Day 4 | Montana

After a day out and about, we decided to spend today back at the campground. 

We spent most of it out by Hebgen Lake only about 50 yards from our campsite. It was calm, sunny, and even pretty warm.

Craig helped the kids take their made-up ball and glove game to the next level by finding a log to use as a bat. They had an actual game going for a while. Pitcher, batter, catcher, fielder, trees for bases, and ghost runners. Oh, and a killer view :)

The kids also biked a million laps around the campground loop. Sometimes further on rides with Shawn or Mikayla. Brecken has two markers out in front of our site that he can bike to - one to the left and one to the right. He has hardly taken his helmet off on the trip so far because he’s been biking pretty much 24-7. 

And of course a few handstand contests...

Shawn won, but I don’t think it’s official until someone wins 2 out of 3...





I should also note that there were grizzly warning signs all over and the camp host told me to keep my children close. But that’s pretty much impossible with three boys who love exploring in the woods. Thankfully they never stop making noise so that helps keep danger away.

We finished the day with a spaghetti dinner and an early-ish night so we could get a jump on the park in the morning.

Day 2 & 3 | Montana

We woke up to rain and cold temps in Bozeman. While it was a little tempting to stay at the nice warm hotel all day, we decided to get an early jump on the day to attempt to get a non-reservable electric site at our campground. All the reservable electric sites were taken so securing one of these would be our only chance for heat for the next four nights.

On our way from Bozeman to West Yellowstone, the rain changed over to snow and there was quite a bit of snow on the trees and sides of the road. So much for a summer camping trip! Ha! With temps back home at almost 90 degrees for the weekend, we knew it was going to be a little chilly but didn’t expect full on winter!

Later at our campsite, it started snowing. The campground host actually said they were expecting 3-5” of snow overnight at this elevation and temps down to 15 degrees! So while we were pretty cold cooking dinner and eating outside, we were thankful to have found a bunch of available electric sites so we could have heat overnight - and still camp next to my parents.

My parents had a pretty fancy set up, so when we got really cold from being outside all day, some sat by the campfire while the little ones curled up on the pull-out couch, turned the fireplace (yes - in the RV!), ate popcorn, and watched a movie on the big screen tv. A little comical to have such luxuries camping. But also pretty amazing given the little ones we have with.

The pop-up camper heater ran all night and the kids were pretty chilly. They slept great though and slept in. 

We woke up, made breakfast in my parents’ camper (too cold to eat outside and with the grizzly situation we’re not eating in our pop up...and we’re conserving propane to hopefully keep heat through the nights and not use it during the day) and headed out for the day.

We spent the day driving the south loop of Yellowstone, checking out hot springs, mud pots, Old Faithful, and driving along Yellowstone Lake. All so beautiful. 

After being out and about all day, we grilled burgers for dinner, had a campfire, and out the kids to bed. Another chilly night (low 30’s) but noticeably warmer.

Day 1 | Montana

Today was our drive day.

We set out with the goal of making it to Bozeman in a straight 14 hour shot. I don’t know why I had such doubts about driving straight through when we have done it a handful of times for ski trips. Maybe because we never pulled a trailer, maybe because we’ve never done it with three kids.

But honestly, it was pretty easy. Shaw was feeling good on the drive, so he listened to his podcasts (laughing out loud regularly) while I managed the family’s lunch / snacks and entertainment. The hardest part was probably that Brecken (our quiet one) talked loudly almost non-stop for the first 6 hours. But no crying, so I can’t complain. And no one got car sick! Woohoo!!

We don’t usually have movie screens in our car, so the movies were a big hit for the kids - and the maps and compasses. Each kid had their own snack / activity bin. 

We made it to Bozeman around 6pm MTN time, only having stopped three times for gas.

After dinner at the Bozeman Taphouse, we met my mom, Craig, Mikayla, and Autumn at our hotel (Springhill Suites). This is our only hotel night, but we thought it would be too late to set up camp for a quick overnight. 

It was a nice treat for the kids to swim after a long drive day. And nice for the adults to relax a bit.

Sleepover

Last night Logan had his first sleepover! I know they’re getting big, but it is so weird when the kids are gone at a friend’s house to play, let alone when they’re gone overnight! He did great though and sounds like he had a ton of fun.

I noticed recently that Ryder seems to be happiest when he’s playing team sports, Brecken is happiest when he’s playing independently, and Logan is happiest during free play with friends. Interesting how they each thrive in different ways.

Stitches

At 9, 7, and 3, our kids have now all had stitches. Logan was the first, with his incident last summer (age 6), followed by Brecken at his birthday party (just barely 3), and now Ryder has joined the club (age 9). All in 12 months...and I swear I rarely take my eyes off them.

Ryder’s incident happened last weekend while we were on the north shore (more to come on that trip). He was skipping rocks into the Grand Marais harbor, slipped on a flat concrete platform, hit his head on some small boulders, and split his forehead open. 

This is Logan skipping rocks, but Ryder was standing on the concrete ring on the left side of the photo.

Shawn rarely thinks the kids need to go to the doctor (I’m the cautious one, often over-cautious), but this time he called me saying to grab towels for the blood and that Ryder needed to go to the hospital. Yikes. Not an easy call for a mom. 

Thankfully, the hospital was only about a mile away and a couple cops happened to be walking by and radioed ahead and to let the hospital know we were coming.

They took him right back without pause for paperwork. The receptionist even watched our younger kids so we could both be with Ryder for a bit.

They did a couple checks on his spine, skull, and mental state. With everything else looking good, they put in five quick stitches and said he’d be good as new in no time. 

He was such a tough kid and only cried because he didn’t want to go to the hospital while on vacation. 

Three days later, we were able to have the stitches taken out. 

Out - though it’s tough to tell.

I honestly think he was a little bummed to get them out so quick because he was enjoying the fact that he could freak people out by taking off his band aid - haha.

So much different than growing up in a house full of girls! Hopefully we’re done with these for a while 🤞🏻

Arizona | Day 2

One of my favorite spots in Havasu is hanging out at London Bridge Park with the beach, the canal to walk along, and the big areas of grass to play sports with the boys. 

On this morning, we attempted to drive down to that park but accidentally missed the turn onto the London Brodge and ended up at a new park - Rotory Park. 

It ended up being a big win with lots to do for everyone. There were two big playgrounds, a huge skatepark, a beach, and palm trees in the sand that were perfect for hanging the hammock.

Riverside nap...

This was our first time using our packabke hammock and I was loving it. Coffee, a book, the waterfront, entertained kids...





After our morning at the park, we met up with Sue and Roger and went to the dock bar for lunch. It was a beautiful drive to Parker (I think). The desert was so green!




 It was so cool to be eating right on the floating dock while watching all the boats go cruising by.

We spent the rest of the day poolside in Sue and Roger’s backyard. Logan was hooked on Jenga and all the boys spent time jumping into the water.