10 more miles on a four day run...

I'm certain the post title requires some explaining...it's part of the chorus of an old country song (18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses by Kathy Mattea, and yes, I used to listen to country - exclusively!). Anyway, it just seemed appropriate for this post...

We returned Tuesday night from our marathon trip to Montana; out of the seven trip days, we spent four full days driving (returning to the post title, we were pretty excited when we had only ten miles left of our four day run!). That’s too much even without a two-year-old in the car! It was well worth it though, as the time spent with Ryan’s family as we grieved the loss of his grandfather was absolutely invaluable. We were reminded what a blessing it was to have such a great visit with both of Ryan's grandparents last summer. Ryan and several other family members took a trip out to his grandparents’ farm in Scobey, which was great for all of them.

Post subtitle: "This is a good cabin!"
To break up the 15 hour drive to Wolf Point, Montana, we spent a day at Aunt Pattie and Uncle John’s cabin in Lincoln, both on the way there and on the way back. Eli repeatedly told us “this is a good cabin!” during our stays. He enjoyed the little horsey and swing in their backyard (lucky for him they have grandkids!).

We also spent some time throwing rocks into and splashing in the Blackfoot River, which Eli thought was really fun. He even saved one “special rock” that he picked out to bring home.

Just in case you're wondering, that water is extremely COLD!

Eli also enjoyed the deer, both real and “pretend.”

There are constantly real deer grazing on the lawn at the cabin, and we all enjoyed watching them. The highlight of the cabin for Ryan is the 4-wheelers.

He was a little disappointed that Eli didn’t want to go for a ride with him (“not make it go brrrm brrrm”), but Eli did think it was pretty cool to sit on it while it was turned off. :)

Thanks Pattie and John for letting us stay and enjoy your cabin! On the last day of our drive we were treated to some road-side entertainment as we watched a herd of long-horn sheep grazing (though if you ask Eli about them he’ll tell you, “they’re not sheep, just mountain goats!). That little guy really is something!