Willard Family Adventures: Big Sky Country

Wearing grandpa's glasses

We're back! Did you miss us? We were in Big Sky country - on Saturday we got on a plane to Kalispell, MT. We realized that was Zach's 5th flight... we had to laugh; neither one of us had been anywhere near an airplane at that age, and he practically has enough miles to be silver elite. We were not looking forward to the flight, since sitting still and quiet in a contained space isn't exactly one of Zach's strengths - and who can blame him? However, he was great - a little loud at times, but he even stretched out on our laps and took a nap for an hour or so.

It turned out to be a good thing he got that nap, since he was on the go the rest of the day and into the night. Teri, Mandy and the girls (Bryn, almost 6, and Maryn, 4) picked us up at the airport, and then we checked into our hotel, changed and headed to the wedding. Scott's cousin's daughter was getting married, on his Uncle Bud's land in Columbia Falls. It was different from weddings I'd been to in some ways... we drove on a gravel road to get there, an entire pig was roasting over a fire, and the groom wore a cowboy hat! But like all good weddings, it was a very touching ceremony (in a beautiful setting - check out the pics), and a great party. We risked having our arms frozen while "bobbing" for beers in the huge tub of drinks, and our toes frozen if we waded in the creek!

The ceremony; our little family

Zach wasn't really interested in the ceremony (imagine that), and got quite frustrated when he couldn't walk behind the minister to get back to the bridge and creek that he loved. Despite the freezing cold, he waded in again and again. But once the dancing started, he got his groove on, dancing with his cousins and the bride, and then eventually passing out in Mandy's arms.

Oh, did we mention how much Zach loves Mandy? She's like the toddler-whisperer or something; from the first time she picked him up until we left, all we heard was "Man-NEE". :)

a gaggle of Willards - Kristin, Mandy, Alan & Teri

Sunday morning we went back to Uncle Bud and Aunt Alice's for some huckleberry pancakes and homemade chocolate syrup - so decadent and yummy. Then Scott and I experienced the literal meaning of the phrase "eat my dust" when we followed one of Scott's second (?) cousins on a four-wheeler ride. We zoomed up a beautiful trail to see some gorgeous views of the valley. When we returned to the house we were greeted with a lot of laughter, as we were visibly coated in dust - my hair felt like I'd put on a few coats of AquaNet! Mandy took pictures as proof, so once I've seen those, I'll consider putting them out here.

Just of a few of Uncle Bud's trophies

We headed back to Belgrade (where Scott's parents live, just outside Bozeman), and then spent the rest of our time playing in the backyard, sometimes swimming, and often eating, eating, and more eating. Zach got to spend lots of time with his cousins; although Liam (almost 3) didn't really appreciate the nickname Zach unintentionally gave him. He couldn't quite say Liam, it came out sounding like "Limo", so by the end of the week we were all calling poor Liam "Nemo"!

Zach and Nemo; with the girls

Let's see... what else - oh, Scott and I even went out on a "date" - dinner and drinks with a walk down Bozeman's main street. We also got together with Scott's college buddy Neal, his wife Stephanie, and their two kids, and discovered they will be adding to their family in a few months - with twins!!!

Zach in Scott's old Raggedy Andy costume - too cute!

All in all, a good time, as always. I had a hard time deciding what pictures to include - we had lots of good ones! But hopefully these give you an idea of the fun we had. Once I'm more organized, I'll put the snapfish link out here, for those of you who want to see ALL the pictures I took.