Reflections of 2013

I sit here tonight with just my boys and realize just how much things have changed this year.  We won't be doing any partying to bring in the new year.  In fact, I'll probably be in bed well before midnight.  Troy has already left for work.  It's been both a wild year and probably one of the best years yet.

Zack finished up his first year of college, summer semester and started his second year.  It's hard to believe in a few short months he will graduate.  He's planning on continuing his education closer to home in the fall of  2014.  He's currently home waiting for his last internship to start next week.  He turned 20 in October.  It's hard to believe he's no longer a teenager.  He's been looking to buy a house with property, but nothing too serious.  He has the possibility of being offered a job away from home.  It's still a couple years in the future, but there is still the possibility.

Caitlyn turned 19 this month.  In April, at 18, she bought her first house.  She had made all the plans and research without us knowing what she was doing and signed the papers without us seeing the house.  It's been a roller coaster ride with her situation.  The house is a huge fixer upper and was in need of huge repairs and is still in need of huge repairs now, 8 months after she moved in.  Of course, you have to have money for those repairs and being 18, there just isn't a lot of extra to go around for those repairs.  I'm proud of her for taking on so much at a young age and still functioning as well as she does.  There have been days that I question how she does it. There doesn't seem to be anything that will knock her down.  I've heard a bit of chit chat from her about joining the National Guard.  We'll see what the new year brings for her.

Kyle, of course, is still at home.  He turned 13 in May and we now officially have no little ones.  He started archery this past fall and has now joined a club and will soon be competing.  He's still homeschooling and is technically in the 8th grade, however, he plans on getting ahead and getting all his credits to graduate early.  He officially passed me in height this year and I now feel so short in our family. 

Troy and I realized that we do have a life outside of kids, home and work.  We never realized just how easy it is to travel.  Jumping on an airplane and flying across the United States isn't quite a scary as I had imagined.  We've buried our toes in the sand and water in Florida, left our foot prints in the soil in the mountains of Montana and took a road trip to Ohio for Troy's class reunion and to see his family for the first time in about 6 years.  All within one year!  I know people travel everyday, but, these 3 short trips opened our world up more that I could have ever dreamed.  They made me realize that Troy and I will be just perfect when all the kids start lives of their own.  I still shed millions of tears and worry and fret without good reason, but, all in all, life is good. We are blessed beyond what we deserve.

Ohio Trip...Troy's 25th Class Reunion

Troy had been reading updates of people that had signed up to attend his 25th class reunion. He never really gave much indication that he wanted to go.  I finally mentioned decided that there was no reason that he couldn't go.  He had vacation available, Zack would be home to stay with Kyle and he really needed some time with his family that he hadn't seen for nearly 7 years.  On the deadline day for buying reunion tickets we made the purchase.  That pretty much sealed the deal...we bought tickets...we were going.  

Now, I'm not one to suggest or even want to attend social events, yet I was the one to push for him to go.  We left last Thursday morning with the intentions of not telling Troy's family that we were headed their way a day early.  That plan didn't last too long, somewhere around St. Louis we let them know that we were on the way.  After a 12 hour drive we pulled in to McDonald's in Troy, OH.  Troy was a bit disappointed that the old McDonald's that he had remembered had been torn down and a new one stood in its place.  After eating, we headed on to his parent's house.  We were excited to get to see little ones that had been born during the last couple of years and were hoping that one on the way would arrive while we were visiting.  When we last visited the mommas of these little ones were just 13 and 15.  It was hard to believe they were all grown up now.  

Saturday was spent doing pretty much nothing until it was time to get ready for the reunion. His visor he wore when he worked at McDonald's still fits...

Doesn't everyone color with sidwalk chalk in their pajamas?

 I was especially thrilled with the fact that the Sonic there gives you a mint even if all you order are drinks...

Our Sonics at home need to do this! Last time we visited, there wasn't even a Sonic close...I was devastated!

 Troy had made plans to meet up with his best friend before the reunion and go at the same time they did.  You can tell Troy is thrilled to be with John...it's been a long time. 

 I was an interesting evening...they started out at a fairly popular table, eventually everyone left us.  Some people remembered Troy, others couldn't place him.  You could tell even after 25 years who the popular people were in school.  It seems some things just never change.  Of course I never feel I fit in.  I had never met any of those people, but I still felt out of place.  

 I tried to be social, I tried to just let go...I even drank, which never happens.  I thought what the heck, I will never see these people again.  Unfortunately after 7 or 8 drinks I was no more drunk than when I walked in.  It was interesting to me to have someone that has probably had 3 drinks in the last 20 years to not even feel it.  Troy thinks that I'm unable to let my guard down enough...I think my moral/ethical feeling of this is wrong was just stronger than the alcohol...who knows...fact is, Troy had a great time, I sat feeling uncomfortable and out of place.  I did have a ton of laughs at Troy and John and got to witness Troy showing just how low he can go when the DJ played that song.  

Probably the best show was after we left...I do apologize to the Waffle House for the time we were in there...thank goodness it was in the wee hours of the morning.  We made it back to Troy's parents house without incident...had a quick run down of the evening with his mom somewhere around 2:30 am and went to bed.  Because we are the old people that we are, we were up bright and early at 7:30 am!  I have yet to explain that one.  

We spent Sunday afternoon at Troy's sister's house for a little football and crockpot pizza.  We got to spend some time with the other little one and with the one on the way.  Since we were leaving Monday morning, it didn't look like we were going to be there for his birth.  

We were up early Monday morning...Caitlyn had called Sunday to say her puppy was sick, within a short time she died.  The vet confirmed parvo.  All our dogs had been exposed to her the week before so i was expecting to come home and have to treat sick dogs... I was a mess with worry.  The boys said that all seemed well with the dogs so far.  We had said most of our goodbye's the day before, but Troy's parents are always the last.  That few blocks after we pull out are never easy.

We are getting good at these little 3 or 4 day getaways...then next one planned is another trip back to Ohio in May for Troy's grandma's 90th birthday.  This time, all of us will be going.  It's been a long time since we've all traveled that far together.  It will be an experience!

Dinner Time

It's been impossible to find suppers that the whole family is in the mood for.  For quite some time we've been waiting til after I get off work to make a quick trip to the grocery store and grab something that sounds good to everyone at that time.  It's not easy...frustrating most of the time!  Our schedules are so different.  Zack is home from college til the end of October and Troy has switched back to his night shift.  Some nights it's just me and the kids and some nights Troy is there too...it's driving me crazy.  I really want to go to the store...buy a weeks worth of food and be done with the spur of the moment planning.  Kyle settles on cereal a lot of nights and last night Zack didn't even eat.  Because I couldn't get anyone to decide on anything yesterday, I decided to just fix rotel cheese dip for supper..I know...REAL HEALTHY...but I was just tired of trying to figure it out.  As I stood there cutting up the cheese into a bowl I realized just how blessed I really was...no matter what I fixed to eat.  Our kitchen isn't very big, but at supper fixing time it gets even smaller.  Last night, Troy propped himself upon the counter to the left of the stove...yes, at 40 something, sitting on the counter still happens...and to the right of the stove, Kyle sat.  There were legs in the way of opening all of the drawers, their bodies blocked the cabinet doors...and the sink was blocked by an almost 20 year old leaning on the counter.  The empty space in the floor was filled with the 4-legged kids trying to catch a dropped crumb...or one thrown on purpose.  I realize that these days are numbered.  Caitlyn, our middle baby, has already moved out,  Zack will graduate college in May and Kyle is already a teenager.  I do long for the time that it is just me and Troy, but my heart aches at the thought of all my kids growing up and moving out.  I have to try and remember that no matter what is cooking in the kitchen, the time we all have squished in the tiny kitchen talking about work, home school, the news, music, car parts or when the next super hero movie is coming out is much more important than anything I could ever buy at a grocery store.  

An Evening with....Michael Buble!

Sunday morning we set off for a overnight stay in Kansas City which included a concert at Sprint Center by Micheal Buble.  I was waiting online when the tickets went on sale a few months ago and was thrilled to be sitting on the 9th row in front of the stage.  I was able to get a discount on a motel room that was way out of our normal price range at regular price at the Argosy Casino hotel.  It turns out that the room decor was way out of our norm too...let's just say it was NICE.  After checking in we had a little time before we could pick up our tickets for the concert so we blew a few dollars in the casino...and have nothing to show for it...lol.  

We live in Missouri and have been to Kansas City more times than we can even count, however I can remember only one other time that I have ever been downtown Kansas City and I don't remember it being like it is now.  There is no place to park!  We drove around and around trying to find a quick place to park so I could walk up to Sprint Center and pick up our tickets.  Turns out...you can't do that very easily.  Finally, Troy just let me out and drove around and came back to pick me up....way out of my comfort zone...but hey, it was all to get to see Michael Buble.  We realized that we were going to have to settle on a parking garage and just wing it on foot until they opened the doors to the concert.  We picked a restaurant that ended up being a sports bar...it was loud and crowded on the first day of regular football season.  Oh yeah, did I mention that my loving husband gave up watching his Chiefs so I could go to this concert?  He did, but we did listen to the game on the radio on the road.  

We were the first in line at the door of Sprint Center.  Finally, after what seemed like forever, we got to find our seats.  Oh my goodness we were close to the stage.  It was awesome! 

I was amazed at the assortment people that were in the crowd.  The 60 and 70 year old women were acting just as giddy as the 17 and 18 year old girls to see the concert.  Naturally7 opened the show with an amazing performance.  We couldn't quit talking about them once we got home and had to find videos to show the kids how impressive they were.  Michael Buble's concert was awesome!  I'm not sure what it was about him and his band,  but we both left truly impressed.  I would see him again in a heartbeat. The best part...I was able to get awesome pictures!

Montana Trip...the second hike...

We got up early Sunday morning and arrived at the Two Medicine Grill when they opened.  We had the same amazing breakfast that we had the day before.  This is what I had.  It was the best bacon either of us had ever eaten!

We overheard a group request sandwiches to take along on their hike and decided to do the same since we hadn't been able to get to an open store to get food to take along with us.  This hike started at the Two Medicine trail head.  It was supposed to be 11.2 miles to passed Rockwell Falls to Cobalt Lake and back and was rated a strenuous hike.

We were so ready to get started!

Here is our starting point...

And we are off...we were pretty much alone. 

On the trail guide, it reccomends to watch around the beaver ponds not far into the trail for moose.  We were fortunate to actually see one!  Well, Troy saw her first and got my attention.  I most likely would have missed her.  It's strange how something that big can go unnoticed so easily.  I could have stood and watched her for hours.  She knew we were there, but didn't seem to mind.  At one point she jumped out of the water and ran toward Troy for a split second but then stepped back into the pond.  It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I was literally shaking.

Across from the ponds there was obviously bear activity.  There was no way to know how long ago the bear was there snacking on bugs.  Part of me wished that we were able to see is, but the other part of me has no desire to be bear food.

Somewhere in this area, we detoured to Aster Falls.  While this trail was only supposed to be a tenth of a mile to the base of the falls and then 3/4 mile to the falls overlook it felt like an eternity.  It turns out that last 3/4 of a mile has a 500 ft change in altitude.  We had no sure way to determine how far we had gone.  Once we passed the base of the falls, I took a seat on a rock on the trail (I was way out of breath) and let Troy go a bit further to see how close we were to the top...he didn't go too far.  I was amazed that there was horse poop all along this trail and couldn't imagine riding a horse on such a narrow trail with no where to go but down if it stumbled.

We turned around to go back to the fork and head on toward Cobalt Lake...I thought I had been pretty observant of the trail we had been walking, but on the way back down, bear tracks were on the edge of the trail.  I'm hoping that I just missed seeing them the first time, however, if they weren't there then we were sharing the trail with a bear!  

The little critters took turns posing for us.

I'm pretty sure that THIS scared me more than running into a bear!  The suspension bridge spanned across a shallow river.  At this point, Troy had climbed down and was standing on a rock in the middle of the river...he assured me that if the bridge broke that I wouldn't die.  I trusted him, but I will say it took me much longer than him to cross this thing!

Sinopah Mountain

This section of the trail was lined with berries...thimble berries...we had no idea what they were, but a small group passed us going the opposite direction and one girl was picking them and eating them.  Troy asked what they were.  We both tried them...he loved them...I thought they were like eating gritty sand.  Of course, I don't like any berries because of their texture...he was lucky that I even gave in and tried one. 

These bushes would have made it easy for bears and other wildlife to hide...if we nearly missed a moose in a pond it would have been entirely possible for us to have missed a bear in these bushes.

We made it to Rockwell Falls...It didn't take Troy long to cross the water and climb to the top of the falls.  From his description of the top section, I wish I had risked it and climbed with him.  I, however, doubt he could have carried me back out of the woods if I had broke a bone so I chose to stay on more stable ground.

A spruce grouse.  There were two of these birds right next to the trail.  They were about the size of a chicken hen and they didn't really seem to be afraid of us and set and watched us for a bit before they ran back into the brush.

It was a little unnerving to turn around once we were high enough and see where we had started...the trail head is just left of center on the picture on the far side of the water.

The scenery was absolutely beautiful!  At one point, a couple passed us...after some time had passed, we caught up to them again.  The lady told us that they have hiked the trail before and that we weren't far from the lake.  She went on ahead and we never caught back up with them...and we never found the lake.  By our calculations...and by using our pedometors...we had traveled well passed where the lake should have been.  We accounted for our detour to Aster Falls and calculated that we had gone somewhere around 3 miles too far.  By this time we had traveled a total of 11 miles.  The thought of going back that far to the trail head really got the best of me.  We had been hiking up hill for a very long time.  I had to make the decision to turn around...not an easy one to make...I wanted to get to the end.  

We knew we had passed a trail to the boat dock where you could take the boat back to the trail head.  The problem was that it was getting later in the afternoon and we had no idea what time the last boat left.  From that intersection it was a mile to the dock or just over 2 if you hiked to the trail head.  I was feeling a bit better about the hike since the descent was much easier that going up.  We had to decide if we hiked to the boat and it was closed then we would have over 4 miles to get back by foot, but if it was still open it would cut over 2 miles off...decisions decisions. We headed for the boat.  I was expecting this trail to be all down hill since the lake was at the bottom of the mountain.  Unfortunately, I was wrong.  At this point I had my mini breakdown.  We had hiked 15 miles at this point.  I was exhausted and worried we would never get back.  I just couldn't stop the tears.  Whether Troy was worried or not, I'm not sure...he seemed to keep it together and tell me it was going to be ok.  I finally regained most of what was left of my composure we continued on.  Our choice of motivation was to keep telling ourselves "we saw a moose!"  

Once we were able to see the boat dock I felt better, until we saw the boat load and take off.  We probably still had a mile to go.  All I could think about was oh my gosh we were going to have to turn around and go back.  I still don't understand how that trail was consistently uphill to get down to the lake.  We made it to the dock to find another couple waiting and that the last boat wasn't scheduled to arrive for another hour.  We had hiked 17 miles according to our pedometers.  During the wait, about 30 or 40 other people showed up finishing their hikes.  I was facinated listening to the wide range of accents from multiple countries. After a bit of frustration, when we were told the guided hike got to board the boat first even though they arrived at the dock last,  we were able to board.  I was a bit bummed that Troy and I had to sit apart from each other...I don't know, I think I needed him to be with me to prove what we had just accomplished was amazing.

We made it back to the trail head after a very slow informative tour boat ride back.  We put our backpacks and poles in the trunk and shopped a bit in the gift shop.  We left with orange juice and chex mix.  This was the view back at the car.

We really couldn't tell how we felt..we were tired, sore and hungry, but we really didn't want the day to end.  We pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road only to see a black bear running down the road.  Again, I wasn't prepared...I was on the phone and my camera was in the floor boards...so no picture..ugh.  We had been told by the couple on the trail that they always see bear when they go to Many Glacier...so...we drove there.  It was getting dark by the time we got there.  And...we didn't see any bear.  Driving Montana roads is a bit interesting...besides watching for wildlife, you have to also be aware of the free range cows and horses.  It was a little strange to see groups of cows huddled together bedding down on a pull off area of the road.  By the time we made it back to the cabin, the wind was blowing hard and it was spitting rain.  We both took showers and passed out.  

Getting up Monday morning wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.  We were sore, but survived.  We checked out early and headed back to the Two Medicine Grill for our last breakfast there.  We had a few hour drive back to Helena to catch our flight at 5:30pm.  

We met my sister in Helena after checking in at the airport.  We ate with her and she showed us were she was going to be moving to.  Across from the property was a herd of pronghorn.  

Stacy sat with us at the airport until we boarded.  I miss her dearly.

We landed in Kansas City sometime around midnight.  It was an experience to fly after dark.  We made it home in the wee hours of Tuesday morning...back to reality.

We were able to squeeze a lifetime of memories out of just a few days.  There is no way that the whole story could be told with pictures...pictures just don't do justice to the breathtaking beauty we experienced.  Sure, we were tired and pushed to the brink of wanting to give up, but we did it!  We were planning our next trip back on the flight home!

Montana Trip

Troy and I were able to take Josh back to my sister in Montana after his visit in Missouri for the summer.  Our trip started with a drive at midnight to the Kansas City airport Thursday night.  Josh talked most of the drive and only dozed off for a short time.  Our plane was scheduled to take off at 6:30am.  Our shuttle ride from the car to the airport was a bit quiet...no one was completely awake.

Troy had just gotten off work at 6:00pm on Thursday, slept til about 10:00pm and drove all the way to KC...he didn't last long once we got checked in.

Frontier Airlines was awesome for having a kid to fly with...unlimited cartoons for $3.99..well worth it!

We landed in Bozeman, Mt and made a quick drive through McDonalds.  Josh stayed awake to order his, but passed out before he ate.  We stopped at the Grizzly Encounter, but were a bit disappointed for 19.00 we sure didn't see much there.  We met my sister in Helena, MT and did a bit of sight seeing.

We headed on to Great Falls, MT and spent the night at the motel with the Sip & Dip lounge.  The lounge is known for having mermaids in a pool behind the bar.  We didn't spend much time  in the bar...just a quick few minutes to try and take pictures.  The Friday night crowd was filling the place and we just don't fit in with 20 somethings...it was very uncomfortable for me. 

We left my sister and Josh Saturday morning and headed to East Glacier, MT.  It didn't take long for us to realize that we were about to see one of the most beautiful places on earth.

The pictures don't even look real!  I had made reservations for a cabin there and we had plans to hike in Glacier Saturday and Sunday.  Our Cabin was perfect!

Once we got checked in and unloaded we were excited to get headed to our first hike.  We ate breakfast at the Two Medicine Grill...it was wonderful!  We chose the St. Mary's/Virginia Falls trail in Glacier to do Saturday afternoon.  It was about 3 1/2 miles or so and was rated fairly easy.  We knew we could finish it within a reasonable amount of time and then would drive the Going-to-the-Sun road to finish off the day.

As we pulled in the park entrance, the wild life didn't disappoint...

While I was spending my time taking photos out my window, Troy yelled "it's a bear!" Of course I missed getting a picture, but I did see a cute little bear butt disappearing over the edge of the road.  We drove to the trail head and realized by the traffic that it was quite popular. 

Just a short distance in on the trail and the signs of past bear activity are obvious.

Troy had a habit of wandering off trail to get a closer look.  At one point, We climbed down and crawled under a log to get a better view.  Troy balanced across a log to get across the water.  I knew I wasn't that talented so I took my shoes off and waded across the freezing water.  Well worth the experience!

We finished off the day driving Going-to-the-Sun Road across Glacier National Park.

We pulled off the road and walked a short trail to this overlook.  We passed a couple of very wet people and when we got to the end, two people were still swimming in the very cold water.  Evidently they had been diving off the ledge on the right.  The water was crystal clear and obviously a lot deeper than it looks.

Once we reached West Glacier, we ate at the West Glacier Restaurant and took the highway around south Glacier back to our cabin.

What a unbelieveable trip so far...more about it tomorrow!