JUST THE 4 OF US....or WHAT WE'VE DONE WHILE AARON AND SHENNA WERE GONE

While Aaron and Shenna have been working and playing hard in Belize, we've tried to do the same here at home.  Here is a list of what we've been up to.

 We picked the rest of the peas out of the garden. 

This was Enoch's share one day. 

I think we are all glad that we're done with this job.

 We took a walk around this building.

All the fences are down and the landscaping is beautiful!

 Samuel made his mother extremely angry had a momentary lack of judgement and lost his electronics privileges. 

 He discovered the fun of jigsaw puzzles for three days!

 We received a special phone call from Shenna. 

Enoch -and everyone else- was so excited to talk to her!

 Went to see "Madagascar 3" in 3D.  Everything is better wearing 3D glasses!

We also went to or favorite swimming pool/waterslide resort for the day!

Even I had fun.  It is nice that I don't have to count heads as much as I used to.

Leapin' Lizards! It's ANNIE

Shenna and Kiera both wanted to audition for the show "ANNIE" this spring.  We knew that they were too old to be orphans, but they can always use house staff!  Since they were trying out, I decided that I might as well.  We figured we would be maids together. 

Both Shenna and Kiera did get the parts of maids.  They did have names though. 

Shenna was Annette and Kiera was Cecile.

I got the part of the head housekeeper, Mrs. Drake.

It was actually quite a fun part to play!

Jennifer, Madison and Roseann....some of the housestaff taking a break

Did I mention that our dog, River played the part of "Sandy"? He actually was amazing! It made me a little proud at how well-behaved he was and how well he followed his cues.

He even started recognizing the music and would start to head for his entrance on his own before I would start to take him.

River, Miss Hannigan and Mrs. Drake

Kiera and Shenna with Miss Hannigan and some of the other girls in the cast with River

Half the Fun is Getting There! Our Awesome Road Trip Vol. 1

I've desperately wanted to take the kids to Montana for the last few years to show them some of my old haunts.  This year, we made the time and did it.  Aaron was worried about all the work that he was having to take off, so we planned the trip over the 4th of July.  That way, he was already on a scheduled holiday!

We started out bright and early the morning of the fourth.  I had planned lots of entertaining stops along the way.  Many had to do with the hobby of letterboxing.  If you aren't familiar with it, you can check it out at www.letterboxing.org.  We've been doing it for about five years now. 

Our first few stops involved finding letterboxes that were planted close to our route.

Here's Enoch showing off his stamped book at our first box find

I couldn't wait to take a traditional state sign picture going into BIG SKY COUNTRY!

The kids thought this was hilarious and teased us that we had actually drawn it on the sign 17 years ago when I took Aaron to Montana for the first time! 

 Our next big stop was in a real live ghost town (is that an oxymoron?)!  The town of Bannack used to be one of the largest in the territory of Montana, but a series of unfortunate events occured, and all the residents eventually abandoned it.  There are some great old, decaying buildings left to look through and enter at your own risk.  I've always loved this place.

The grand old hotel, HOTEL MEADE.  An amazing building to walk through.

A view of Bannack from a hilltop.

These stairs really freaked Enoch out.  They were quite rickety to say the least.

One of the old houses still left standing.

An old merry-go-round in front of the school house.

The school house and the masonic lodge all in the same building.

 We arrived in Deer Lodge and got settled in time to go to the town's 4th of July celebration.

The whole town comes out for a potluck supper and entertainment INSIDE the old territorial prison! 

What a unique experience!  Where else can someone celebrate our freedom inside of a place where people didn't have any....the irony! 

The fireworks started just before dark.  We had a great time inside the prison walls.

listening to the country band play.  This was our 2nd attempt at a picture.
I had told Samuel to smile.  The above was the result, silly kid!

Yep still waiting for the fireworks.  The old cell blocks -white and red buildings- are behind us.

DEER LODGE Our Awesome Family Road Trip Vol. 2

So, I just couldn't contain my excitement to show the kids all the stuff in Deer Lodge. 

We actually started out doing the self-guided prison tour.  I didn't take any pictures since I had the night before.  After that "depressing" hour -so called by Shenna - we went on to see all the cool old cars at the car museum.  I guess cars aren't as depressing as prisons.

Is sitting by this manequin a required part of the tour?  Yes, yes it is!

When we went outside of the museum, I couldn't help but wonder what the temperature at home was.  Notice we are still in jackets and it was 11 am!

The kids got to see an engine of the Milwaukie Road.  This is the railroad that their great-grandfather worked for.  Hence, it was a picture moment.

You may think this is main street Deer Lodge, but no, it is memory lane for me.  The A&W next door to Grandma's!  What a treat!  Of course we ate lunch there!

 After lunch we visited the relatives.  Most in the cemetery.  Enoch was especially thrilled to see the headstone of his great-grandfather.  They share the same initials.

To take this picture, Samuel had to sacrifice and stop the sprinkler from hitting Enoch. They watered this spot all day!

 The kids also had to endure me talking about GRANT-KOHRS RANCH nonstop.  I used to go there maybe two times a day when I was bored in the summer.  Unfortunately, we couldn't tour the bunkhouses or the main house because they are installing a fire suppression system this summer.

I think everyone enjoyed the outdoor activites that they had for us to do.  It is always fun to see how Montana ranch life was like more than a century ago.

Samuel was pretty good at roping the calves.  It helps that they weren't moving.

When the afternoon turned hot, it was nice to have the Clark Fork River nearby for some wading!

Why is it that no one seems to look at me when I have my camera out???

 Last, but not least, I drove everyone around showing them the sentimental sights of the town.  The very high school my mom attended is still there in town, and yes, it is still the high school. 

It was completed in 1917 and she graduated in 1943.  The gymnasium is newer and there is a big addition, but the part I captured in the picture is her old school.  Go Wardens!!

HELENA! Our Awesome Family Road Trip Vol. 3

We got ourselves up early and headed over MacDonald Pass to one of my very favorite capital cities...Helena! I was so excited! I hope the rest of the family was too!

standing at MacDonald Vista.  I love the view from up here!  (We also found a letterbox up at the top)

We got to GATES OF THE MOUNTAINS STATE PARK in plenty of time to take the boat ride on the Missouri River just like Lewis and Clark.  However, I think our boat was a tad nicer for travelers than theirs.

The Whitakers ready for the tour on the river.  Let's get this boat moving!

 Later in the day we went to Last Chance Gulch for the sole purpose of stopping by the Parrot Confectionery.  You would never know it, but there is a letterbox stashed in there.  We found it, then bought some delicious fudge.  You can always buy some online at www.parrotchocolate.com.

You can't go on a trip to Helena without going on the train!  This is such a great little tour of the town and I never tire of seeing all the old mansions on the hill!

It wouldn't be Montana without a giant bull skull.  Right?

 Last stop before off to bed?  Ice cream of course!  And a carousel ride!  Combine them both and you have a great little place to be entertained!  And our rides were free!  Even better!

Homeward Bound - Our Awesome Family Road Trip Vol. 4

Some of our final activites took place on our drive home. We stopped in at LEWIS and CLARK CAVERNS STATE PARK and went through the cave. We had a fun time...by we I may be talking just Aaron and me. The jury is still out on whether or not the kids enjoyed it. To start out with, you have to hike a little distance uphill on a trail in the heat to get to the cave entrance. That just MAY have been the kids' favorite part! -do you sense the sarcasm there?



I told them to look like they had just trekked up the side of a mountain with the sun beating down on them for 20 minutes.  I think they captured that look rather well.

Inside the cave it was quite a bit cooler.  I think that made them happy for awhile. Until of course the realization that they were inside a dark cave with deep, narrow caverns to climb through sunk in.

did I mention it was dark in there?

Sam had the hardest time and basically drove himself into an asthma attack with his panicking.  However, right here he looks like he is having fun!

After the trauma of the cave, it was time to eat.  Our tradition is to stop in Dell to eat at the famous

Calf-A there.  If you ever are heading that way, stop on in.  I do believe that sometimes the number of people inside out-number the residents of this tiny town.  

I had a hard time seeing this vacation come to an end. Hopefully the kids will have some good memories of it as they get older.