Montana 2009

We're back! We spent the past week in Montana visiting our family there, and having an incredible time! The girls are much bigger than they were for our last trip out there, and they thoroughly enjoyed being mobile enough to explore the ranch. Flying was a bit more challenging for Mom and Dad, but when all is said and done, we made it there and back safely, so we won't complain. Much. :)

We arrived on Saturday afternoon, and the girls got to play with their cousin Hailey, which was great fun for all of them. By the end of the week, Izzy was imitating everything that Hailey did... we so wish that they could be together more often!

Sunday was Father's Day, and the vernal equinox, making it the longest day of the year. All of the dads reminded us of that coincidence FREQUENTLY. We had most of the dads in Carbon County out to the ranch to celebrate... at least the ones that we're related to :) It was a beautiful day, and the girls enjoyed having the run of the backyard... and the company of their cousins!

The ranch is home to many cats, a dog, and myriad other animals, and the girls were taken by all of them. Mr. Boots, a tiny little barn kitty, was a favorite. His food is under the steps, and Izzy loved peeking in there to look for him.

She showed her cousins, the other Obert twins, where to look :)

Reese, Aunt Caitlin's dog, was another favorite new friend.

Abby tried to be a little too big for her britches, wanting to climb the slide like the big kids. She was remarkably able (under close supervision), but we didn't let her do it alone. Maybe next summer....

Nana brought out the kiddie table that Papa used when he was little so that the girls could have snacks and play with the Little People barn.

The girls are largely fascinated with babies lately... they notice them from what seems like miles away, always point out pictures of babies, and rock their baby dolls at playtime. SO, they were VERY excited to meet their newest cousin Lily. Izzy just stared and stared...

Hailey taught the girls to play Ring Aroud the Rosy, although they didn't always move their feet... with a little assistance, they had a great time with it!

The animals on the ranch are probably breathing a big sigh of relief today... as I look through our pictures, there are few that don't depict an animal being petted or chased :)

Izzy started saying Papa within about 15 minutes of touching down in Billings, which was lots of fun for Papa O. Every morning, she'd spy him in the kitchen and lift her arms to be held.

We spent a lot of time outside, drinking in the beauty of the mountains and the rolling hills. They've been getting a lot of rain lately, so the land is practically verdant. Juxtaposed to the weather we missed back in Houston (in the 100's, no rain, only getting down to the high 80's at night...), the weather in MT was very good to us last week!

The girls were on a vacation diet this week, which meant that pretty much anything that wasn't a choking hazard was fair game. Nana and Papa spoiled them (and us!) with tasty treats all week. Yum! The girls especially enjoyed the copious amounts of ice cream available at the Obert ranch.

Aunt Caitlin works at the Animal Clinic in Red Lodge and helped Izzy and Abby learn to "be gentle" with the animals, especially with Kimball, who was a little less patient than the hairless cats :)

Chickigram and GPa flew into Montana mid-week. Aunt Jessie stayed with them when she took an internship in Chicago one summer, and they were thrilled to be able to come out for her wedding. We met up with them on Wednesday at the Beartooth Nature Center and took a few big family pictures.

And then suddenly, it was Saturday, when Aunt Jessie got married and gave the girls another uncle! Mom, Aunt Caitlin, Aunt Jessie, and the other bridesmaids spent the morning getting our hair done.

We then moved on to Jessie's house to pick up our dresses, and to help Hailey get ready for her big day as a flower girl.

Jessie was beaming all day. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride!

Hailey and the girls played in the church while the rest of us were getting our pictures taken before the ceremony.

It was a perfect day, and we are so thrilled to welcome Jon into the family! Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Croft!!!

And then our week was over :( It is SO hard to leave, and it always feels like a whirlwind. We are so blessed to have such an incredible extended family... we just wish that they would all move to Texas so that we could see them all of the time...

Uncle Ryan and Uncle Kevin drove with us to the airport. The girls learned the word "uncle" this week... we're hoping the uncles come down for a visit soon so that we can reinforce the concept :)

The flight home was not altogether pleasant... we scheduled a late evening flight, hoping that the girls would sleep on the long second leg from Denver to Houston. Alas... Abby had other ideas. Izzy zonked out at takeoff, but Abby went from tired to nearly hysterical in a matter of minutes and didn't settle down until about an hour and a half into the flight. Argh. Such is life when travelling with toddlers....

But we're home now, safe and sound, missing our family, and working on getting back into our routine.