So we just returned on Sunday from a FABULOUS trip to Montana to see my family. We left on a Tuesday night spent a night in Capser, WY, drove to Bozeman, MT and stayed with a good friend of mine from college - who I think I've mentioned previously in a post about having a preterm baby. Anyhoo, we hadn't gotten to meet her littlest one (who, might I add, is ADORABLE and so smiley!), and she was gracious enough to host us for the night, it worked out great. We got up the next day, and started our route to Flathead Lake - specifically my Great Uncle's (he's not just Great - but actually my Grandpa's brother) place at Flathead that we've enjoyed going to for 24 years. Next year, will be our 25th year at "the Lake", I suggested we needed to celebrate with a champagne toast and some cake. Who can pass up cake?! Maybe he'd let us shower him with some gifts - I'm thinking in the form of new sofa-beds in all the cabins! ha ha!
Wait wait - maybe I should explain a little more. His 'place' on flathead isn't just a little bit of shore front - it's like, 500 METERS or something like that of shore front. He has 5 cabins not including his own house which also provides sleeping accommodations for at least I dunno - 10 more people sleeping on mattresses and sleeping bags. Not to mention ample grass space for tents, motor-homes, campers and people who like to sleep out under the stars. Growing up, my cousins and I did just that - there was always a tent for us to sleep in, but sometimes we'd go rogue and sleep out under the stars. It was heaven. Here's a picture:
That was taken in 2007, and it's bigger than that - but that's apparently all I could fit into the picture at the time. Let me tell you, the whole family loves it there, and my Uncle graciously invites us back every year. We usually spend the weekend boating, swimming, visiting, eating, and napping. It's great to have a family that enjoys spending that kind of time with each other!
Matt and I have't been since 2008. We had Miss Muffet the end of May in 2009, and didn't feel like hauling a 6 week old baby up to MT. Then in 2010 we opted to go to a cousin's wedding the end of June so again, didn't think we could make the trip. But finally 2011 and we got to go! And it did NOT disappoint! My brother and a friend of his have purchased a boat together, so he brought that over from Seattle and was our captain for the weekend, we did tons of water skiing, wake-boarding, tubing, you name it. Another cousin of mine owns a 'SeaDoo' so we got to play on that, and yet another cousin rents a SeaDoo every year so there was that to play on too! We have a potluck dinner on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, and usually the main meat course is provided where all the families help contribute with a salad or dessert. And of course, when the sun finally starts to set, we get to light up a fire, roast marshmallows, and hang out and visit. Ahem, with keg beer.
Normally I'm right down there with the best of them, but this year was harder - I have a little one who likes to get up at the crack of dawn - so it was really hard for me to stay up until 3 am like the rest of em. But I am happy to report that plenty did, and one night, I got up at 4 am go move the child to our bed, when I looked down at the fire to see that it was still blazing 4 feet tall!! I believe this is the same night that one of my cousins, who shall remain unnamed, was telling everyone around the keg to "Hold my legs! Hold my legs!" so she could do her version of a "Tap Head", know to everyone else as a Keg Stand. You go girl, I just hope when I'm 42 I can still do Tap Heads too! The shocking part is that she could get up in the morning with everyone else, have breakfast and look COMPLETELY normal! Ugh - I do NOT have that kind of rebound. I believe she said to her husband at one point of one of the nights "Go to bed -but I'm staying up, I only get to see these people once a year!" Amen sista.
** EDIT 9/7/2011 ** Come to find out I was wrong about the name of the Keg stand. Apparently she called them "Tap Hits". Still awesome.
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