{ Summer Begins }

It is a beautiful warm and sunny morning as I sit here by myself with a cup of coffee overlooking a lake, nestled in the forest.  The two youngest are napping and Tim and Oliver are off visiting. 

Vacation!

Yesterday we trekked seven hours across the state, our entire little tribe of three under three to join Tim's family for a niece's wedding and family reunion.  We are very glad to be here and so thankful that his mom is finally able to meet our two youngest.  We saw them last night and it was so sweet to hear Oliver calling them Grandpa and Grammie right away, even though we've spent very little time with them in his life, being significantly separated geographically.

The kids have done very well on our trip so far, but let me assure you it has not been completely blissful.  As traveling with little children always is, it has been a lesson in adjusted expectations, making decisions on the fly and trying not to sit down in a heap and cry!  There are always those moments when Tim and I look at each other and ask, "Is it worth it?" But the answer is always yes.
 

We both love to travel and spending time with family is worth sacrificing for.  I really think it is good for the kids to adjust to new surroundings.  We have actually done a surprising amount of traveling since we've had kids.   Thankfully they all do well in the car.  We definitely have those hours of crying to be let out of the carseat, but for the most part we are very blessed in their cooperation.

We are staying at Tim's sister's neighbor's house.  We are very thankful for this gracious accommodation.  It is a challenge to keep track of our kids in an un-childproofed home, which has made it difficult to relax, but I am so thankful that our kids are doing as well as they are.  Whenever we come to a completely new environment I am much more able to see how obedient they are and the areas of training we're doing well in and the ones that still needs improvement.

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous all weekend and into next week, which is just perfect for the vacationing still ahead of us.  This is our "big" trip of the summer so we're planning to make the most of it.  We have friends to visit, a trip to the zoo, a ferry ride and perhaps a stop in Leavenworth planned before we head home. 

It is the beginning of summer!  When we get home Tim's job will transition to summer hours.  We are hopeful that this summer will be lazy, with not much more excitement than a little painting on our house and yard work.  This is the first summer since we've known each other, which is almost five years, that we are not tackling a HUGE home-improvement project.

So here's to summer!  May it be lazy!

{ Canada, Friends and Family :: Days 4 and 5 }

 Saying good morning to Canada and enjoying a little bit of scenery before heading back to the States!

 Waiting to go back over the border.  Honestly, I don't think I'm a very good international traveler.  The furthest I've ever gone is a couple of hours over the border into Canada and I'm always really glad to be back in the US.  There's just no place like home, I guess.  We stopped for a picnic lunch and let Oliver get some wiggles out along the way. 

A highlight of this trip was getting to visit our dear friends who moved to Montana not too long ago.  It was much to short of a visit, but so good to see them and where God has led them and is using them.... only wish we could have met their baby boy that arrived just a few weeks later!  We're just to have to visit again!

 Two sweet girls.  Sure miss them!  I was their "nanny" of sorts the year before Tim and I got married.

 Got to join them at their church for an ice cream social that evening.  Such a blessing to see them in their church home and meet some of their friends.

 Family snuggle next morning

 Then we were off again, back through Glacier and on the last leg of our journey.  We debated whether to go back through the park or take another route, but I'm so glad we chose to go through.  The weather was amazing and I finally felt like we got the Glacier experience everyone talks about.  Truly an amazing place!

 Hike to St. Mary Falls

 These pictures are beautiful, but they really don't do justice to the spectacular beauty of seeing this in person!

 Oliver really wanted to get in the water.  Made me a little concerned about him having a necessary fear of very deep, fast moving water!

 The line along the mountain here is the Highway to the Sun

 Tim and Oliver at the top

 We finished our trip at my family reunion.  The fact that the reunion was being held in Montana is what prompted us to take this trip to Glacier.  We ended full circle back at my uncle's house for 2 1/2 days with my mom's side of the family.  It was a wonderful time of seeing everyone again, but a little more on that soon.  I promise there is only ONE more post to come about this vacation!

 Sunset that evening.

{ The Prince of Wales :: Day 3 }

Not far down the road from our motel was the Many Glaciers Hotel. We drove by it on our way in the night before, but decided to save it until today to explore. It is truly beautiful! It is the largest hotel in the park, built in 1915. The Prince of Wales Hotel, where we stayed that night, was modeled after it. Someday we would like to go back and stay there, but for this trip we settled for going there for breakfast.  Pretty amazing views, don't you think?

All of the restaurants in the park serve meals three times a day, with a couple of hours in between.  Glacier is a wonderful place to visit, but I will say that when it comes to food, restrooms and parking, it will drive you crazy by the time you leave, unless you plan ahead really well, which we didn't.  We were all super hungry by the time we got to the hotel and then we had to wait another hour for the restaurant to open.  We had these amazing views to enjoy while we waited, but I will admit that I was not a happy camper!  I was ready for a real meal!  But enough about that!

{ Most of the lakes have tour boats.  We had thought about doing a tour, but we weren't sure if our kids would like it or be afraid of it and the idea of being stuck out in the middle of a lake with unhappy children.... yah, we decide that we'd save that for another trip.  

I actually found it funny that so many people were touring this lake.  It wasn't very big and there was not much more to it than what you can see in these pictures.  Just another way to make money off of the tourists, I guess! }

{ The outside and inside of the restaurant.  If you get there early you can have an amazing lake view while you eat.  We definitely enjoyed that! }

{ Then it was off to Canada and Waterton Park }

 { The view from the highway as we were getting close. } 

  I am so thankful for a husband who not only enjoys traveling and the finer things in life, but who looks for amazing opportunities and takes them even though we have two little kids!  If he'd left this trip up to me I probably would have not been brave enough to stay in a fancy hotel like this for at least the next ten years.  This is why he plans our vacations.  I would have missed this experience and it was so well worth it!  Thank you, Love!

 { Our room was on the tippy-top balcony, facing the mountains

 { The entrance }

{ The lobby... and yes, those are Christmas trees.  We were there on July 25 and they were celebrating Christmas in July.  The staff were dressed up as elves and reindeer, Santa was there, they were playing Christmas music.  It was strange, but what can I say? }

{ Oliver was enamored with the harpist.  She was very sweet and played "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" for him! }

{ Afternoon Tea overlooking the lake.  We took tea, but didn't get pictures. }

 { Then we headed outside for a view of the lake.  It is only a couple of hundred yards from the hotel, which is just amazing! }

{ Family shot }

{ Mr. Cheese, sporting Daddy's glasses and his cool bear backpack }

{ Then we were able to check into our room... and were super excited to discover that we had TWO rooms!  It was such a wonderful surprise!  One night with a room to ourselves... and a balcony on top of that. }

{ Before bedtime, we decided to go into the town of Waterton and let Oliver play at the park.  A pretty amazing view, yet again!  I thought these were some cool facts, as well. }

{ After the kids went to bed, Tim surprised me with room service and dinner on the balcony.  I forgot to mention that this is a very historic hotel, meaning they have done very minimal renovations.  There are six floors and the elevator only goes to the fourth floor, and you have to have a bellman operate it for you.  Because we were on the sixth floor, they don't even do room service.  For some reason they made an exception for us.  It was such a wonderful, sweet surprise. }

{ A storm blowing in at sunset and a view of the hotel at night }

{ It was a wonderful experience and one we will not soon forget! }