good times

The month of July has been PACKED with good times! The next three shots are still from our trip to Montana.

Do you notice the number of cowboy hats there are in this picture? Definitely not your everyday headgear where I come from in Wisconsin.


Elijah and some of his beautiful (girl) and handsome (boy) cousins. All fabulous people.

We took this road heading home to Idaho from Montana. I love this picture! Two ways to tell if a road is NOT on the beaten path: 1) the cows have free range, and 2) there is grass growing between the wheel tracks.

Elijah says, "I just wanna get out of this cage, Mom!"

We were able to go on a bike ride in Idaho with Todd's aunt, uncle, and cousins! They not only lent us gear (including the little trailer) but put up with a multitude of stops checking on the little guy. Our bike ride was sooooo good for me. I was so happy to feel like a "normal person" again. To attempt a day like this would have been out of the question for most of the past two years. Elijah was a trooper, and I was so thankful for...everything.


The trail we took was called the Hiawatha, and it was approximately 14 (?) miles long. It had nine tunnels and is built over a railroad. Here is one of the trestles, and we are the pinheads waving.
My wonderful brother Jesse came for a visit! He is on a manly motorcycle adventure, driving from Wisconsin to Alaska. Here he is with his fellow motorcycle buddy, Seth, and Todd. These three guys did some off-roading in the mountains.
"Oh no, Dad's sleeping. How am I gonna get out of here? Help me, help me, Mom..."
Our latest thrill has been picking huckleberries in the mountains. (Elijah watches for bears while we pick, and Todd carries the bear deterrent.) This was the first berry-finding mission (we didn't even know what huckleberries LOOKED like), accompanied by our friends below...
Patience and I went to Bible school together a LONG time ago. We have a lot of fun and crazy memories together. This is my dear friend Patience and her husband, Brian.
Huckleberry cobbler and icecream!