A Glacier Highlight

Our trip to Glacier National Park was nothing less than fantastic. I have many highlights to share, but one in particular is...

The kids became "Junior Rangers" during our trip. They had to complete at least 5 pages in a booklet in order to get their certificate, but they completed the entire booklet, so, not only did they become Junior Rangers- receiving a certificate and a Junior Ranger badge- but they also received a beautiful blue patch. As they were "sworn in" as Junior Rangers, they pledged to do this and that to protect the plants and animals in Glacier Park as well as all other areas of nature they will encounter throughout their lives. At the end of the swearing in, the ranger called the attention of everyone in the visitor center at the given moment to congratulate them on their accomplishment. At this time, all eyes were on the newest Junior Rangers of Glacier National Park, and they were given an applause that rocked the house. It was soooo cute- the kids had pride written all over their sweet little faces. I was all choked up. They were very serious about all this Junior Ranger business, so much so, that when Lilah caught a mom and her kids innocently feeding some ground squirrels, she walked up to them (on her own accord) and told them that it was against the rules to feed any wildlife at the national park.

Sweetness

We agreed to one fast food experience on our 2 week trip to MT, and it ended up being Dairy Queen, after riding in the car for 8 hours on our way home. It was supposed to be McDonalds, but Glendive MT doesn't have a McDonalds, so, we settled on DQ, with a treat at the end, of course. Gavin came very close to finishing his chocolate dip cone, all except the last few bites (only cone was left), and he dropped it on the ground. He was beside himself with grief, crying and carrying on.

Without any prompting, Emma said, "Gavin, you can share mine if you want."

If that's not a selfless act of love, I don't know what one is.

Middle of Nowhere

We're going on a family road trip to Montana (Glacier National Park). We'll be be staying at a cabin outside a town called Polebridge for a week of the vacation. We've been referring to it as being in "the middle of nowhere," because of the remote location. I've come to realize that Gavin thinks that "The Middle of Nowhere" is actually the name of a place. He's asked questions like...

How long does it take to get to the middle of nowhere?
Where is the middle of nowhere, anyway?
Is the middle of nowhere in Canada?
What's the middle of nowhere like?

Cabin Highlights

We started going to Agency Bay on Leech Lake in 1993, and have gone every year since, except the year Mike and I got married. We have such a great time during this week every year. I love this vacation for many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that I get to spend time with both sides of our family.

The very best thing for me with the cabin experience is being around the kids and watching their enthusiasm and utter excitement about EVERYTHING they do during the week...

Tubing...

Fishing on the pontoon

Kissing Fish...

Fishing off the dock...
Cabin Olympics...Who won anyway? I believe the ladder golf competition will have to continue in 2009, but what about bags and polish horseshoe?...
Hanging out on the beach...

General hanging out with cousins...

Observing the metamorphosis of dragonflies...

Talent Show...

Scavenger Hunt...

4th of July Parade in Walker (thank you Mike!)...

Doing Sparklers...

Watching fireworks from the boat in Walker Bay...

Watching a movie in the lodge and getting a sucker stuck in Daisy's tail (tiny little dog belonging to the owners)...

Lilah learned to ski, but since I was in the water helping her, and Mike was driving the boat, we have no photographic documentation of the event.

I'm totally disappointed in myself, because I forgot to take the annual picture of Lilah in the blue chair. I've been doing this since she was just 1 month old the first year. My mom even gave me a reminder, and I still forgot.

(2007 annual photo of Lilah-in-the-blue-chair)

As always, our week at the cabin proved to be relaxing and full of fun. We're already looking forward to next year.

A clip from the talent show-(listen for the plankton)

Sibling Competition

Emma is very coordinated. She can run circles around Gavin. That's not to say he's not coordinated. To the contrary. He rides his bike like a pro, and can skateboard pretty well. It's just that Emma is a really fast runner.

Last night, around 9:15 (the time is an important factor when understanding Gavin's ability, or lack there of, to think rationally), the kids and neighbor kids were running races along the sidewalk. Emma kept winning every race. It was almost painful to watch Gavin. His little face was so determined, and he put forth all his might, to no avail. He was starting to get upset (understatement), so I mouthed the words "LET HIM WIN" to Emma. She looked at me like I was a crazy woman. "What?" she said, thinking she didn't understand me correctly, for, why in the world would she do something so absurd as to throw a race? So she came up to me and asked what I said. "Let him win, just once," I answered. "Why? That wouldn't be fair. And, plus, you always tell us to do our best," was her response. (She had a point, and yes, I'm babying Gavin too much, but, his incessant crying was really getting to me, and I knew it would stop if he just won a race. Once in a while, life doesn't have to teach us a lesson, we just need things to go our way) "He's very tired and upset, and it would make him feel good to win, just once." She didn't answer and just went off to race. She ran along right beside her brother in a haphazard, doo-dee-doo kind of lollygag, so everyone (except for Gavin, who, of course was giving it his all) could see how she wasn't really trying, all the while, glancing in my direction to make sure I was watching. It turned out to be a tie at the finish. She looked at me and smiled. This was her best attempt at letting someone else win. Gavin was satisfied with the result.

Catching up

The following outing took place on May 2. I'm a little behind...

We've been trying to have special outings with just one of us and one kid- kind of like a date night.

Gavin and Mike went to the Twins game for their special day together. The girls had been asking forever to go to Club Libby Lu, where they could get their hair all done-up and have make-up put on, just like a star- all glittery and glamorous. This turned out to be a good opportunity for the occasion, since it was just me and the girls. The girls were so cute, dressing in their formal attire (not such a noteworthy detail considering Emma wears black velvet to go fishing).

Here's the result of the event:

Oh, yes, I forgot to mention the head set and microphone that came with the style.