A Wedding in Missoula, MT

Over the Labor Day weekend, we packed up the kids and traveled back to Montana to celebrate my sister, Kim, who was marrying her best friend of five years. We had been waiting in anticipation for this day for quite a while. I now have four brothers!! Yahoo!!

We were planning on sending the kids to school for a little bit Thursday morning while we packed the van up, but because the teachers were on strike I didn’t have to worry about breaking their perfect attendance in the first week of school. We were able to leave earlier than planned so there wasn’t a big rush to get there, though we had to do it all in one day regardless.

There were several stops for food breaks but we didn’t really take a big break until we made it to the Washington-Idaho state line. After a few attempts, we found an actual park to to run around in. (Turns out google maps can be a little deceiving!)

If I lived in the area, this would be my go-to-park. I don't recall there being playground equipment, but it was perfect for walking around, throwing a football, and just relaxing by the river. It was a gold mine! We spent far too long playing the football catching game "500". It was PAINFUL! Perry was the designated quarterback, and no one could catch a darn thing. If they were on track to catch it, it ended up bouncing off their face or going straight through their arms. Painful but comical.

 In between naps, we listened to a few audio books. On our way home from Newport, we listened to Hank the Cowdog and only had a little bit left in that one. Perry was annoyed we had to finish it just as he was closing his eyes for a nap. Between Idaho and Montana, we listened to James and the Giant Peach. I thought JP would like it.

 Even with all the sleeping on the way, the kids were zonked by the time we pulled in to Missoula, around 10pm. I don't blame them!

 While Perry and I ran off to a meeting first thing Friday morning, Nanny took the kids to the nearby park and ended up burying one of my children. The cousins thought this was pretty funny! JP is clearly missing the beach life.

 We had a little bit of time to spare before heading out to Kim house, so I opted for us to head to the golf course. This was probably the last course we had golfed, and that was two years ago! We've been meaning to get out, but I haven't been able to find a course that will allow kids to ride along.

 Each time we take HD golfing I am blown away by his hand eye coordination. Seriously. This kid is a rock star at golf. I struggled and he kept right up.

 Like, I mean I really struggled. HD nearly BEAT ME. I'm going to blame it all on my bad muscle memory.

 Saturday morning, Perry took the boys out to the golf course with the groom, his groomsmen, brother-in-law, and Papa Craig. I'm not entirely sure how the morning went because the girls were getting their nails done. Ms. Gail was spending quality time with her aunts and her newest cousin, who we just now finally met!

Ms. Gail was so patient the entire time we were there so the owner gave her a free manicure. SHE WAS IN LOVE WITH HER NAILS! I myself was slightly jealous.... 

 After a little diabetic heart attack that afternoon, I was reunited with HD. He was fine, but when those sirens go off on my phone...oh Lord help me! We spent the entire Saturday evening at Kim's house practicing for the wedding. The rehearsal was very straight forward, but my sister Kile panicked us thinking Kim didn't have a marriage license ready to sign. 

 After staying up a little too late baking and decorating the wedding cake, I made it out to the "White Raven" to start getting ready for the day. It was nice to hang out and just relax that morning.

 When my hair was completed I left the bridal room to go grab Kim so her hair could start getting curled. As soon as I opened the door, Kim went jogging past on her way outside, panic on her face as she just realized her dogs had arrived and immediately jumped into the pond. Luckily the photographer caught it all on film! (He shot my wedding, Kile's wedding, Perry's sister's wedding, now Kim's and next year he'll shoot Robin's too! Perry and I hold a record for reoccurring wedding guests he's photographed. #winning)

 Aren't we just so cute? I made him kiss me. I think I could feel his eyes rolling into his head. Hahahaha!

 I didn't snag a picture when the cake was done, but here was final cake, less one piece.

 Look at all of us grown up! Kim was such a beautiful bride! It's no wonder my co-workers referred to her as "the pretty one!" She's a bombshell!

 I had so much fun at the wedding. I'm glad Robin is getting married soon because I think wedding are so much fun! Honestly, I wish I could re-marry Perry just for the good times. My wedding was the first one I had really been to as an adult. They keep getting more and more fun!

Those boys of my just melt my heart!! And Ms. Gail <3 p="">

We made it home relatively early Monday evening so we had a movie night and watched "Indian in the Cupboard" because we had finished that audio book on our way to Newport earlier in the summer. Ms. Gail was soooo exhausted she couldn't make it through the movie. Is there anything sweeter than a child falling asleep on you? <3 p="">

Family Reunion in Newport, Oregon

I was going to start out by saying last month, but it’s been nearly two months now! Typically for Christmas we alternate between who’s family we spend the holiday with but as our kids grew older and nieces and nephews were added to the family, it became harder to get everyone together for the holidays. Instead of meeting for Christmas, we all agreed to meet at a different time for a nice, stress-free vacation. After some deliberation on dates and location, the decision was made to meet sometime in July in Newport, Oregon for about 5 days. We rented a beautiful home which had an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean. (You can check it out here!) It was so relaxing to watch the sunset over the ocean and very entertaining to watch the whales come out of the water. 

The house had a trail leading from the backyard down to the beach. It was about a 5 minute walk to Beverley Beach. We didn’t spend a ton of time there, but it was nice to be able to have the beach a short jaunt away. On our first full day, we spent the entire day exploring around near the Devil’s Punchbowl at low tide.

All the kids had fun looking for crabs, starfish, clams and whatever else the could find.

Do you even know how hard I had to work for this group selfie? Those kids were too excited to stand in one place for more than 3 seconds!

This is a panorama taken right outside the Devil's Punchbowl. It was beautiful! And the weather was amazing too! I was worried about it being cold and windy the whole trip, since every time I had been to the ocean before, I was miserable. Of the several days at the coast, we only had one windy day!

I think HD would have held every creature if we would have let him. He loves hunting for critters that's for sure! While he was playing in the tide pools, JP and his cousin were buried in sand, while Ms.Gail and their other cousin dumped water on them. It was so fun to watch!

The next day we spent a good portion of the morning/afternoon at Agate Beach. When we first arrived, most of the kids ran off with Grandma to see if they could find any agates (Grandma likes to collect them!) so Perry and I were left alone on a nearly empty beach. I had never made a sand castle before and this seemed like the perfect time and spot to do so! We spent at least two hours on this monstrosity! The kids helped a little. Just a little. We were very protective of it!

Perry and I were both proud of how it turned out. I was mainly the moat digger :)

Another fun activity the kids and I took part in was jump roping! Or kelp jumping as the case may be. I forgot how much fun jumping rope can be! It was a nice break from the castle building!

This was our view of the ocean from the deck. No need to zoom or anything. Simply beautiful! Makes me want to move to the coast!

And my handsome JP. He was pretty quite the whole trip - most every beach we explored, he insisted on being buried.

In good fun, I had the boys pose like this for me. I love it so much. We had some passer-bys giving me strange looks, so when I was done, I ran over to them and showed them the result. They loved it too!

It wouldn't be a vacation without s'mores! I just love this little girly!

After a windy morning at the Devil Punchbowl (we went back because we enjoyed it so much the first time!) the mom's stopped in for a wine tasting at the Flying Dutchman Winery. I have never done a wine tasting so this was a first for me, and it was wonderful! I ended up purchasing a bottle of raspberry wine and a new stemless wine glass for my itty-bitty collection.

For our last dinner on the coast, Perry, his sister and I went to town to see if we could find live crab to cook. We lucked out on our search by running into an old fisherman who gave us directions to find the boat "Chelsea Rose". If there's any to be had, that's where they'll be, and he was right! Thankfully we snagged a cooler before we left and managed to fit 6 live crabs inside. I believe we paid about $120 for the group of them. Not too shabby! HD was in HEAVEN when we brought them back!

Uncle Colin taught Perry the ins and outs of cooking crab. We had a little incident with one crab not fitting in the pot. Unfortunately HD was in the perfect spot, with his shirt off, to get a nice splash of boiling water on his chest when Perry tried to flick the crab down. Panic in the kitchen!

We ended up with *so*much*crab* but boy was it tasty! I already want to go back and do it again! Ms. Gail slept through most of dinner prep. I woke her up when we took the crabs out to fight on the floor. All the cousins (except for Ms. Gail) had a blast with the crabs shuffling around the kitchen. 

It was so so nice to see everyone again. We hadn't seen Perry's brother's family for almost two years, and at least half a year had gone by without seeing his sisters family too. It was a bittersweet vacation! I loved spending time with everyone, but goodbyes were hard, especially for me because the boys then went alllll the way back to spend the summer in MT with Grandma and Nanny. 

Just a Fun Filled Weekend with my BESTIE!

GAHHH!!!! Guess who drove for forever to come see me?!?! One of my bestest friends in the whole wide world! 

We are able to see each other maybe one a year, and that might be a stretch too. But for her family vacation this past June, (remember when I posted in real time! Hahaha!) she brought her two girls and boyfriend out to see me (and the ocean!) - of course we celebrated with daiquiris!

The whole weekend they were here, I was quite frustrated with Perry's work schedule. Because he was down an important team member, he was having to work a late shift and close the store. Typically he'd get home around midnight? That's actually a guess. I was always in bed way before then. I was annoyed about this schedule of his because he'd miss their first evening at our house, but I grumbled and groaned about it and then let it be. Then my store got involved. My store was hosting a large event, and because my manager wasn't able to attend and run it, Perry volunteer his time so he could have Friday night off. Get this - he traded that night for work (including commute time) from 2pm Saturday to 2pm Sunday with NO SLEEP. Needless to say, he didn't really get the opportunity both Britta and I was hoping for to really get to know them. Oh hum.  

 We did still manage to enjoy our time together Saturday morning though! We took three vehicles up Mount Saint Helens and stopped at the Ape Cave for a morning of hiking.

 Aren't we so cute? While these caves were similar to the Lewis and Clark Cavern in Montana, they were different in that it wasn't a guided tour and it wasn't lit. Wearing headlamps just added to the adventure!

 There is an upper cave that involves a lot of climbing, and a lower cave (which we did) that is mostly just walking, but walking carefully. With Ms. Gail, and Britta's youngest girl being so little, we opted for the easier route.

 I didn't know what to expect when we went down the steps into the great beyond. Honestly, I was a little nervous. (This is fine....this is fine!)

 The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves. The adults were constantly telling them to slow down. And if there was a rock to climb on, they climbed the crud out it.

 At the very end of the tunnel, the ceiling gets super low to where you need to bear crawl to get past one point. I went in as far as I could with a backpack on, and then Jason went the rest of the way to get the kids. (Sorry for the butt shot!) It was a little too small of a space for me.

 They are all just so cute!! I highly recommend this little adventure to everyone! Just know that park (especially with three vehicles) is a bitch.

 #bff

 We timed our hike out of the cave perfectly because when we arrived back to the parking lot, we had the chance to meet Smokey the Bear!! So cool!

Perry headed off to work after the caves but the rest of us took a hike to see a scenic view of Mount St. Helens. I thought the view would be a *little* better than this... 

 This view however, was breath-taking! After waiting around to hear back from Perry as to when he'd be done at the event, we ended up just leaving him behind and headed west for the ocean. We ended up at Fort Stevens State Park. Our family had been there before, but not to this part of the beach. I think there were maybe 10 other people there. It was empty and perfect!

 This was Britta and the girls' first time seeing the Pacific Ocean and I had so much fun photographing them! I literally said, "Put your phone down and go enjoy this!" I hardly have any pictures with my kids, so I try to make it a point to take pictures of other moms with their kiddies.

 I had water to my ankles and I was freezing. I don't know how they were doing this!

 After a family had left, our kids took over this hut and never touched the ocean for the rest of the afternoon. I might have dozed off for a minute trying to stay warm under a towel. I thought I was prepared this time for the breeze, but I wasn't.

Who doesn't love a good smooch on the beach?!

 By the end of the day, this sweet little thing wasn't feeling so hot. She quite the snuggler though!

I'm so so so happy they made the decision to come out to visit me! We had such a fun time together! Did I mention I got her hooked on playing Ticket to Ride? I think we might have played 6 games in one sitting. We put it away at 4am. I might have thrown my cards at Jason once, but I think he deserved it! I can't wait to see them again, and their NEW house!!