Welcome to Soggy Summer

School's Out! Summer is here, but the summer weather has been slow to arrive this year. It has looked more like Washington than Montana the past few weeks. I did manage to get some flowers and a garden planted this week between rain storms, but we've been doing more puddle jumping than sun bathing lately. Regardless, we are looking forward to a summer schedule--time for walks in the morning, afternoons at the park, summer dance lessons for Claire, trips to visit family, and camping trips on the weekends!

Claire decided to see if her rubber duck liked puddles as much as she does.
The umbrella--Claire can't wait to use it, though we've had to set guidelines after an umbrella opening in the car incident.
Nate reminded me I failed to post any of his turkey hunt pictures from April/May. He shot two gobblers in South Dakota, and the one pictured above came from central Montana, as evidenced by the great scenery in the background.

Visit with Tia and Julia

We shared a wonderful weekend with Nate's sister, whom Claire calls Tia, and her youngest, who's also three, Julia. Their visit coincided with some of the first Spring weather we've had this year, so we were able to take full advantage of some outdoor activities.

Friday afternoon when I was done with school we all headed to a state park close by--Madison Buffalo Jump. We hiked to the top, and since we (me) forgot to bring the backpacks, the girls (Julia did better than Claire) actually had to walk most of the way with us carrying them to get through the tired patches. The views from the top are great this time of year as the valley turns green and the ranges still have snow on them.
On Saturday we went into Bozeman and enjoyed a few hours at a Watershed Festival with some great exploration/science activities for the girls, bluegrass music, and yes...ice cream. Could my daughter have picked something that screams SUGAR any more than this? Those eyeballs? Yuck.
Eating ice cream and dancing are a good combo though.
On Sunday we headed north to Canyon Ferry Reservoir and Helena. We had a morning walk by the lake. My first time in shorts this year. This was supposed to be a girls' picture, but the two little ones didn't cooperate. I'm so thankful for a sister-in-law like Sarah who's so much fun to hang out with and such a wonderful friend to me.
After the lake, we went into Helena to visit the Exploration Children's Museum. Nate was a good sport all weekend as he was slightly out numbered--mostly evidenced when we took over the TV for Grey's Anatomy instead of letting him watch a basketball playoff game.
They had some Wii dance game in the museum that the girls loved, once I barely managed to figure out how to work it. We got some video of them that will be perfect for future embarrassment--like at their weddings.
We still weren't done Sunday. On the way home we stopped at the lake again for some canoeing.
A final cute picture of these two characters. Thanks for coming all the way out you two!

Claire Turns Three!

Although I literally have HUNDREDS of pictures from Claire's wonderful birthday weekend, I'm only posting a few here. (For those of you who want more and haven't already seen them, check out my Facebook album.) Having my parents, sister Kari, and nieces Elly and Lauren here to celebrate really made the weekend more memorable. We were able to enjoy some nice weather and spend time flying kites, blowing bubbles, going swimming at the hot springs, and having a picnic at the lake. Claire had been inviting (or uninviting us when mad) to her her birthday for weeks, so to actually have the party complete with "Pin the kiss on the frog" and "Musical Pillows" was at long last quite fun.

Looking smashing in her new party dress!
New PINK trike from Nema, a princess crown, and a lollipop...does it get any better?
Baby Lauren checking out this furry creature, Hem. Though he's a bit wary, he's very good with the kids.
Note the pink theme...all Claire's doing...plates, cake, flowers, etc.
Nate actually had a birthday in there somewhere (Friday). Since it's two days before Claire's, she was having a hard time with the concept that it was his birthday, not hers, and almost didn't "let" him have it!
Some of the bubble fun. Though I made the mistake of getting two slightly different models, only ONE of which, horrors, had pink on it--major source of contention between the cousins.
Good think Grandpa's lap is equally good for stories on either side!

First Horseback Ride

Although Claire has told me several times she wants a pink horse for her birthday, she got a close second with her first actual ride on a horse tonight. A neighbor I work with from down the road kindly agreed to give Claire a ride on her "trusty dusty" named Copper. Nate has the camera while turkey hunting, so I quick dug for the camcorder. (Please ignore my lame commentary.)

The Big Trip

We've been looking forward to our big trip to Southern Utah for weeks, and I'm glad to say it was a resounding success. While the weather could have been a little warmer, it also could have been much worse. We had from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday afternoon to explore the very scenic Grand Staircase National Monument area. After me chickening out on camping, we decided to rent a yurt (a round canvas enclosed structure). It worked out great since it had a wood stove, attached outdoor kitchen, and bathrooms (with a shower) a short walk away. We were able to do a different hike each day and saw some incredible county. Claire really was exceptional--from the driving, to the time in the backpack, to starting to hike more on her own. We love seeing her start to get excited about some of the same activities that are our passions. There is definitely some very extreme hiking/canyoneering in this area, but I think we did pretty well for a family with a toddler in tow!

The slide show below has a fraction of the over 100 pictures we took. (Put your mouse over the picture to see the caption.)

Trip to Escalante-Grand Staircase

Signs of Spring

While other areas of the country might have blooming daffodils or cherry blossoms to signify Spring, here in Montana we have some other less obvious indicators:

• The ground squirrels or gophers are emerging from hibernation, and Hem is getting his paws and nose dirty digging at their holes.
• The fields around the house have a tiny hint of green, if you look really close.
• There are some sunny days where you can feel the warmth of the sun on your skin.
• The wind blows. A lot.
• Snow is melting and some trails are now hikeable again.
• The ice in the rivers and lakes is breaking up, making fishing and trying out our new canoe weekend options again...

We took our new-to-us canoe for its inaugural voyage on a lake that is formed from the Missouri about an hour north of our house. We were a little nervous about how Claire would take to the whole idea of sitting still, no standing/jumping/leaning etc. She did great! With her "binoculars" (made from a paper towel roll), she watched some birds, other boats, and almost fell asleep. We hope to try an overnighter with the canoe this summer.

We also took advantage of some melted snow and did a hike at Lewis and Clark State Park near our house.
Views of the Jefferson River.
We are gearing up for a big road trip to Southern Utah and Grand Staircase National Monument. If the weather cooperates, we'll do some hiking and biking while staying at a rustic yurt just outside the Monument. Stay tuned for some scenic pics from that trip!