This summer we headed East to visit Grandpa in Montana.
First stop was Lake Flathead to stay at Grandpa's new cabin.
Neither Della or Huck have been to Flathead before as expected,
Della LOVED the lake while Huck was very uncertain of the giant lake.
Happy with his pebbles
Della could have spend all day in the water,
her lips turned blue before I was able to bribe her out of the water with food.
Once done moving pebbles around, Huck enjoyed the shade with Grandpa and snacks
Della can smell Doritos (known as triangle crackers in our house) a mile away!
He really wasn't comfortable with the water. I'm sure that will change with time.
A rare break while chasing kids on 'vacation'
Throwing rocks.
Della actually jumped off the dock into Daddy's arms but I didn't' have the camera handy.
Not that we actually expected her to jump!!! Crazy girl! After an awkward daddy toss, Della didn't feel like doing a second jump. :(
Poppi considering his jumping options ... not quite brave enough.
This would be Super Strong Huck hauling 2 full gallons of water across the beach!
Where he was taking them I have no idea. I was simply impressed he could carry them!
These pictures were taken over 2 days at the Lake during which time I'm sure Della swallowed a couple of gallons of her own.
Bare Beach Bum! Not much longer will we have these chubby little bum cheeks!
This was as far as he'd venture into the water on his own,
and this was after 2 days!
Not sure what she's doing here.
Soaking up the rays and catching fishies
Up at the cabin we enjoyed the beautiful deck and the wonderful (if classically cluttered) cabin
Pre-nap puzzle with grandpa
Napping in the nook and the comfy pack-n-play
Post nap puzzle cleanup helper
Della scored some writing paper from grandpa! Practicing her scribbles.
Our morning alarm clock (he is a happy morning person)
Helping scrub the deck
On the 3rd day we headed farther East to the family cabin at Elliston.
Huck (and Della) slept most of the way.
Co-driver on the backroads
Welcome to Ellison! Mommy's favorite place in the whole wide world!
Cows!
My bushwackers
Keeping Huck away from the Cows! (they're range cows, not pets)
Huck showed off his stump standing skills
We tried out the pond paddle boat
Huck learned to LOVE the ATV!
Note Della is sticking out her tongue at me ... mischievous stinker!
Evening Walk
"Trees!"
Yes Huck, those are trees.
Gosh Darn he's adorable.
Beautiful Della. Such a free and loving soul.
Grass as tall as your head
Huck displayed an affinity for hiking Up-Hill
through some pretty rough terrain
Note daddy hauling Huck down
Mommy's turn to chase the Huck Up-The-Hill
and bring him back down
at which point Della discovered a patch of berries!
Good find Della!
Waiting out the rain with some crafts & snacks
Della discovered her cousin's fishing pole!
Note the ink on her face from craft time.
Studying the stick jumping options
Jumping over the stick!
Pretty pleased with himself
On to the next one!
Pretty sure she got a finger in the ear ;)
Elliston really is a beautiful place.
Having grown up in these mountains I can say it always feels like coming home.
It makes me truly happy to share it with my babies and see them Love it also.
Nearly a good group shot ...
Before they started to scatter
Huck really, really, didn't want to leave.
While he didn't so much enjoy the Lake, he LOVED Elliston.
We may have to visit more often.
Puppy dog eyes
IceCream at the Elliston store with Grandpa
Classic dirty tired boy
Both kids surprised us on this trip!
They traveled especially well and were on relatively great behavior. They bonded quickly with both grandpa and my aunt Shirley (who was nice enough to put us up on the way home).
There may be hope for us Porters yet?
Although the recent thinning of beetle kill trees has opened up the ground for thistles and other nasty weeds to move in, the open space brought in birds!
More birds than I've ever seen, or hear, on the place. There was a constant melody of birds which is a welcome and beautiful change to the place.