First Baseball Game as a Family: Cards vs. Cubs

Montana, Part Three: The Trek Home

After a wonderful week with my cousin and her family, it was time to head home and make the long journey 1700 miles east.  We decided instead of taking two days to get back, we would split it up into three days, eight hours long.  I think the kids were just not ready to be in the car that long again.  So...the first night we stayed in Sheridan, WY, home of Buffalo Bill and the Big Horn Mountains.  It really was quite pretty there, but rained a lot and was cold.  Unfortunately, we got in too late to head over to Little Big Horn battlefield, so we had to miss that attraction.  I'm sure the kids really wouldn't get the significance of a giant open field.  Next time.  Our next stop was to get to Sioux Falls, SD for the night and we decided to check out Devils Tower National Monument on our way there.  This is a place that I thought I would never in my life get to see, so I was all for the two hour detour to get there.  It is known as the 'first national monument' because it is so old being made out of volcanic rock.  Just like with Mount Rushmore, the sheer enormity of it makes you stop and look.  You just don't expect to see this 1200 foot rock formation to pop out of the prairie.  The kids were utterly in shock to see it as well, they couldn't believe their eyes.  When we told them the Lakota Indian legend of how the rock was formed, I think they were blown away.  The legend goes that a hunting party was in the woods nearby and seven girls were lost looking for berries.  At that moment, huge bear started to chase the girls and they prayed to the rock they were on to save them. That's when the rock started to rise up to the heavens.  The striations on the side of the tower is where the bear's claws tried to reach the girls.  They were fated to stay forever and the constellation Pleiades (the Seven Sisters) is their spot in the heavens.  Isn't that a neat story?  Here are the pictures to prove we were there:

 Did you see this last pic? Those little dots in the middle are people climbing the tower! Unbelievable.

Montana, Part Two: The Visit

Getting to see my cousin and her family was awesome for me and the kids, considering we don't get to see much extended family on my side.  Missoula is a very cool town with lots of outdoorsy things to do.  We got to visit my cousin's store on the square downtown. I was blown away by how much work she has to put into this place, but she does a wonderful job doing so.  We also got to visit Big Dipper Ice Cream, not once, but twice and it seriously is a haven for those addicted to ice cream like I am.  Amazing stuff indeed, I could have eaten there every day!  All in this same day, the kids got to ride a vintage carousel and play on the best play ground ever. Whew...talk about amazing stuff and that was just the first day! 

Following the many hours of playing in the yard, playing xbox with the kids, coloring, etc., etc., we also got to witness Matthew moving on from 8th grade. I cannot believe he is going to be in high school this fall.  It seemed like just yesterday he was so little! Both him and Makenna are getting so big.  These are the times when I wish I could just slow down time for a little while :-(  



We also visited a ghost mining town about an hour outside of Missoula called Garnet Ghost Town which the kids absolutely loved! Once you arrived, you went to the visitor's center to grab a scavenger hunt list and they were super excited to find all the old items on their list.  Things like Log Cabin syrup tins, boots, a giant bellows, barrels, old washing machines, etc.  When the kids had seen everything their job was to take the list back to the gift shop where they received a coloring book about Garnet. I can't imagine living back then when life was so much harder.  The town wasn't so big though, one hotel, one store, the blacksmith, a jail and most appropriately, thirteen saloons.  HA! It was such a great way to show the girls that life hasn't always been easy and give them a little perspective on how some people still live today.  Here are some shots of the day:

 

 On our last full day with Selena and the fam, we decided to take the kids fishing for the first time.  This had to be the highlight of their visit.  It was the hottest day of our trip, which reached into the low eighties, so they were happy to be outside in the sun.  We ended up going about half an hour to Frenchtown Pond State Park which was perfect for the kids because they could fish from the shore and also swim down by the beach if they wanted.  We brought snacks and hung out in one of the many pavilions around the park.  Amazingly, no one got snagged by a hook! The girls were actually really good casters! I wasn't too bad myself after not really fishing since I was a girl too.  We spent a good two hours lounging around the park and spending time with each other.  It was perfect.  We then went back into town and took the kids swimming at one of the local aquatic centers until everyone was ready for dinner.

I couldn't have asked for a more fitting way to close out our trip, just spending time all together.  I'm only hoping that we will be able to come back and visit before Matthew graduates high school!  Cannot wait to take Josh next time.  A HUGE thanks to Shane & Selena for letting us crash and take over their house for the week, I know its an adjustment having little one in your house :-) 

Montana, Part One: The Journey

We made the long trip Northwest to see my cousin and her family for my godson's 8th grade promotion.  It was supposed to be our family vacation for the summer, but turned out that Josh couldn't accompany us...so it was a Thomas Family Vacation! My parents, Kayleigh, Stephani, Kaya & Kellen all came along for the ride and it was amazing to have the kids see a different part of the country.  The weather was really nasty heading out on our first day and very cold for the end of May.  Roughly 60 degrees with horrible winds, especially through Wyoming.  We drove 14 hours the first day and stopped for the night in Sioux Falls, SD.  Thankfully, we had a patch of sunlight the next morning for our trip to Mount Rushmore.  What an amazing place to visit!! The little town of Keystone outside of the park was so cute, I think I could have spent a little time there, but we just drove through on our way up the mountain.  Pulling into the park grounds was just breathtaking.  The scenery was gorgeous and then four massive heads sticking out of the rock.  The kids were floored! They have never seen anything like it in their lives.  We went for a couple hours and took pictures, walked the President's Trail and checked out the Sculptor's Studio.  Then on the gift shop, where I think bought out the place.  Really neat books, rocks and post card souvenirs to commemorate our trek out there.  

The Only thing that would have made this visit to the park would have been if Daddy had been with us :-(  We missed him so much this trip, but so glad the girls got to see this amazing symbol of our country.  We'll have to go back and take him! 

From there we kept driving until our little hearts couldn't take it anymore and we finally pulled into Missoula, MT around 10:30pm MST.