big sky

Ben, Ryan, MeeMee and I just returned from 10 glorious days in Big Sky country.  We left late Thursday evening and made it to Buffalo past all of our bed times.  We made it to Missoula late the next afternoon.  MeeMee dropped us at Papa Ken's before she headed out to hang and camp at Uncle Carl's.  We joined her the next day to celebrate Erik and Kari's winter-time nuptials (see next post.)

first MT mountain pic

valuable lessons learned on the road

  

On Sunday we settled in for a few days of fun with Papa Ken, Boomer and new-pup-addition, Beckett.

discovered more than one of these grapefruit radlers on this trip-so delish!

we day-tripped to Seeley Lake with Papa Ken and the pups

Ben and I had a Minions movie and Hoagieville date while Ryan and Papa Ken golfed.

We hauled along Ben's big boy bike and it got lots of use.

 

We attempted some fly-fishing on the Clark Fork one day and re-confirmed that fishing with Ben in tow is years away.

new-pup Beckett

On Wednesday morning we bid adieu to the dog house and headed east toward MeeMee's property.  I finally convinced my fellow travelers to stop at the Patagonia outlet and Ryan hit the jackpot while MeeMee and I didn't find too much in our sizes.  In the end, the hour and a half out of our way didn't seem to bother anyone too much.:)

We made a last stop for groceries and headed off the grid to East Rosebud Creek.  It was a joy to show it to Ryan for the first time and see the awe on his face that surely graced mine last year.  We spent 3 nights this year and got in a great hike, a little fishing, some serious Skip-Bo playing and MeeMee and Ryan built a successful inaugural fire pit.  Ben is definitley in his element while camping and I think we all enjoyed the un-plugged time. 

Not a bad place for your morning joe. 

 

Every time we pass this barn, I daydream about taking family Christmas card pics there.

this little trooper hiked over 4 miles this day

playing in East Rosebud lake

a lot of fresh air and a finger pinch could only be fixed with 

a good cry and a long nap in mom's lap

heaven

Ryan and Ben made a "bike track," in the grass with the car and Ben got to ride in the front seat with NO seatbelt!!

 

We took the scenic route home through northern Wyoming and it was gorgeous!  It made for a long day of travel and Ben's morning wish of a cheeseburger, chocolate chip cookie and pizza all in the same day actually came true when we ordered pizza as we neared MeeMee's house.  The trip was delightful and perfectly long and short all at once.  I know Ben will have fond memories of these trips and I will continue to do all I can to encourage his love of all things outdoors.

All American

We came home from Breck early most specifically for the Zac Brown Band concert at Coors Field on July 3rd.  This was the first major concert hosted at Coors field and overall they did a great job.  They definitely don't have bathroom facilities planned for everyone to use at once and even the men's rooms had Loooooong lines. Otherwise, I hope to see more bands come to this smaller venue with good sound and gorgeous mountain views.

We started the evening with friends and more friends at Union Station.  Many drinks and a little dinner later, we were headed to the show.

such a fun night

Big Head Todd and the Monsters opened and they alone were a treat.  Zac Brown Band blew my expectations out of the water and to the far reaches of the universe.  I had NO idea how many incredibly talented musicians were hiding out in the Zac Brown Band.  They were indescribably gifted. They did spot-on covers for Led Zeppelin, Metallica (when Ryan and Cole morphed into 16 year old metal-heads,) Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queen and probably a couple more I'm forgetting.  The only thing that flowed more freely than the music were the huge 24 oz beers.  We attempted to get food with the gang on the way home but everyone left us about midnight to begin the journey home.  Ryan and I waited out a table and in hindsight I think it was a VERY wise decision.

 

 

I felt like Molly waking up on July 4th as she and her young friends had historically taken advantage of no work on the 4th and partied on the 3rd.  I really think Ben was my saving grace as knowing we needed to get him picked up from Nana and Papa got my booty in gear.  A very rare stop at McDonalds for Dr. Pepper proved just how much fun I had had.  I wanted to gather Ben and hunker down at the Lineberry's but Ryan pushed me to look at a few cars while we had some kid-free time.  

Both our cars had been "totaled" in the hail storms. Because we had just replaced Ryan's last hail-totaled car, and were never going to find a nice Accord like his with such amazingly low miles, we decided to keep his and replace mine.  Thanks to the flooding and travel and life, a month quickly passed and now State Farm was pushing us to make a decision and turn in my car if that was our plan.

We had looked at my new car earlier in the month and looked at some more that morning.  It was funny how many people had been to the concert and how one of our salespeople looked at me and said, 'Zac Brown, huh?"  His sister had been and told him all about it.:)  Well, our other searching proved what great shape my new car was in and it was still there waiting for me after a couple weeks.  Ryan and I decided there was nothing more "American," than hung-over car buying on the Fourth of July and Pat and Jim offered to meet us at the Lineberry's with Ben a bit later.  We even went to buy apple pie while they got the paperwork together and thought about how fortunate we are in the great USA and all that we often take for granted.

I'm in love already and feel pretty lucky to have a such a nice and powerful car.  I'm hopeful that Honda reliability will shine through and I'll get to enjoy her for a very long time.

We made it to the Lineberry's right on time and quickly heard I indeed had the most fun the night before.;) The celebration was as great as always with the inflatable water slide, bike parade, home-made ice cream, mentos shooter display and more fireworks this year than since we lived in Kansas.  If our wet Spring was good for anything, it inspired MANY to feel more fireworks were acceptable this year and there were LOTS.  We could see quite a few from the neighborhood and were treated to lots of big displays on the drive home.

SO many ice cream flavors this year

Amy put so much time and effort into this science experiment for the kids but it apparently had less "kaboom," than the one on TV.

Ben and sweet Quincy had a lot of fun.:)

Ben has begun to get "the look" in his eye around fireworks that his Dad gets.  I hope they share a safe passion for them as the years pass.

I always love the contemplative time brought by fireworks spectating.  Our great country is gong through some incredibly tough stuff right now but we are still so blessed in so many ways.  While there are freedoms I wish we didn't have (a little bit o' gun control, people?), we are one of few countries that have so many and the ability to openly debate them.  If we could all accept the freedom to disagree, we might get somewhere.  Despite all that, I'm thankful to be an American and especially thankful to those who've protected that freedom throughout history and today.  

Happy Birthday, America!!

A few days later we said good-bye to "Mommy's old car."

Ben really enjoyed watching the tow truck load her and I teared up thinking about so many things we'd done with her.  I know it's cliche, but we picked up Ben in her and had SO MANY trips back and forth to Wichita.  I remember one trip with newborn Ben and two blow-outs and everyone thought we'd had two tire blow-outs on the same trip.;)  130,000 miles of memories and really amazing reliability until the last few months.   Adios Santa Fe!!

#breck because

Well, we finally made it to our room in Breck and breathed a sigh of relief at being away from the mess at home.  Ryan could only join us for the first two days as we have more vacation planned this Summer.  We had always planned to stay through Thursday and head home for the 4th of July.  When MeeMee booked this week, Molly and Brandon were going to head up when we left to enjoy the incredible celebration of America that Breck puts on, but MeeMee got some alone time instead.

We had gorgeous weather and enjoyed some hikes, lots of swimming, and more movie watching than we'd ever done at Breck.

The North building at Grand Lodge is now complete and this beauty was right outside our door.

so much swimming always means a nap or two

the ocean book I brought him from the beach the week before was a hit 

He begged and begged to lead Luke

 

and then had a "tree-tantrum" after he'd fallen twice and I'd not longer let him hold the leash.

Obligatory gondola pic

I was super thankful to MeeMee for allowing me lots of workout time on this trip.  

nothing better on earth than QT with these two

Just before departing we headed to feed the trout MeeMee had heard about from another guest.  They have food dispensers and GIANT trout to feed from the bridge in the center of town.  Methinks it will be a regular stop in the future.

 

Thanks beautiful Breck for another great visit!! We'll see you in a month!:)