An Afternoon with Aunt Kim

Hunter and JP love when Aunt Kim come over to visit! I'm starting to wonder if they love it because she's more willing to take them to the Carousal...But whatever the reason, we welcomed her company last week!

 Just before lunch, we packed up the kids and went downtown. Our first stop, of course, was the Carousal. And we came at the perfect time! Free rides! JP was eager to show Aunt Kim how he could ride by himself. After that we took them next door to the Dragon Park, where they normally love to play. They instead played for about 5 minutes before they decided they wanted to go. I was fine with that because I was getting hungry!

 It worked out perfectly too! Wednesday was Out to Lunch in Caras Park so the five of us ventured across the parking lot to the people-fill pavilion to grab some lunch. We lucked out and found some shade under a tree.

 Often times I look at Charlotte and wonder if she's really my kid, or if she's Aunt Kim's because she's starting to look a lot like her auntie!

Before leaving, Hunter insisted taking a picture with Aunt Kim. She has a better one on her phone, but this is a picture taken with my finger-printed camera of her and Hunter taking a picture on her phone. If that makes sense... Once we finished up eating, we scurried back to the hot car and headed for Dairy Queen where we picked up some Dilly Bars for a treat at home. I think she got them hooked on Butterscotch Dilly Bars....I'm a cherry girl!

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!