A Trip to Montana with the Princess

 Rob initiated Princess (aka his Jeep Gladiator) with a trip to Montana!  Never before had his precious Jeep been subjected to the very things she was designed to conquer... mud, trails,streams and mountains.  Thus her nickname (sarcastic wife.  SHEEZ).  But Princess performed, and the two of them had a reportedly fabulous time, with no humans in sight for days!

A Sunset Sail

 With not very much begging on my part, Jim and Theresa took Reagan and I out on their sailboat for a sunset cruise.  This was SO LOVELY.  We chit-chatted, refreshed our memories about sailing, and sipped wine (well, maybe not Reagan - she was busy being Captain).  What a wonderful summer evening.  I enjoyed every last second of it.

Da Girls

 You would've thought they hadn't seen each other in years, instead of just 12 days.  Holy Schmoly, the amount of squealing and giggling.  The gang is back together, and the girls are happy.  

They found a toad in the back yard.  You know what that means.

Luxurious Toad Habitat

Of Bagels and Boats

 Summer is too short not to spend as much time as possible on the water.  We have a standing rule in these parts.  If the thermometer hits over 80 degrees, it is obligatory to go out in the boat.  OBLIGATORY.  Such was this evening, and it made me so happy.  We live in an incredible place.  Yes, there's lots of snow in the winter.  Yes, there's lots of mosquitos in the spring.  But summer?  Summer is gorgeous.  HOW I love summer.  After baking my first-ever whole-wheat sourdough bagels, we hit the water and boated to a restaurant for dinner.  It is good to be a yooper.

Sailboats on the lake.  So serene and graceful.  This got the hubs and I thinking and dreaming.  Stay tuned.

x

At Long Last... A License

Colby passed driver's ed last year, and his road test this past March, but just now got his driver's license (ahem... grades... ahem).  Watch out!  Another Aho boy is on the road!  Time for a summer job!

Happy Father's Day

 After a short 26 hours in the car, and an overnight in Bismarck, we made it home safe and sound.  This has been one of the most uneventful trips of our family history.  No hit deer, no exploding tires, no unexpected incidents.  Just clear roads, good weather and happy times.  Luckily, Quinn has his driver's license and helped with driving duties, which was SO NICE. Made the trip home so much more do-able!

We got home in time to celebrate Rob and Grandpa Al properly.  Good fathers are a rare commodity, and we are blessed to have three of the best in our family!  To get to see all three dads/grandpas within the space of a week is also a rare commodity, so we are truly thankful!  

I made the mistake of asking Rob how he wanted to spend Father's Day.  He immediately replied "Oh, I have an idea....." and in my head, I cringed, because I knew what was coming (don't say it, don't say it, don't say it).  "I'd like my family to stack wood so I don't have to."  UGH.  YUCK.  But, you can't say no to a dad on Father's day, so we did it.  The kids and I (mostly me).  Stacked and stacked and stacked for hours, and now my hamstrings are screaming at me, because they are not used to such repetitive squatting and lifting!  It was good exercise.  But YOWZERS.

Afterwards, there was the obligatory sauna, and then we feasted on shishkabobs.  Reagan made plum tartlets for dessert.  All is good.  

We measured.  The boys are just as tall as their dad now.  

And Reagan is taller than all of them.  

The Day of Catching Up with Old Friends

 I wake up to this view every morning while here at Mom and Dad's house.  A girl could get used to waking up this way.

This last day of our trip was spent with old friends.  Katherine and I met in the third grade, and became besties in the 4th grade.  Here we are, decades later, still laughing and enjoying each other's company.  It's good to be around people that know you, life long. 

Then, later that evening, I met up with as many of my old PT school classmates as we could muster on short notice through Facebook.  There were 30 of us originally, two have died.  Of the 28 left, I cyber-stalked, found and invited 14, and of those, six showed up.  Not bad for a week and half notice!  I have not seen any of these people (with the exception of my old roommate Heather) for 25 years.  A QUARTER OF A CENTURY.  And yet, when we got together, it felt as if no time had passed at all.  We laughed 'til we cried, and reminisced and caught up, and it was just so so so so great, and not awkward at all.  What a blessing my PT school classmates were to me!  We had such a great class, and it is a tragedy that it has taken us 25 years to get back together again!  One of my classmates, Tom and his wife, drove 6.5 hours to get to our little gathering in the park (the same park where we all met 25 years ago!  That was a total fluke!).  We chatted for 3 hours solid, and then... they drove back to Oregon.  And then went to work by 8 am the next day.  That is insane.  But, as Tom said many times - totally worth it!