July - August 2019

My friend Michelle was in town from Las Vegas. Her brother and sister-in-law always have a fun barbecue for everyone here in town. Dana, Jason, and their kids were able to make it over too. We had a blast! Jason is so funny with the kids too. He even made Carter get down and wrestle!

These pictures will be all out of order. I don't know why that happens. Dad was looking very patriotic on the 4th of July. What red blooded American doesn't believe in aliens?

Ave gets along so well with Jada and Mady. They are super funny together.

Summer fun at the pool. Butte is so lucky to have Ridge Waters now.

We spent the 3rd up at my Dad's friend Corby's house. He has a great view of the Big M. My IPhone actually took some really cool pictures. This one is my favorite I think.

Town Pump really puts on a good show. We love the big Fireworks. Not a fan of all the little loud ones.

A rare family picture!

Time for the parade. My Mom always makes sure the kids look all red, white, and blue for the holiday. Landon's hat looks really good here!

These two are peas in a pod. They make me laugh a lot!

My three little weirdos. I just love them. Carter and Landon were rocking shirts with George Washington riding a T-Rex. Luckily my children know, unlike some congressman, that this couldn't have occurred.

Time for some All-star games in Missoula. These three little siblings: Rodee, Keely, and Teague, always have a good time together. They look very sweaty!

We love the Folk Festival - good music, good food, good crowds, and great for Butte!

This is was in Missoula for softball also. All the kids had fun in the pool together.

These girls are such good kids. They get along well, and they compete well.

We ended up taking third overall. The girls played tough though. Here's Ave with Kylie, Ally, and Ayva. Great kids!

Our two little pitchers just keep getting better. Reese and Kendallyn work really hard.

This was officially the last tournament of the summer. Teague and Rodee played the whole time.

We sadly lost Grandma Bonnie on July 17th. She was a wonderful lady, and I know my children will always remember her. We went up to Sunburst to visit with the family. Mary Jo, Rory, and my kids had a blast running through the sprinklers.

Action photo!

Rory has a pretty awesome swing set. My kids quite enjoyed playing on it with her.

She is so cute! She just runs and runs.

Callie has the best thumbs. We always say she could hammer a nail in with those bad boys. Ave's a just a bit smaller!

Grandma Bonnie's house is so gorgeous.

I love this old picture of them. Bonnie was the best! I hope she is looking down on us and smiling.

We met my friends up at the folk festival for some late night music. We could not see each other for years, and it would be like we didn't miss a day when we're together.

We were so excited for the Jackson Browne concert in Missoula. Unfortunately it was one of the worst storms I'd ever seen. We had a two hour rain/lightning delay. The lightning was on three sides of the stage at one point. Luckily we stocked up on ponchos at Cabella's beforehand. How cool do these guys look? Abb's pants were killing me.

We took another picture when they announced we could get back in line! We were so excited. I'm glad Aunt Diane made it in there too.

He sounded so perfect! He was funny too. He started the concert with "You Love the Thunder," which was pretty perfect for that evening. All in all, a great time!

Big happy picture! After it stopped raining, it was a beautiful night. My kids really had a blast dancing and singing along with "Take it Easy" "Doctor my Eyes" "The Pretender" and "Somebody's Baby." I'm glad they enjoy the classics. Jord and I kept our super bright ponchos on so our family could find us!

Time for our annual summer trip to Kalispell. We've always wanted to stop by Arlee on our way up and visit the "Garden of 1,000 Buddhas." We finally did it!

It's a very beautiful, tranquil spot. Not something you'd expect to see in Northwest Montana.

Carter traveled up with my Mom so he could have more room. That's why he isn't here. These little plaques were really neat. They were written in many different languages.

We stopped at M & S meats by Polson. We used to always stop there on volleyball trips. Mr. Ries loved their beef jerky. Good news is it's still delicious!

Beach day at Whitefish! It was a gorgeous day and pretty busy, but we still had a blast. Ave enjoyed getting buried by her cousins.

3 happy sisters! Just a slight family resemblance there.

3 more happy sisters! I love when we are all together!

Time for some tasty Coldstone. These pictures are definitely out of order, but that's okay. It's still Kalispell adventures. You think these guys like each other?

These are definitely out of order. On Monday we went to Kathi's cabin on Flathead. It's so gorgeous there, and it was so much fun! I didn't think the kids would ever want to get out. This was a new addition this year, the floating mat. Our six crazies absolutely loved it!

Mother and son look happy as can be here. That's a great Linky smile (and Kelsie, of course!)

The neighbors told Kathi to use their diving board anytime. Teague, Ave, and Jord especially enjoyed it! Kelsie and I did some dives off there too.

Nice moves Ave!

Typical Carter. He looks very relaxed here.

My Mom got this picture of Kelsie, Erica, and I doing the dead man's float. It makes me laugh!

A whole bunch of happy kids here! Kathi's sons are so nice. Poor Josh couldn't go in the water because he had cut his foot pretty bad the day before. Luke swam around with us a lot. They are just good kids.

We realized we better get some cousin pictures in before the summer was over. Our friend Nikki Foley is too busy being an entrepreneur. She makes some awesome cowboy boots that are selling like hotcakes. So, we had our dear friend Hattie Thatcher take some for us. It was quick and fast and fun. Lincoln insisted on taking my Grandma Vivian's cane with him. He's goofy, but it made him happy.

This one is my favorite!

This one is cute too. A mouse ran out right after this and made them all run!

We took them on the trail right by the Chamber. It was nice and simple.

These brothers are awfully cute.

My monkeys are getting so big.

Oh Link. He looks very distinguished here.

Carter appears to be in pain here! Ha ha ha!

Such a family resemblance!

After the Burgman/Boyle game this year there was a beautiful double rainbow. I think that was Casey and Kyle saying hello to us.

The kids ran all over the KC afterwards. That might explain Carter's sweaty hair. I love love love this picture of the big boys with Papa!

I'm so glad I captured this face!

Concert #2 for the summer - Mumford and Sons! I was so excited. Leena ended up not being able to go, so Kels and Joe bought her tickets. Jordan scored a last minute one also.

They were absolutely amazing live. I would see them every year if I could. They can play pretty much every instrument, and their harmonies are fabulous!

We ran into Jamie, Nicole, and Abbey there also. Our family loves music!

Mixed up pictures again - all the fam enjoying Whitefish lake.

Hawkins at Kathi's cabin. He's a silly boy.

 

Another one from Michelle's barbecue. These little boys are awfully cute!