Alpine Visitors!!

Summertime takes its toll....

While Sayler was away at Yellowstone Bible Camp, Hayven came to Lewistown for a few days. It was so much fun having her around! Nothing says Cousin Summer Fun like a trip to McDonalds! 

J spent the longest time one evening out on our back porch with all sorts of tools "fixing" our table.  Future mechanic perhaps. 

Hayven got to spend the night with us one night! Yay for slumber parties! 

Major life lessons happening here.....

and here if you consider the fact that she'll need grass skirt making skills when she starts going to Camp Deer Run.  I'm not sure how she got fixated on hula girls or where it started but she had been asking for a while to have a hula skirt.  So I reached back in my CDR cabin activity brain and made her one.  She was underwhelmed by it.....did a few hula dances and then realized it was hard to run in it so she was over it.  Cool Jaylie.....Don't worry about how much time mom spent getting the grass and tediously tying it all up.  

Harry and Debbie are sweet friends from Alpine (our church in Longview). They were driving from Longview to Canada and paying visits to friends along the way.  We were thrilled that they decided to come through Lewistown and eat lunch with us.  It was so fun to catch up and show them around a little bit.  Keeping our connections to the people we love in Texas is so important to us and we feel so honored when people make the effort to come our way.  

Drake had never played Settlers, so we taught him. And he destroyed us.  Yay.  

As July ended, it was time for Drake to go back to Oklahoma.  It was a gift to have him in our home for so long. We loved him before but I think now we'll have an extra special bond with him forever.  

His folks drove up to visit and pick him up.  It was great catching up with Joel and Rhonda.  Our usual catch up time with them is at Kory's Thanksgiving in Oklahoma, but we missed that this year because of Kanyon's surgery so we were extra happy to see them! 

Overlapping with the Osborn clan was Rand and Maggie, also friends from Alpine Church, but they moved from Longview to Greeley, Colorado so they are our "close friends".  They were headed up to Canada to visit the same friend Harry and Debbie were going to see! It was a quick visit but we made the most of it.  Dinner together...

which wouldn't be complete without raspberries on your fingers! Its one of those things that Rand did with my kids one time and it totally stuck.  Its now "their thing".

We snappend a porch picture and headed for a drive to The Snowies to show them our summer pasture.  It was a beautiful drive and we ended with ice cream treats when we got back to town.  

 We snagged a few more snuggles the next morning then they headed North to Canada.  

This couple, and their family, have played a huge role in our lives. We love them like family and love every minute of being with them. 

I snapped this picture of how the kids slept all summer.  Jaylie still sleeps on a crib mattress on her floor (don't judge) which is really handy because when she wants to sleep somewhere else, its super easy to move! So she spent the summer sleeping in the boys' room nestled between both of their beds.  

We went with Kory one day to check water, put out salt/mineral, and check on our heifers.  The place where they are for the summer has bears on it and I've never seen one in the wild.  Quinn and Kory have seen several at different times when they are out there, but I always miss it.  So this time I was determined not to miss it! We spent the whole afternoon checking and getting things done and didn't see a bear.  The last water tank was irresistible to the kids so they got busy playing in it.  There is one mineral bucket just up the trail from the water tank, our last one of the day to check.  Since the kids were happy, I just decided I'd stay there with them and let Kory run real quick and put the mineral out.  He was gone maybe 5 minutes.  And of course, he saw a bear!! UGH! So my dry spell continues....

Tim and Sarah are Longview/Alpine Church friends, but years and years ago when I was in Jr. high, they lived and went to church with us in Paris. So their friendship spans the years! They were on their way to Glacier National Park and stopped in for a little lunch break on their road trip.  It was so fun to visit with them and send them on their way to a beautiful vacation! 

We had a couple of days "off" from company during Fair week.  We enjoyed the rodeo and riding a few rides...

Rodeo girl..

Fair rides! 

Q and a few buddies we ran into at the fair. 

Ferris Wheel...

Quinn's stuffed animal companion had a birthday....so we did the only thing you can do when your favorite stuffed animal has a birthday....WE CELEBRATE! We had a little cake, he got a present (we made him a shirt out of a sock) and he got cards galore!

I'm obsessed with flora forager on Instagram. She is an incredible artist who makes her art using only plants and flowers.  Juney loved the mermaid she did, so we did our own.  

Sydni, Sayler, and Sayler's friend came and spent a few days in Lewiston.  We had a beautiful evening bike ride! 

The last of our Alpine Church friends tour was the Kitchens! They were a part of our first group of friends we met when we moved to Longview and there is always something special about your first married couple friends and the people you have your babies with. We loved spending time with them and reminding our kids of their friendship! This also provided an opportunity to teach Jaylie how to sit a little more lady like if she's wearing a dress ;)

The kiddos had no trouble remembering how much we love Cole and Ryan! Brothers vs. Brothers ping pong game started bout 3 minutes after they walked in the door! 

Cole made the mistake of giving Jaylie a piggy back ride early on in the visit.  That means he spent the whole visit carrying her around! He was very patient and generous. 

Even Ryan got in on the carrying.  

We headed to float the creek after church on Sunday.

We didn't have enough tubes for us all, so I helped everyone get in and then me and Kanyon went to the end to meet up.  It was kind of fun to watch from up above as they floated by(and flipped over).

We ended the evening with a trip up to The Butte.  

One of the most important things to us when we moved was that we make an effort to stay connected to our friends in Longview.  Our friendships there were once in a lifetime and leaving them was excruciating, so the times when we are together are so so so important and meaningful to us. It is such a gift when those we love make their way up to Montana. It gives our families a chance to stay connected and keep those bonds strong.