Football + Lacamas Lake Park + Father's Day

Sunday was a busy day for us! With it being Father's Day, I wanted it to be a little more relaxing for Perry instead of go-go-go. But I think it's safe to say, everyone had a fun day.

We thought JP's last football was the weekend before but they sprung another one on us. He and HD have improved SO MUCH over the course of the season.

This weekend was also HD's championship game. They had only lost their first game this season and had the best record overall. He was so so so excited for his game! And they won too! Immediately following the games, was JP's end of season football party, clear across town. He rode their with a friend so he had plenty of time to play while we watched HD's game. We planned that perfectly as then we only had to stay for half an hour :)

Last week my parents made a quick trip out to see us and on Wednesday (the only nice day they were here) I took them to Lacamas Lake Park about half an hour away from here to do some exploring.

Trying to find something my dad will enjoy is a challenge, so I opted for a little hike to see a couple waterfalls. It was so nice to get outside for the afternoon!

With that little hiking adventure under my belt, I wanted to take the boys to see the waterfalls too. After finishing a few things up at the house, we packed up and headed out for a Father's Day adventure with Perry. Because Ms. Gail and I already saw Lower Falls and Pothole Falls, we decided to hike to Woodburns Falls.

Just before we got to the falls, there was a fork in the road. We happened to pick the one to take us to the falls, but on the way back, we decided to take the other one to see if it would lead us to the top of the falls. It didn't. We hiked and hiked and hiked, and then took a dead end trail for a while and finally made it to Lower Falls. By that point, Charlotte had slipped a few times and was a muddy mess, and her little legs were getting tired. Quite frankly, mine were too, so I was able to successfully lead us back to the beginning of the trails. Without Perry though, I'd have been lost out there. My sense of direction in the woods is terrible!

Just as we were pulling back into town, all three kiddos passed out in car. I suspected Ms. Gail would, with the possibility of JP too as he was getting pretty sluggish towards the end, but was surprised to see HD conked out too! I had dinner planned for the night, but with our hike taking longer than expected we grabbed some food to go and had a little picnic in the front yard.

Whitefish and a Day Trip to Glacier

This past weekend we took a little trip to Whitefish and spent time with my husband's side of the family. Since it's *already* been a year since my father-in-law passed away, we all agreed that the furniture and decor items needed to be claimed before the house sells. 

We pulled into Whitefish Friday morning, timing it accidentally perfectly to find Grandma walking through a store parking lot. We picked her up and headed downtown to kill some time. The kids were all excited to go to Imagine Station, a toy store where they each picked out a toy. Charli found herself a doll, Hunter snatched up a pirate's telescope and JP found this rocket launcher. It took him a while to figure it out, but when he did there was no putting it away! (And now that we're home, he's had just about all of our neighbors try it out too, including adults!)

 Once everyone arrived to the house from running errands, we started room by room, claiming things that we would like to have. Perry and I didn't claim much (though I'd still put up a fight for a few things) but am mostly okay with what we'll be bringing home. I'm drawn to vintage/antique looking things, so I claimed John's barometer and vintage snowshoes that hang above the fireplace. I'm also REALLY excited to be inheriting Betty's grandmother's sewing machine table. She said it still works too! But when we were nearing the end, my nephew woke up from his nap and gave me SO MANY snuggles! I seriously can't remember the last time Charlotte snuggled with me!

 These two were adorable together the entire weekend!

Ahhhh!

 Charli was a delight too! I had so much fun with my camera the last few days!

 And JP just melts my heart!

Friday evening, my sister-in-law and her husband (the one who saved my sanity over Christmas by letting me borrow his camera lenses when mine stopped working) planned to have a gender reveal party at his parent house in Whitefish. They are due in January with their first baby. It was a wonderful evening!

 After the barbecue, Em and Colin had the kids open a present that had a onesie inside of what "kind" of baby they were having. Hunter and JP opened it so quickly that they missed it. In the mini video above, you can see a pink thing show up in the white tissue paper on the left.  

 They're having a girl! I am really excited for them, and for Charli - she needs a cousin to bond with! Two older brothers, two younger boy cousins (plus one more coming in November!). She'll be thankful in the years to come!

On Saturday everyone packed up and drove to Glacier in a caravan. We stopped at Lake McDonald Lodge and had a picnic before traveling a little bit further up the road to the north end of the lake. I'm not sure if this little beach has an actual name, but in the Dustin family, I believe it is called Skipping Rock Beach. Or something similar because all the rocks there are flat and perfect skipping rocks.  

 To say the kids enjoyed the lake would be an understatement! Stevie, Charli, and Hunter hung out in the buff, while JP and Uncle Colin hung out in their undies for a bit.

 They are just too cute! I love baby bums!

 Hunter was probably the first to get naked because he basically went swimming with his clothes on.

 I sat on the beach with Barbara and had a nice chat with her with our feet in the water. I found myself staring at this red rock for a lot of it. The water was so clear and peaceful!

 Perry spent the majority of the time skipping rocks. I've never been able to skip rocks, but apparently Grandpa John was an excellent rock skipper. 

Everyone that was able to skip rocks threw a few out into the lake in remembrance of him. 

Hunter took a little swim with Uncle Colin right before he found Hunter a toad. And then Hunter and Mr. Toad were inseparable. Hunter sat down the beach, maybe 20 yards from everyone else, and played and play with the little guy. I sat with him for a little bit and left when he said, "Hey Mom! Look! He's going to crawl onto my pee pee!" Oh Hunter! I would post a few more pictures, but Hunter is "hanging out" in all of them...

 I'm probably going to frame these...

I love her expression! I had to crop Hunter's naked self out... And yes, she does have a rock in her mouth. Earlier in the day, I was walking over to her to snap a picture when she started to stand up. I put my camera down when I noticed there was a rock in her bum. I found out only seconds later that she was pooping in the lake...

 Before leaving the park, we took what was going to be a short hike. Turns out it was pretty long, but it had a lot of pretty views!

 We even managed to get a family photo in front of the falls. 

 This one is at the lake. I love how serene it is. 

Here's Aunt Em with JP and her little baby bump. Can January get here any faster?!

I Hiked the "M" Trail!

I've lived in Missoula now for 7 years and although it's been in the back of my mind to do, it's been about 9 years since I've hiked it. That is unless I'm forgetting a time or two... Regardless, a good friend of mine from college, Sarah, was visiting over the weekend from Minnesota and hiking the "M" trail was on her to-do list. With a little hesitation, I agreed to join her.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the "M" trail, it's a very popular trail to hike in Missoula. Located on Mount Sentinel, the trail begins on the University of Montana's campus. It's approximately 3/4 miles long and with its steep incline, it's marked as a "moderately strenuous" trail. And I did it with a baby. And good grief was I huffing and puffing!

 The view from the top is amazing! But that darn sun made it impossible to look at, let alone photograph.

 I expected Charlotte to sleep the whole way, but she was a trooper...she didn't load up her pants until we arrived at the top. Go figure.

 And guess who wasn't sore the next day? These girls! What a relief!

Since we successfully hiked the "M", we took a trip to Big Dipper for ice cream. Like a typical summer evening, the line was super long. I think we waited for a solid half an hour, but it was totally worth it!