Living the Dream...

So I am not sure where the summer went...

I think back and I guess it was spent in our backyard doing what we do best...

barbecues and swimming.

Certainly there were plenty of beach days, city days and our bike rides on the trail in between but each day skedaddled a little faster than the day before.

As usual days were like sand through my hands, as I tried desperately to trick the hours of the clock and  just for once, 

have a longer summer day.

I am not sure where to start because no time was spent at the computer...none, zippo, zilch.

So I have birthdays, weddings and a fabulous update on our bathroom to post but I will start here with my favorite place on earth...

Our trip to Hebgen

It will be easy too because I write Nicholas every Monday and so I will just copy/paste what I wrote in his letter about hebgen for this post.  I couldn't sum it up any better anyway.

(Did I mention he gets home October 30?????!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 Today I really need the excitement of your letter because I am in cabin mourning. I always have such a hard time coming home from there. Do you remember when you were little and I would just cry all the way out of the forest? Well yesterday I was too tired to cry on the way out of the forest due to the fact that we left the cabin at 4:30 in the morning. ha ha dad just woke me up and said he couldn't sleep so we just gathered everybody in the car and made the trek home. I would say that the car ride home was a huge success because after 17 hours of driving and we were getting ready to go to chipotle in pleasant hill dad said why don't we just go into San Francisco and get some bi rite and everybody was all for it. Our family is so funny but I put the Kibosh on that because I needed to get home and get the kids showered and in their cozy beds. After all Charlie had not even shut his eyes since we left early that morning. He is such a nut. In fact I can hardly believe how little everybody slept but you know that's how our family rolls in the car but we all love to drive and the day was great.

The week at the cabin was the best...besides you not being there. However It will forever go down as the rainiest week at the cabin ever. Or maybe just the rainiest week in the world. :) I am not kidding we woke up to rain it rained all day with very few breaks in between and we went to bed and to sleep in the rain. But I would be lying if I didn't say it was still heaven on earth. (Well minus the 1 million mosquitoes). Every moment was a gift but the highlights were as follows:

-Waking at the first morning and finding Benjamin Ella and Charlie on the floor of grandpa's cabin talking and laughing, drinking hot chocolate that had a ratio of three fourths Reeds cream to one fourth hot chocolate. 
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going to say hello to the meadow. It was one of those beautiful mornings and I can't even tell you how fun it was to be back at the cabin and ATV Ing with the family. (Missed you every second of course)

-Yellowstone park with my dad and watching my kids love him so much.

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going out on an ATV ride to horse butte and getting caught in the rain coming home. Hilarious and as Ben said, "it was all about survival". We were sooooo cold and the rain was belting me so hard in the face. I had Ella on the.back and I just put my head down and focused and got the heck back to the cabin. 
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playing the most intense game of Parcheesi ever! Ella at one point was in tears well not tears actually crying because Benjamin sent two of her people home in one roll. I won but everybody said that I sabotaged the game by saying dad was going to win and to watch him and then like a dark dark horse came in and kaboom took the win. Of course I beg to differ and said I just got some very strategic rolls at the end. :). It lasted for about two hours. Ha ha
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Ella almost getting up on one ski several times. It was cold and she fought through it and I was so proud of her!!!
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watching Benjamin coach her and give her props. It doesn't happen very often that those two can be civil to each other so when I witness it nothing makes me happier. It gives me hope for a peaceful future. Ha ha
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going to the Louis and Clark caves and having the worst burritos in the entire world in Bozeman! We are still laughing so hard about it. It was as if they just woke up thinking what are the weirdest things that we can put in a burrito? Oh okay we will put fettuccine Alfredo and jambalaya. Ha ha
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going to get treats at the boathouse of course
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Going to sleep in the cabin in the rain and waking up to the sounds of rain.
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All the little moments that are really nothing to tell you about but it is just that feeling of being up at the cabin. You know the ones I'm talking about. 

-running in the forest with dad

-ice cream and movies every single night. Finding Wilkinsons grand slam ice cream that goes down as second favorite ice cream about 10 notches however behind salted caramel

-dad's cooking. Yeah he is still is just that good. 

-Charlie looking so nonchalant on the yellow skis. His face cracks me up!!

Things I will not miss are the mosquitoes and freezing to death at night or just really freezing all the time. :) benjamin's devastation at the moment he found out my dad sold the motorcycles. My dad leaving on day three. He had to go support my brother in a bike race so we only had a couple days with him. But we took what we got and we're grateful that he was there at all.

So I will cherish these memories until next year and countdown until our whole family can be up there together!!!

I forgot to have my dad take a picture before he left so I had to use the self timer and this is the result...haha

Yellowstone park

Tom watching the bald eagle

The bleachers at the high school.  We sat and laughed for a good 30 minutes...I mean they can seat like five people.

Ben practicing his smile for pictures.

the part where we were in a race with everyone behind us even though they didn't have any idea that they were in a race.  We are funny like that.

yes I am just this excited to be running in the forest...

See the ominous black clouds in the distance? Yep those are the ones that almost killed us.

those clouds...

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those clouds...

I am sooo freaking happy