Well if you have been around long you know we do crazy and this Christmas was no exception. We decided to stay home for Christmas, because it is really just not possible to take all the gifts, stuff, and kids at Christmas time and we really like having a bit of time on our own for Christmas. But we did decide to take off the day after Christmas for an almost 2 week vacation in Montana seeing both set of parents. I may rethink the day after Christmas thing this year as it made Christmas day just a bit to busy and not relaxing and fun like I would have liked. But it was nice to have a good long time in Montana and get to have lots of fun!
Our first stop was in Kalispell to see my parents. After a very long day of driving we made it and were sure glad to be there. The kids actually did really great this trip and the roads turned out to be great. This was a blessing that we left the day after Chrismas because the 27th a storm hit and we made it in to town before the roads got bad.
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| Playing Peak-a-boo |
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| Our favorite stop in MT, St. Regis...riding the horse |
The first day we had to head out and play in the snow. There wasn't a lot and unfortunately it was not good for snowman making. But the girls did have fun sledding and making snow angels.
And that night Josh and Carrie came over for dinner. The girls were excited to see their cousins and super excited to hold and see Piper. Yep! They kind of love their only girl cousin!!
On Sunday, the colds were kicking into the girls so Hans, my dad, and I headed to church on our own and left the girls home with Grandma. The girls call any time Hans and I leave without them a date. So I guess we had a date at church. And it was really nice to get to hear an entire sermon without interruption!
That afternoon we did some more snow play and Josh brought over the 3 wheeler to pull the girls around. The all had fun and it was a pretty smooth ride compared to last years very bumpy ride around the field. Lots of fun was had!
Monday was a me day. I got my hair done, had lunch with Hans and went clothes shopping. The kids played outside and had lots of fun, but I definitely missed seeing them most of the day. That night we went to Grandma Betty's house for dinner. I didn't get many pictures but the girls love these little wood shoes so I had to get a pick of Raelyn wearing them while they still fit. And just recently we were learning about Holland and the wood shoes they wear/wore at the time so it was cool the kids had seen a pair before.
Tuesday was a bit more shopping and then we went bowling in the afternoon. The girls loved it!! It really was a fun activity for everyone. Even Raelyn had fun and with bumpers and a ramp it was easy for her to be involved. And Olivia and Claire did a lot of the bowling on their own and scored really well! Hans even with his hurt foot...won out!
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| "I got a strike!" |
On New Year's Eve the weather was beautiful and Josh didn't have much work so he took my dad, Hans, Claire and Aubrey up in the new plane. I stayed back to pack and do laundry in preparation for leaving the next day. They had fun and Aubrey got a little nap!
That night we headed to Carrie's (my cousin) to hang out with the cousins and bring in the New Year. We played some scattegories, the kids played toss the marshmallows through the wreath and did lots of running around. At the end Greg and Sarah showed up with Brinkley and the girls had fun with their other girl cousin who they absolutely love! She is super cute!
And then it was off to the next half of our trip! Part 2 coming soon....
