A TRAVELLIN' WE DID GO

we've done a wee bit o' travellin'

so far this summer.

let's take a look at the first stop

in our two week adventure,

shall we?

thompson falls,  montana

my folks have a great cabin on 

the clark fork river.

we were joined by grandma and grandpa,

aunt lissa and uncle michael,

and ezra (2) and elias (6 months).

after the guys made sure they could indeed

drive the wave runner

while packing heat...

ezra got all decked out for swimming.

then the guys floated in the river...

drove the "water scooter"

and rejoiced at the beautiful weather.

while elias took time to mug for the camera...

i chilled on the boat, enjoying the sunshine and the view.

perhaps i was also enjoying liquid spirits,

although i cannot recall.

that right there might be a telltale sign.

besides all of the "cabiny" adventures,

we went shopping. 

it was the 4th of july,

after all,

and fireworks are a big deal

in ye 'ol t-falls.

our family contributed this box:

yep. it's a family show.

that's how we roll.

a fourth of july holiday

wouldn't be complete without a parade.

and thompson falls has one...

i think.

it would also have been just a bunch of folks

deciding to walk down the middle of the road

on a saturday.

it was hard to tell.

the daughter's of the american revolution

kicked off the festivities.

and the mountain men made an appearance.

gotta have mountain men in a parade,

especially in montana.

the local pizza joint got in on the fun...

as did the crazy kayak woman.

that's her actual business name,

not any judgement on my part.

the 3 folks with vintage cars

took the opportunity to strut their stuff...

and the 2 firetrucks showed their support.

and that was it.

i think it lasted 8 minutes.

it was cute.

here are our parade goers in matching hats.

and isn't little elias just a sweetie-pie nub!?

we also attended david thompson days.

thompson falls is named after

the explorer, david thompson.

the guys got to try out an atlatl.

(it's a type of spear-thrower

in case you don't speak native american weaponry).

they learned how arrowheads 

were crafted with flint...

and got to huck a knife and a tomahawk

at some stumps.

yep, this is montana, folks.

they also watched a mountain man

melt lead and make buckshot for his rifle.

with all of that shootin', throwin', meltin', and carvin',

i was sure there would be some

fuedin', fussin', and fightin',

but thankfully,

things stayed pretty calm.

now i'm not promising the rest of our trip

didn't head in that direction,

but i'll save that for another post.

HAPPY (CREEPY) INDEPENDENCE DAY

i agree.

super creepy.

couldn't resist.

please forgive.

MOTHER'S DAY ADVENTURE

my husband.

crazy cat that he is.

he plans the greatest adventures.

take mother's day, for example.

we headed to the museum of glass.

honestly, not as much glass as we expected.

a few exhibits were under construction.

but what we did get to see

was interesting.

and amazing.

and beautiful.

and fun.

the museum of glass has the hot shop.

it's a cool room where glass artists

create their pieces

in front of us.

i could have sat there for hours.

it was fascinating.

the building that houses the hot shop

is worth a visit in and of itself.

it's a tall cone-shaped room

which makes the glass making

that much cooler to watch.

view: looking up in the hot shop.

this is what the hot shop building

looks like from outside.

i'm in love.

we got to become glass artists for a day

and create our own little doodad.

the boys and i chose a bit of these...

and some of this...

and a couple of these...

and created...

two tiles and two pendants.

one week later, we received a package

with our pieces. beautiful!

our pieces waiting to be fired in the kiln.

after our glass making extravaganza,

we stumbled upon

a medieval weaponry presentation.

(yes. in a glass museum. no clue. just go with it).

the boys were mesmerized.

boon got to try his hand at swordsmanship.

and hudson decided that armor

does not allow for the best visibility.

for me, what made this place extra special

was the location. 

some views were filled with the modern.

others were historic buildings mixed 

among modern glass sculpture.

oh look!

historic (that would be me)

mixed with modern (that would be them).

life imitates art, don't you know.

THE LUCK 'O THE NON-IRISH

when on earth did

st. patrick's day

became such a big deal

to my kids and their school

i will never know.

hudson had to make a leprechaun trap

for his class.

and he got to be a ginger for a day.

facepainting was done at recess

and green headbands with

bobbing shamrocks

were seen throughout the halls.

nonetheless, we started off the

 official day of st. patrick
(or as we like to call it,
st. leprechaun's day)

with a hearty, traditional irish breakfast...

green eggs,

green milk

and lucky charms, of course.

may the luck 'o the irish

be with you and yours

this holiday season.