Great Falls Visit

We arrived in Great Falls at about 4:30pm. Just in time for the rain
to begin. The drive getting there was quite windy. I'm glad I wasn't
driving! It was hard enough being a passenger. I had to take a nap!

Once we got settled into camp, my Mom came to show us the way to my
sister's house. We stopped at the store to pick up some steaks to
grill for dinner. Dawn made the sides and grilled the steaks for us.
It was all good! We visited with her and the kids for a while, and
Jess too once he got home. Their son/my nephew, Michael, was glad to
have a couple of new boys to play with! Yoshiko was very sweet and
helpful.

Grammie had a couple of gifts wating for Blake & Taylor when we got
there. Dawn had found a wooden airplane at the farmers market and
Grammie painted it yellow to make it look like a Piper Cub. We're
pretty sure Blake loved it because he didn't put it down but he kept
talking about a blue "guy" (aka airplane). I told my Mom and sister
that they needed to buy some more airplanes and paint them every color
under the rainbow. They loved that idea! I hope Blake doesn't have
to wait too long;o)

It rained all day Tuesday. We took the kids and my niece, Yoshiko, to
see Toy Story 3. It was a good movie. I liked it but I was very sad
at the end when Andy gave his toys away to a nice little girl. If they
make a 4th one I hope Andy gets them back when he's married and has
kids! Blake liked the movie until the part where it looks like the
toys are gonners. He started crying! Then he started crying again at
the very end. He was so sad that he just sat in my lap and cried on
my shoulder. It was sweet!

Tuesday night Dawn hosted a barbeque for us. My sister, Spring, and
her kids came and also my brother and his wife, Dusty & Leslie. Their
kids were at Leslie's mom's so I didn't get to meet them. They just
had a baby 4 days earlier so Leslie welcomed a full nights sleep.
Anyway, we had a good time visiting and the kids had a great time
playing together!

Blake had quite the good time all by himself. He pooped in his pants
while playing outside and took them off. We don't know how long he
played outside half naked. We didn't know it until he came inside.
Grammie cleaned him up and luckily we had some spare clothes for him.
He went back outside to play. The next thing we know, he was running
through the sprinkler! And it was COLD outside, low 60's! He
followed the hose the the spicket and turned it on himself. His lips
were blue and he was shivering but he wanted to keep playing in the
water. He wasn't too happy when we made him come in. Blake is the
reason why Paul removed all the knobs from our outdoor faucets. He's
left the water running overnight a couple of times and we didn't know
it!

Wednesday we didn't do much. We hung around the campground because my
Spring and Leslie were supposed to come over with the kids. They
weren't able to make it though. I ended up doing laundry and cleaning
the camper. Paul and the kids played at the pool and water playground.
The water was ice cold but that didn't stop Blake. Chase, Reed &
Taylor didn't last quite as long as Blake did.

That evening we met Dawn, Jess, kids and Jess's parents at Howard's
Pizza for dinner. Jess's parents, Keri & Ron, brought us a nice
little gift! They gave us a loaf of cinnamon roll braided bread, huge
chocolate chip cookies and some toe curling brownies! It was from the
Great Harvest Bread Company and it was all made with Montana wheat.
It was GOOD! My favorite was the brownies. They did curl my toes
too! Keri & Ron are very nice people and we really appreciated their
thoughtfulness!

After dinner we went to feed the ducks at Gibson Park. Something my
Mom and I used to do when I was a little girl. The kids loved it! We
fed the ducks, even the ugly ones and the intrusive seagulls, 3 loaves
of bread. We were having such a good time that Blake didn't want to
leave. Amazingly, nobody got pooped on! Paul was ready to place bets
on who'd get it first, lol!

After the feeding the ducks, we went to visit my Aunt Debbie, Uncle
Ken and Great Aunt Bobi. It was nice to see them again! Aunt Bobi is
doing good considering she has cancer and there's nothing more they
can do for her. She still has a sense of humor! Debbie & Ken are
remodeling their house and it looks great! I love the tile floor in
the kitchen and the paint colors in the living room. They are also
doing well. They are taking good care of Aunt Bobi!

Thursday morning my friend Brenda and her Mom made a special trip to
come see us before we left. I'm so glad they did. It was really nice
to see them again. Brenda and I were very good friends in high school
and I hung out at her house a lot. Her Mom and Dad were always very
good to me. Still to this day, they always send me birthday and
Christmas cards every year. Brenda looks great! I swear that girl
does not age! She's always had a peaches and cream complexion and it
has served her well. It was fun catching up on each others lives and
seeing them again.

I used to come to MT frequently, but then I had kids and it's just not
that easy anymore. I have missed everyone and I hope that I can get
out here more often than every 5 years or so! Also, don't forget, you
are ALWAYS welcome at our house in KY!!!