Summer Hijinks

Summer is in full swing in Montana now, as it's currently over 100 degrees outside. So far it's been jam packed with stuff to do! We started out June with a couple of graduations for nephews, which included the Utah Sellers visiting for a few days. It was a great opportunity to get almost all of the Sellers/Miller cousins together for the first time in a long time. We hit the river trail and the splash park, and did plenty of eating! Good times had by all...

Just missing Josie! That's a lot of grandkids...

The graduates!

Even the next generation showed up!

Rockin' out... or making plenty of noise in the basement.

Pro-Gamers

That first taste of nectar from the gods! Don't tell her mom...

Say cheese!

Looking for Fisher Mayfield... he's hiding in there somewhere!

Nothing like a DQ after-party!

#1 is 14

The oldest boy is in full teenager mode now, and he's got the age to prove it. Paul turned the big 14 a few weeks ago to kick off the summer. He finished off eighth grade with a little graduation/birthday party, and in the fall he'll officially be in high school. He's come a long way from his first post on this blog when he had just eight teeth and couldn't walk more than a few steps at a time! Before we know it he'll be driving, which is more than a little scary. But we're so glad we've had him around all these years and we're just as excited to see what he'll do with the next ones!

I only let him drive for about 100 yards, but that was enough for a first attempt!

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.