Montana . . . . Finally

So now that its been over a month and half since we went to on our little trip up to Montana, I'm finally blogging about it! It was such a great trip - the boys were so good, we had so much fun, and we really enjoyed the much-needed family time. I apologize for the amount of pictures, but they just went so perfectly in the chronology of our trip!

The first day we drove up to Rexburg, Idaho - didn't want to do too many all-day driving days with the boys. It was really fun to have some time in Rexburg though and to see the new Rexburg Temple. It was so beautiful and Spencer and I enjoyed being able to spend some time there alone - thanks to the convenience of traveling with my parents.

The next day we took our time and drove through Yellowstone. Here we are at some waterfall - don't remember which one. But it was really cool.



Grandpa and Tanner walking through some hot pots.

Waiting for Old Faithful to blow. . . .

So I swear that I remember Old Faithful lasting a lot longer, and being a lot cooler. But oh well, Tanner thought it was cool and it was - while it lasted.

So Yellowstone is a really big park. We forgot how big it was and we had to drive all the way around it in order to get up to where our hotel reservation was for the night. We got kind of bored of driving that day, but at least the scenery was gorgeous! I got bored and started taking pictures through the window while we were driving. So sorry for the quality of the pictures - but it was just so beautiful that I couldn't help it!

So my brothers were getting bored on our drive too. Trevor and Nathan had their heads sticking out of the car for a long time - singing at the top of their lungs. Crazy boys.

This picture was taken after we had left the park and finally gotten into Montana. I had no idea how beautiful Montana was! I swear, its definitely got to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Everywhere we drove there was beautiful. Well, except for maybe Butte. . . .

So here are some random pictures taken while playing at a couple different lakes. I cannot say enough about how beautiful it was. The pictures do not do justice. And as you can see Tanner has no fear of the ice cold lake water.

Some friends of Claire's parents even let us use their paddle boat and kayak at their house on a private lake! There are a lot of lakes up in that area - not quite like Utah. Here we just have reservoirs. (unless you go up in the Unitas of course.)

Tanner and Nathan

And so finally the real reason that we went up to Montana - for Joel and Claire's reception held up there at her parents house near Kalispell. Claire's parents were so nice to let us all stay at their home for a few days. We had such a great time!

Look at this awesome groom's cake they had made for Joel!! It had rice crispy treats inside. So awesome and perfect for him.

And all the groomsmen - my bros of course.

The reception was very nice up there. And the food was amazing. Its all about the food of course. . . . .

Nathan and Benny

Spencer lookin' hot as usual. . . .

The bride and groom taking an opportunity to eat some of the great food. (Classic Joel)

Some of us just chillin' towards the end of the reception. . . .

Cutting the cake (which was a cheesecake). The Huckleberry Chocolate was amazing.

Crazy Tanner and Crazy Daniel. They really have a special bond. Daniel has influenced Tanner in so many ways - good and bad. Just kidding. Their both just crazy. Thats probably why they get along so well. Tanner is going to miss him so bad when he leaves on his mission in a few weeks!

So we were able to make a quick trip up to Glacier National Park - which as with the theme of this blog - was absolutely beautiful!!! It was kind of sad though cause you still couldn't even drive through half the park because the roads were still closed because of the snow!! It was pretty cool though to see the part we did see. But it was starting to get dark so most of my pictures didn't turn out very good. But here are a few. . . .


Cute pic of mom and Trevor that actually turned out. . . .

This tree is still alive but was hollow inside - so we all wanted a picture inside it together. I think it was a cyprus tree but I'm not sure. The trees there were so different from here. They were kind of like the Redwoods - but not.

There was so much water rushing down this river - but you can't tell really well in the picture. It was cool.

Silly Daniel and Trevor.

Trying to take a family photo with Daniel pulling his usual moves -

And the real one after he stopped being a goof.

Ok, so on our last day at Claire's house, Claire's dad was so nice and wanted to let Spencer and I get a ride in his helicopter. It was seriously so awesome and fun - kind of scary - but absolutely worth it for the amazing view. How would it be to live in such a beautiful place?

Here are some of the pictures I took while up in the helicopter - I was surprised they turned out as well as they did - it was so beautiful!

This was a lake that he landed next to - it was so cool. I think that being a helicopter pilot would pretty much be awesome.

Spencer going up. . . .

And getting out. He enjoyed it, but got a little motion sick so was happy to be done. Its fun to tease my weak stomached husband!

We also capped the whole trip off with getting some plastic for a giant slip-n-slide down their hill in their back yard. Everyone had a blast - Tanner of course loved it. I didn't do so well however. My body is not made anymore for running full blast and landing hard on my stomach and flying down a hill like that. I think I'm getting old.


Daniel of course was the returning champ of the slip-n-slide. He is pretty much a pro as he also was the champ of his high school slip-n-slide competition.

Oh funny. Hmm, I wonder which one is the recently returned missionary and which one is the missionary in waiting with nothing to do but work out?

Joel, Claire, and Claire's sister Meredith enjoying the view.

And last but not least, grandma and grandpa holding Benny while everyone else enjoyed the slip-n-slide festivities.

So in a nut-shell, that was our trip to Montana. We would really love to go up there again someday. I had no idea how beautiful it was! Sorry it was such a long (and probably boring) post, but I really just needed to get this up before I forgot everything.