We hadn't been to Montana since Clare was the new baby around here--so six full years ago.
I had just given birth to another baby 11 short weeks earlier.
We had five kids to manage this time around.
Those are not small hurdles.
But Will and I both agree, we are so glad we did it. The kids had so much fun, the lake was beyond beautiful and seeing extended family was awesome.
The first, and looking back now: the most amazing thing about our trip was how we all go from Northern California to Montana. I couldn't stomach the idea of driving for 20+ hours with a new born baby. So Will drove our van with three of our kids, two of our nephews and his sister, Emily. Lorien, Colter and I flew out a few days behind the driving crew. I am still so impressed with this driving feat. Will did the driving and Emily did the tending (a role I usually take and was so glad to pass on to some one else). They only stopped a few times (excepting fuel and potty breaks) to see Craters of the Moon National Park and the Snake River. Emily made up a travel bag for each of the kids full of stickers, coloring pages and little activities for trip. Will printed off maps and had the kids track their progress across the western states. They searched for licence plates and made it to the lake safe and sound.
Lorien and I enjoyed a girls weekend (plus a baby boy) before getting on a plane for Montana on Monday morning. Our flight was uneventful--Colter was so well behaved and I did not throw up.
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| This is the sweet face that kept us company to the airport at 5:00 in the morning. |
We spent the next five days swimming, boating, eating, visiting with family, digging in the dirt, roasting marshmallows, reading, fishing and having an all around fantastic time.
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| This is my Huba-Huba-Husband getting some time on the wake board. |
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| This is my Mother-in-law, Judy. Is she awesome or what? |
All of the kids lived in their swimsuits and life jackets. I don't know why I even bothered to pack clothes... Wyatt and Lorien tried their hand (or legs) at water skiing. Wyatt turned out to be a great skier.
All of the kids loved being pulled by the boat on the inner tube (it is called something much classier than 'inner tube' but I cannot remember what that is...).
Will organized all of his minions and cleared a portion of the lake front property of overgrown brush.
After five Montana-filled-days, Lorien and I boarded another airplane (with Colter) to head back home. Leaving Will to gather our family supplies and drive the other kids back home.
We had such a great time! After being away for so many years it had started to feel impossible to get up to the lake. Now that we've done it again we are excited to go back.
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| You can see the bandage on the right side of Adell's chin here. Now she has a lovely little scar...look for it in future posts. |
Ahh, I forgot. There was one bit of bad news while we were up at the lake: Adell slipped off a ladder and cracked her chin open.
It was ugly.
I freaked out.
Adell, Colter, Will and I were hanging out in the cabin. Adell climbed up the ladder to the loft where her favorite blankets were. On her way down she slipped on the silky blanket and fell--smashing her chin on one of the rungs of the ladder. I hopped up and down, wringing my hands and crying "She's bleeding, she's bleeding, she's bleeding!" while Will assessed the damage. Thankfully, Will's cousin (Melody) is a nurse and had "liquid stitches" in her first-aid kit. She was so nice to Adell while she closed up the gash and said the most reassuring things to me.
Thank you a million times over Melody for your level head and lovely bed-side manner.
Thanks Judy for letting me sob on your shoulder after it was all over.
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