Whitefish, MT 59937

After several days of fun in Utah, we decided to head even farther north (almost to Canada) and boarded a quick flight to Glacier National Airport in Kalispell, MT. My parents purchased a second home in Whitefish, MT a few months earlier and we were dying to check out the new place. Wow! The scenery is breathtaking with tall tall trees and valleys surrounded by huge Montana mountains and lakes. The air was light and cool and Ben quickly declared that he may never return to work and life in San Antonio, TX. We made the quick drive to Grandpa's new "cabin" and quickly made ourselves at home. The house is beautiful from the inside out and we almost feared the damage our two little nuts could inflict on a brand new home that had never before had such small guests!


We spent the next week living in a sort of paradise. We all loved the huge fluffy beds and slept until we wanted to wake up. We went on hikes in the mornings where we found railroad tracks and real bear hair on the trees and cooked over a fire in the evenings. (We even had to purchase jackets for the girls...what?) We did puzzles, took big baths and just enjoyed the quiet life. I never in the 10 years of being married to Ben saw him so relaxed and "out of touch" with his usual busy world. (And he never shaved his face while in MT and left with a full beard!) Whitefish was a turning point in Ben's life...but that is another blog post!

Each day we traveled into town once or twice and loved the antique main street and shops. One afternoon we happened upon a traveling circus and so we watched the show under an actual "big tent" like it was 1965. During intermission Belle rode a camel, petted a Llama and bought a bag of peanuts for a treat! It was a fun afternoon and one that little Jelly will always have fond memories of.

We also spent an afternoon at Big Mountain Ski Resort which is just minutes away. We rode the ski lift to the very top of the mountain and took in the view of the valley. Both Belle and Livi had no fear like usual on the ski lift and were literally dangling their hands and feet over the edge. I kept reminding them to BE CAREFUL when Belle explained to me that if she did happen to fall, she would just hike down the mountain and meet us there. I was glad when we were back down the mountain with both girls in the lift.

Of course, knowing the Cosby girls, we could not enjoy an entire week without an illness. Olivia was plagued with a seriously bad ear infection while in Whitefish and we once again were grateful for the trusty ear-tubes we put to great use every few weeks. Dr. Beidiger, although hundreds of miles away, was again just a phone call away and quickly called in two prescriptions on a Saturday morning before the local pharmacy had opened for the day. After a few days on the meds, our Livi was back to her happy self and we just kept wiping both her nose and ears! Ick!

We also celebrated Ben's 34th birthday in Montana and took him out for pizza and a pazookie at a local restaurant. It was a lovely way to spend a week of summer vacation and when it was time to head back to the airport I am not sure which one of us was the most disappointed. Grandpa has definitely carved out a little piece of paradise in this world and all four of us are itching to get back to the simple life as soon as we can. We can now picture The Sigh Bar Ranch and we are thrilled to witness one of Grandma and Grandpa's dreams as it comes to pass!

Celebrating the summer with a bang!

Summer hit Texas hard and rather early this year! We were swimming and boiling long before school was out for the season and we figured to survive we better plan a long trip North! We assumed July would be brutal so we bought airfare for the last day of June and planned to stay a few weeks and not return to the Lonestar State until most of the seventh month was history!

My Grandma Joan whom I have always had a wonderful relationship with (She is the ultimate Queen Bee) was turning 80 years old this summer and a family reunion was planned to celebrate her and my Grandpa Neal on the 4th of July. It was the perfect first stop on our family vacation, so off we flew to SLC and began our adventure. This was the first of 4 flights and the first of 2 rental cars and we were excited to get moving!

We always love visiting Utah and reminiscing about our college years while eating at favorite spots and brainwashing the girls just a bit. And of course we couldn't wait to visit with our loved ones that we don't see nearly often enough. Almost all of my Grandparents children and grandchildren made the trip for the weekend and we had such a wonderful time catching up with so many friends and family. Isabelle's cousin Max made the trip from Ohio and she was beyond excited to see her partner in crime! They played every waking moment they were together and told me they felt like they were brother and sister!

Several of us attended the Stadium of Fire celebration on BYU Campus and enjoyed the music of Brad Paisley and some of the best patriotic fireworks from across the nation. We were smart and didn't bring little Olivia for the evening but Isabelle was excited to go and almost stayed awake for the whole show. Sadly she fell asleep right as the fireworks began to shoot off, but with the time change on top of a very late night out, there was nothing we could do to keep her awake. Ben was lucky enough to get to carry her sleepy body the several blocks through the crowd to the car at nearly midnight.

Since Provo is known for their Freedom Festival we thought it would be fun to participate and woke up way too early on the 4th of July to run in the Freedom Run. We all had matching shirts showing we were part of the Thorpe Thunder and had fun getting our morning exercise while hundreds of people lined the streets for the upcoming parade. All of the excitement must have quickly caught up with little Jelly and of course she woke up hours before the race with a stomach bug. She was so disappointed to miss the action since she had a matching shirt too and had been "training" in the San Antonio heat for the 1 mile race. I took Livi and headed to the race while Ben stayed back with sick Isabelle and held her bedpan.

That afternoon the 80th Birthday Party began and all of the Thorpe family gathered at Canyon View Park and celebrated together. We enjoyed yummy food, games with prizes and lots of time just hanging out and chatting. Isabelle slept off her illness and decided she wanted to make an appearance at the party, but she quickly felt too warm again and had to say goodbye. She headed back for a nap in hopes that she could feel well enough to continue the party late into the 4th of July evening. Olivia on the other hand felt great and had such a good time swinging, playing with her cousins, and just wandering around while getting dirty. She wore herself right out and went to bed exhausted and happy from a busy 4th of July...sleeping through all of the noisy fireworks that evening!

The clan all met back at my grandparents home that evening and set off fireworks that we hope were legal! It was quite a show and all of the kids loved running on the soft, cool, Utah grass with their glow sticks around their necks. Isabelle has so much fun when she gets a chance to play with all of her 2nd cousins and loves each one of them dearly.

We were happy to be able to celebrate Uncle Hal's birthday with him in person this year and enjoyed lunch with he and Janice at one of their favorite spots. It seems we never have enough time when we are traveling, but we were glad to be able to sneak in a few special outings with some of our favorite people! One afternoon Isabelle, Hannah and Grace literally played outside under a big pine tree in Grandma's yard for hours decorating and playing "house!" The mountain weather is such a nice change from smouldering Texas this time of year and the grass is soft and cool for bare feet. Jelly looks forward to visiting her Great Grandma Joan and Salem, UT every summer and we are sure Livi will follow with the affection for the Wasatch Front! Ben and I always laugh because after the very many different destinations Jelly has been lucky enough to visit she lists Salem, UT in her top 3 always!

We love our country and feel so blessed to live in such a place and at such a time. We were grateful to be able to celebrate the land that we love with so many people that we love as well! God Bless the USA.

Movin' Right Along

Dancing is in Isabelle's DNA. With two professional dancing Aunt's, and my girls being the only nieces, they never really had a chance! Fortunately, Isabelle is a natural and sings and dances all day long!

This past year, Belle thoroughly enjoyed her ballet and tap dance class. She became friends with all of the little girls in the class and looked forward to Monday's each week. Ben knew this dance business was serious when I delivered him a rather large bill due in full by November for a dance recital he would be attending the following June!

After literally practicing the same 2 minute dance for months, it was finally time to get the show on the road! Grammie and Grandpa of course came into town for the big performance and both Aunt Alee and Aunt Tara made a special trip to support little Jelly. Isabelle loved wearing her fancy costume and didn't even flinch when we painted her eyes with mascara. She took the whole event very serious and wondered aloud if anyone would throw flowers onto the stage for her...just like in Angelina Ballerina.

I didn't take the time to record the official recital piece since I was busy watching Belle glow on stage, but I did record a rehearsal a few weeks beforehand. We were proud of all of Isabelle's hard work and are sure this was just the beginning of her career on the big stage!

Memorial Day with the Cosbys

All of the grown Cosby children decided to coordinate their trips to Grandma and Grandpa's home in Dallas this summer for Memorial Day weekend and a little fun in the sun. With cousins living in Massachusetts, Texas and Nebraska the play-dates are few and far between and my girls were excited like usual to visit their relatives! Uncle Jacob decided to get in on all of the action as well this year and proposed to Miss Lauren Anderson not long beforehand, so our Memorial Day "pirate party" turned into an "Ice Cream Meet and Greet Social" as well.
We had such a great time hanging out with all of our Cosby siblings and loved Belle and Livi getting a chance to get to know their cousins even better. Isabelle and Lincoln are only a month apart in age and really clicked this year especially. They had so much fun playing together and compliment each other's personalities nicely! Olivia also got to finally visit with her cousin who is only a month apart in age as well, Levi. He was a good sport to sit nicely and let Livi steal his stuff.

Of course Grandma Ruth had a major Pirate Party planned (not sure where the idea came from?) complete with costumes and a treasure hunt. The kids loved all of the decorations as well as the loot they found. Another highlight was getting the chance to mingle with the newest member of the family, Lauren, and the girls and I look forward to many fun experiences with Aunt Lo in the future.

I am blessed to have wonderful sisters-in-law and never took my camera out of my suitcase knowing Aunt Anna would have it taken care of. Her pictures beat mine any day of the week anyways!

Of course the weekend ended too soon and we were back on our quick flight to San Antonio. The good news was that we knew we would see everyone again very soon for the upcoming wedding, which helped heal the wounds of leaving for Isabelle. If only we all could live in the same city...