Ben and I know that families across America drive long distances EVERY SINGLE DAY and that we ourselves survived days and days in the car as a child heading to vacations and family reunions, but for some reason we were not quite sure that our little family of four could make it past hour 5. In our 6 years since we had become parents we had never driven farther than San Antonio to Dallas before but rather jumped on a plane and spent our time hundreds of miles above the freeways instead. So driving from Southern Utah to the top corner of Montana seemed a daunting task, but boy did we underestimate our little girls.
We loaded into the HUGE rental car (thank you Ben) just before bed in our pjs and the girls had fun for the next few hours watching movies, singing songs, playing games and eating snacks. Soon it was way past their bedtime and both girls dozed off spread out in the second and third rows of the suburban. The next 8 hours quickly passed by as the rest of us took turns behind the wheel and trying to catch a few zzz's while driving 80mph. Before we knew it, we were pulling into Whitefish, MT just after 6:00am and waking the girls to welcome them to their next adventure. They were in heaven with mom, dad, Grammie and Grandpa all within grabbing distance for the ride and I think the trek north may have been one of their favorite parts of the nearly month long trip.
The next week and a half were spent in a little piece of heaven for each of us. We slept in late and played hard outside every day. Ben helped my dad put a roof on the barn, worked on his computer, took several spins around Sigh Bar on the 4 Wheeler and was on his phone making deals a good majority of the time. The girls went shopping multiple times, enjoyed a night at the Farmers Market and drank several huckleberry milkshakes. We all worked on puzzles, roasted hotdogs, went hiking, watched the deer in the fields next door and enjoyed baths in the huge jetted tub. The girls slept well every night and Whitefish has quickly become a second home to all of us.
Now of course, again, we had to have a quick round of sickness, so the first day we were there Isabelle spent the day laying feverishly on the bathroom floor and emptying her stomach every few minutes in the toilet. She seemed to have caught the bug that Olivia had a few days before but thankfully after a long 24 hours, she began to feel better and forgot all about that first day spent in the bathroom. (And we were just glad that we had made it to Montana before the sickness began and were not on the side of the road every few minutes on the drive up.)
where we enjoyed a 2 hour zip-line tour through the trees. I'm not going to lie, it was a little scary at first but soon Ben and I were racing on 1900ft lines 300ft above the ground. We could see the whole valley from the top of the mountain and had a beautiful view of Glacier National Park. After our tour, we were met at the lodge by my mom and the girls and we let the girls experience a little rush of their own riding the ski lifts and zooming down on the Alpine Slide. Just as expected, both girls loved the ride and wanted to go again and again and faster. It was a lovely birthday with my favorite people and I'm so glad we were able to spend it all together on vacation.
Another fun day was spent at the little Kalispell mall with my mom and the girls. Isabelle had been debating getting her ears pierced for over a year and somehow got the courage when we walked into the mall. She put on a stone cold face, climbed into the chair and got her first little silver studs placed in her ears in a matter of seconds. She was so proud and it will be a day to remember always.
The greatest joy of the whole summer came by way of a HORSE!!! But that deserves its own post, so stay tuned.
Eventually it was time to pack our suitcases and load the car once again and many tears were shed upon our departure. We left Grandpa to fly home to Houston from Montana rather than to drive back to Utah with us and Olivia worried for days about poor Grandpa being left behind. We love the Sigh Bar ranch and honestly are already looking at our calendars trying to figure out when we can make our next trip back. It is one of the few places on earth that is truly relaxing and quiet and is definitely an escape from our daily busy life. We are so excited for Grammie and Grandpa to have this little piece of Heaven on earth and are continually grateful to them for allowing us to bring our mess to their house time and time again.
1 comment:
That sounds magical!
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