Making it to Grandpa and Grandma's

After four days and 2000 miles we made it to Grandma and Grandpa's house!  I love love love our visits to Helena.  It is such a beautiful place, and the people we are there to visit make it all the more wonderful!  Several years ago Grandpa bought treasure boxes for the kids.  Every day of our visit the kids look in their treasure boxes and find a small toy or tokens for the carousel.  Now that the kids are older and, ahem, pickier, Rita asked them to give her some treasure box ideas.  Of course their ideas were "the coolest toy ever" and a "100 inch plasma TV."  Ha!  One day their treasure was a combined gift:  an inflatable ball that you get in and roll around in.  They loved it and played with it all week!

At the big hill at Carroll College (this is where we sled in the winter)

Spence ready for his ride

The weather was absolutely gorgeous!  Summer at our house involves lots of air conditioned activities or trips to the pool.  But in Montana summer is the time to go outdoors!  The kids played outside and at parks (virtually unheard of at home from late May to early October).  We ate lunch and dinner outside every chance we got!  Brian and I are already planning to summer there when we're retired.

Concert at the park

We planned our trip so we'd be in town for Brian's 20th high school reunion.  There were two dinners for the adults, and one family day at a lake.  The water was sooooo cold!  But Allie enjoyed it!

One day we visited a ghost town.  The old buildings were pretty cool! 

Leaving the ghost town we stopped at a little stream and the kids played around.

I'm so thankful for a beautiful place to vacation and for amazing family who we love and enjoy visiting!  Thanks for letting us stay an entire week!