Big Sky Country

We were lucky enough to have a family reunion excursion to a beautiful cabin in Montana.

The drive was long, but we broke it up a bit by stopping often as we went through Logan's Pass.

The views were beautiful!

Claire really enjoyed the fresh air.

A nice stranger took a family photo for us.

There was a section of paved paths so we could take Claire part of the way up to the mountain.

Ryan got Madeline to stand by these little trees so that she could look like a giant...ha ha.

We were so excited to finally get to the cabin and it was beautiful.  

We got a very fancy bedroom.

We spent a lot of time outdoors.  The weather was beautiful the whole time.

There was a fun trail around the house and down the lane.  Rob and Madeline had lots of races and Aunt Jeannette took Madeline on a few bike rides.  We're glad that Grandma and Grandpa had room in their van for her bike!

We spent a couple of days down at the beach.  

We brought Claire's bath chair for her to sit on near the water and she loved it.

Someone was in heaven!

Me and my "ridiculous" hat.  I asked Ryan if it made me look ridiculous, because I feel like I don't look good in hats...and Madeline overheard the question.  She was very helpful and kept asking everyone we passed the same question.  

Claire loved the feeling of the rocks and water on her toes.

We had a nice little section of beach all to ourselves.

Ryan kicking butt at ladder ball, one of my favourite "sports."

The lake was chilly at first, but you got used to it quickly.

This cracked me up...

Claire was making a very model-esque pose as she fell asleep.  Blue Steel.

Another fun day at the beach.

Playing is hard work.

There were a couple of neighbourhood dogs that came to visit us each day at the cabin.  

Claire enjoyed their company.

There was even a beautiful hot tub to indulge in.  

One night we had a fun fire and toasted marshmallows.

I like mine burnt...so Madeline kept burning ones for me.  She got carried away.

I got to do a couple of fun activities while Ryan watched the girls.  

I went whitewater rafting.  (Where the scariest part was the water fights and random people jumping between boats, trying to knock everyone in the water.)

I also went on a trailride.  

I pretended that the helmet was a cowboy hat.  It made me feel slightly cooler.

We all had a wonderful time!

And now we know the rest of the story...

Here's what happened during the rest of July in our family.

We had an unwelcome surprise with water leaking into our basement which has forced a renovation project.  But in happier news, Auntie Mel came home from her mission!  We got to stay up late and head to the airport to meet her.

The girls and I headed downtown for the Capital Ex Parade.  If you want to go next year, here's a word of advice - GO EARLY to avoid stress.  They let us out one LRT stop early due to construction and we had to navigate a maze of elevators, pedways and crowds to finally make it to the parade.

But it was worth it.  We had lots of fun!

Madeline took this picture of us.

Madeline rocking out.

Claire was lucky enough to get a balloon from one of the groups.

A trip downtown in the summer wouldn't be complete without a quick dip in the pools.

Natalie and I took the girls to Monday Morning Magic.  It's an annual Capital Ex event where they set aside a few hours where kids with disabilities and their family can go on the rides.

The weather started out nice.  But we had only been on a few rides before the skies opened up on us!

Luckily there was lots to do inside.  We met lots of fun mascots.

Got some Oilers tattoos.

Explored the farming exhibits.

And we got to attend "The Aluminum Show," which was pretty psychedelic, man.

We had lots of time for snuggles this summer.

Our little monkey has certainly enjoyed the swingset this summer.  

We've definitely got our money's worth out of it over the years.

Claire finished her swimming lessons this month.  Madeline and I had to think of creative ways to spend the time while Claire swam with Auntie Natalie.  We explored the neighbourhood and the parks and on the last day, we brought some toys to play with while we watched.

On the last lesson, both Auntie Mel and Auntie Natalie came!

It was lots of fun.

She did very well!

We came back a couple of times to do a family swim at Terwillegar.  It's a great pool.

The girls and I took a trip to Calgary for a Layton wedding reception and a Patterson mission homecoming.  We splurged and had a fun stay at a hotel with a waterslide.

I didn't get any pictures of Claire swimming, since I had to hold her, but we all had lots of fun together.

Maddie was very brave on the waterslide all by herself.

Madeline loves to pose...

And pose...

And pose.

They had a fun photo booth at the wedding reception.  

It was pretty tricky to cram us all in, but we managed!

Such decadence.  Eating pizza in bed!  

I went to take a shower and she had devoured almost the whole thing!

We had a fun couple of months while Natalie ran her salon in our basement laundry room.  She pampered us quite often.  (If anyone is looking for a great hairdresser, she's doing it from her new house in Tamarack!)