FHE...again.

The highlight of FHE this week was picking flowers for Mom. We went for a wander and ended up on an old forest service road in the mountains. Not quite as scenic as last time but fun and adventurous nonetheless. It didn't hurt to see tons of deer and turkeys along the way either!

Oh, Canada!

The best things always seem to be surprises.

We had planned a trip to Glacier National Park for a while...just never firmed up the details. When the time finally came, Don and Carolyn Callister invited us to drive right through Glacier and spend a day in Carolyn's parents cabin just north of the park in Canada. Don is a friend from BYU and I thought it would be great just to re-connect. One night turned into two and the short stop was far better than I had ever imagined.

We had arrived just a little early for the Beazer family reunion. This is a shot of the family cabin. Heber is grandpa and the center of it all there. He's got to be the most self-sufficient man I've ever met and he's got a great sense of humor to boot. He and his sons (son in-law Don included) must have put a lot of hours, months and years into building that cabin. The cabin is hand-made from logs they cut and hauled from just 6 miles away. Stripped and shaped on site and put together according to the plans in Heber's head...he says he lost the blueprints a long time before they finished up. It's a beautiful home.

We had the pleasure of being there for the beginning of their family reunion, the likes of which I'd like to see in our family in the future. Everything there seemed a lot like that hand made cabin. Love and family bonds resulting from years of had work. It was all beautiful to feel and see the family -- and it didn't hurt to be in such an awesome place!

We had a great time there. We enjoyed the creeks, the cabin, the trampoline, fishing, etc. and had a great time playing cards when the kids went to bed. It was hard to leave. I may not have the blueprints that Heber started with, but meeting him and seeing the results of his life's work certainly adds to the vision of what I'd like to build for us. I'd never been to Canada before. I'd like to go back again and I hope I can brin a bit of what I saw there to my home here.

Home Theater...modified

Unfortunately we have not found our way into a home of our own as quickly as we would have liked to. It's a long story I won't bore you with. It has made every day life interesting renting an unfurnished home -- and here's our very own home theater! The kids are amazing and seem to adapt well but they too would like to be in "Our home" as soon as possible!

Fishin'

We got skunked but who would have known? The kids loved it. Who's the guy in the back? That's Heber, aka Grandpa. Who knows how many kids he's brought to this cove? Kerrigan climbed up on a high ledge to get more distance with her casting -- I was impressed with the climbing and the casting!

Da Bears

Here's the grizzly we saw in the morning...photo's compliments of Don. Heber spotted him and he treated us to a few minutes of watching him rooting around in the woods -- including walking across the road right in front of us. We saw a black bear in Glacier around noon but Lois tells me he's hard to find in the cell image I took of him! Either way it was a great treat to see the bears!

Family Home Evening

This was where we had our FHE. I think the picture says it all.

Rattlesnake Creek

This is where I'm taking the fam on Sunday evening. We're going to change FHE to Sunday's and I'd like to do it outdoors while the evenings are long and beautiful. I think it will be a great way to see the area and create some great family memories. It's not actually my idea. This was my Mom or Dad's idea when I was a kid. I remember well the seemingly random places we played as a family on Sunday afternoons. At any rate, it's Rattlesnake Creek tomorrow. Here's some pictures I took there when I checked it out biking the other day.

Going for the brass ring

Kerrigan caught the ring today! We've been down to ride the carousel a few times and each time she does her best to grab the ring but today she caught it. Downtown has a nice little farmer's market, the carousel and a great, unique dragon castle playground. The kids love it and Mom and Dad have a good time too.

Playin' in Lolo Creek

We've been stuck in the house waiting on this or that lately it seems -- just had to get out this afternoon. 20 minutes from home we found a little campground along Lolo Creek. The kids romped in the water till they were cold, wet and tired and are all sleeping soundly as I write...what a

great place. Earlier I slipped out to a bitteroot river access point close to the house but there was no beach on that side of the river. There w

ere deer in the neighborhood nearby that seemed like they lived there. Does and Fawns that stood 20 feet away from us like they were used to people being around.

Pool or creek

Seems like wherever we go there's a nice little spot for the kids to play. This was a small creek that was running behind our hotel in Missoula and continues on through town. Pool or creek? I'll take the creek every time.

What will they remember?

Yellowstone geysers and mud pots are great. It will be interesting to see what the kids actually remember but they seemed to enjoy the adventure. Kerrigan seemed fascinated that the geyser water was so hot and just had to do her science experiment. She put a straw in to see if it would melt (it did). Lily just ran all over the place doing her funky kabuki dance -- not too different from what she was doing at target today. Joshua thought the fumes were really stinky and just couldn't stand them at all! What do I remember about Yellowstone when I was there as a kid? I remember camping and spilling orange juice on a picnic bench and the OJ froze solid before my mom could wipe it up -- and that it was a really cool place...

Missing friends at home

We miss everybody. Today I was thinking of Patrick. When Josh was screaming at the top of his lungs and nothing would console him, sometimes Pat would walk in the room, Josh would smile and say "pat" and the crisis was over!

Getting the job done

Sometimes Lily can just be too much fun. This was a great clip of her trying her hand at using a lasso. She got the job done and had a great time!

Kerrigan's new look

It's sad but true -- this is Kerrigan's new look. Yes, she's texting. All the way to Missoula she was texting. In the hotel she texts me from across the room. Almost every time I tipped the rear view mirrow down to get a look at the kids I would see her texting away. My little star is growing up and changing so fast that it makes me a bit sad.

Frosting on the Kid

We had wanted to do more for Joshua's second birthday. As it turns out we did our best rustling up some birthday fun while in the hotel. I know Leigh Anne was sad we didn't have more but Little-Man was happy as he could possibly be! We let him have his way with a cupcake cake and this is a short bit of him afterwards. He's one of the happiest little guys I've ever been around.