Glacier

A little over a week ago, we spent four days camping in Glacier Nat'l Park. Glacier is probably one of my favorite places ever (at least in the summer when it's warm). We have had a trip planned for the past three summers I believe, and we've had to cancel every single one. So we were pretty determined to make it happen this year! And it did. And it was perfect. Except for the mosquitoes and a few 4-year-old temper tantrums. 

But seriously...cannot WAIT to go back again. Every time we go to Montana, John and I have a conversation that goes something like this:

"Why did we leave Montana?" 

"It's so beautiful here!"

"The air is fresher!"

"It feels like I'm breathing in health!" (Direct quote from John this trip!)

"We could totally live here...why did we move?"

And then the voice of reason (me) steps in: "because we hated living in the middle of nowhere 90 miles from the nearest real town which we didn't even want to go to in the winter because of the snow..."

Riiiiight. 

Really though, there are parts of Montana that we do miss, and the drive to Glacier totally reminds us of that. We live in a beautiful place now, and we love it, but there's just something different about Montana! Anyway...on to the point of this post...

We took our first tent-camping trip in about 5 years. It was a bit crazy, and probably crazier because we are used to our trailer camping comforts, but we had fun! We camped at a little campground off the beaten path a bit called Bowman Lake. It was a bit of a drive, but the campground was pretty much perfect for us (minus the mosquitoes!). We spent a LOT of time at the lake, which wasn't too crowded, and we even got to try paddle boarding for the first time. Well, John tried and succeeded, and I kind of stood there and tried not to lose my balance. 

Besides the lake, we did a couple of hikes along the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The boys loved the mountain goats (we saw LOTS, including some babies!) and they did pretty well hiking. The weather was beautiful, but there were quite a few people along the main road. We were so glad that we decided to camp up at Bowman Lake instead of one of the bigger campgrounds where we would've been even more stacked on top of other people.

LOTS of pictures. Because it's beautiful there and we have cute kids! 

Crammed into our little Subaru!

Bowman Lake

Paddle boarding:

John & B

Arch's turn

And Preston...

The boys loved paddle boarding so much they were begging us to get a board!

John & Arch again

Our campsite:

The next pictures are from a hike we did to Hidden Lake. We actually didn't do the full hike, just to the overlook which was about 4 miles round trip I think. Just right for our little guys! They said they were tired by the end, but they were still running around like crazy of course!

Next up: Trail of the Cedars. This was the perfect short walk to finish the day with since we had just done the Hidden Lake hike. The boys loved balancing on the downed trees!

Attempted family picture...with John's finger included!

And then back to Bowman Lake!

The pool that they made to keep the little fish in that they caught

The butterflies were so friendly! This one wouldn't leave me alone for about an hour or so. I finally got so irritated that I had to shoo it away and change locations! It then found a new spot to take up residence:

The boys made friends with some kids who brought a little raft along...it was a good day for them!

Here the boys are making turnip & alligator stew. Silly kids. They insisted that I make turnip stew once thanks to one of their favorite books, Mr. Wolf and the Enormous Turnip. They didn't like the stew that I made, but their own concoction must be better?! Maybe it's the alligator...

Tromping through the woods to the lake

And one last picture: Bowman Lake.

Patio, Phase 2

Today was the start of the next phase of our patio project: the awning! The boys were enthralled (of course), and they loved watching the guys "balancing dangerously." 

The work is still going on, but I snapped a pic during the random downpour we had earlier.

I am so excited to get this done! Our backyard has been torn up for a loooong time this summer, and I'm ready to move on. Our next projects are siding, windows, and a new front door! Master bathroom is also on the list, but I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen for a while, so I'm making (temporary) peace with the nasty jacuzzi tub, grimy grout, and brass fixtures.

While the rainstorm was occurring, it got super quiet upstairs. That is rarely a good thing in our house. In fact, I can't think of a time when it has ever been a good thing in the last seven years...but today!!! Today it was! My boys were working on a lincoln log building, together. Complete with an awning! 

And by the end of the day, it looked like this:

VBS

This was the first year that all of my kids have been old enough for VBS. So, except for the 2 mornings that I volunteered, I had a little kid-free time last week! It was a glimpse of what my life will be like in fall 2014 when Archer is in kindergarten, and I have no idea what I will do with myself! I cleaned the house multiple times, went shopping with a friend, got coffee, did the grocery shopping ALONE, it caught up on laundry...it was bizarre. 

The boys all loved VBS, even Archer, which is a huge feat considering how attached he is to me. They have been singing the songs non-stop, and yesterday we had a celebration at church with a BBQ and carnival. Archer and B got their faces painted (spiderman and batman...I wish I had taken pics!), and they all had fun playing the carnival games and running around with their friends. 

I somehow managed to only take one VBS-related picture the entire week...not sure how that happened! One day the younger boys made shields and Preston made a catapult. Preston was launching a cotton ball at Arch in the driveway, and Arch was blocking him with his shield.

Garden Harvest

Our garden is finally picking up! We have an abundance of green beans and cherry tomatoes, along with some full-size tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, raspberries, and of course we're still trying to keep up with our rhubarb, kale, and swiss chard. Our corn stalks have small ears on them, and I'm pretty sure we have a kohlrabi that is ready to harvest. 

I'm so sad it's August though...that means only a few weeks left of summer here, and I'm definitely not ready for (1) cold weather, or (2) school to start.

Stevens Lake Hike: Fail.

This past weekend we attempted a family hike and totally failed. It was recommended to us (by someone who doesn't have kids...) as a flat, easy trail. The reality was that the first half was ALL uphill. As in 1500+ feet of elevation change. A really bad choice for 3 young kids who were tired from their cousins visiting, and parents who were tired and lacking patience. 

After Preston almost ate a poisonous berry that he thought was a huckleberry, we turned around. It was not going to happen. The boys were disappointed because they were hoping for a swim in the lake that was the ultimate destination, but they settled for playing in the tiny creek that crossed the trail. 

Maybe we'll attempt it again, but given the amount of exhausted people we saw on the trail, I'd say we need a few years!

The Cousins Visit

The last few days, my brother and his family were visiting. It was such a fun time for the kids to actually spend time together (since they usually only get to spend a couple of hours together every few months). They are all close in age (4, 4, 5, 7, and 7) and had so much fun together! The weather wasn't great but we managed. We did Silverwood, bowling, the lake (well...a couple of them actually), sushi, huckleberry picking, and an off-road adventure to the river - complete with a flat tire! We packed quite a bit of fun into a few days!

Hopefully they are able to come back again next summer, and when they do, I hope the weather cooperates. 90 degrees and sunny preferably...none of this 70 and rainy business. You would think we are in Oregon!