Montana in The Fall

Our fall adventure to Montana was to adventure in to the wilderness, to hike in the Glacier Park area with Heather and her family. The weather was perfect for hiking, the scene was beautiful as you can see.
Roger and I in this beautiful country side of the Montana mountains.
I think Talea had the best seat on this hike, don't you?
As we start our hike, I am poised and ready with a walking stick with bells on it to ward off the BEARS, um would that really work? We have been told to make lots of noise when walking on the trails so you don't scare a bear. I think I would be so scared I would freeze in my steps.
Papa Roger and Titus working their way up the steep incline, you notice they both have walking sticks.
Titus learned you could holler and receive an echo from the mountain ridges, oh how much fun we all had listening to our voices echo back.
Heather and Talea, she is such a "ham"!
Great photo opportunity presented it self to us, as there was a couple picnicking down the way whom offered to get a group shot of us all.
Farmer's Markets are always a great adventure for me, perhaps it brings out the farm girl in me.
Whitefish Farmers Market is a must, the setting is a great back ground, with"Big Mountain" in the back ground along with the Burlington Northern Train station.
It has become a tradition with Heather and I to do some canning in the fall. I love how my girls love to carry on this tradition.
Roger and Jason could not wait to get their hands on these fresh sliced peaches. You can see by the look on their faces that they were pretty satiated. Huh?
Heather was pretty proud of her stocking up of home canned peaches for the winter.
A bonus surprise for me, was a call from a client wanting some Trauma Balm, that I make for sore muscles, she shared that she was headed to Whitefish, Montana to run in a half marathon, luck would have it, it was going to be the same time we were going to be in the area. So Two-Bear Marathon here we come.
I did not know that Lila was going to push her mom across the finishing line. You can see by the smile on her mom's face how proud she was. With much sadness and gratefulness, as I write this Lila's mom has since past away. Lila sharing with me that I was the only one that captured her pushing her mom across that finishing line, that she was so grateful to me for taking that photo. Lila thank you for sharing your mom with me.
Lila and I sharing the end to her half marathon race.
My son-in-law in the green is a goalie for an adult soccer team, we were fortunate enough to get to watch him play in a major tournament. Go Jason!
One of my most favorite Quilt shops is Back Door Quilt Shop in Whitefish, a must to go to when I am in the area.
Um our next little quilter, a grandma could only wish. Talea was fascinated with these spools of thread, of course touching was important.
The finishing touches to this quilt, sewing the binding down. Yahoo! As I write this post I have started a new quilt, a flannel log cabin in creams and plums.
Talea and Papa really bonded this trip, more so that grandma had to play second fiddle this visit. All I could say was " wait until I come over in the winter, by myself".
The incredible Montana sky. Enjoy!

My own little Farm Chick from Montana

My own little Farm Chick, I mentioned in my last post that I had bought this slip for my granddaughter, so mom dressed her in it. She looked so stinking cute in it, don't you think.
Pastor Jason, Heather and Talea posing for me, we went to a park close by their home. Lawrence Park has a river running through it, a perfect chance to be close to the water.
Here the Stillwater River runs through this park, what a treat to have such wonderful bodies of water so close by.
Heather pulling Talea in the wagon down the trail to the river.
Talea not liking the dirt that is in between her toes. Her famous words are ooohhh.
This little farm chick is not afraid to touch these worms, she just got right in there.
Papa Roger teaching Titus how to cast his fishing line.
Patience is the name of this game, do you know how hard this is for this five year old?
A forty mile drive to the west took us to this lake called Middle Thompson Lake what a serene setting, don't you think?
Papa Roger and my little Farm Chick Talea taking a stroll down the dock. Love this photo. This adventure always takes us to new places, thanks Heather for giving this opportunity to explore Montana.

Montana and Back 2010

Look at this little one, who could resist. She was styling complete with a turquoise and pink crinoline, blue jeans, and black boots. Our next farm chick, I am thinking. How about you? Every February I make the journey to Kalispell, Montana to visit Heather and her family. I usually go by myself, so I don't have to share her with anyone. When she comes home there are her sisters and friends and the rest of the family who want her to themselves, so this makes for a great opportunity to have her to myself. Great planning don't you think?
Talea was having so much fun in this little crinoline. You could tell she felt very special in it.
This is the scene from Heather's house, the snow has come many times this winter, as you can see the roads are bare, which makes for easier driving. I love how the mountain ridges in the back ground are filled with snow, surrounding the Flathead Valley.
This cow girl hat came with me from Aunt Jenny for Talea, Jennifer could not resist. It was so cute, she was not quite sure about it though as you will see below.
Does the hat go on this way? Hum.
Yes this Grandma did play soldiers and animals with Titus, trust me I raised girls so I only know how to play dollies and tea parties with dress up clothes. There were a few times that Titus would look at me in a funny way like" what are you doing Grandma?" At least I tried. Right? I promised Titus that I would bring PaPa Roger next time when I come. He smiled.
Titus is growing up so fast he will be 5 in May. Wow!
The tea party was set, along with these cloth paper dolls that we worked on as we watched the movie Julie and Julia. We both like to cook so that was a perfect movie for us to watch, I had told Heather that I remembered my mom watching Julia, I would never forget her voice and mannerism. Meryl Streep did a fantastic job in that movie.
We were cuddled on the couch working on our wool pouches and cloth paper dolls shown above.
One of our wool felted pouches we made while were together. Most of our creating was done while the children were napping or sleeping at bedtime.
This is a portion of Flathead Lake that was frozen over. Heather and I made a 2 hour trip to Missoula to visit her friend. While they were visiting I went to check out the Quilt shops.
Look at the expression on her face, mom what are you doing to my toes? Her first toe nail polish.
Talea is so photogenic I think, or am I a proud Grandma?
How precious is this picture? I think Grandma wore her out. Well maybe it was the other way around.

Guess Who's Here!

The long journey from Montana brings Heather and her two children to visit.
Heather, Titus and Talea getting off the train after their long overnight ride from Kalispell, Montana, we were all excited to see them. We knew this was going to be a very busy week for all, with two birthdays to celebrate and Heather's best friend getting married on the 14th of November. They did have a sleeper car which is a perfect way to go when you travel all night on the train, an adventure no one forgets. We went directly to Jennifer's for the first of two birthday parties to be had this week.
Jennifer with her son Jordan the birthday boy.
This was the large version of the birthday cake, Jennifer had a small one made just for Jordan, as you will see by the next photo he loved it.
I think Jordan was satiated with this chocolate cake, don't you?
Here is Jordan before the cake, on his new birthday toy.
Papa Roger having some wrestling time with the boys before the birthday party. It won't be long when Papa Roger will need help in this fete of wrestling. Ok daddy's you are going to have to help Roger out here.
Here is Julie my oldest daughter with Jessica, my oldest grandchild, I think they were enjoying Jordan's birthday party, Chants Julie's son also shares Jordan's birthday on the 10th of November. We will have his birthday party on his actual day of birth.
Talea, who could resist that smile, she loves the hats.
A second birthday was celebrated on Tuesday the 10th of November for Chants he turned 11, he is my oldest grandson and Julie's youngest.
Heather, Talea, Jennifer and Jordan, these two cousins are going to have a fun time growing up together, they are barely inter acting now. It will be fun to watch how they change over the years and how they play together.
Papa Roger and Talea having morning cheerios, one of Talea's favorites. She is not sure she wants to share by this look, don't you think?
There were a lot of activities that Heather had to be involved in to help her best friend get ready for her wedding. The day has finally come so here we have Heather and Titus at the wedding, we kept referring to Heather as our Princess mommy because she would be all dressed up pretty like a princess, but Titus insisted she was just mommy. The reasoning of a four year old is pretty strong there.
Here is Crystal and Heather at Crystal's wedding, they have been best friends since high school. They are beautiful grown women now.
Titus and Papa Roger at the wedding, Titus was full of a great smile.
I kept insisting that I wanted to get a photo of all of the grand kids, do you know how difficult it is to get seven children looking and smiling all in the same direction, well this was the best we could do. They range from 13 down to 1 year. Wow! Thanks Heather, Titus and Talea for traveling all the way from Montana to see us all. We love you.