Trip to Glacier National Park

We shared an action-packed adventure with Nate's family in Montana last week. His mom, sister Sarah, and her family (Bruce, Sam, Will, and Julia) all came out to celebrate his mom's 70th birthday. We spent most of the time near Glacier where we enjoyed some scenic hikes, swimming in clear mountain lakes, shared time at the cabin we rented, and a few bike rides. Claire loves spending time with her cousins, and she and Julia had some very cute moments together. (They also had some "Mine!" moments interspersed throughout the visit.)

Glacier is 5-6 hours away, so though it's in Montana, it isn't a place we've visited since living here. The trip up there was scenic (revealing all kinds of new territory we want to explore), and Glacier does have some spectacular alpine country.

The Pink Panther soundtrack is especially for Sam and Will who introduced Claire to "the mouse," as she calls it, while riding in the rental vehicle with its own built-in DVD player. This was a big hit for the many car hours they had over the week! Thanks to Nema, Tia, Bruce, Sam, Will and Julia for being such great travel companions and making the week so much fun.

Weekend in Denver

Claire and I spent a long weekend in Denver with my good friends from Calvin College. The Nydams graciously hosted us again, and Elisabeth and Simon Cooper flew in from Little Rock. Having four 2 year olds running around wasn't always conducive to in-depth, long conversation, but we did manage to fit our talks in here and there. We loved watching the kids together and sharing in the joy and frustration of being moms of toddlers.

It was hard to get a picture with all four together and happy since chances were one was in some kind of funk at all times. However, in the photo below they had some yummy homemade Popsicles made by Sugar Nydam and Trevor Nydam was making the kids laugh in the background.
We had a little pool time in the backyard. Here we were trying to bribe them with candy, but they weren't really going for it.

Bath time was a little chaotic...especially with Simon deciding to wash everyone's hair for them.

Claire and Elsie are great little buddies.

We attempted a hike. Let's just say Jane's sister, Jill, had to bring the car closer so it would be over sooner.

Since Jane and Elis are both expecting new babies in the fall, we're not sure how to make next year work...but we had a great visit!

4th of July Hike

After toying with the idea of going to the Ennis rodeo for the 4th, we decided to avoid the masses and go for a hike together in the Elkhorns. According to the map, we could drive to within a mile of Leslie Lake where we might find some of the cutthroat trout that are still native to the Elkhorns' streams and lakes. As I'm continually re-learning in Montana, the word "road" has many different interpretations on the maps. In this case, ATV track would be more accurate. We ended up stopping about 2 1/2 miles from the lake after a minor injury to the Subaru's bumper which Nate had to fix using his shoelace. Claire is "helping" in the photo below.

Not wanting to call it quits, we decide to see if Claire could last in the backpack the 3 miles or so that remained to the lake. She actually was quite content to ride in the backpack, and we made it to the lake just in time for a downpour to start. We weren't quite prepared gear-wise to hang out in the rain, so we ate a quick snack and started to hike back in the rain. Of course, the sun came out just as we arrived at the car. Still, we got out, saw some new country, got some exercise, and had a beautiful drive home on a back road that cuts from our house through the Elkhorns.

Camping!

It suddenly hit us that between trips and some family visits, we have only a few weekends free this summer to go camping. Since I was too wimpy to try it last summer with Claire crawling, I was eager to see how she'd handle the experience. And, in true Claire fashion, she embraced all of it with enthusiasm. Before any day trip or weekend trip, we always have a little indecision and outdoor-pursuit ADD. We just can't seem to decide if we want to focus on hiking, biking, kayaking, or fishing (I know tough problem to have!); as seen by the loaded-to-the-gills Subaru below, we usually end up throwing EVERYTHING in because the ONE time we don't bring our rods will be the time fish are rising all over the lake or river. (We actually did end up using everything except our bikes this weekend too.) The other "problem" we run into is deciding where to go. Within a two-hour radius of our house there are innumerable rivers, mountain lakes, and valleys to enjoy. Even after 10 years in Montana for me and over 20 for Nate, we haven't gotten close to seeing it all. This weekend we headed over to the Big Hole River valley and camped at Brownes Lake.

Claire loved the idea of sleeping in a tent with her own sleeping bag between Mama and Papi. She liked just bouncing around in there and zipping and unzipping everything...especially when she was supposed to be going to sleep.

After learning to walk, Claire hasn't been as happy to ride in the backpack for hikes. However, now that she understands some of the WHY she's riding in the backpack, and if I have enough bribes (one BIG lollipop), she actually lasted long enough for us to hike up to a lake about 1 1/2 miles and 1000 feet higher than the one we camped at.

Once there, we enjoyed the clear, sunny day and the beautiful scenery.

Claire loves to climb...the rocks along the shoreline were perfect challenges for her.

Nate and I took turns taking the kayak out on the lake.

Trip out East

Claire and I arrived home on Thursday after spending a wonderful 10 days in MA and NY with Nate's family. Though the weather wasn't that summery, we had an action-packed time with lots of great toddler-friendly activities and quality time with Nema, Grandpa Charlie, Tia (Nate's sister Sarah), Bruce, and cousins Sam, Will, and Julia. We went to parks, farms, the aquarium, shopping, a butterfly conservancy, and the Eric Carle museum. One of the highlights for me was a Saturday night trip in New York City with Sarah for dinner and a Broadway play. All of the activities were a great change of pace and scene for us Montanans. I feel so lucky to have such wonderful in-laws such that I love hanging out with them--even if Nate isn't around. Thanks to all of you for making the trip so much fun for us!

Introducing Lauren Renee Vanden Bosch

My sister Kari and her husband Jason, along with 3 year old Elly, welcomed baby Lauren to their family last Tuesday. August seems like a long time away before I'll be in Washington and can hold this precious one myself! Congrats to them!

Summer's Here!

After what seemed like a busier-than-normal end of the school year, I finished for the summer on Friday. The weather this weekend cooperated, and we were able to get out both days to enjoy some of Montana's early summer. With no grading waiting for me, graduation parties to attend, or meetings to worry about, I was COMPLETELY relaxed...well as much as a parent of a two-year-old can be. Nate managed to fit in two bike rides, kayaking, and fishing. While he was more than willing to let me have my turn, I have to admit to being pretty exhausted and content to just read a book in the sun and watch Claire explore the woods and lake. We have a week here to regroup, and then Claire and I are looking forward to a trip to Massachusetts and New York to spend time with Nate's family out East.