The Great Montana Adventure!

Call us crazy, but we decided to make the 13+ hour trek to Montana once again to visit Brian's parents. Even though Talia and I made the trip last summer with my brother (and then on to ND - still can't believe we did that with a four month old!!), this is the first time we've done it since becoming a family of four. Since we've talked about Brian's parents' MT retreat to my family for years, we opened up the invitation for them to come along, too. It was a George/Danner/Donaldson Caravan Adventure!!

Since we had recently purchased our Audi station wagon with the intent to take it on road trips like this one, we knew this would be the perfect opportunity to take it on one of its maiden voyages. Still not sure how we managed to pack four people and two dogs for 8 days worth of stuff!

So crazy to see these windmills line the horizon along the gorge.  As kids, my family and I would make this drive to Spokane every year and these were not here.  Just rolling hills on the Washington side and the jagged cliffs on the Oregon side.  To see these along the hills now is quite the sight!

We left on Saturday and stayed a night at my parents' new property they bought in Idaho - a great halfway point. They don't have a house built on it yet (only a small camping trailer and very rustic cabin), so we camped on their property that night. Which means we had to pack a tent and sleeping bags, too!

Uncle T is posing in front of the "cabin".  It reminds me of something you'd see in a western movie or what you would think of when Little House on the Prairie comes to mind.  Oil lanterns, a cot, one chair and a desk for playing cards.  My parents prefer to stay in their camping trailer for the time being.  But the kids loved playing and exploring in it!  (You can see that and the wood shed in the background :)

Their hammock provided hours of entertainment!

So much room to run and play here!

Posing in matching camo - only when camping!

And this "campsite" also has a pretty great view!

My JLo camping hat & shades

The next morning, we got up early to drive the rest of the six hours. It also happened to be my birthday. No other way I would've wanted to spend it - getting to spend time with some of my favorite people!

Posing for my 34th bday - wow!!

This made the drive a little easier for a few hours!

Northern Idaho is so beautiful

Wide open spaces in Montana

The beautiful sunset that greeted us that evening.  Not too bad of a view for my bday :)

The Georges beautiful property with amazing views of the Madison Range

And of course Brian had to take the kids on a quick ATV ride as soon as we got there :)

There is so much to do and see in and around their place, that we were packed with activities. Yellowstone is an hour and half away, some amazing caves an hour away, rafting down the Madison River, ATV rides in the mountains behind their house, visiting Bozeman, fly fishing, rodeos, 4th of July parades, the list goes on and on... It was hard to pick only a few of these from the list, but we needed to leave a little for next time, too :)

Our first MT adventure was to go rafting down the Madison River.

All suited up and ready to go rafting!

I didn't get too many pics of our rafting adventure since all belongings had to stay in the car, but I did get this cute one of the boys!

The next day's adventure was an all-day ATV trip through the mountains behind the Georges' house. We've done this every time we've been to their house, but this was the first time we had this big of a crew! The Georges had to borrow enough ATVs to accommodate our large group, including one vehicle that looked like a golf cart on steroids. It was the perfect vehicle for Talia, though, who was trying to jump out of the moving vehicle the whole time. Yikes.
Our trek took us to the old-time town of Virginia City. I didn't get as many pics this time around of the quaint little town, but got some good ones while en route to Virginia City.

 

 

On our way!

Loved how Aunt Bridg even rode one by herself.  They are much harder to handle than they look!

This picture does not do the view justice.  Amazing scenery behind us as we climbed higher.

Bridgit owning that ATV!!

A few more years, boys :)

Again, the view

The ATV golf cart that kept Talia from jumping ship

Historic site along the way.  Wish I could remember the story here.  I'll have to make sure to read up on it again for the next time :)

A bachelor's cabin we found along the way. 

Not sure who he invites back to his cabin, but I'll have to remember not to be a guest!

And then these baby birds greeted us when we got back. They were in a nest right next to the Georges' deck.  Two days into our trip, I had no idea they were here until we were outside while they were hungry waiting for their mama to return with their dinner.  It was so sweet to see!

Relaxing on the deck after returning from an all-day trip. Bella always has a smile on here face while we're here :)

A relaxer's paradise

The next day, the Gramas and Papas decided to go to Yellowstone for the day. At first, all of us were going to go, but then realized that going with a four, three and one year old may not be the best idea. So, half our group decided to have a resting day at their house. All we did for an entire day was relax on the deck, play ladder ball and explore outside. Even though we're the kind of group to go, go, go, it was nice to have a "down day"!

Hours of relaxing entertainment and wildlife viewing from their deck.

Endless exploring opportunities for the boys

Yep, smiling again

Even though we were on vacation, these three still managed to find time for work.  But with the view they had, I'm sure they'd rather this be their office any day :)

Ladder ball

Bella and her BFF cousin, Stella.

Love the look of the storm that was coming in.

But a thunderstorm won't stop these boys.  A little competitive :)

And then the next day was the 4th of July. So we got up early to get a good spot for the Ennis Parade, of course!

All decked out in our 4th of July finest

Papa and Tristan :)

Grama & Talia

Front row seats!

Someone was a little generous with the sunscreen

The clowns have been my favorite the last few times we've been!

Tristan thought this looked like Sarge from Cars.  Somehow there is always a reference to that movie wherever we are :)

This reminded me a little of home :)

After the parade, we walked down to the car show.  It was pretty impressive!

Tristan's favorite car because it reminded him of Doc Hudson from his favorite movie ever :)

After the car show, the Gramas and Papas took the kiddos back to the house so the parents could go to the rodeo.  It was well worth it!  And please excuse the Hawaiian wear.  This was definitely not my first outfit pick, but it was so hot outside, that I had no other choice.  Bad planning on my part!  At least I had the cowboy hat to throw everyone off :) And if I thought I could sneak into a rodeo like that, I was sorely mistaken.  The cowboys on their horses at the entrance made sure to make fun of us enough so that we knew we stuck out like tourists :)

Even though the stands on the opposite side look pretty empty, it was actually pretty packed where we were.  I'm thinking we were on the visitor/tourist side and those were probably the locals/real cowboys over there.  It was definitely a mix of people here - many tourists from all over the world!  Luckily I wasn't the only one who forgot to wear my Wranglers and cowboy boots that day :)

And then after the rodeo, we decided that would be the perfect opportunity to take some family pics. Tired, hot, sweaty - perfect timing!

Starting the sparklers!

Firework viewing party

Beautiful sky with one of Papa's fireworks high above

Again with the beautiful night sky!

A great sunset on our last night in Montana

Out in old-town Ennis on our last day

Mustache buddies on our last night at Grama & Papa's property in ID before heading back home!

Oh, forgot to mention that we picked up an extra one on the way back :)  Emma had been staying at her grandparents' house for a few weeks after school was out and needed a ride back home.  Somehow we were able to fit another person + luggage in our already packed car.  And this is how a lot of the car ride was on the way home - they were definitely tired after five days in Montana!

What a great trip! And how lucky we were to be able to spend time with both sides of the family at the same time :)

Birthdays & Anniversaries

June has been a busy month for us! It's pretty much always a busy month for us every year, as Brian and I celebrate our dating anniversary, his birthday, then our wedding anniversary all within three days (!) and then end the month with my birthday on the 30th - whew! This year was especially special because we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. And, get this - our first date night in over three years!!!! I know it sounds strange, but every time we've gotten a babysitter since Tristan was born, we've always met up with other people. We've never gone out by ourselves. But after Michelle offered to watch the kids for our anniversary, we decided that we definitely needed an alone date night. I really wish we would have gotten a picture to document this milestone, but completely forgot to take out the camera. We had a great time going to all the places in downtown Bend that we've always walked by (with the kids) and dreamt of visiting some night (as adults). We definitely have some new favorites and dream of when the next date night will be...hoping it's more like in three weeks instead of three years!!

Road/Work trip!

Brian had a work trip in southern Oregon this week which meant that we got to tag along to visit some of the beautiful places just south of us! On our way down, we stopped at Crater Lake for a few photo opps. I haven't been in a very long time - maybe 15+ years - but it was just as amazing as I remember it when we used to take family vacations down there.
And then after a quick trip there, we headed down to Medford for the night. Since Brian had business all the next day around the area, I did not have access to a car, so we had to find a spot where Brian could drop us off for close to eight hours. Eight hours with two kids without transportation sounded like a terrific idea at the time, but once we got there, we realized just how hard it would be. Luckily, I had gone to Ashland a few times when I was younger and remembered it being a quaint town with quite a few things to do. So after having dinner down there and scouting out possible things for the kids and I to do on our own, we came back the next day for our all-day adventure!

On our way with Teddy!


One of my new favorite photos. And if anyone knew me when I was teaching first grade, they would also recognize this bear. Teddy used to travel with me to different places so that I could take pictures of him to share with the class :)

We spent a lot of our time in Lithia Park, which is a huge park with a few playgrounds, many trails and lots of grass for the kids to run around. What we didn't anticipate was that there would be horrible weather while there. We were expecting 70/80s, but were greeted with 50s and rainy/thunderstorms. Yuck. Even harder when you're with two kids with no car and your hotel is 20 miles away. But we found lots of big trees that acted as cover from the rain along with the local coffee/ice cream/donut shops/restaurants and the library that helped us stay (somewhat) dry!


Oh, and another snafu that we encountered, was that we forgot our stroller - major oops!!! So finding a cheap umbrella stroller was a must, otherwise, not sure how I would have been able to chase around a one year old along with carrying a ginormous diaper bag all day!!

Tristan was also a big help and tried to help out with pushing his sissy if I needed a break :)

We even saw deer in the park. We were surprised at how close they let us get to them, especially in a park that has a lot of frequent visitors.
Another funny, but not-so-funny moment (reader alert - do not read if you have just eaten/about to eat/are eating - you've been warned!) was when we decided to take cover from the thunderstorm to go have lunch in a busy restaurant. Just as we were following the hostess to our seats, Tristan decided he'd show his disapproval for the place by throwing up all over the ground as well as himself. Oh, and right in front of a group of ladies who were in the middle of their lunches. And that was just halfway through our day. But he wasn't sick, it was a bad parenting move on my part. I spun him too hard and too long on a spinning toy at the playground. Not sure what was going through my head, but he was having so much fun that I wasn't thinking about the consequences of what could happen if you spin a three year old over and over again, repeatedly. I mean, we had a lot of time on our hands, so what else was there to do?? Luckily there were many helpful diners and employees who felt sympathy for our situation and jumped into action. I was mortified. After the embarrassment of cleaning up puke (and hoping fellow lunch patrons would not reenact the scene from Standy By Me), we left the restaurant and went back out into the monsoon. Since we still needed to find cover, we walked a few more blocks and found a little café and tried our luck again. This time everything was a-okay and I rewarded ourselves with ice cream :)
Overall, there were some hard moments, but for the most part it was a success! Not sure I would repeat it with the kids at this age again, but at least I can say we did it and it was an overall fun and memorable day :)

Portland trip - June Birthday Crew!

This past weekend, we ventured to Portland once again to visit family and friends. This time it was to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the June Birthday Crew! We also decided to celebrate the real Father's Day by going to the zoo. Such a fun weekend with some of our favorite people!!

Love, love, love these ladies!!

Bromance at its finest :)

Attempt at a Father's Day pic with the kiddos. There's always someone looking off to the side, and it's usually Brian!

It was a great day for animal viewing, especially the bears!

And another attempt...

It was a big deal when this little elephant was born about six months ago. We loved being able to see her for the first time!

All in all, a great weekend!!

Faux Father's Day :)

So today I totally got my Sundays mixed up and thought it was Father's Day! Oops!!! I'll blame it on the fact that I'm not teaching this year and am not clued into every single holiday like I usually am. At least we got this cute pic of the kids all dressed up on our way to brunch :) And Brian still got a card and a yummy breakfast out of the mix-up - not too bad for a faux Father's Day!

Pool Party!

As soon as June began, we have been blessed with beautiful weather. So nice, in fact, that we got to pull out Tristan's new birthday pool the other day. And it was also a good excuse to buy Talia a cute new swimsuit. Love the toddler bikini!

Tristan has been wearing these swim shorts since he was one and they still fit! Well, to clarify, they definitely did not fit him at one as they were almost down to his ankles. I love that I haven't had to buy him new shorts yet!

Love these action shots of Talia down the slide. This girl has no fear.

Sunbathing in diaper style.

Like father, like daughter. Pooped out after a fund day in the sun!

Springtime Adventures

Now that spring is in full effect, we have been taking advantage of the warmer weather by being outdoors as much as possible. And Bend definitely compliments that lifestyle! Here are some pics of our springtime adventures thus far:

Watching as Dad cuts the first grass of the season. No, I'm not kidding. That is another plus to living in the high desert - the grass only needs to be cut during the spring/summer months because it doesn't grow during the winter - what?? We were used to cutting our grass year-round west of the mountains!

Tristan also helping with the weed wacker. Helping with yard work is seriously Tristan's most favorite thing to do!

Not sure how smart this was, but apparently the tops of the trees needed to be cut and a ladder just wasn't going to work as well the top of the car. Don't try this at home, folks.

Don't blame me for this outfit choice. Obviously a Dad pick :) Getting ready for one of many bike rides!

Our weekly bike ride!

Biking over the Deschutes to the finish line of the PPP

Park adventures

Someone thought it would be an excellent idea to get a treat at Starbucks while mom got her coffee treat. Let's just say that a two hour walk along with two parks was needed to get this sugary treat out of our system!