cards and dice, and dozed on the couch.  Elayna even passed out on Aaron’s lap – something she’s never done before!  The deer were touring the neighborhood and Elayna had a great time splashing in the rain puddles.  Very fun for all!

    

Montana Trip–4th of July

It has been years since we celebrated the 4th of July – and somehow nothing is more patriotic to me than watermelon on the front porch overlooking my parent’s ranch. 

We chased cows.  We barbequed.  We ate watermelon and chased kitties.  We lit sparklers and my mom sang the 4th of July song.  We planted a tree.  And we did all of it with a wealth of family and friends.

     

Montana Trip–floating the Missouri

Unlike past years, I’m not as enthusiastic about keeping the blog updated … sorry.

Also unlike past years, we weren’t able to spend a lot of time in Montana this summer.  Unlike last year with our 5-week stint, we were only able to get away for a week this year.  We spent the entire 4th of July week soaking up Montana hospitality.

After spending 2 days in the car, we were very happy to spend 2 days on the Missouri River.  On Sunday, we had a lovely family picnic with my Mom and her friend Tammy.  Elayna practiced her rock throwing, Aaron dozed in the shade, and we all relaxed on the water.  

On Monday, we escaped for a few hours with my brother Nathan to kayak the Missouri.  This was another first for Aaron and I and completely addictive.  We loved the inflatable kayaks (thanks again to Tammy!).  We loved the relaxed pace of the Missouri.  And we loved the beautiful sunshine and Montana afternoon.

  

All-in-all, a great start to the week!!

One last Montana memory

Our time in Bozeman over, we headed to Winston for one last night on Friday.  It was a long day for us – both Aaron and I worked, we packed and packed and packed, and stopped for one last visit with Chrissy Fenno and the boys on the way out of town.  However, we still had enough energy for a great evening at the ranch with my family!!!  Thanks everyone for such a great dinner and memorable time.

A few highlights:

Feeding the baby calf with Uncle Nate and then stomping around the barn in spurs!

 

Giggles with Grandpa Cliff and then riding Gonzo!

 

We are home now after 2 days of driving…  It does feel like another life being back in Phoenix as we try to return to normality:  make hair cut appointments and dig out the swimsuits and plan meals for the week.  So ends our Montana month-long adventure … but I know that other adventures are sure to follow.

… I think we’re going to get a kitty!

Our Fishing Picnic on the Gallatin

The waters stall but a breathe of time

And the sun kiss softly on the trees

And in the wildness, river’s-edge

Is only you, is only me.

      

A Picnic in Red Lodge–Aug 18, 2011

We have rare moments when God truly smiles on us:  schedules perfectly align, weather is breathtaking, and Gordon manages to find the perfect empty campsite for a family picnic in Red Lodge.  We are very thankful Margene was able to organize everyone, the Jerry and Carol were still in Montana, and that we were able to have some a wonderful afternoon together!

Fishing Rock Creek:

  

  

Relaxation, wildlife, and horseshoes:

  

Week at Camp–MT Wk2!

It is rare for us to completely unplug, relax, and just spend some time together as a family.  We were blessed to be able to do that at Clydehurst Christian Ranch – a beautiful facility up the Boulder River Valley that Aaron worked at through high school and college.  The camp has no cell reception, internet is slow and clunky, and there’s not a TV to be found.

This left us forced to spend time together!  We went for hikes and picnics, Aaron and I played in the volleyball tournament (and won!!), we took naps and fished and read.  Elayna was entertained by daily children’s programs and we didn’t cook or clean the entire week!  It really was wonderful.

Elayna’s highlight was by far the horses!!  She LOVED her daily kiddy ride with Mom.  Grandma Carol even took her on the day they visited.

  

Of course, more than anything else, we FISHED.  The Boulder River has some spectacular trout waters and Aaron was armed with a new rod made by Jerry.  Elayna even has a new Barbie fishing pole (no fish on that one though) so we spent almost every day in the river.

     

Official fish count:  Aaron 12, Courtney 1.  And I also split my boots.

We caught up with some good friends too – Paster Steve and Priscilla Matheson who were the speakers for the week.  We had a great time winning the volleyball tournament with them and Scott and Carla Brownson!

It was hard to come back to civilation after such a relaxing and fun week.  It was definitely a time we’ll remember and cherish as a family – hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to go again some year.