Dillon, Missoula, & Thompson Falls Montana

Little Bean's first Silver Streak camping Montana adventure and she took it like a champ!

Our adventure started with a pit stop/Asa feeding in Ellensburg.  Dylan took full advantage of the time by riding her bike.

Around and around the car she went.

We got a little later start than we wanted so we drove to Spokane and crashed at Mike and Diane's for the night (they were out of town so it was a Clark party!).

Okay so I totally such and didn't get any pictures while we were in Dillon.  My hands were a little full - sorry!  It was great fun.  Dylan made good friends with Bob & Pam who ran the KOA in Dillon.  At one point she fell in love with this princess paddle and ball which she wanted me to buy.  I didn't have any money so I told her to go ask Dad for some chores to do to earn enough for the paddle (which was $2).  Dylan took the paddle to Bob at the front desk and asked him to hold it for her.  Bob told her he actually had some pine cones that needed picking up and she could earn her paddle that way.  She was stoked!  The paddle was the hit of the day and has since been long forgotten!

There was also a big thunder, lightening, and rain storm at the tail end of the bike ride - which I must say was great to be watching from inside the camper!  I did feel bad for those who came back to soggy tents.

So here are my lame-o two pictures from Dillon - one of Matt braiding Dylan's hair - the man has braiding skills, who knew!

And the second of Asa enjoying the pool - no wait come to think of it that is cousin Polly & Rob's pool!  Which again our visit was so brief and I was soooo busy that I didn't get any pictures of our visit to Missoula!  We had a great BBQ with Auntie Linda, Cousin's Jake, Lydia, Liam, Henry, Polly & Rob, Brittney and brand new baby Cason who was two weeks old!  Boy did Asa look big compared to him!

We got up early the next day.  After having breakfast with our friends Sean & Jennifer we took off to Thompson Falls to visit G-ma & pa Montana.  Oh the fun that was had!  Boating, fishing, camping in their front yard, making ice cream, catching wasps....

Asa blowing raspberries!

And reading with G-ma.  Good times! 

On our return trip we stopped once again in Spokane at Mike & Diane's (who was still out of town).  It was a beautiful 4th of July evening so we decided to have a picnic on their front lawn.

We make the mistake of talking about fireworks and totally forgetting that they don't start until it gets dark out - uh, like 10pm!  Lucky for me Dylan was on a dad streak so Matt got to be the lucky one to go watch fireworks and mom got a long hot shower!  Asa - well she was Asa and slept straight through it all.

The next day we headed home.  At one point we looked in the back seat to find Dylan getting herself all ready for something - powdering her nose and all.  The next minute she was passed out!

Thanksgiving ~ finally!

Thanksgiving photo's here as last! So sorry for the delay, it's been a bit crazy over here at the Clark house.

We had a great time. We packed up the Eurovan with all the gear that comes with these little ones and headed to Spokane. We had a great visit with Uncle Mike and Auntie Diane. Auntie Diane score Dylan a bag of really fun toys - you know the kind that makes lots of great noises. Dylan's loving them all - thanks Diane! On the funny side - some of them we couldn't turn off, nor did we have a screwdriver to take the batteries out so lets just say our Eurovan sounded like something from a cartoon! Doooooiiing, zoooing, weeepeeepeeee... Every bump was a musical one.

After Spokane we headed Missoula. The Becker family was so great in letting us stay with them. Dylan (and Maggie) had lots of fun with cousin Lydia, while Matt and I held the newest little cousins Henry and Liam - so cute! Thanks Polly and Rob for letting us take over your basement!

So the big T-day! Well there were 40 of us. The family had made up t-shirts numbering all the family members in the order of their appearance. Little D was number 22! So cute to see how everyone numbered up. It was a great day for sure! Tons of fun, family, babies, funny stories, and laughs. Oh yeah and FOOD! Dylan loved every minute of it. The minute Matt and I walked in the front door G-ma Linda took Dylan from my arms, she was passed from one family member to the next to the next. I think it was a few hours 'til I saw her again (and I think it was only because she had a dirty diaper).

Matt and Dylan shot many pictures of the day together.

Dylan met her cousin Pike for the first time. Pike is 6 weeks younger than D. Oh boy, they LOVED each other!!! Well let's just say until Dylan bit him and made him cry ~ sorry Pike!

The big day also consisted of Great G-ma Ruth's 90th birthday. So there was a big celebration. Matt got some great shots of all the great grand kids gathered around GG-ma Ruth. So sweet. Happy Birthday GG-ma Ruth!!!

(if you look closely this is where Dylan bit Pike and made him cry).

For those who want to see more pictures from the Gardner (Matt's Mom's side) Family Thanksgiving here's a lovely homepage my husband made of the photo's he shot. http://homepage.mac.com/str8films1/thanksgiving2009/index.html

After our whirlwind in Missoula we headed up to Whitefish (where Matt & I got married) to show Dylan. We love it there and hopefully one day will have a cabin or property. We visited our good friends the Sabin's. Love them!!!! It was a great relaxing time together. We hunkered down at their house and just chilled. On Saturday it was snowing so we packed everyone up and headed out for a hike. Matt carried Dylan in a pack and she was shrieking with delight the entire time we were out. You could hear her a mile away. Her little checks were just about purple - i kept thinking she was cold - but the was having the time of her life. The snow was falling and it was beautiful! It was a great hike and so nice to be out in the woods as the snow fell. When we got back to the car Dylan put up a bit of a fuss and then was passed out with exhaustion! Just want to give a shout out to the Sabin family to say thank you! We had a great time.

All in all it was a great trip! We got home and then all caught colds - that part wasn't so fun. Hence the fact this posting is so late. Hope you all had a great T-day!