Missoula

Okay. So, I know it has taken me a while to get any new posts on my blog. This summer has just been so full of activities I feel I have hardly had any down time. We’ve gone for hikes, been swimming, had play-dates, and our latest adventure was a trip up to Montana. But, unfortunately, I have not had very good luck getting any decent photos of it all. Either I forget to bring my camera, or I bring it but don’t get a chance to really use it. (All the scenery photos in this post are ones I found on the internet.)

So I’ll just have to tell you about most of the things we did in Montana. We drove up Friday, June 29 with my mom and two youngest sisters, Emma and Hannah. My sister, Sara, lives in Missoula with her husband, Ken, and their three sons: Boston, Benjamin, and new baby Payton.

Ken’s parents own a cabin on Placid Lake (about an hour’s drive from Missoula), so we were able to spend Saturday up there swimming and relaxing. We did have a freaky little experience with a bat, however. Hannah was out on the deck when she just started screaming. There was a bat perched on the outside of the cabin in an I’m-gonna-pounce-on-you stance, and it was hissing at her.

Now, there have been bat problems at the cabin before. Sara and her family had to go through a terrible series of rabies shots a while back. Even if you don’t think you have been bitten, apparently if you sleep somewhere with rabid bats, you can be bitten in your sleep and not even know it. And I didn’t know rabies was such a serious disease, but according to Sara, you may not show any symptoms for several weeks, but once you do, it’s too late to get the shots, and you just die. (Yikes!)

So, needless to say we were all pretty freaked out about this bat. Signs of a rabid bat are if it is awake in the day, or around people. My brother, Brook, was able to catch the bat in a fishing net, and he killed it. Sara took the bat in to be tested, and sure enough, it was rabid. We are so lucky that no one was bitten and that we didn’t spend the night up there.
Despite all that, we had a great time at the lake. On Sunday, we were able to take the kids to the Rattlesnake River in Greenough Park, just a few blocks from where we were staying. The Rattlesnake is more like a big stream than a river, and there is a great spot that it sectioned off with rocks so that the current isn’t strong. Grace loved it! It was fairly cold, but she still jumped right in. (Photo above and below.)
Monday, we left all the kids with Sara, and floated the Blackfoot River on inner-tubes. It was a blast! (Photo below.)

The last day we were there we went to “A Carousel for Missoula.” (One of the only places I was able to get a picture.) Grace had a pretty good time. I got really dizzy. I used to be able to handle anything. Fair rides, roller coasters. Since I became a mother, I’m pretty much a sissy.
As we were waiting in line, my mom pointed out this sign to me. I think it is the most hilarious thing. Check it out:
After the carousel ride, we walked next door to this amazing playground. It’s called “Dragon’s Hollow.” I’ve never had more fun at a playground.
Here's Grace loving it too.