Labor Day Fun!

First, let me apologize for being MIA for so long.  It's been a hectic end to this summer and I've been so incredibly busy that I haven't found the time to get any blogging in.  I hope to be back now for good, and I couldn't be more excited for it to be Fall and the beginning of September.  I had a wonderful summer, but I'm ready to transition into the next season and to enjoy what Fall has to offer.

We ended our summer on a high note with a Labor Day trip to Whitefish, MT and Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana.  I had made one previous trip to Glacier, but it was in the Spring when the park wasn't completely open yet, so I didn't really get to experience much of it.  Needless to say, I was excited to explore a part of Montana that I haven't really been to before.   I've always heard how beautiful it is up there and I was excited to see it for my self!

We left pretty early Friday morning and made our way to Whitefish, MT, where we were staying for the weekend.  We made a few stops along the way, including having a picnic lunch on Seeley Lake and stopping at a brewery on Flathead Lake.  We got to Whitefish Friday afternoon, and checked out the city beach that they have at Whitefish Lake and then made our way to the Whitefish Mountain resort where we were staying for the weekend.  Friday night, we went back into Whitefish and ate at a bar where a friend of one of our friends was playing with his band.  We listened to him for awhile and had dinner.  He played great music and it was really a fun night.

Saturday morning, we hiked up Whitefish Mountain on the Danny On Trail.  The hike goes up the ski hill to the chalet at the top of the mountain where they have a bar and restaurant open during the summer.  We had planned on having lunch up there, but we hiked it so quickly that we decided to ride the chairlift down so that we could fit in some more activities Saturday afternoon.

We had lunch in Whitefish and explored the little town for awhile.  Then Drew needed a nap, so we decided to take a drive south to another brewery on Flathead Lake.  Drew slept on the way and once we arrived, we enjoyed some drinks on the patio.  Saturday night, the Bobcats had their opening football game, so we found a bar in Whitefish that was showing the game and watched it for awhile.  Unfortunately, the Cats didn't do so hot, so we ended up leaving early and making the short drive back to our condo at the mountain.

Sunday we decided to explore Glacier National Park.  Holy cow, if you ever have the chance to go, you definitely should.  It was magnificent.  I see my fair share of mountains around Bozeman, but these were something special.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  We had a beautiful morning to make our way up Going to the Sun road.  We ate lunch at the top and by the time we were finished, the weather was starting to move in.  We decided to head back down the road and do a hike at the bottom of the valley.

By the time we started the Avalanche Lake hike, the weather seemed to be better again, and we were excited to get out of the car and stretch our legs.  The hike was a little longer than we were expecting, so we didn't come very prepared.  We made it to the lake with no troubles and as we were taking pictures, we heard a loud clap of thunder.  We knew we better head down quickly, and as I looked at the sky, I knew we were going to get wet.  It started raining about 1/3 of the way down the trail.  And unfortunately, we left our raincoats in the car because we had underestimated the hike.  We got absolutely soaked!  It poured for about half of the hike back down and we had no cover whatsoever.  Luckily Drew's backpack has a sunshade so he stayed dry for the most part, but Doug and I got absolutely drenched.  It was quite the adventure, and not too surprising as we've found ourselves in situations like that too many times.  We changed clothes at the car and said farewell to Glacier and made our way back to Whitefish.

Monday morning, we decided to break up the drive home by doing a short hike outside of St. Ignatius, MT called Mission Falls.  We had no idea what we were getting into, but ended up at an absolutely beautiful lake with a waterfall in the background.  We had hoped to hike to the waterfall, but never did find our way there.  We got some beautiful views of it though and had some fun getting out of the car for awhile.

We made it home just as the sun was setting Monday night, so we made the most of our Labor Day weekend.  It was a fun trip and we sure got to see some beautiful country.  Now I'll share some of our pictures.  Be warned......there are many!

Starting the trip off with a car selfie!

Not a bad spot for lunch! Seeley Lake.

Drew checking things out.  Of course he found a stick!

Having some lunch!

It looks like Drew is trying to enjoy an iced tea in this pic!

Flathead Lake Brewing Company!

Watching dad throw rocks into the lake.  This wouldn't be the last time we did that!

Pretty nice spot for a brewery.

Whitefish City Beach!

Doug getting ready to go for a swim.

Drew watching dad go for a swim.  I think he was jealous!

All wet!

Drew really, really likes to ride on luggage carts!

Enjoying some live music!

Family shot!

The Danny On Trail up Whitefish Mountain.

Drew kept sticking his head into the mesh to look back at me.  How stinkin' cute!

Of course we forgot to bring water bottles, but lucky us, we had a beer growler along with us that saved the day.  I was a little embarrassed to say the least!

Doug thought it made us look cool!

There's the chalet we were hiking to!

The top of Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Riding down in the gondola!

I die for those eyes!

All sporting our Montana State attire for the big game!

My sweet boy!

Drew was dancing on chairs.

What's new?

Flathead Lake is so beautiful!

Mom showing Drew the lake!

Dad showing Drew how to throw rocks!

So gorgeous.

Family selfie!

I had to include this one because this is what 90% of our attempts look like.  Drew's not into pictures!

Enjoying the lake!

Watching dad throw rocks again!

We even got to stop at a winery!  Now we're talking.  It's only fair since I go to my fair share of breweries!

Watching the Cats!

Glacier National Park

Spectacular!

We saw a bear right off the road!

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Having lunch in the car because it was too cold to eat outside!

Drew LOVED the goats!

After lunch, the clouds really moved in.  You can see the road right under the cloud line!

Avalanche Falls.

Avalanche Lake

Absolutely soaked!

Drew stayed dry so he thought it was funny!

Hilarious in fact!

All wet!

When he won't cooperate right side up, try upside down!

Another pretty spot for lunch!

Mission Creek

We planned to hike to that waterfall in the background, but never quite made it.

The road to the trailhead was a little sketchy!

Mission Falls

Drew loving on dad!

We stopped for dinner in Butte.  Drew loved to rub the soft glasses cloth on his cheek!

Made it home just as the sun was setting!

What a fun Labor Day weekend!

Hope you all had wonderful Labor Day weekends as well.  Summer's finally come to a close.  Hope you had a good one and are ready for Fall!

High Five for Friday!

It's that time again....Friday is here!  Like I mentioned yesterday, I love Fridays and today is sure to be a great one!  Let's take a look at the highlights of the week!

1. Drew and I have had a lot of together time this week as Doug has had some things going on after work this week.  Drew's in a bit of a whining/screaming phase that isn't overly fun, but there were also times when he just melted my heart.  I guess that's how it works.  They test you to your limit and then show their sweet side so you can't help but smile and be grateful for your little angel!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. I've been seeing chocolate covered pretzels everywhere recently, and I decided to make some myself.  They didn't turn out as good as I was hoping, but they still taste great.  I have to perfect my strategy for next time so they all turn out perfect!
   
3. Drew survived his first bee sting this week.  We were in the kitchen and he was holding a plastic container.  He began crying and I could see that his hand hurt.  I assumed he pinched it in the container and I went over to pick him up and make it better.  As I picked him up, I got stung on the foot by a bee, and I immediately knew that Drew got stung on the hand and that's why he was crying.  His hand swelled up a bit, and I was slightly worried (okay, slightly is probably an understatement. I was nervous he was going to be allergic and I would be making a trip to the ER).  But I iced it and eventually the swelling did go down.  He's so tough!  He barely even cried!
   
4. Tonight is the art walk and I can't wait!
5. It's no secret that Drew is a dancer!  The kid has moves.  Anytime we hear music anywhere, whether it's a commercial jingle or the radio or live music, he dances.  He feels it and I love it.  It cracks me up.  This week we've had two dance parties.  I put on music and he and I dance around the house.  It's fun and he loves it!  I just love my little dancing man!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Happy Friday!  Hope you all have an excellent weekend!

Tomorrow is Friday!

Happy Thursday everyone! I have a busy Thursday ahead of me.  We're going to the lake again this weekend, so I have quite a bit of organizing, cooking, and laundry to do before then.  The good news is that.......tomorrow is Friday!  Yay! I'm looking forward to it because it's Art Walk night again, and we all know how much I love the art walk.  And really, Friday's are the best because Doug only works half days so we get more family time.  I love Fridays!

And just because I think you need a little Drew in your life......here's a picture of him after drinking his milk this morning.  He's getting so dang big he wants to sit beside me now instead of on my lap.  Where has the time gone?!  I can't believe this is my baby!

Color Show

If you've spent any time around here at all, you know that I like nail polish.  I usually paint my nails about once a week, and I love to experiment with colors and brands.  While on our trip to Colorado earlier this summer, my sister was wearing a polish that I loved.  She informed me it was Maybelline Color Show in Pink Shock.  I decided I had to have it for myself!

I went to the store, and sure enough, there was Pink Shock.  I'm glad that I learned from her because there's no way I would have purchased the color on my own. I thought it looked a little too hot pink-y for me, but I knew it looked good on her so I gave it a shot.

It's a nice summery pink and I really really like it.  And the best part is, it's only $2.97 a bottle.  Talk about a deal!  Now, I wouldn't say it's the best formula I've ever tried, and it's not super long lasting, but it honestly performed as well as most of my other nail polishes.  I'm tough on my hands, what with doing dishes, changing diapers, giving baths, etc. so while I like a polish to last, they usually chip within the first few days anyway.  I was surprised considering it was significantly less expensive.

After purchasing Pink Shock, I decided to give some of the other shades a go. I got Gilded Rose (which another blogger that I love, Essie Button, recommended once) and Impeccable Greys. I love all of my Color Show polishes. I think they have really great colors and I've been impressed with all of mine.  For the price, they are a steal of a deal and come in some of the best shades of nail polish I've ever seen.  Check them out if you're in the market for some nail polish!

Saturday Hike

This weekend, we decided to go for a hike Saturday morning.  We ended up going to Hyalite Canyon to do the Mt. Blackmore hike.  We took off about noon, which ended up being a touch too late for the late afternoon thunderclouds, but we made it a ways up anyway.  It was a gorgeous day and we all had fun hiking and having a picnic on the trail.

What a fun hike with my favorite guys!  

For dinner on Saturday night, we had some really good peaches and Drew was very vocal about his love of those peaches.  He was absolutely cracking us up.  I think he liked them!

And then, just because I can't resist a picture of a sleeping baby, here's Drew hugging all his guys as he sleeps.  So stinkin' precious!

 Happy Monday!

High Five for Friday!

It's Friday and that makes me happy!  The summer weekends are winding down, so I'm hoping to make the most of every one.  We finally get a weekend at home, and I couldn't be happier about it.  I love to travel, but sometimes you just need some time at home!

It was a good week around here. It flew by as I spent most of it trying to get back in the swing of things after being in Nebraska last weekend.  I'm getting caught up slowly but surely, and we also managed to have some fun this week!  Here's the top 5!

1. Tuesday night MSU held a movie night in the football stadium.  Everyone brought blankets and sat on the turf to watch Monsters University.  We didn't see much of the movie because of our wild man, but it was still a fun night and we all enjoyed spending some time in the stadium!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. I got Doug a Kammock for Father's Day and we finally got around to setting it up.  We have the perfect place for it on one of our patios and Doug and I spent some time relaxing in it this week.  It's pretty sweet!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Drew and I went for a hike on Wednesday.  It sure was fun to get out and enjoy the day, but it was HOT!  He's a heavy little stinker too, but we made it!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Last night we had date night and went out for dinner and to Music on Main.  It was a gorgeous night.  Drew loved the music and kept the other people in attendance entertained with his pretty awesome dance moves!
   
5. Drew has been a bit of a challenge this week as he's been getting into EVERYTHING and sometimes it even feels as if he's doing it on purpose.  I've been trying to keep my patience with him, but it can be tough sometimes.  And then he smiles at me and I'm reminded how much I love this little boy and how much I actually like that he's curious and observant.  It makes me think he's learning like crazy and I couldn't be happier about that!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Hope you all have a great Friday and an even better weekend!  Happy August!