Emptyknitster

I wish I hadn't relied on Hubby to take wedding photos, he took very few. Hubhy's brother and sister in law The bride and groom For a man that loves to take pictures I'm not sure what happened. Live and learn.

We left early (up at 3:30 am and and at the airport at 4:45) Thursday morning and flew to Seattle for Hubby's nephews wedding. Because of the cloudy weather, we made a short stop at the Portland airport before heading into Sea-Tac Airport. Hubby wanted to head straight to Pikes Street Market in downtown Seattle. The flowers were amazing! We wandered through the shops and had a nice lunch before heading to the Seattle Aquarium. Oh, my! The traffic! by the time we got to our motel we'd decided that our touristy visits would be greatly curtailed.  Friday we went to a quaint town full of antique shops and then Saturday, the day of the wedding, we went to Snoqualmie Falls. Busy days! Saturday evening was the wedding and a beautiful evening!

When we arrived in Missoula there was definitely a party atmosphere going on! What fun! The crowds started gathering around the stadium early in the afternoon. Music, food and beverages were in abundance! A trip to Missoula wouldn't be complete without a stop at Rockin' Rudy's an pick up a tee shirt or two. The stadium filled early and the crowd was a happy group, ready to rock and roll!I loved the sweet family all dressed up and they were thrilled with the attention the outfits brought them! Our seats were in a very similar spot as the last concert we attended at the stadium. After the Rolling Stones Concert we told everyone we'd had the best seats in the house and here we were again! Row 4, seats 1&2 on the East side of the stadium. "Let It Be" "Hey Jude" And then what a surprise! The fireworks went off right over our heads! What a great first concert for The Chick!

I drove eight hours home on Tuesday, made five days of suppers Wednesday and then it was off to Canyon Ferry Thursday! Our new little camper has a microwave and I love it! Some ladies like the idea of cooking great meals in their campers but not me. I want good, hot, nutritious food but I don't want to spend all my time and effort making and cleaning up the mess in a confined area. So on Wednesday I made meals for the entire time we would be gone. I froze everything except the potatooe dish. To worked out great, including using paper plates - no fuss, no muss! Friday : Scalloped potatoes and Ham Saturday: Wacky noodles with hot Italian sausage Sunday: Barbecued pork sandwiches Monday: Swedish Meatballs and instant rice Tuesday: Tacos (all veggies prepacked in a quart jar -"Salad in a Jar") This was Denali's first camping trip and she went from being quite shy in the beginning to loving getting up and outside each morning for my first cup of coffee in the gre...

Last night the Oregon boys arrived. They are settling in nicely. This morning there was a little game playing, before we set of for a walking tour of the Rims put on by Western Heritage Center. Everyone found the tour interesting. There was a little Native American folklore, as well as how Billings was founded. I was pleased to finally have an answer to why Billings is laid out so strangely, not taking advantage of the beautiful Yellowstone River. Billings is a city formed by the NP Railroad. As the railroad forged across the country the government gave them land in checkerboard fashion. Here in the valley for some reason there are two plots of land up against each other rather than corner to corner. This is now downtown Billings. The track and old depot go right along the boundary of each, one side is the Southside including Minnesota Avenue and the other side includes Montana Avenue.  Also because of the winds usually blowing west to east the industrial section was on the ...

Monday we took a jaunt via Big Timber to see the Natural Bridge. We were slightly disappointed in the fact the bridge collapsed in 1988, however the river is now working at building a new bridge and the area is really very interesting. Currently the river disappears and the returns at the waterfall. When the water level goes down later in the summer it again goes under ground in the canyon area only to appear further down. Kitten seems to have taken to her backpack! We'll make a hiker out of her yet...

This weekend we tested went out the camper with two additional occupants and I'm pleased to have one of the grandkiddos as a guest blogger. Thank you Chloe-A-Little-Bit! I am visiting my grandma for a couple weeks this summer and we went to Yellowstone. Camping: Day 1 On the first day of the camping trip we hiked down to a river and went gold panning. On our hike down, we saw the state flower the Bitterroot, and some other pretty blossoms. We also had to cross a stream. Cameron had a go first, and with Grandpa’s help, got a few specks of gold. He enjoyed it very much. I sat reading for a bit and then joined in and got a few gold specks as well. We hiked up the hill to the car and went to bed. Update: It appears that although my Guest blogger has taken beautiful photos and written her blog she bailed on me and so I'll complete and publish her entry :) Camping: Day 2 On the second day we drove through Yellowstone and saw th...

On our way home Monday, the kiddos and I went to Lewis and Clark Caverns. Although named after the famous explorers, the caverns were discovered by two local ranchers that were out hunting. The expedition did float past the caverns on the river behind the kiddos. The caverns are one of the largest limestone caverns in the the Northwest. Winter or summer the average temperature of the cavern is 50 degrees. The cavern is full of stalactites, stalagmites, columns,and helictites. Once we exited the caverns it began pouring rain, again! It's been a wet winter and spring which has been great for the caverns. They were noticeably damper inside 98% humidity with puddles and wet railings great for stalagmite growth!

  Paul and I are going to be seeing each other again !