Let's see if I can update everyone on our Montana trip. Hannah couldn't join us this year with all her cheerleading practices and we missed her lots! Nate, Tommy, Liam, Colin and I had fun though. I only felt a couple of moments of "i'm overnumbered by boys"... usually those involved sights of bugs, crawfish, body odor and rock/stick collections. All in all, we had a very relaxing time this year, ten days of camping.
We are blessed to be able to join Colin's family every year and most of his cousins and spend time together. They are all wonderful people who immediately help us feel at home. Sincerely thank you!
Nate taught the boys which rocks had crawfish under them.
Lots of relaxing moments!
Our trailer is six years old now but still we find it meeting our needs although Nate was way to tall for the bunk beds this time. We pull in next to the cabin because usually it is full with Colin's mom, brothers and our nephews.
Dogs rest in a crate outside the trailer. The trailer gets very small quickly with two boxers and five people.
Young love.
Daddy's arms full.
Nate and his cousin Danny on the intertube.
Liam loved the responsibility of flag boy.
Nate and Danny trying to tell uncle Bruce that he needs to go faster.
Mommy with her arms full.
Nate inside the cabin relaxing.
During the family reunion one of the moms taught us how to make lefse.
Liam REALLY enjoyed his second cousin Kahn.
Nate absolutely would have been on these jet skiis 24 hours aday.
The moon before we enjoyed our bon fire on the last night.
Before you send me an email saying how tired I look, this was ten pm (which I usually hit the hay around 9pm) 9 days into camping, and I had two rugrats on my lap in front of a fire. Yes, I look a bit exhausted.
On the drive from Montana back to Washington, we found peaches! And some nectarines. Which turned into a four step process because I simply love my mom's canned peaches.
Step one. Organize and sort. Ripe ones go first.
Step 2. Water bath.
Step three. Admire some nectarines. And make sure all are sealed (you can hear the seals pop)
Step 4. Wash the jars once cooled to get all the sticky stuff off.
The end result was two dozen quarts. Yum. I always like to think of what the winter days will be like while I'm canning. Will it be a foot of snow? Or will it be just a cold and rainy day? Will there be a northeastern from the Frasier valley in Canada coming down? Whatever the weather, we will have some canned peaches for dessert.
We really enjoyed visiting our county fair. For eight years we had participated with Hannah and Nate in 4-H activities and camped at the fairgrounds. This was the first year we went without obligations. And we kinda didn't know exactly what to do.
Liam found plenty to do. Tommy hated the rides! Hannah and Nate went to the fair on different evenings with their friends and had fun too!
