McPhee and Me: Montana Vacation

We spent a beautiful and relaxing week in Montana with Isaac's parents. It was so nice to have no agenda, and no set return date. We finally got to just relax and spend some quality time with them. They are putting their house on the market, so I was glad to have made some more wonderful memories in the house where I first got to know them!

Anyone want to buy a Montana lodge?

I got to work in the yard! Oh man! I've missed gardening! I know Isaac has too. We really enjoyed working outside with Lucy running around, hiding golf balls all over the yard. The realtor was scheduled to come the next day, so we helped Dave get the house ready for the listing pictures by pulling weeds, cleaning the windows, etc.

She leads a rough life! ;)

Lucy is our little helper!

Don't step down, daddy!

Well, that's one window we'll have to re-clean! So worth it!

What? Why's everyone laughing at me?

We had plenty of down time and got to hang out with Gramps and Grams, nap, play lots of Trivial Pursuit, watch plenty of Jeopardy, and generally enjoy Lucy's daily antics.

Lucy loves Grams' baby doll

Lucy has built-in playmates in the neighborhood in Montana. It's going to be sad when the grandparents move! She enjoyed hanging out with Erickus: feeding him rocks, retrieving golf balls for him to throw, and pushing him on his sweet trike!

Later we went for a walk down the drive to play with Sydney and meet her little brother, Matthew.

Sydney showing Lucy the ropes

Instant friends!

I got this!

Swinging with Grams

We enjoyed wonderful weather all week! It rained, but only momentarily -- a first while vacationing in Montana. Up until now, every visit we've brought the rain with us (and often taken it with us when we left!). Lucy loved the freedom of roaming around the huge yard. She'd make a great country girl!

Wearing her daddy's overalls! So glad Grams held onto these awesome OshKosh's all these years!

There were two things Lucy did NOT enjoy whilst in Montana: Bathtime and Bedtime. Oh my, the feelings were intense! Normally bath time is a much anticipated (and oft-requested) event. For whatever reason, even if mommy got in the tub with her, she was not having it.

Bedtime was even worse. Starting around 6pm Lucy would find her giraffe paci, pop it in, and sign "night night"... We'd put her down and if we were lucky she'd lay quietly for about 10 minutes. Just long enough for us to be lulled into a false sense of "hey, maybe she's aslee--nope, definitely not." Each subsequent attempt at putting her in her bed was utterly disastrous. Each time she "won" and got back up, the "hi's" got louder and zanier. She would be completely loopy by the time we got her to bed each night, usually between 9:30 and 10:30 with both of us in the room, singing, rocking, making no noise, whatever happened to quiet her each night. After all that ~~trauma~~ drama you'd think she'd sleep in, but alas that was not the case. Oddly, whenever nap time rolled around she'd acquiesce quietly. Little booger! Good thing she's cute!

One day we went into Missoula to do some exploring. Little Miss Independent took off and did some solo exploring while we took turns watching her from a reasonable distance while the other watched two guys surfing in the river!

Isaac and I snuck away to hike on our last full day while the grandparents happily ~~indulged in Lucy's every whim~~ watched Lucy at home. One of the many things we love about Montana are the many hikes like this one where you pull over off the highway and hike off into the woods. You're almost guaranteed to be alone, unlike the crowded Washington trails. The trailheads aren't marked, either, which is part of the adventure. "Are we on a trail or an animal path?"

One memory I will not cherish of Montana was the hitchhiker I picked up during our stay. I brought home a TICK. If you know me, you know my worst nightmare is to have something burrowed under my skin. Ugh! Upon our return from hiking we showered and I checked myself thoroughly for ticks. I checked my clothes, I combed my hair methodically. The next day we drove home and I showered again.

It wasn't until Sunday morning that I woke up, brushed the hair out of my eyes and felt something in my hair. (Insert utter panic and disgust!!!) I ran to Isaac and he confirmed: I had a tick in my hair. AAAAAAAHHHHHH! (shudder, shudder, shudder -- need for 18 cleansing showers). He removed it and confirmed it was whole, alive, and not the type that carries Lyme disease. Whew. I think it took me 3 days and several showers and subsequent tick checks (on all family members) to fully recover emotionally from that event.

Burgess Lake

There are so many things we love about Montana and the in-laws' property there. It will be bittersweet when it sells, but we look forward to many new memories at their cool new place in Sandpoint, ID, and the 2 hours it will knock off our trips out there!