I say this every year, but every year it seems to hold true - These were the BEST two weeks of the summer! Montana, you never disappoint us.
We'd been looking forward to Montana since the day we moved to New York. Sad, but true. The kids were itching for some cousin time, and I was ready for some rest and relaxation. We had done nothing but work, work, work since moving into our home in NY, so it was nice to sit and not have any projects to get done. We missed Mitch, who was unable to get anytime off this summer....or next. Darn work!
From the minute we arrived, until the minute we left it was go, go, go for these kids. They were on the paddle boards, then on the tube, then back to the kayak, then over to get ice cream, then back to the boat to ski, then on the road riding bikes, then back to the paddle boat, then climbing on the jet ski, then the "party" boat to swim, then up on the deck painting toe nails, and on and on and on. Each night they fell into bed without a fight and woke up early the next day, roaring to go.
This picture is false advertising! Although he did it twice in Lake Powell, he put up a huge fight when I tried to get him to do it here. Instead, he said he needed a nap and proceeded to climb into the party boat, laid down, and took a two hour nap. Hmmm....like father like son. Hoyt, on the other hand, stuck his feet in and took two laps around the bay like a seasoned skier.
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Finn was all sorts of adventurous this year. Her favorite thing was definitely the tube. They would sit out there pretending to meditate, singing, shaking their booties in the air, and then occasionally hanging on for dear life when grandpa got a little crazy.
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Finners loved being the flag girl behind the jet ski. She would be out there for hours as we worked to get the kids up on the skis or wakeboards. There were a few times I was worried she might fall asleep and tip off the back.
Rex learned how to ski and got up on the wakeboard this trip!
We love to eat, and we eat a heck of a lot up in Montana. So, we tried to counteract some of those calories by staying active. We'd swim the bay, bike around the lake, walk, run, and play behind the boat, of course.
We also spent lots and lots of hours in the great outdoors. Sunday we drove up to Whitefish Mountain Resort (Formerly Big Bear) and took the lift to the top. Then, we took the four mile trail down to the bottom. It was a gorgeous hike, with awesome views of Whitefish Lake, wildflower fields, and lush forests. My dad even packed his bear spray...just in case.
These two = Best parents and examples to me.
Dieter hitched a ride a few times, but for the most part my two big kids hiked the whole way down the trail. I was so proud, even though there was some heavy bribery going on for D-man.
One night, the kids were begging to go tubing. Steve decided to take all the kids out tubing, alone, while the rest of us got dinner ready. They'd been gone for quite a while when we got a call...they'd run out of gas. So funny. Tara grabbed the jet ski and drove out to tow them in. Steve was a good sport about it.
Since the Olympics were going on, we were all in the Olympic spirit. The Bato's organized a family triathlon one morning which turned out to be a lot of fun. We road bikes over to an empty development, and had bike races. Then all the kids ran a 1.5 mile race, followed by a swim in the bay, around a buoy and back. They were exhausted by the end, but had a blast.
Heat 1 - 7 and under!
One morning, poor Dieter woke up with a bad rash from his chest up to his face. It was scary to look at, but didn't seem to bother him too much. I thought maybe it was the hot tub, or a new sunscreen, so I made the poor guy stay out of the hot tub and loaded him up on Benadryl. He was so sleepy for a couple of days. After it didn't go away, I started researching rashes and came up with my own diagnoses. Here ya go: before we left he got a nasty mosquito bite on his heal which spread, bubbled, and got a similar rash around it. We have had an outbreak of West Nile Virus here on Long Island, so after a little more research, I determined he had West Nile Fever. It followed his symptoms exactly - bite, five to 10 days later a rash, swollen glands, headache, lasts 4 days to a week, then gets better! I'm so glad it wasn't more serious. And, while it very likely could have been something else, I'm sticking to WNV and keeping my kids away from the mosquitos out here.
I love that my family is getting into road biking. I was able to take several fun bike rides around Whitefish Lake, by myself, with my sister, and with my mom and sister. We even stopped by the local gas station to grab a refreshment. Yes, we may or may not have put Diet Coke in our water bottles....but man, was it good.
Dieter spent his days right there. Literally, he rearranged the paddle boards, tied and untied the tube, pulled out the kayak, arranged the buoys and mooring ropes, then reorganized the life jackets, re-tied the jet ski, and then started all over again. He even took a mooring rope to bed with him at night. What can I say, he's his daddy's boy.
Funny story: This summer I was at the Chiropractor, which also happened to be Mitch's good childhood friend, Matt Wood. He was talking about Mitch, and joking about how one thing he remembers about Mitch is that he would always bring a stack of boating magazines over for them to look at. I had to laugh because Mitch still has a stack of boating magazines that he likes to flip through, and Dieter is following suit. He loves everything about boating....except skiing. ;)
One thing we did last year that we made sure to do again was place pennies on the train track before it passed, and then pick up the flattened pennies after. We headed down to the weekly farmer's market by the train station and laid out our pennies. After walking around, eating dinner, etc, we headed back to the tracks to find our pennies scattered and smashed. The kids loved finding them and seeing them unrecognizable.
One rainy day we decided to head into Glacier National Park. We went in the East Entrance to St. Mary's Lake where we took a boat to Bowing Falls. It was a gorgeous ride. Glacier is on of the most scenic places I've ever been. I would add it to your bucket lists now.
The perfect picture of Dieter....he never stops!
After we headed up to Logan's Pass to hike to the Hidden Lake Overlook. Its about a 4 mile hike, and one of the most beautiful hikes you'll ever take. We saw four Mountain Goats which is always exciting.
Dieter hitched a ride for most the way down...luckily Grandpa Matt was willing to accommodate him.
Dieter picked me a flower at the top. Oh, and my nails were courtesy of Mya Papaya.
The rest of the time was spent on Whitefish Lake with daily trips to City Beach for ice cream.
Finnley graduated from the U-ski (hufflepuff) to the real-deal! It was difficult for her to accomplish, and she may or may not have called me a liar during the process, but she got up (if only for five seconds) and I'm proud of her for trying over and over again.
To show her how it was done, I took a spin myself. Talk about awkward! I was on the kiddie skis!
All 16 grandkids! What a great group.
Remmy looks so much like her Grandma Jan.
Remmy is a thumb sucker, but she also likes to hold a blanket in her hand while she sucks. Since she didn't have her blankie, she used the next best thing - Grandpa Matt's shirt.
It was a fun and memorable trip, and two weeks never went so fast. We are already counting down the months until next year. Thanks mom and dad for all you do, and for making our lives and our kids lives so full of fun and adventure.