This is the place to be this time of year...

Summer will always be my favorite part of Montana. Maybe it’s because the rest of the year here is so miserably cold or rainy… or maybe it’s just a beautiful place to spend the months of June through September. It’s hot and dry, but there’s not much better than watching the sun go down over the city while sitting on Mount Sentinel or Mount Jumbo on the M or the L trails. When I think about the summers in Montana I remember delivering (and destroying) wedding cakes for Safeway, driving with the T-tops off or the windows down (when my junk cars actually ran), helping pull up cat urine soaked carpet with the sweat pouring off my head and breathing in the burning forest fires, checking out all the same cars at all the same car shows, trampolines and millions of stars in the Big Sky, folfing through thousands of mosquitoes, finding a sausage in my tater at the Western Montana Fair, paintball and golf, greasy hands and the smell of transmission fluid, ice cold Mountain Dew from the cooler, bonfires and blackened hot dogs, taking the dogs to the river, and so much much more. Definitely the best place to spend a summer.

Oh, the hay fields and barb wire fences.

Guitar pickin' with the pit bull.

Paul was lost in the Montana desert, but his horse with no name must have died.

Playing Ms. Elly a tune, and wearing a hat too small, but necessary to protect my sensitive, balding head from the burning sun.

Catchin' the big one down at the pond. Reel 'em in Paulie!!

Times they are changing, and friends and family have long since gone from this place. But hopefully there will be reasons to visit Montana in the summer for years to come. Hopefully.

Clayburns in the Summer

After not being around most of the last two summers, it’s been great to see everyone as much as we have this year. Throughout the last couple of months, Becky and Paul (and me occasionally) have been able to spend a lot of time with a little of everyone… including the Clayburns of North Idaho! Here are just a few pictures looking back over the past couple of months with Paul’s youngest female cousin… Brookie B.

Paul made one of many drives over the pass to Couer d' Alene (possibly the most difficult town name to spell in this country) to see his cousin Brookie B (as he calls her) turn one year old on July 27th! Paul helped out by blowing out the candle for her... several times before he was supposed to.

Here's Brooke with her Aunt, sporting her best patriotic dress. We had an awesome 4th of July, trying to blow up and burn down the house! We even had a few snakes and sparklers. Always the best holiday, or at least my favorite.

During one of the times Becky came to pick me up in Spokane after I flew in from SLC we all stopped down at the park by the lake for Kids Day! Fire hats, balloon animals, plinko, free frisbees and yoyos, and the Meth booth... not sure how that's part of kids day, but this is Idaho.


They even made the drive over to Missoula a few times, and became one of the subjects of Becky's photography projects... as should always be anticipated. We soaked up the heat at Caras Park.

And there they are. She'll be walking (and soon thereafter, running) very soon, so any time spent in Montana next summer should be even more entertaining... as long as Brookie B doesn't take Paulie J's "D"... because even though it's been a couple of weeks since the last time they were together, he still comments on her attempts of D thievery.

Anyway, it's been a great summer, and hopefully we'll still get to see the Clayburns throughout the year, even if we're quite a bit farther away.

Exile in Sandy

Here's just a quick look back at my time near the great Salt Lake. I cannot thank the Utah Sellers enough for letting me hang out with them all summer, and we really had some fun times... even though it flew by quickly. I'll never forget it, check it out:

Went to check out the air show earlier in the summer... Mason wasn't bothered by the low flying jets... but we can't say the same for his poor mother.

Typical.

The scavenger, searching the horizon for cheese cubes, Peanutbutter Crunch, and anything else edible left open on an unattentive eater's plate!

The T-Ball allstar!

Smores anyone? How about a fire roasted corn farmer?

Nice jacket, Weasel... and Amber in true form.

Great times in the basement! It will be missed. Maybe someday we'll have a basement Mason and Izzy can come hang out in!

Once again, thank you, thank you... to the Weaselish ping pong champion and Earl Sellers look-a-like, the oily-footed girl on the Hot Tamale Train, the boy who doesn't share his corn nor his poptarts, and the barbaric little girl with the endless apetite... for the NOT worst summer of my life.

The Glaciers have long since melted...

Since I'm running about a month behind, I'm sure that the snow has long since melted up in glacier... as it was running off the mountain quickly over the 4th of July weekend. Here are a few pictures we took when we visited the national park way up on the Canadian border.

After driving to the sun, we stopped beneath the summit and took in the flowery/snowy fields.

I think this is a waterfall, but I'm not positive... water does appear to be falling.

A view you could only find in Montana.

Dangerously clinging to the cliffside, knowing that at any moment a slip of the hand could send me plunging to my death, thousands of feet (or maybe three feet) below.

Paulie and I about to test the waters of Lake McDonald.

I think we only spent one night in Glacier (it was seriously a month ago), but it was a great time. Not exactly hard camping when you can get in the car and drive down to the store for more bottled water... but still fun.

Catching up... again...

Just thought I'd post a few pictures from the last few weeks, because I am continuously behind on this blog anymore. I figure by the time the three of us get back together and actually do some interesting things that doesn't involve most of the readers of this blog, maybe then we can get back to regular updates. But as for now, here are some pics you may have seen, or maybe not:

Took a trip up to Garnet Ghost town... still a little cold for June, but not too bad. Paul searched the pond for frogs and the old houses for ghosts!

A ghostly sighting in the ghost town... go figure.

Then we ran around in the woods a little bit and Paul showed that he knows where his belly is.

After I left the first time they spent some at the river I think. I highly doubt its warm enough even now for me to get in.

Paul did a little fishin' down at the lake... but... no bites. Oh shucks.

I do have quite a few more from the last trip I made up to Montana, but not on this computer at this moment. So (hopefully) sometime soon I can post a few more.

Happy (very late) Birthday...

Yeah, yeah... Paul's Birthday was two weeks ago, and I'm just now posting pictures. But, at least I got around to it. Of course, I was not at the bash at Lion's Park... opting instead to spend my time not studying for the bar exam here in Salt Lake City. But I hear it was a success. Cake, presents, family, the whole shabam. It's unbelievable how fast time flies by when you're busy doing everything else. Two years old already. Anyway, here you go.

The Birthday Boy himself, with tractor cake about to be on his face!

Books, trains, wheels... what else could you ever ask for??

He hangs out at the coolest parties, everyone was there. I see Grandma Steele, Uncle Chris, Bob Seager, Sonny and Cher... ha, just like that song... remember? Nevermind.

Nothing like a little fountain action in the not-so-hot summer of the northwest.

Wish I could have been there, but looks like it was successful! I'd guess I'd better make up for it next year!

June Recap...

So we obviously haven't posted in a while. I'm finding it very hard to get motivated to do anything anymore for some reason... but I finally got around to doing this, so here are a few pictures from the last month.


Shortly after Becky and Paul got to Montana, his Aunt Kelly and Cousin Brooke came to visit... and Paul showed his love for fish in downtown Missoula. He's also a big fan of the real thing, as I discovered when we went to the pet store at the mall. He didn't want anything to do with the puppies, running right past to get to the fish... because they do such exciting things! Like swim.


Sweatshirts are a must for this Florida native visiting Montana... even in June.


At some point they ventured off into the woods in search of GPS treasures with Aunt Anna and Uncle John. I can't really tell what exciting thing they found, but it seems like a fairly entertaining thing to do in the back woods.

And of course, Paul got to enjoy his first bike ride! Strap on the Cars helmet, sit on the back of Grandpa's bike, and head off down the road. So exciting that he passed out asleep!

So there you go... and there you have it.