5th Grade Spring Concert

Justice's last Band concert for the year. And his last one with Mr. Pipinich. He did a great job!

Fun Day at Eastgate

Glory had a FUN DAY at Eastgate today. She wanted me to come over so I joined them. It was a wet field day experience. The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. I even got to join her for lunch afterwards. Fun times!

It was even FUN-er for me because they had Middle School Students as helpers and Liberty was chosen to come. It was fun to see her lead a group. Man, I love my girls! Unfortunately, I didn't put sunscreen on my teenager and she got FRIED! Oops!

Memorial Day @ the Lake

We had a great Memorial Day! We decided to go out to the lake for a BBQ and some fishing. The Andersons joined us. Once the boats all came in, we had the dock to ourselves. We didn't catch anything but it was a beautiful evening. Thanks to our friends for joining us! Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial-able Camping: Hungry Horse Dam

In the morning, we packed up. We wanted a day at home before our week started so we left today instead of tomorrow. All three of our families headed into Whitefish to attend church. It was cool because the meeting was the farewell talks of the Missionary couple that had put on the MTC experience back at the beginning of May. It was fun to hear about their experiences up there.
After Church, we all headed to Hungry Horse Dam. They had a visitor center to check out.

Our favorite part was that they had a thing called a "Glory Hole" to drain the water if it gets too high. [The link above on the dam has a picture of the glory hole working]

And spending time with our friends. How cute are these people!!!?

We also got to see a neat little waterfall.

And of course, throw rocks. ;)

What a fun trip! Thanks so much to the Jacksons for inviting us we had a blast! We luv you all! Let's do it again soon. ;)

Memorial-able Camping: KOA

The West Glacier KOA was so great!
After our stroll through Glacier we came back to do a little swimming while the men folk got dinner started. The kids were so excited and it was heated a bit so I even like it!

The KOA also had a fun playground. The little kids played there while the "big" boys (ok and some of the girls) played 500 or rode bikes.

The Jacksons and the Paynes got RV spots next to each other so we spent a lot of time hanging out there. It was perfect because they had the firepit for S'mores and to keep warm, a BBQ, the RVs, a road for kids to ride bikes and a covered patio set. So fun! Brett even had the boys boil an egg in a plastic water bottle. Too funny!

But we also completely enjoyed our little cabin. Everyone had a bed to sleep in. Justice made us breakfast and it totally protected us from the rain. So great!

What a great place to camp!

Memorial-able Camping: Avalanche Hike & Apgar Village

Once we got to where the road was closed, we parked and went for a hike on the Avalanche Creek Trail. It was a gorgeous walk. We just stayed on the wooden boardwalk so we didn't make it up to the lake which was fine with how many little kids we had. The trees were super-duper tall and amazing. We drank from fresh water falling off a rock. The boys threw rocks in the creek. Surprise! LOL And it didn't even rain on us while we were there. Perfect!

Avalanche Creek Trail

Trail Vertical Gain or Loss
Moderate climb to lake
Short Introduction to Trail
One of the highlights of Glacier National Park. The Avalanche Creek trail has three main features: the Trail of the Cedars, which is an easy universal access boardwalk through an old growth cedar forest culminating at the Avalanche Creek Gorge bridge. The second part is the gorge and creek, where amazing glacial waters carve through a narrow gorge. Third is the lake, which is at the top of the creek and surrounded by cliffs. In the spring time, a half-dozen waterfalls crash from the snowfields high above down a thousand plus feet of cliffs to the talus and eventually the lake below.
Full Description of this Recreation Trail
This very popular trail during summer months this trail can be busy with limited parking. A safe trail except for a section just above the main creek chasm wanders through massive and ancient cedars and cottonwoods along the main bottom walkway.
A wooden boardwalk for the first half-mile or so called the "Trail of the Cedars" followed by a well-traveled dirt trail that starts at the Avalanche Creek Chasm and follows the course of the creek with some variances up the valley to the foot of Avalanche Lake.
Trail Distance
3 miles to lake and back -- less than a mile if only following the wooden boardwalk.
Type of Trail Experience
Out-and-Back

After our hike, we headed back. But we first made  a stop in Apgar Village for ice cream. Yum!

Memorial-able Camping: Glacier National Park

We decided to spend the afternoon on a drive through Glacier until we go to the "Road Closed" sign by Avalanche [I think that's what it was called]. We stopped on the side of the road everywhere that looked cool. So... we stopped a lot! ;)

First stop: Jacksons said you can usually see the bottom of the river here. but the rapid snowmelt has been making the whole river muddy and crazy fast.

On our next stop, Brett started throwing rocks into the river. That ended up being one of the kids' favorite things to do the rest of the trip. Brett would help them find the biggest rocks they could carry. Silly boy!

Memorial-able Camping: Vistor Center and McDonald Lake

After breakfast and everyone was ready, we headed on a road trip into Glacier National Park. Our first stop was to the Visitor Center near Apgar Village. Nothing big but got to check out signs and have a few races. ;)

Then we made our way to McDonald Lake for lunch. It was so beautiful!!! We ate, visited and the kids skipped rocks and waded in the cold lake a bit. It was perfect until right before we left when it down-poured rain. ;)

Memorial-able Camping: Friday Night

Our new friends, the Jacksons invited us and the Payne family to go camping with them for Memorial Day weekend in West Glacier, MT. We can't get to ANY camping equipment right now due to our fun living situation ;) so we thought we would have to pass this time. But they were staying at a KOA Campground that happened to have cabins available. Yeah for us! 

We made it up there Friday night in time to join them for dinner down the road at a Cafe'. They had put our group in the backroom which was a good thing because we were so large and so loud. The only thing is that the room had an echo so we seemed even louder than we really were. LOL

Back at the KOA we started a fire, ate s'mores and boiled water in a plastic bottle. We adore the Jacksons and the Paynes. They are such fun people to hang out with!

It was late before we parted ways but we had decided to have Justice work on some of his Scout requirements while we were there. So when we got back to the cabin, the boys (and Victoria) pitched  a tent in front  of our cabin. It was a bit tricky because it was raining and it was on cement. They got very creative in how to stake it down and keep it up. LOL Justice and Victoria spent the night out there in the rain. Brave kids!

In the morning, Glory checked it out with them. Cute kiddos.

Last Light: Justice's Science Fair

Justice participated in his school Science fair. Brett and him came up with the idea for testing batteries in flashlights. (Somehow Mom ended up helping the most though. Go figure. LOL)

Justice decided to call it- LAST LIGHT. He first thought Energizer would last the longest.

But he did the research with help from Mom. ;) 

We made up a chart with our findings.

And made a Display Board.

And then he shared his finding at the fair.

Turns out that for the money- Rayovac Ready Powers were the best deal! Way to go, Bud! We are proud of your hard work.

Glory's Kindergarten Fieldtrip

Glory's class went on a Fieldtrip today and I got to join them. They are such a cute group of kids.
We started out at Exploration Works in downtown Helena. The kids had a great time exploring and doing all the fun activities.

Then we headed over to the Great Northern Carousel. The kids all got a ride. So fun!

We ate lunch outside on the stadium seats. What adorable girls!

After lunch, we walked [a very LONG, LONG way] over to Memorial Park to play in the fort and have a snack. (Guess I didn't take any pictures over there) What an awesome fieldtrip!

Look Up

One of my favorite blogs posted this video last week. It's so thought provoking that I thought I would share it. 

Life is so much about BALANCE. 

Technology is amazing and a reality for us in the world today and will continue to be in the future. It has opened doors to being connected globally. It allows us to do so much that we would have never done without it. It's mind-blowing actually. And I am guilty of indulging in it's possibilities.

I love Google Search. I can find ANYTHING I want to know about. And even stuff that I never wanted to know about. LOL

I "got with the times" and upgraded to a smart phone this last year. Truth be told- I love it!!! I love asking Siri where to find things. I love never being lost. I love texting a quick note to friends to tell them I'm thinking about them. I love being able to play a game while I am waiting for the kids after school. I love having a calender handy and alert reminders of upcoming events.

I love to blog! It allows me to remember this awesome life I live. It allows me to share it with others. I know I blog a lot (my kids even lovingly call me a "blog-aholic") I always dispute their accusations by telling them I only blog when we do something I want to remember. ;) Guess we have to stop being so awesome and then I wouldn't have anything to blog about. LOL!  I do hope my efforts in documenting our life will be a treasure for me and my cute family long after I am gone. 

But I certainly recognize that technology can be dangerous. It can consume you. It can rob you of a really meaningful life surrounded by people you love. It can take you down paths you feel you can never return from. It can become all you know- if you let it. 

This video reminded me that I want to Look Up and recognize more all that life has to offer. How 'bout you?

(He says one word that might be offensive so be careful if u let kids watch it)

A Special Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day 

to all those amazing women in our lives! We love you!

Here at home---- My family always makes Mother's Day a special occasion. I love their creative ideas and how excited they get to do things for me. I know a lot fo that comes from their Dad. They are so stinkin' cute!!! I am one lucky wife and Mother.

This is my card they made me this year. Everyone designed themselves and they all helped with the rest. How darling is that?

They were way excited to give presents. They went shopping yesterday and found me a sander of my own so I can work on some projects I have in mind. They also made some sweet things at Church and at school. I love them! Then they gave me a "Spa Day". I laid on the ground and got a manicure, a pedicure, a body rub and my hair done. Awesome!

Here's Glory's card from school. translation- "My Mom likes to take pictures." "My mom is a nice one to me." "My Mom says 'I luv you' a lot." A drawing of me with brown hair. (That still is so weird to me. LOL) "I love my Mom. I heart my Mom." What a sweet kid!

Here's what they made me at church. They all apologized for giving me peanuts and offered to pick them all out. Cute kiddos!

Victoria was being very secretive this afternoon but Brett paid attention and realized she was working on a surprise for me. So after my Spa, I asked if she'd like to walk with me to the mailbox. When I got the mail out, I had a envelope addressed to me from West Fargo. "Wow, I got a card from West Fargo," I said. "Yea, looks like it," she replied with a straight face. She didn't even stay for me to open it when we got back to the apartment. I think she really wanted it to be a surprise when I read it. She is very tender-hearted and thoughtful and easily embarrassed. But she was super excited when I gave her a hug for it. Luv that girl!

P.S. We invited Sister Scurr over to join us for dinner. Her kids are grown and gone. We love her! The kids made her a card as well!

World's Toughest Job

Love this!

Happy Mother's Day!

Oreo & Sprite's Party

My little girl has made her Momma proud!! ;)

Liberty encouraged and helped her friends plan a ParTay this weekend. They used the excuse of it being Ann's cat's birthday and an idea was born. They got together one day a couple of weeks ago and planned it. They had a notebook, made lists of ideas and guests. They designed an invite and gave it out. They went shopping and bought the stuff. They got together early and put together gift bags and decorated. They ended up with 8-10 girls attend. They did a scavenger hunt, a craft, ate lunch, opened presents and played with the cats.They had a PURR-fect time! So cute!

Academic Fest

Victoria is a fantastic reader. She met her reading goal for the year so she was able to join in on the fun at the Academic Fest.

She got to pick 3 different classes (well she picked 6 and they gave her 3) she wanted to attend. She picked Cartooning, I Spy bottle making and Horse care. 

We dropped her off after breakfast and picked her up after lunch. She had a fantastic time!

 

Here's her sheet from her Cartooning class. She is quite the artist!

 Here she is with her I Spy bottle when I picked her up. One happy kid!