Spring Shenanigans

It's been a lovely spring in Montana! Not too much rain, only a little snow, a little sun, and a lot of getting outdoors. The boys took a rock climbing class, so we had to go test their skills with some real rocks up at Lolo Hot Springs. We also took a few hikes out in the valley behind the house and out and around Missoula. So far we've done our best to avoid bears, mountain lions, and other strange and scary things out in the woods! We also took a trip to Three Forks and the local residents there took a trip or two up here to hang out, so there's been plenty of cousin gatherings! This has been our spring:

The views are splendid...

Farrah was actually not a bad rock climber.

Dexter... not so much.

Rockin' out on the trail

Had to get a truck to better get our explorations going...

Waiting for the big ones to bite...

Got rained on a little bit, but a few of these kids were pretty dedicated. More fishing days ahead!

One and One

The middle son turned the big 11 years old in April. That might seem hard to believe, but it also feels like he's been around a lot longer than that. He just finished up fifth grade and will be headed to middle school in the fall, and that part is difficult to fathom. The lucky kid also got started up with braces! Pretty soon his youthful smile will give way to a straightened out shiny new one! Hopefully time slows down a bit, but that's unlikely. Either way, he's a brilliantly funny joy to have in our lives. Here he is, Adam Michael:

Into the Spokane Valley

Just down the river, past that little part of Idaho up there near Canada, is the town of Spokane, Washington. It's the nearest mid-sized city, or the biggest city not eight hours away. It's not quite three hours, so it's a decent little trip to hit up some stores we don't have here and eat at some places that haven't made it over the pass yet. We spent a weekend in March in Spokane, checked out Riverfront Park, and bought some stuff we probably didn't need. Good times.

Rode the gondola over the falls!

Adam and Nolan always behave themselves when riding next to each other...

On the way back we stopped to check out Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Arm wrestling championship between the masker and the anti-masker...

GO! GO! GO!

NO!!! The masker won, that means 6 more months of COVID restrictions... well at least they're building a Firehouse Subs in Missoula, maybe life will be normal again when that's done.

Good thing Spokane has a Guitar Center... or maybe that's not a good thing, not sure yet.

Great Scott! Great Falls!

When I was at an airport a while back I picked up a book about Lewis & Clark. I'd obviously heard of the duo, growing up in Lolo they were basically the only historical figures who'd ventured through the local area, so they were well-discussed in school. However, I honestly didn't know or remember much about their story, so the book was a good read. Hearing about all the locations they stopped in Montana made me want to go check them out for myself. So we took a short drive over to the Great Falls of the Missouri River and stopped at the interpretive center to learn a little more. It was mostly closed due to COVID, but we did get to take a nice walk along the river and checked out the river and a nearby fish hatchery.

Bitsy didn't care for Lewis's dog... but then, she doesn't care for most dogs.

Not the great falls, just a great spring...

Ski and Sled into Spring!

It takes a long time for the winter to go away for good in Montana. I'm pretty sure it was still snowing in May in some places (Three Forks). The boys took full advantage of the winter for winter sports. The sledding hill by the house was pretty epic, to say the least, and we hit Discovery for more skiing in March. The former Texas Boys picked up the necessary skills to handle steep snowy slopes pretty quick!

It's a lot steeper than the picture gives it credit.

It's not that cold... I sw-sw-swear...

Watch this epic trick!

Discovered Discovery! Loved this place as a kid, glad they got to check it out!

One of the best views from any ski slope...

Nothing slows Nolan down...